An injection apparatus of the invention injects a molding material supplied from a material supply port, and includes a die, a material supply apparatus that extrudes the molding material that is thread-like or strip-like via the die, and a material guide apparatus that guides the molding material supplied via the die to the material supply port. The material discharge port of the material supply apparatus and the die protrude downward in the material supply apparatus, and a pressure inside the material guide apparatus is reduced by a pressure reducing apparatus from a pressure reducing port provided above the material discharge port of the material supply apparatus and the die.

An injection apparatus of the invention injects a molding material supplied from a material supply port, and includes a die, a material supply apparatus that extrudes the molding material that is thread-like or strip-like via the die, and a material guide apparatus that guides the molding material supplied via the die to the material supply port. The material discharge port of the material supply apparatus and the die protrude downward in the material supply apparatus, and a pressure inside the material guide apparatus is reduced by a pressure reducing apparatus from a pressure reducing port provided above the material discharge port of the material supply apparatus and the die.

An improved method for obtaining high fiber volume fraction, long fiber injection molded articles is provided. According to one embodiment, the method includes forming an injection molding feedstock by cutting pre-impregnated fiber-reinforced tape into platelets. The platelets can be coated with a thin layer of polymer to allow sliding of the platelets with respect to each other at the early stages of plastication, rather than forcing relative motion of fibers with respect to each other. The method can further include the dispersion of material only in the final stages of the injection molding screw to promote gentle motion of the feedstock at the earlier stages of the plastication process. The method allows improvement of mechanical properties of articles manufactured with equipment and techniques that are prevalent in high volume automotive and consumer industries.

An improved method for obtaining high fiber volume fraction, long fiber injection molded articles is provided. According to one embodiment, the method includes forming an injection molding feedstock by cutting pre-impregnated fiber-reinforced tape into platelets. The platelets can be coated with a thin layer of polymer to allow sliding of the platelets with respect to each other at the early stages of plastication, rather than forcing relative motion of fibers with respect to each other. The method can further include the dispersion of material only in the final stages of the injection molding screw to promote gentle motion of the feedstock at the earlier stages of the plastication process. The method allows improvement of mechanical properties of articles manufactured with equipment and techniques that are prevalent in high volume automotive and consumer industries.

An injection unit includes an injection cylinder and a plasticizing screw in the injection cylinder. The plasticizing screw is rotatable about a longitudinal axis for plasticizing plastic raw material and is movable linearly along the longitudinal axis for injecting molten plastic raw material. The injection cylinder has an infeed and plasticizing zone for the plastic raw material with a circular-cylindrical inner wall with a constant diameter along the longitudinal axis, a metering zone in front of the infeed and plasticizing zone along the longitudinal axis in the injection direction with a circular-cylindrical inner wall with a constant diameter along the longitudinal axis, and a nozzle head in front of the metering zone in the injection direction with a nozzle-shaped inner wall. The diameter of the circular-cylindrical inner wall of the metering zone is smaller than the diameter of the circular-cylindrical inner wall of the infeed and plasticizing zone.

A plasticizing device includes a drive motor, a flat screw, a barrel, a heater, a cooler, and a controller, wherein the controller executes a plasticizing step of controlling the drive motor, the heater, and the cooler to plasticize a material fed between the flat screw and the barrel to make the material plasticized outflow from a communication hole, a stopping step of stopping at least the drive motor and the heater after executing the plasticizing step to stop the plasticizing step, and a start-up step of starting up the heater and controlling at least one of the heater and the cooler so that the outer circumference of the flat screw becomes at a temperature no higher than in the plasticizing step when resuming the plasticizing step after a predetermined time elapses from the stopping step.

A method of determining a solution state of a gas in a plastic melt used in a plastic shaping method includes: (vi) providing the plastic melt together with the gas in a chamber, (vii) altering—in particular reducing—a volume of the chamber to alter a pressure of the plastic melt together with the gas—in particular increased from a first pressure value to a second pressure value, (viii) introducing the plastic melt into a shaping cavity, (ix) computing at least one compression parameter characteristic of the compression behaviour of the plastic melt, in particular a modulus of compression, from the first pressure value and the second pressure value, and (x) determining from the at least one compression parameter whether the gas is substantially completely dissolved in the plastic melt and/or a solubility limit of the gas in the plastic melt is determined from the at least one compression parameter.

A three-dimensional shaping device includes: a material storage unit and a mouth portion which is provided below the body portion and which has a hole with a diameter smaller than a maximum inner diameter of the body portion, a material supply unit configured to supply a material to the material storage unit, a melting unit configured to melt the material supplied through the mouth portion, a nozzle configured to discharge the shaping material toward a stage, a remaining state detection unit configured to detect a remaining state of the material, a remaining amount determination unit configured to determine whether a remaining amount of the material is less than a first reference value based on the remaining state, and a control unit configured to supply, when the remaining amount is less than the first reference value, the material to the material storage unit.

A process for drying polymeric granular material (2) comprises the steps of: —introducing into said drying hopper (10) a process gas having a predefined flow rate so as to heat and dry the polymeric granular material, —discharging a portion of the heated polymeric granular material into a transformation unit (100) for the polymeric material; —loading an amount of fresh polymeric granular material (2a) into the drying hopper. The process gas flow rate is regulated by measuring the inlet temperature of the fresh polymeric granular material (2a) and comparing it with a predefined inlet temperature of the fresh polymeric granular material, on the basis of which the predefined process gas flow rate has been calculated. If the measured inlet temperature is different from the predefined inlet temperature, the flow rate of the process gas is regulated on the basis of the measured inlet temperature.

A plasticizing device includes a driving motor, a rotor rotated around a rotation axis by the driving motor and having a groove forming surface on which a groove is formed, a barrel having an opposed surface opposed to the groove forming surface, a communication hole into which a plasticized material flows being provided in the barrel, a housing section housing the rotor, a first restricting section fixed to the rotor and having a first contact surface facing the barrel side, and a second restricting section fixed to the housing section, opposed to the first contact surface, and having a second contact surface contactable with the first contact surface. Movement of the rotor along the rotation axis is restricted by the first restricting section and the second restricting section. The groove forming surface is separated from the opposed surface at a predetermined interval in a state in which the first contact surface and the second contact surface are in contact.