The present invention relates to exterior siding, trim and rigid architectural assemblies for buildings.

A carbon fiber bundle forming method, wherein the at least one carbon fiber bundle can be evenly heated since it is heated with microwave in the first and second microwave steps. Besides, the at least one carbon fiber bundle is treated in the laser step, laser can reach into the interior of the at least one carbon fiber bundle to enable the carbonization and graphitization to take place more evenly, then the carbon fiber bundle is treated in the subsequent roughening treatment step, the resin forming step and the semi-cure forming step, so that the interior of the at least one carbon fiber bundle can be heated evenly, which allows the at least one carbon fiber bundle to be carbonized evenly.

An additive manufacturing system is capable of extruding poly-fiber strand having a fiber core coated with a polymer with a high range of flexibility in positioning and orienting extruded fibers. Extruded fibers may be laid in a single direction, or may curve or turn to be laid in multiple directions. Structures of devices and components may be created using interconnected extruded strands having interstitial spaces between and around the strands. This structure may be infused with resin or polymer using a pressure or vacuum based infusion system. In this manner, durable polymeric objects can be created without requiring expensive molds. Other techniques are also possible, including varying the types of strands used in an object to create areas of the object that will preferentially twist or flex in certain ways or directions, as well as producing objects with zones having different types of resin or no resin.

The invention is directed to a vehicle pneumatic tire wherein strengthening plies are provided with steel cords running parallel to one another. The belt plies can be used, as isolated electrically conductive plates, for supplying electricity to electrical consumers such as sensors and actuators installed in the tire. Adjacent belt plies can be connected by puncture sensors to be able to identify damage to the belt caused by metallic parts penetrating from the outside, such as nails, on the basis of a change in the electrical resistance.

A thermoplastic composite structure is produced by extruding a bead of composite material to a desired cross sectional shape. An extruder extrudes the polymer bead containing reinforcing fibers, using a low compression first extruder stage where the polymer is mixed and de-gassed, and a high compression second stage where the polymer is consolidated and extruded. The cross sectional profile of the polymer bead may be altered using a variable extruder gate.

There is provided a lay-up head (18) for applying elongate fibre reinforcement material (14) to an application surface (12). The lay-up head (18) comprises a support head (20) having a transverse axis T, a dispensing mechanism (28) carried by the support head for dispensing elongate fibre reinforcement material (14), and a roller (24) for pressing elongate fibre composite material (14) against the application surface (12). The roller (24) is tiltable with respect to the support head (20) such that the roller axis R can be angled with respect to the transverse axis T of support head (20). The lay-up head (18) also comprises a holding mechanism (40) operable to hold the roller (24) in a central position in which the roller axis R is parallel to the transverse axis T of the support head.

Provided are a pneumatic tire with improved air dispersibility in a reinforcing layer including steel cords during vulcanization and with effectively suppressed blistering, and a method of manufacturing the same. In the pneumatic tire according to the present technology including a reinforcing layer (10) including a plurality of aligned steel cords (11) coated with coating rubber (12), at least one thread (13) for extending in a longitudinal direction of the steel cords (11) is disposed between the steel cords (11) in the coating rubber (12).

A method for forming a fiber reinforced thermoplastic part may comprise the steps of locating a thermoplastic material over a mold tool, heating the thermoplastic material to a pliable forming temperature, conforming the thermoplastic material to a mold surface of the mold tool, and depositing a plurality of fiber strips over the thermoplastic material.

A method for manufacturing a plastic composition, comprising: mixing thermoplastic polymer material particles and thermoset composition particles comprising cured thermoset polymer, the mixing comprising rising the temperature of the composition and at least partly melting the surface of thermoplastic polymer material particles, and simultaneously mixing the particles allowing thermoset composition particles adhere to the thermoplastic polymer material particles, and cooling the composition.

A reinforced cable tie generally includes an elongate strap having a first end, a second end and an elongate planar strap body therebetween, a head having an upstanding central wall separating a first and a second elongate parallel passageway through the head for respective receipt of the first and second ends of said strap, a locking device supported in the head for retaining the first and second ends of the strap and a continuous reinforcement disposed in and extending substantially continuously along a path defining the strap. In a method for forming a cable tie, a continuous reinforcing strand is co-extruded within an elongate strap and a head is assembled to the strap.