An apparatus for making a nonwoven fabric from thermoplastic fibers has a spinneret for spinning fibers into continuous filaments and a cooler for cooling the filaments. The cooled filaments are then deposited on a conveyor to form a nonwoven web. A first consolidator surface treats the nonwoven web with a hot fluid or hot air as it is conveyed on the conveyor. A second consolidating downstream of the first consolidator has a dual-belt furnace in which the nonwoven web is passed between two circulating belts or continuous belts for surface treating the nonwoven web with a hot fluid or hot air and for applying surface pressure can be applied to the nonwoven web at the same time.

Methods comprise generating an electric field; encompassing fibers within the electric to orient the fibers in a desired orientation relative to each other; and subsequent to the encompassing, fixing the fibers in the desired orientation within a matrix material to at least partially create a composite part.

A mechanically and piezoelectrically anisotropic polymer thin film may be formed by gel casting a solution that includes a crystallizable polymer and a liquid solvent. The solvent may be configured to interact with the polymer to facilitate chain alignment and, in some examples, create a higher crystalline content within the cast thin film. The thin film may also include up to approximately 90 wt. % of an additive and may be characterized by a bimodal molecular weight distribution of a crystallizable polymer where the molecular weight of the additive may be less than the molecular weight of the crystallizable polymer. In some examples, the polymer(s) and the additive(s) may be independently selected from vinylidene fluoride, trifluoroethylene, chlorotrifluoroethylene, hexafluoropropene, vinyl fluoride, etc. The anisotropic polymer thin film may be characterized by an electromechanical coupling factor (k.sub.31) of at least 0.1.

The present invention provides an eco-friendly underwater buoy and a manufacturing method therefor, the underwater buoy comprising: a liner main body of which the inside is hollow; a winding member which is melt welded on the outer surface of the liner main body by winding, and which absorbs external shock; and buoy couplers embedded in both ends of the liner main body so as to couple adjacent underwater buoys to each other. The present invention winds, through filament winding, a wire, in which a glass fiber, a resin and the like are mixed, around the outside of a liner structure so as to manufacture an underwater buoy, and thus, since the underwater buoy is made of a composite material, the appearance of the buoy structure can be stably maintained for a long time without damage caused by various underwater shocks, so that underwater environmental pollution caused by buoy structure damage can be minimized, thereby maximizing the eco-friendliness of the underwater buoy.

A method of preparing a polymer film having an oriented dispersed material includes casting a multi-layer polymer solution having a first polymer solution layer and a second polymer solution layer where the second polymer solution layer is at least partially immiscible with the first polymer solution layer. The method further includes passing the multi-layer polymer solution through an electric field application zone, to thereby induce orientation of the dispersed material. A multi-layer polymer film can then be formed by drying the solvent from the multi-layer polymer solution. An apparatus for preparing polymer films includes a top electrode made from a flexible metal mesh coated with a non-stick, non-conductive coating.

A thermochromic device includes a film and a number of vanadium dioxide nanowires disposed within the film. The film is manufactured by hot extruding a material that includes a polymer and a plurality of vanadium dioxide nanowires on a drum to form a rough film.

A method of forming a polyolefin-perovskite nanomaterial composite which contains oriented electrically and thermally conductive pathways. The method involves milling a polyolefin with particles of a perovskite nanomaterial, molding to forma composite plate, and subjecting the composite plate to an AC voltage. The AC voltage forms oriented electrically and thermally conductive pathways by partial dielectric breakdown of the composite. The presence of the oriented electrically and thermally conductive pathways gives the polyolefin-perovskite nanomaterial electrical and thermal conductivity and dielectric permittivity higher than the polyolefin alone.

Implementations described herein are directed to forming objects including one or more layers of a polymeric material that include a magnetic material. The objects can be produced by forming one or more first layers that include a first polymeric material. The one or more first layers can be free of a magnetic material. Additionally, the object can be produced by forming one or more second layers that include a second polymeric material having a magnetic material. For example, the one or more second layers can include a polymeric material embedded with magnetic particles. The one or more first layers and the one or more second layers can be formed by extruding the first polymeric material and the second polymeric material onto a substrate according to a pattern. A magnetizing device can be used to magnetize the magnetic material included in the one or more second layers.

A method of forming a polyolefin-carbon nanomaterial composite which contains oriented electrically conductive pathways. The method involves milling a polyolefin with particles of a carbon nanomaterial, molding to form a composite plate, and subjecting the composite plate to an AC voltage. The AC voltage forms oriented electrically conductive pathways by partial dielectric breakdown of the composite. The presence of the oriented electrically conductive pathways gives the polyolefin-carbon nanomaterial electrical and thermal conductivity higher than the polyolefin alone.

A method for manufacturing a cosmetic product applicator including a gripping part and an applicator part having bristles or teeth. The method includes additive manufacturing (S1) by sintering a powder of a plastics material followed by depowdering (S2) and post-treatment for the removal of particles that have become detached from the cosmetic product applicator or are partially sintered, the post-treatment including blasting (S4) and ionizing blowing (S5). This method allows the removal of particles likely to be irritating, for example with a size greater than 500 micrometers, while being suitable for industrial production. The invention also relates to an associated production method.