The invention relates to a mounting press for automatically mounting metallographic samples in mounting material, comprising: a pressing unit with the press cylinder, a feeding device for feeding mounting material, e.g. plastic granules, a sample loading table with a plurality of loading stations, on each of which the operator can place a sample to be mounted, a control device, a grinder and/or polisher, comprising: a device housing, at least one processing station for processing the underside of the sample, wherein the processing station comprises a grinding plate with a grinding disc for grinding the underside of the sample or a polishing plate for polishing the underside of the sample, a sample feeder with a sample removal position for providing the samples for a grinding and/or polishing process, a sample deposit position for depositing the samples after the grinding and/or polishing process, a grinding-/polishing head with a sample gripper for gripping a sample, wherein the grinding/polishing head with the sample gripper moves to the sample removal position and the sample gripper grips a sample, wherein the grinding-/polishing head with the sample gripper conveys the sample to the at least one processing station and the underside of the sample is ground or polished in the processing station, and wherein the grinding-/polishing head with the sample gripper moves the sample to the sample deposit position after the grinding or polishing process and possibly further processing steps and deposits the sample there, as well as an automated production line for mounting a plurality of samples and for processing the thus mounted samples by grinding and/or polishing samples in a program-controlled overall system comprising an automated mounting press and an automated grinder and polisher.

In methods and apparatuses for producing auxetic foam from conventional foam, conventional foam is compressed into a mold before thermal, chemical or thermo-chemical treatment processes are performed. A segmented mold is accommodated in a compressing apparatus. After compressing the foam between the mold segments, the mold is fastened shut and removed from the compressing apparatus. The forces applied to any given volume of foam and the amounts by which the foam is compressed while being processed are controlled to impart desired mechanical properties to the produced foam. Poisson's ratio and density of discrete portions of finished foam shapes are reliably predicted and controlled to achieve uniform and non-uniform mechanical properties within a single continuous quantity of foam.

A new method of curing polymer thermoset materials for use in down-hole production system sucker rod protection devices is disclosed. The process for making sucker rod components on a sucker rod comprises the steps of introducing a thermoset molding compound into a molding tool heated to a first temperature; heating the molding compound in the molding tool for a first processing time to form molded sucker rod components on a sucker rod that are partially cured; removing the molded sucker rod components and sucker rod after the first processing time; and placing the sucker rod components and sucker rod into a thermal chamber at a second temperature for a second processing time to provide secondary curing.

In methods and apparatuses for producing auxetic foam from conventional foam, conventional foam is compressed into a mold before thermal, chemical or thermo-chemical treatment processes are performed. A segmented mold is accommodated in a compressing apparatus. After compressing the foam between the mold segments, the mold is fastened shut and removed from the compressing apparatus. The forces applied to any given volume of foam and the amounts by which the foam is compressed while being processed are controlled to impart desired mechanical properties to the produced foam. Poisson's ratio and density of discrete portions of finished foam shapes are reliably predicted and controlled to achieve uniform and non-uniform mechanical properties within a single continuous quantity of foam.

The disclosure provides a method for separating scrap produced during the manufacture of extruded sheets, wherein an extrudate of an extruder is fed to a calender comprising a plurality of temperature-controlled calender rollers, an actual temperature of at least one calender roll is measured, the actual temperature is compared with a nominal temperature provided for this calender roller, and in the case that a difference between the actual temperature and the nominal temperature lies outside a predefined tolerance amount, a part of an in particular endless semi-finished product exiting the calender is discharged as scrap. By treating that part of the semi-finished product which has been exposed to the wrong temperature as scrap, it is particularly easy to identify sheets that do not meet the desired quality requirements essentially without additional measuring effort, so that it is possible to easily discharge scrap produced during the manufacture of extruded sheets.

A rotary tablet press having a rotatably driven rotor and a die plate with a plurality of die bores. A plurality of upper and lower punches are configured to produce tablets in the plurality of die bores. The tablets are monitored for one or more characteristics and are sorted by an ejection apparatus according to the one or more characteristics into a reject channel and a satisfactory channel.

Provided is an imprint apparatus for contacting a resin applied to a substrate with a mold to perform patterning on the substrate. The imprint apparatus includes a substrate holding unit for holding the substrate, wherein the substrate holding unit comprises a plurality of holding areas arranged in a predetermined direction, the plurality of holding areas has different width dimension in the direction respectively based on positions in the direction, a surface ratio between two holding areas of the plurality of holding areas with different width dimension respectively is within a range of 0.8 to 1.2.

An imprint apparatus including a mold holding unit configured to hold a mold, an adjusting unit configured to adjust a pressure difference between a first pressure on a second surface on an opposite side of a first surface on which a pattern of the mold held by the mold holding unit is formed and a second pressure in a first space between a substrate and the first surface of the mold, and a control unit configured to control an imprint process, wherein the imprint process includes a separation process of separating the mold from a pattern made of a cured product of an imprint material on the substrate, and the control unit controls, in the separation process, the adjustment of the pressure difference by the adjusting unit so that the first pressure is smaller than the second pressure.

In methods and apparatuses for producing auxetic foam from conventional foam, conventional foam is compressed into a mold before thermal, chemical or thermo-chemical treatment processes are performed. A segmented mold is accommodated in a compressing apparatus. After compressing the foam between the mold segments, the mold is fastened shut and removed from the compressing apparatus. The forces applied to any given volume of foam and the amounts by which the foam is compressed while being processed are controlled to impart desired mechanical properties to the produced foam. Poisson's ratio and density of discrete portions of finished foam shapes are reliably predicted and controlled to achieve uniform and non-uniform mechanical properties within a single continuous quantity of foam.

A method for manufacturing an optical element includes heating an optical material up to a first temperature that is higher than a transition point, pressurizing the optical material using a first mold and a second mold that are situated opposite to each other across the optical material, first cooling the optical material down to a second temperature that is higher than a strain point and lower than the first temperature while pressurizing the optical material with a predetermined load using the first mold and the second mold, releasing the predetermined load at a set speed that is higher than or equal to a speed obtained in advance, at which an elastic deformation occurs preferentially over a viscous deformation in the optical material upon releasing a load, and second cooling the optical material down to a third temperature that is lower than the second temperature.