A decorative sheet includes a base material and a plurality of concave portions. The plurality of concave portions are provided on a front face of the base material. In the concave portion, a depth direction coincides with a thickness direction of the base material. The plurality of concave portions includes a first concave portion and a second concave portion. The first concave portion includes a first concavo-convex pattern on a first inner surface of the first concave portion. The second concave portion does not include the first concavo-convex pattern on a second inner surface of the second concave portion.

A manufacturing method for a mower cord and including pressing a resin wire rod and plastically deforming at least part of the wire rod in an axis perpendicular direction. Work-hardening of a surface of the plastically deformed portion allows dramatic enhancement of mowing efficiency.

A tooling to enable variation in radius of molded continuous fiber reinforced polymer curved components which includes a first tooling surface formed on a first tooling member which may be formed of sprung material, a second tooling surface formed on a second tooling member which may be formed of sprung material. The first tooling surface and the second tooling surface are positioned to lie one over the other to form a gap therebetween for receiving a supply of continuous fiber reinforced polymer. The first tooling surface and the second tooling surface are movable towards and away from each other to modify the size of the gap therebetween and thereby modify the amount of compression applied by the first and second tooling surfaces on the continuous fiber reinforced polymer positioned therebetween. A mechanism is engaged with the first tooling member to modify a curvature of the first tooling surface.

A die assembly for forming a composite gap filler, including a first die having a first portion which extends along a first central axis of the first die and has a first curved surface which has a radius which changes as the first curved surface extends about the first central axis. A second die a second portion which extends along a second central axis of the second die and has a second curved surface which has a radius which changes as the second curved surface extends about the second central axis. A third die defines a third wall member which extends about the third die and which changes in width dimension wherein with the first die abutting the second die and with the third wall member abutting the first and second dies, a closed gap is formed.

Methods for fabricating fiber-composite truss structures comprise a) individually molding multiple unit cells of a given size, and subsequently fusing them together in a repeating pattern, b) cross members are consolidated with longerons while maintaining continuity of fiber in the longerons, and c) compression-molded truss components are unioned to continuous fiber beams by means of mechanically interlocking joints.

Disclosed herein is a transverse tensioning system that comprises a left-side clamping assembly comprising a first left-side clamp element and a second left-side clamp element. The first left-side clamp element and the second left-side clamp element clamp down on the left edge portion of the stack of plies when the stack of plies moves in a feed direction and is shaped between opposing dies. The system also comprises a right-side clamping assembly, spaced apart from the left-side clamping assembly and comprising a first right-side clamp element and a second right-side clamp element. The first right-side clamp element and the second right-side clamp element clamp down on the right edge portion of the stack of plies when the stack of plies moves in the feed direction and is shaped between the opposing dies.

An apparatus and method for consolidating a pipe that has been wrapped with reinforcing tape, is provided. The apparatus comprises two or more pipe consolidation devices, each having a first end, a second end, and comprising: first and second support members arranged at the first end and having a gap therebetween; and an optional third support member at the second end. Each device further comprises a peripheral band that extends around the first, second, and optionally the third support members and is substantially unsupported in the gap between the first and second support members. The apparatus additionally comprises a mounting plate having a central aperture, and two or more of the devices mounted on the mounting plate such that the first end of each device is arranged bearing against a pipe extending through the central aperture. A method of manufacturing reinforced pipe is also provided.

A compression apparatus (10) for compressing a tubular structure (12) to be formed into a hollow structure (20) such as a pipe comprises contact elements (60) arranged in two sets, (61, 62). The contact elements (60) are adapted to move along a compression section (41) in a coordinated sequence, whereby a portion (12a) of the tubular structure (12) within the compression section (41) is compressed between pairs (63) of opposed contact elements. The apparatus (10) includes registration means (110) for causing respective pairs (63) of opposed contact elements (60) to be maintained in registration with each other while moving along the compression section (41).

A method of making a surgical suture having a reformed tip includes providing an elongated fiber having a first end, a second end, a central axis extending between the first and second ends thereof, and an outer surface that defines a cross-sectional dimension of the elongated fiber, and compressing a center region of the elongated fiber that is located between the first and second ends thereof for reshaping the center region into a core mass and a deformed mass that extends laterally outside the cross-sectional dimension of said elongated fiber. The method includes separating the deformed mass of the center region from the core mass of the center region so that only the core mass remains for interconnecting the first and second ends of the elongated fiber, and after separating the deformed mass from the core mass, reshaping the core mass into a reformed mass having a reformed mass central axis that is offset from the central axis of the elongated fiber.

An apparatus for manufacturing a pipe for a cowl crossbar, which is disposed inside a vehicle body in a lateral direction. The apparatus includes a first extruder to receive a pipe material made of polypropylene (PP) and to extrude the pipe material made of PP; a second extruder to receive the pipe material made of PP extruded from the first extruder and a pipe material made of long glass fiber (LGF), and to extrude a pipe material made of PP and LGF; a first compression molding machine to compress the pipe material made of PP and LGF extruded from the second extruder and to form a first pipe semi-finished product; and a second compression molding machine to compress the pipe material made of PP and LGF extruded from the second extruder and to form a second pipe semi-finished product.