A system for consolidating materials, comprising a sonotrode configured to direct ultrasonic energy into materials to be consolidated, wherein the materials to be consolidated have both a glass transition temperature and a melting temperature; a non-rigid consolidating material in proximity to the sonotrode, wherein the non-rigid consolidating material and sonotrode define a region therebetween for receiving the materials to be consolidated, and wherein the non-rigid consolidating material has a glass transition temperature that is higher than the glass transition temperature of the materials to be consolidated and a melting temperature that is higher than the melting temperature of the materials to be consolidated.

Apparatus and methods are described including adhering a first lens to a second lens such as to form a combined lens having a given optical design, by placing the first lens and the second lens in respective first and second pressure chambers with an adhesive layer disposed between the first lens and the second lens, bringing a convex surface of the first lens into contact with the adhesive layer, and bringing a concave surface of the second lens into contact with the adhesive layer. Other applications are also described.

Apparatus and methods are described including an additional lens (24) made from an amorphous viscoelastic material and having an optical design. A curvature of the additional lens (24) is changed such as to conform with a curvature of abase eyeglasses lens (22), without causing a loss of the optical design of the additional lens (24), by heating the additional lens (24) to a temperature at which a Tan Delta of the amorphous viscoelastic material is between 0.2 and 0.8, and shaping the additional lens (24). Subsequently, the additional lens (24) is adhered to the base eyeglasses lens (22). The optical design of the additional lens (24) is such that, upon being adhered to the base eyeglasses lens (22), the adhered base eyeglasses lens (22) and the additional lens (24) provide a combined lens (20) having a desired optical prescription. Other applications are also described.

A method for welding at least two parts including a thermoplastic material and having respective surfaces to be welded, including: inserting an insert between the surfaces to be welded of the two parts; generating heat via the insert; wherein the insert moves in relation to the parts to be welded in a welding direction. Also, an installation adapted for implementation of this method.

A protective wrap material enclosing a stack of cut sheets of paper is folded so that overlapping flaps of the wrap material cover opposite ends of the stack. The overlapping flaps are secured and sealed together only at selected areas that comprise a minor portion of the overlapped flaps, wherein the sealed areas have sufficient burst strength to avoid inadvertent opening of the wrap but at the same time are relatively easy to separate when it is desired to open the wrap to gain access to the cut sheets of paper. In a preferred embodiment the wrap material is heat sealable, and a modified heat plate for applying heat only to the selected areas has a grooved front surface defining heat focusing bars that concentrate heat sufficient to fuse the wrap material only in the selected areas.

A female loop portion for a hook and loop self-adhesive, comprising a film (1) made of at least one thermoplastic and a plurality of filaments (2) which are separate from one another and attached to one of the surfaces of the film, each filament comprising a series of fastening sections (15) and a series of loop sections (4) alternating with the fastening sections, the filaments being attached to the film along the fastening sections while the loop sections are at a distance from the film so as to form loops, and characterized in that a cross-sectional area of one loop section of a filament is less than a cross-sectional area of one fastening section of said one filament.

Mechanically attaching articles made from composites has problems due to the difference in properties of the composite in the x, y planar direction and the z perpendicular direction, this results in different properties between the composite and the attachment member such as differences in coefficients of thermal expansion which can weaken the joint further leading to differences in moisture uptake which can further reduce the strength and robustness of the joint. The invention relates to the selection of the position of a joint in order to reduce such problems and to operating the moulding process in a way that improves the provision of mechanical attachments such as bolt holes.

Provided are circuit board excellent in interlayer adhesion and solder heat resistance, and production method thereof. The circuit board is produced by a method including: preparing a plurality of at least one kind of thermoplastic liquid crystal polymer (TLCP) films, forming a conductor layer on one side or both sides of a film in at least one of the films to obtain a unit circuit board, laminating the films containing the unit circuit board to obtain a stacked material, conducting thermo-compression-bonding of the stacked material under pressurization to a first temperature giving an interlayer adhesion to integrate the stacked material, carrying out structure-controlling thermal treatment by heating the integrated stacked material at a second temperature which is lower than the first temperature and is lower than a melting point of a TLCP having a lowest melting point out of the plurality of TLCP films.

The invention first relates to a method for welding at least two parts comprising a thermoplastic material and having respective surfaces to be welded, comprising: inserting an insert between the surfaces to be welded of the two parts; generating heat via said insert; wherein the insert moves in relation to the parts to be welded in a welding direction. The invention also relates to an installation adapted for implementation of this method.

The present invention relates to a method for producing a container which consists of a thermoplastic at least to some extent and comprises at least a first compartment element and at least a second compartment element joined to the first compartment element in a joining region by thermoplastic welding. The invention also relates to a plastic container which can be, and preferably is, produced according to said method.