Methods of repairing a defect in a polymeric composite structure are provided. The methods include disposing a patch over a defect in a polymeric composite structure; disposing a textured sheet over the polymeric patch, applying pressure to the polymeric patch and the textured sheet; and heating the polymeric patch. The textured sheet has a surface texture that is a negative of a surface texture of the polymeric composite structure.

The invention relates to a welding device (1) for producing tubular bodies by the edge-side welding of two substrate edges (2, 3), in particular two laminate edges, said welding device having a continuous, circulating first contact belt (5) for coming into contact with the substrate (4), and an energy source (12, 13) for providing welding energy. According to the invention, the first contact belt (5) has a seamless polyimide contact surface (35) for coming into contact with the substrate (4).

A vehicle trim element is formed by a method that includes the steps of: applying a film on the front face of a layer of ligneous material, with the applied film having at least one engraved pattern; placing the layer of ligneous material together with the applied film in a forming tool, with the front face of the layer being turned towards a wall of the forming tool; pressing the layer of ligneous material together with the applied film against the wall such that the layer adopts the shape of the trim element to be produced and such that, during the pressing of the layer and applied film, the engraved pattern is transferred to the front face of the layer; and removing the film after the pressing of the layer of ligneous material in order to obtain the trim element having a front face with the engraved pattern.

An apparatus for forming a window of a display panel includes a mold configured to hold a plate in a concave portion, wherein the concave portion has a predetermined shape, and a transfer part configured to sequentially transfer the mold to a heating part, a forming part, and a cooling part. The heating part includes first and second heating modules respectively positioned on top and bottom portions of the mold and configured to apply heat to the top and bottom portions of the mold. The forming part is positioned above the mold and configured to jet a high-temperature gas onto the heated plate. The cooling part includes first and second cooling modules respectively positioned on the top and bottom portions of the mold and configured to cool the top and bottom portions of the heated plate. The mold is tilted at a predetermined angle relative to a horizontal plane.

A process for producing a surface covering with an embossed printed surface is described. A substrate (16) is continuously moved through a production line, and this substrate (16) is first provided, in a printing equipment (12), with a printed pattern and thereafter, in an embossing equipment (14), with an embossed pattern, which is registered with the printed pattern. The printing equipment (12) produces the printed pattern in-line with the production of the embossed pattern. During printing in the printing equipment (12), the printed pattern is stretched or compressed, dynamically responsive to indicators of misalignments between the printed pattern and the embossed pattern, so as to correct or prevent the misalignments. A production line for carrying out this process is also proposed.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to apparatuses and methods for fabricating tubular structures from a combination of fibrous materials for use in, for example, tissue engineering scaffold applications. These materials may also be useful in other biological or non-biological applications in which such tubular fibrous structures may be applicable, examples including conventional medical devices, filters, fiber optics, cable wraps, geotextiles, batteries, fuel cells, armor, and other diverse applications.

An enclosure part for an information handling system is disclosed that may include materials formed together into a rectangular shape. The enclosure part may have a void on a core side and a flatness equal to or less than 0.5 mm. The materials may include a sheet of carbon fiber, a piece of non-woven carbon fiber, and a non-woven glass fiber. A method for manufacturing an enclosure part using through-plane temperature control may include inserting into a mold a sheet of carbon fiber and a piece of non-woven carbon fiber, heat pressing the sheet of carbon fiber with the piece of non-woven carbon fiber, and cooling a first portion of the mold including the sheet of carbon fiber and the piece of non-woven carbon fiber more quickly than a second portion of the mold including the sheet of carbon fiber, and removing the enclosure part from the mold.

A thermoforming assembly includes a lower mold part (20) and an upper mold part (34). The two mold parts are able to move in a substantially vertical direction between an open position and a closed position. Retaining members (28) are able to hold a sheet of softened thermoplastic (10) in a substantially horizontal mean plane Pm between the two mold parts. The retaining members include a plurality of rods (28) mounted mobile in the lower mold part (20). The rods (28) project out from the lower mold part (20) when the two mold parts (20, 34) are in the open position, to hold the sheet of softened thermoplastic (10) in the substantially horizontal mean plane Pm and accompany it as the mold closes.

In 3-D printing a platen moves toward an intermediate transfer belt (ITB) to have a sheet positioned on the platen contact the ITB to electrostatically transfer a layer of different materials to the sheet, and then the platen moves to a stabilization station to join the layer to the sheet. This processing is repeated to have the sheet repeatedly contact the ITB (with intervening stabilization at the stabilization station) to successively form layers of the materials on the sheet. The freestanding stack is fed to a platform to successively form a 3-D structure of freestanding stacks of the layers. Heat and/or pressure and/or light are applied to the 3-D structure to bond the freestanding stacks to one another through the sheets of collapsible media on the platform.

In 3-D printing a platen moves toward an intermediate transfer belt (ITB) to have a sheet positioned on the platen contact the ITB to electrostatically transfer a layer of different materials to the sheet, and then the platen moves to a heater to join the layer to the sheet. This processing is repeated to have the sheet repeatedly contact the ITB (with intervening heating at the heater) to successively form layers of the materials on the sheet. The sheet having the layers thereon moves to a rinsing station, where a liquid is applied to dissolve the sheet and leave a freestanding stack of the layers. The freestanding stack is fed to a platform to successively form a 3-D structure of freestanding stacks of the layers. Light and/or heat are applied to the 3-D structure to bond the freestanding stacks to one another on the platform.