A method of operating an additive manufacturing system feeds solid extrusion material into a heater using a slip clutch coupled to an actuator of a mechanical driver to supply thermoplastic material into a manifold in an extruder head. The method sets a speed of the actuator so the actuator operates at a rotational speed that is slightly greater than the rotational speed of the mechanical mover. This method helps maintain the pressure of the thermoplastic material in the manifold of the extruder head in a predetermined range no matter how many nozzles are opened in the extruder head.

An additive manufacturing system includes a slip clutch coupled to an actuator of a mechanical driver that feeds solid extrusion material into a heater for supplying thermoplastic material to a manifold in an extruder head. A speed of the actuator can be set to enable the actuator to operate at a rotational speed that is slightly greater than the rotational speed of the mechanical mover. This configuration enables the pressure of the thermoplastic material in the manifold of the extruder head to be in a predetermined range no matter how many nozzles are opened in the extruder head.

A testing apparatus for obtaining mechanical properties of a polymer composite extruded from a nozzle of a compounding extruder includes a plurality of pairs of roller units that roll the polymer composite along a first direction. Each of the pairs of roller units includes a first roller unit and a second roller unit disposed such that a center of the first roller unit and a center of the second roller unit are separated by a predetermined distance in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. The pairs of roller units are disposed along the first direction such that the predetermined distance of each of the pairs of roller units increases stepwise along the first direction. The pairs of roller units strain a vulnerable portion of the polymer composite in the second direction. The testing apparatus further includes a sensor that measures stress in the vulnerable portion.

A twin screw extruder (10) according to the present invention is a twin screw extruder (10), in which a reinforcing fiber is fed through an input port (18) into a molten thermoplastic resin having been formed in a resin feed part (13) and the reinforcing fiber and the molten thermoplastic resin pass through a kneading part (15) so that a fiber-reinforced resin composition is manufactured, wherein the kneading part (15) is provided at the discharge-side end part of the extruder (10); a conveying part (14) is provided between the input port (18) and the kneading part (15), and tip clearance (Sc) of a screw element (12b) configuring the conveying part (14) is larger than screw clearance (Ss).

The present disclosure includes a method for determining a melt strength includes extruding one or more polymers to form the polymer film, passing the polymer film at least partially around a measurement roll coupled to a force measuring device, at least partially around a chill roll downstream of the measurement roll, and through a nip defined between two nip rolls, and measuring a force exerted on the measurement roll by the polymer film using the force measuring device. The polymer film is at least partially molten when contacting the measurement roll. A system includes an extruder, a measurement roll couple to one or more load cells, a chill roll coupled to a drive motor, at least two nip rolls downstream of the chill roll, and a take-up roll downstream of the nip rolls. The load cells measure a force exerted by the molten polymer film on the measurement roll.

The present disclosure relates to a drug-eluting suture comprising an elongate strand formed of a polymer matrix. The suture includes an anti-inflammatory agent, such as tacrolimus, dispersed within the polymer matrix at a concentration ranging from 0.1% wt. to 5% wt., based on the total weight of the suture. The suture exhibits a porosity ranging from 1% to 20%. Under physiological conditions, the suture can demonstrate a mean anti-inflammatory agent release rate ranging from 0.1 ng/day to 100 ng/day for a period of at least 10 days.

The present invention provides a polyvinyl chloride-based rigid molded product containing 10 to 40 parts by weight of calcium carbonate having an average primary particle size of 0.01 to 0.3 m per 100 parts by weight of a polyvinyl chloride-based resin having an average polymerization degree of 500 to 1,500, wherein a variation coefficient of the number of calcium carbonate particles in partitioning analysis of a cross section of the molded product is 15% or less, and a method for manufacturing the same.

An additive manufacturing system includes a slip clutch coupled to an actuator of a mechanical driver that feeds solid extrusion material into a heater for supplying thermoplastic material to a manifold in an extruder head. A speed of the actuator can be set to enable the actuator to operate at a rotational speed that is slightly greater than the rotational speed of the mechanical mover. This configuration enables the pressure of the thermoplastic material in the manifold of the extruder head to be in a predetermined range no matter how many nozzles are opened in the extruder head.

A panel including a primary and a secondary substrate layer, an intermediate layer, and a top layer. The intermediate layer is located between the primary and secondary substrate layers. The top layer is applied on the secondary substrate layer. The intermediate layer has at least one of the following properties: the intermediate layer has a Shore A hardness that is 10 units lower than the Shore A hardness of the primary and/or secondary substrate layer; the intermediate layer has an elastic modulus that is at least 10.0% lower than the elastic modulus of the primary and/or secondary substrate layer; the intermediate layer includes a material with a substantially open cell structure; or the intermediate layer includes a foamed thermoplastic material or a foamed thermosetting material. Methods are provided for manufacturing the panel.

Disclosed herein is a process for recycling propylene-ethylene copolymers to obtain polymers having good optical and mechanical properties, and good processability. The process comprises polymerizing propylene and ethylene under dynamic conditions; collecting the resulting copolymer powders as a mixture having an MFR.sub.2 ranging from 1.5 to 80.0 g/10 min and an ethylene content from 1.0 to 4.0 wt. %; compounding the mixture in the presence of a radical initiator and a clarifying agent; and extruding the mixture into pellets. The pellets have an MFR.sub.2 ranging from 20 to 120 g/10 min; a ratio of MFR.sub.2 pellets/MFR.sub.2 powder>1; an ethylene content ranging from 1.0 to 4.0 wt %; a crystallization temperature ranging from 100 to 125 C.; and a flexural modulus of 850 MPa or more. The disclosure also relates to the propylene-ethylene copolymer pellets thus obtained; articles made from the pellets; and the use of the pellets in injection molding applications.