Methods of producing polymer-metal hybrid components that are bonded by C—O-M bonds at the interface using at least one of the hot pressing, rolling, and injection molding methods to create chemical bond formation conditions at the polymer and metal interface. When the thermal cycle and compressive pressure specified herein is combinationally created at the polymer and metal interfaced, strong C—O-M bonds forms at the interface and strongly bonds the metal and polymer together through the reaction carbonyl groups (C═O) in polymer and the metal surface. For polymers lacking enough carbonyl groups, new functional groups can be in-situ generation through introducing distributed air pockets at the polymer-metal interface for forming 3-dimensional distributed C—O-M bonds at the interface.

A device for thermally welding workpieces including a heating element and a shielding gas supply is provided. The device includes a heating plate consisting of a thermal insulating material in which a groove is formed, said groove includes a heating element, relative to which a surface of a workpiece to be welded is positioned in close proximity to the heating element. A feed channel for a shielding gas is formed in the heating plate and communicates with the groove via at least one through-channel, and the feed channel for supplying shielding gas can be connected to a shielding gas source via a feed line and a valve. The device may further include an assembly for welding a first and a second workpiece, said assembly includes a first and second movement device for moving the workpieces towards one another.

A yarn or thread may include a plurality of substantially aligned filaments, with at least ninety-five percent of a material of the filaments being a thermoplastic polymer material. Various woven textiles and knitted textiles may be formed from the yarn or thread. The woven textiles or knitted textiles may be thermal bonded to other elements to form seams. A strand that is at least partially formed from a thermoplastic polymer material may extend through the seam, and the strand may be thermal bonded at the seam. The woven textiles or knitted textiles may be shaped or molded, incorporated into products, and recycled to form other products.

Composite structures and methods of forming composite structures are provided. The composite structures can include one or more composite structure components. Each composite structure component is formed from a composite panel that includes one or more sheets of material. The sheets of material include a thermoplastic material and a plurality of reinforcing fibers. A composite panel can be formed in three dimensions to form a composite structure component. Multiple composite structure components can be fused to one another to form a composite structure. In addition, each composite structure component and the composite structure formed therefrom can include an aperture. An interior volume can be formed between adjacent composite structure components. Methods for forming a composite structure can include a step of simultaneously molding and fusing composite structure components.

A handrail has a thermoplastic body having a generally C-shaped cross section, a stretch inhibitor in the thermoplastic body above a T-shaped slot and a slider fabric layer. The handrail includes first and second end portions, each comprising a forward part extending from an end surface of the end portion and a rear part adjacent the forward part. A method of forming a joint can include: providing cuts to separate a top section of the thermoplastic body from a base section including shoulder portions; for each end portion, removing at least shoulder portions from the forward part thereof, to leave a central portion including a forward part at the slider fabric layer and a layer of thermoplastic; cutting the forward parts to a required shape; and assembling the first and second end portions together to form a spliced joint for moulding.

A method for manufacturing a thermoplastic composite product includes: providing a first and second thermoplastic composite component made from a consolidated stack of thermoplastic composite plies, said first and second component having a first and second ply drop off, respectively. The first and second components are positioned such that the first ply drop off and the second ply drop off are aligned, and the first and second components are fixedly connected by means of heating. The stacks of plies for the first and second components are constructed by stacking the plies in a stacking direction wherein the plies are arranged such that plies at a different position along the stacking direction are laterally offset relative to each other for the purpose of forming the first ply drop off and the second ply drop off, respectively, before consolidating.

A method of producing flexible polypropylene fabric bags with heat fused seams comprising providing fabric pieces, wherein each fabric piece has a coated side and an uncoated side; positioning fabric pieces so that a coated side of one fabric piece faces a coated side of another fabric piece; selecting an area of fabric to be joined for forming a seam or joint; applying heat to the area to be joined that is less than the melting point of the fabrics, for forming one or more seams or joints and wherein the heat fused seams or joints of a resulting polypropylene bag retains at least 85% of the fabric strength without using sewing machines.

A method for altering polymer properties for the molding of parts comprises exposing, to a scission-causing stressor, a region of a polymer form. The scission-causing stressor is controlled to achieve, in a relatively higher molecular-weight polymer at the region, an amount of scission that results in a reduction in the molecular weight of the relatively higher molecular-weight polymer, thereby forming a relatively lower molecular-weight polymer at the region.

A joint between dissimilar thermoplastic materials comprising a first thermoplastic material layer; a second thermoplastic material layer having a melting point temperature different from a melting point temperature of the first thermoplastic material layer; and an interface layer coupled between the first thermoplastic material layer and the second thermoplastic material layer; wherein the interface layer is configured to join the first thermoplastic material layer and the second thermoplastic material layer together to form the joint, wherein the interface layer comprises a melting point temperature having a value selected from the group consisting of between the melting point temperature of the first thermoplastic material layer and the melting point temperature of the second thermoplastic material layer; or lower than the melting point temperature of the first thermoplastic material layer and the melting point temperature of the second thermoplastic material layer.

A method of producing flexible polypropylene fabric bags with heat fused seams comprising providing fabric pieces, wherein each fabric piece has a coated side and an uncoated side; positioning fabric pieces so that a coated side of one fabric piece faces a coated side of another fabric piece; selecting an area of fabric to be joined for forming a seam or joint; applying heat to the area to be joined that is less than the melting point of the fabrics, for forming one or more seams or joints and wherein the heat fused seams or joints of a resulting polypropylene bag retains at least 85% of the fabric strength without using sewing machines.