Provided herein are methods for the modulation of appearance or material properties within items of apparel or equipment. Also provided herein are design articles having alterable designs.

Provided herein are methods for the modulation of appearance or material properties within items of apparel or equipment. Also provided herein are design articles having alterable designs.

A welding process of an inflatable product is provided that includes using isolating members between first and second portions of weldable tensioning members to resist the first and second portions of the weldable tensioning structures being welded together during welding of the first portions to a first sheet of weldable material and welding of the second portions to a second sheet of weldable material.

A method for manufacturing rigid panels made of a composite material requires a caul sheet having a smooth surface that is formed with a plurality of grooves. A first layer of the composite material is laid on the caul sheet, and is cut to create flaps that extend into the respective grooves. Strips of composite material are then placed along the edges of the groove to extend and overlap each other in the groove. Next, a unidirectional ply is placed along the length of the groove, and this combination is then covered with a second layer of the composite material. Together, the combination of the first and second layers, the strips and the unidirectional ply are co-cured to create a rigid panel with integral stiffening members.

A nonwoven industrial fabric comprising a first layer secured to a second layer, with each layer comprising a plurality of flow-through apertures and profiling protrusions, wherein: a) at least a portion of the flow-through apertures of the first layer is aligned with at least a portion of the flow-through apertures of the second layer; b) the first layer comprises a plurality of securing protrusions integral to the first layer; c) the second layer comprises a plurality of detents integral to the second layer; and d) the first layer is secured to the second layer by a plurality of locking pairs, each locking pair comprising a securing protrusion lockably engaged with a detent. A method of making the nonwoven industrial fabric is also described.

A microchannel heat exchanger (800) is manufactured by bonding a first sheet (802a) of material and a second sheet (802b) of material in a first connection pattern for integral formation of a core portion (801) and a manifold portion (808) for the first and second sheets (802a, 802b) of material. A third sheet (802c) of material is then superposed on to the second sheet (802b) of material and bonded in a second connection pattern to the second sheet of material for integral formation of the core portion (801) and the manifold portion (808) for the second and third sheets (802b, 802c) of material. The second and third sheets (802b, 802c) of material are bonded without bonding the second sheet (802b) of the material to the first sheet (802a) of material. The core portion (801) and the manifold portion (808) of the heat exchanger (800) are thus integrally created. The interstices between the first, second, and third sheets (802a, 802b, 802c) of material are then expanded to create fluid flow channels (806). This method can also be used to create a heat sink. The bonding method may be a form of laser welding where an opaque sheet absorbs the laser energy and the heat conducts through the top sheet to the sheet immediately below, but does not cause bonding with subsequent sheets below.

Method for manufacturing a cell-like honeycomb structure, formed from a plurality of thermoplastic sheets attached to each other, wherein contoured areas are provided in each sheet, and each free sheet is attached to an adjacent sheet of an intermediate block formed by the different sheets previously attached therebetween, welding at least some of the flat areas contacting this free sheet and this adjacent sheet with a laser source along a continuous line parallel to the contour axis.

The invention relates to a method for producing a cushion for an orthopedic device, the cushion having a first component, which comprises a first film layer and a second film layer, and a second component that are joined with each other in such a way that there is at least one fluid-filled volume between the first component and the second component, the method comprising the following steps: inserting the first film layer, which has at least one opening, and the second film layer into a tool, which has an upper mold and a lower mold; applying a differential pressure to at least one of the film layers, so that the at least one film layer moves at least in sections towards the upper mold or the lower mold, thereby creating a distance between the two films; joining the two film layers along at least one connection line.

Methods, systems, and apparatuses of a fluid bubble valve device or element can comprise a plurality of films or webs aligned over the top of each other. For example, two separate webs or film layers of material can be made with two or more different layers of films combined to provide different necessary benefits in manufacturing or forming the valve and sealing to a pouch or package later. The two individual forming webs or film layers are fed into a machine together where channel seals and a bubble pocket are created to form a pathway for a controlled direction for a fluid product to later flow through when the completed pouch or package is used by the consumer. The pocket is formed on both of the two individual forming webs or film layers at the same time. A separate lidding web or layer of material is introduced and sealed over the underside of the bubble pocket to trap air or gas between the lidding layer and the combined individual forming webs or film layers.

A honeycomb structure having a core made up of a plurality of corrugated sheets which are superposed and adhesively bonded together is described. The corrugated sheets are made from a thermally insulating material. Bear filaments are made up of thermally conductive filaments. The honeycomb structure can be used when the ambient temperature exceeds, for example, 120 C.