A method of manufacturing a coated low-friction medical device, such as low-friction medical tubing, including applying a coating to one or more selected portions of a surface of low-friction medical tubing to indicate at least one marking formed along the surface of the low-friction medical tubing, and simultaneously or substantially simultaneously: (a) curing the applied coating to a designated temperature (which is above the temperature at which the low-friction medical tubing begins to decompose and shrink) to adhere the applied coating to the surface of the low-friction medical tubing, (b) utilizing one or more anti-shrinking devices to counteract or otherwise inhibit the shrinking of the low-friction medical tubing, and (c) exhausting any harmful byproducts resulting from curing the low-friction medical tubing to a temperate above the temperature at which the low-friction medical tubing begins to decompose.

A plastic tube is bent by advancing the tube to position a desired first bend location of the tube at a bending/cooling station, the bend location of the tube having been previously heated by a tube heating assembly sufficiently for bending. The tube heating assembly is moved to a next desired bend location of the tube. Bending and cooling the tube at the first bend location, and heating the next desired bend location, take place in overlapping time windows, before advancing the tube to position the next desired bend location of the tube at the bending/cooling station. Total cycle time for heating, bending and cooling is thereby substantially reduced compared to carrying out heating, bending and cooling sequentially. The apparatus is controlled by PLC or PC-based programs, which effect movement via servomotors and also control other parameters such as heating and cooling times and temperatures.

The present invention provides a system for enriching a flowing liquid with a dissolved gas inside a conduit. The system comprises two or more capillaries, each capillary delivering a stream of a gas-enriched liquid to the flowing liquid. The first ends of the capillaries are positioned to form an intersecting angle with respect to the effluent streams such that these streams of gas-enriched liquid collide with each other upon exit from the first ends of the capillaries, effecting localized convective mixing within the larger liquid conduit before these gas-enriched streams are able to come into close contact with the boundary surfaces of the conduit, whereby the gas-enriched liquid mixes with the flowing liquid to form a gas-enriched flowing liquid. In the preferred embodiment, no observable bubbles are formed in the gas-enriched flowing liquid. Methods of making and using such system are also provided.

A polymer stall divider for a barn will permit lateral flexing when a cow presses against the stall divider while the stall divider asserts a lateral force against the cow to urge the cow to move into a proper position between adjacent stall dividers without causing injury to the cow. The polymer stall divider can be formed of a polymer material clad onto the outer surface of a steel structural member and then bent into shape to form the desired configuration. The divider can be formed in sections with adjacent sections being connected by an internal connector formed of selected materials to provide the desired flexibility and durability characteristics. A mounting bracket formed of a pair of opposing clam shells can be utilized to secure the stall divider to the frame of the barn, thus providing an easily installed divider structure.

A method for shaping tubes and to equipment is provided that includes positioning the section of tube (2) to be curved such that it is pressed between two half-moulds (3, 4) having respective curved surfaces (5, 5) complementary to the shape to be obtained; applying heat in order to melt the material and soften and deform same until it takes on the new shape, by applying ultrasound waves at the same time as the insertion of the tube between the half-moulds (3, 4), by means of at least one sonotrode (7) connected to an ultrasound generator (8) which heats the curved surface (5) of the first half-mould (3), combining values of frequency and time according to the type of plastic material, the diameter of the tube (2) and the thickness of the walls of same; and cooling the material once the deformation time has elapsed.

A method for producing an extrusion molded product for automobiles, comprising the following steps:

A synthetic resin injected into a first extrusion molding machine (21) is extruded through a first mold die (20) as a core material (3); the core material (3) passes through a first cooling tank (25), and then is bent by bending rollers (22) into a desired curved shape with a radius of curvature R1; the core material (3) is extended linearly, and goes into a second mold die (23); a thermoplastic elastomer injected in a second extrusion molding machine (24) forms seal portions (2) and seal lip portions (6) on a periphery of the core material (3); thereby forming a curved portion with a radius of curvature R2 on the extrusion molded product (1).

A method of manufacturing a coated low-friction medical device, such as low-friction medical tubing, including applying a coating to one or more selected portions of a surface of low-friction medical tubing to indicate at least one marking formed along the surface of the low-friction medical tubing, and simultaneously or substantially simultaneously: (a) curing the applied coating to a designated temperature (which is above the temperature at which the low-friction medical tubing begins to decompose and shrink) to adhere the applied coating to the surface of the low-friction medical tubing, (b) utilizing one or more anti-shrinking devices to counteract or otherwise inhibit the shrinking of the low-friction medical tubing, and (c) exhausting any harmful byproducts resulting from curing the low-friction medical tubing to a temperate above the temperature at which the low-friction medical tubing begins to decompose.

A system for producing rebar includes a pultruding machine configured to receive a flexible rebar preform. The flexible rebar preform includes at least one reinforcement filament, and at least one thermoplastic filament. The at least one reinforcement filament, and the at least one thermoplastic filament are arranged in a selected distribution across a cross-section of the preform. The pultruding machine includes a pulling apparatus, a rebar cutting apparatus, and a bending apparatus. The pultruding machine is configured to heat the flexible rebar preform to a first temperature. The first temperature is greater than or equal to a melt temperature of the thermoplastic filaments. The pulling apparatus is configured to pull the flexible rebar preform through a pultrusion die to form the rebar. The rebar cutting apparatus is configured to cut the rebar at a prespecified length. The bending apparatus is configured to bend the cut rebar to a prespecified bend geometry.

Disclosed are devices placed onto an endotracheal tube to create a bend in the tube at a predetermined position. In one aspect, an endotracheal tube bending apparatus comprises a backbone portion creating an angle between a proximate end of the apparatus and a distal end of the apparatus, and a plurality of curved extensions structured to capture a tubing against the backbone portion. In another aspect an endotracheal tube bending apparatus comprises a first prong attached to a base at a first proximate end and having a nub at a first distal end. A second prong and a third prong are each attached to the base at a second and third proximate ends and connected together via a bridge structure at a second and third distal ends. A pocket in the bridge is configured to capture the nub to hold the endotracheal tube in a bent position.

A tapered implantable device includes an ePTFE tubular member having a tapered length portion. The tapered length portion provides rapid recovery properties. The tapered length portion can feature a microstructure that includes a multiplicity of bent fibrils.