Methods for microwave melting of fiber mixtures to form composite materials include placing the fiber mixture in a receptacle located in a microwave oven. The methods further include microwave heating the mixture, causing a heat activated compression mechanism to automatically increase compressive force on the mixture, thereby eliminating air and void volumes. The heat activated compression mechanism can include a shape memory alloy wire connecting first and second compression brackets, or one or more ceramic blocks configured to increase in volume and thereby increase compression on the mixture.

The present disclosure is directed to a physically crosslinked, closed cell continuous multilayer foam structure comprising at least one foam polypropylene/polyethylene layer with a KEE cap layer. The multilayer foam structure can be obtained by coextruding a multilayer structure comprising at least one foam layer composition layer with at least one cap layer composition layer, irradiating the coextruded structure with ionizing radiation, and continuously foaming the irradiated structure.

A method and system to dry crack-free and high strength skin including an inorganic binder of an average particle size (D.sub.50) in a range between 10 nm and 700 nm on a porous ceramic body. The method includes supporting the honeycomb body on an end face such that axial channels and outer periphery are substantially vertical. A gas is flowed past the honeycomb body substantially parallel to the axial channel direction, substantially equally around the outer periphery of the skin, to uniformly dry the skin to form a partially dried skin under mild conditions. Then the partially dried skin may be dried more severely resulting in rapidly dried crack-free and high strength skin.

Methods are disclosed including thermally processing a scaffold to increase the radial strength of the scaffold when the scaffold is deployed from a crimped state to a deployed state such as a nominal deployment diameter. The thermal processing may further maintain or increase the expansion capability of the scaffold when expanded beyond the nominal diameter.

A method of forming a three-dimensional object, wherein said three-dimensional object is an insert for use between a helmet and a human body, is described. The method may use a polymerizable liquid, or resin, useful for the production by additive manufacturing of a three-dimensional object, comprising a mixture of (i) a light polymerizable liquid first component, and (ii) a second solidifiable component that is different from said first component.

A method of forming a three-dimensional object is carried out by: (a) providing a carrier and an optically transparent member having a build surface, the carrier and the build surface defining a build region therebetween; (b) filling the build region with a polymerizable liquid, the polymerizable liquid including a mixture of (i) a light polymerizable liquid first component, and (ii) a second solidifiable component that is different from the first component; (c) irradiating the build region with light through the optically transparent member to form a solid polymer scaffold from the first component and also advancing the carrier away from the build surface to form a three-dimensional intermediate having the same shape as, or a shape to be imparted to, the three-dimensional object, and containing the second solidifiable component carried in the scaffold in unsolidified and/or uncured form; and (d) concurrently with or subsequent to the irradiating step, solidifying and/or curing the second solidifiable component in the three-dimensional intermediate to form the three-dimensional object.

Described are methods for manufacturing a plastic component, in particular a cushioning element for sports apparel, a plastic component manufactured with such methods, for example a sole or a part of a sole for a shoe, and a shoe with such a sole. The method for the manufacture of a plastic component includes loading a mold with a first material includes particles of an expanded material and fusing the surfaces of the particles by supplying energy. The energy is supplied in the form of at least one electromagnetic field.

A fiber-reinforced resin article with excellent mechanical properties can be provided efficiently in a short time. The method includes 3D printing including forming fibers and a resin by a 3D printer, and pressurizing the 3D printed article formed by the 3D printing step, in which the pressurizing is performed at a temperature at which the resin of the 3D printed article is softened, and heating to the temperature at which the resin is softened is performed by induction heating.

A build plate for a three-dimensional printer includes: a rigid, optically transparent, gas-impermeable planar base having an upper surface and a lower surface; and a flexible, optically transparent, gas-permeable sheet having an upper and lower surface, the sheet upper surface comprising a build surface for forming a three-dimensional object, the sheet lower surface positioned on the base upper surface. The build plate includes a gas flow enhancing feature configured to increase gas flow to the build surface.

In example implementations, a method for extracting layers of build material into a carrier. The method includes providing a layer of build material onto a bed. Portions of the layer of build material on the bed are digitally printed with a liquid functional material (LFM). The method repeats providing the layer of build material and digitally printing without applying energy to the LFM to define a structure in layers of build material on the bed. The layers of build material are extracted into a carrier and the carrier is removed.