A method of joining overlapping thermoplastic membrane components in which a first thermoplastic membrane component and a second thermoplastic membrane component are positioned in overlapping relationship between a pair of complementary molding surfaces, with at least one of the complementary molding surfaces being defined by an electrically conductive metal susceptor. Heat is generated in the metal susceptor and transferred by thermal conduction from the metal susceptor to overlapping portions of the first and second thermoplastic membrane components to locally melt and coalesce at least a portion of the thermoplastic material of the first thermoplastic membrane component and at least a portion of the thermoplastic material of the second thermoplastic membrane component. The molten thermoplastic material of the first and second thermoplastic membrane components forms a zone of coalesced thermoplastic material that, upon cooling, forms a solid weld joint that fusion welds the first and second thermoplastic membrane components together.

A method for manufacturing an acoustic panel by welding of at least two acoustic components made of thermoplastic material, a thermal gradient being applied on the acoustic components during the welding operation so as to apply a temperature higher than the glass transition or melting temperature of the material on the area to be welded and so as to apply a temperature lower than or equal to the geometric stabilization temperature of the material on the parts furthest from the area to be welded.

It is provided an electronic control device including a resin molded body, a metal body, and an electronic component, wherein the resin molded body and a main surface of the metal body are bonded, and at least a part of a side surface continuous to the main surface of the metal body is in contact with a side contact portion provided in the resin molded body.

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.

A cover for a housing of a vehicle and a method of sealing a cover to the housing, where in at least one example, the cover comprises a cover body configured to cover an opening of the housing and to engage the housing at an interface around the opening. The cover may comprise a heating element embedded within the cover body and operable to at least partially melt a portion of the cover body as a part of a process for sealing the cover to the housing. The portion of the cover body may deform and conform to an interface feature at the mating surface of the housing due to the at least partial melting of the portion of the cover body, and, in some examples, the heating element may be configured to fail and be inoperable.

A structure for and method of producing large diameter seal rings. Preferred embodiments of the present invention make use of a co-extruded support layer of a polymer showing better weld quality and strength. The use of a co-extruded support polymer bonded to the functional polymer can be used to improve the strength of the entire weld, including the weld of functional polymer layer.

A resin-rich peel ply that does not leave behind residual fibers after peeling and can work well with different resin-based composite substrates. The resin-rich peel ply is composed of a woven fabric impregnated with a resin matrix different from the resin matrix of the composite substrate. The peel ply is designed such that, upon manual removal of the peel ply from the composite substrate's surface, a thin film of the peel ply resin remains on the composite substrate's surface to create a bondable surface capable of bonding with another composite substrate, but no fibrous material from the woven fabric remains on the same surface.

A method of producing a composite material includes preparing at least one molded product raw material by primary curing; preparing an assembled body by assembling the primarily cured molded product raw material with another molded product raw material; and integrally forming the molded product raw materials by heating the assembled body to a temperature equivalent to or higher than a glass transition point of the primarily cured molded product raw material to cause a phase of the at least one molded product raw material to transition to a rubberized state, by allowing an adhesive adjacent to the molded product raw material or the other molded product raw material adjacent to the molded product raw material to coexist with the molded product raw material in the rubberized state, and by secondarily curing the primarily cured at least one molded product raw material.

A microchannel chip with which channel deformation does not occur even when high-temperature and high-pressure sterilization treatment is performed and with which strong joining performance of substrates is maintained; and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. A microchannel chip comprising: a channel substrate having a microchannel formed on at least one surface thereof; a lid substrate; and a joining layer joining the channel substrate and the lid substrate, wherein the channel substrate, the lid substrate, and the joining layer are each formed of a cycloolefin polymer, a glass-transition temperature Tg.sub.s1 of a cycloolefin polymer forming the channel substrate, a glass-transition temperature Tg.sub.s2 of a cycloolefin polymer forming the lid substrate, and a glass-transition temperature Tg.sub.2 of a cycloolefin polymer forming the joining layer have relationships: Tg.sub.s1>Tg.sub.2; and Tg.sub.s2>Tg.sub.2, and the joining layer has a thickness within a specific range.

A film edge sealing device is disclosed herein which has a groove defining a base. The base of the groove of the edge sealing device is oriented at a skewed angle with respect to a longitudinal direction of the conveyor of the heat sealing machine. Edges of a thermoplastic sheet or two stacked layers of thermoplastic sheets are introduced into the groove of the edge sealing device and placed in contact therewith to both heat and melt the edges of the thermoplastic sheet(s) to form a bead and join the edges thereof to form an edge bead seal.