Molded articles contain a foam composed of a thermoplastic elastotner (TPE-1). The foam has a storage modulus (G modulus) at 25° C. and 1 Hz within the range from 0.01 to 0.5 MPa, a molding density within the range from 20 to 400 kg/m.sup.3, and a comfort factor of greater than 4. A process produces molded articles of this kind, and the molded article can be used for producing floors, mattresses, seating furniture, bicycle saddles, car seats, motorcycle seats, components of a shoe, shoe inserts, packaging, shock absorbers, protectors, fall protection mats, elastic insulating material, or sealing material.

A fastener comprising a polymer composition [composition (C)] comprising at least one polyaryletherketone polymer [(PAEK) polymer], and at least one nitride (NI) of an element having an electronegativity (ε) of from 1.3 to 2.5, as listed in <<Handbook of Chemistry and Physics>>, CRC Press, 64.sup.th edition, pages B-65 to B-158, based on the total weight of the composition (C).

Objects produced by conventional three-dimensional printing methods are often incompletely consolidated and are not easily repaired. Printing compositions to address this issue can include a solidifiable matrix and a microwave absorber dispersed in the solidifiable matrix. The microwave absorber can be a plurality of carbon nanostructures containing a plurality of carbon nanotubes that are branched, crosslinked, and share common walls with one another. Methods for processing a three-dimensional printed object can include: providing a three-dimensional printed object formed from a printing composition containing a solidifiable matrix and a microwave absorber dispersed in the solidifiable matrix, and applying a focused input of microwave radiation to the printed object at one or more locations. Applying the microwave radiation heats the microwave absorber at the one or more locations and promotes consolidation of the printing composition within the printed object.

A surrogate multilayered material and manufacturing method thereof includes a first fiber reinforced layer, the first reinforced layer including a crosslinked polymer and fibers, and a second fiber reinforced layer, the second reinforced layer including the crosslinked polymer and the fibers. A foam layer is disposed between the first and second fiber reinforced layers. Opposite faces of the foam layer are in direct contact with the first fiber reinforced layer and the second fiber reinforced layer. The foam layer has a compressive strength of about 3.5 to about 4.5 MPa, when measured as per ASTM-D-1621-73, and a shear strength of 1.50 to about 2.15 MPa, when measured as per ASTM-C-273.

An arch-shaped corrugated chamber having corrugation peaks and valleys, with reinforcing ribs provided on the corrugation peaks. The ribs extend upwardly from a chamber base to a rib upper end, and have an arch-shaped cross-section with an outer surface extending outwardly from a corrugation peak and a fin extending inwardly from the corrugation peak, and optionally, a rib line provided on the rib outer surface centered on the rib arch-shaped cross-section. A channel formed by the inner surface of the rib is sized to receive a corresponding rib of a second chamber so that multiple similar chambers with ribs may be stacked together.

What is presented is a unit cell comprising a cellular geometry that comprises cell walls and cell edges arranged into a combination of a cubic cell geometry and a tetrahedral cell geometry arranged to have a coincident central vertex. The cubic cell geometry comprises three orthogonal cell faces that intersect at its central vertex. The tetrahedral cell geometry comprises an arrangement of eight tetrahedral cells that share its central vertex such that each tetrahedral cell shares three coincident edges with three other tetrahedral cells in a cubically symmetric arrangement. The tetrahedral cell geometry is combined with the cubic cell geometry such that all vertices of the tetrahedral cell geometry are coincident with the vertices of the cubic cell geometry.

The present invention provides a method for altering the bead profile for using 3D printing to improve the shear strength of a so manufactured product by altering the bead height of adjacent beads or in adjacent layers such that either the height or the centers of the beads between adjacent layers are altered. This is achieved by either height reduction or by flow rates to alter the height or positioning of the beads by altering the bead profiles the shear strength between adjacent layers in the X-Y plane is improved. The present invention is equally applicable to increasing shear strength in the Y-Z plane or the X-Z plane as desired.

A system for additively manufacturing an object comprises a fiber supply that dispenses elongate fibers, a resin supply that applies a resin to the elongate fibers to create a feedstock line with the resin in a first non-rigid uncured state, a rigidizing mechanism that transforms the resin from the first non-rigid uncured state to a rigid uncured state, a delivery guide that deposits the feedstock line along a print path, a feed mechanism that feeds the feedstock line through the delivery guide, a de-rigidizing mechanism that transforms the resin from the rigid uncured state to a second non-rigid uncured state, and a curing mechanism that transforms the resin from the second non-rigid uncured state to an at least partially cured state.

The present invention provides a method improving the shear strength of a 3D manufactured product by inserting infill into the interstices between the bead layers.

A molding system and a method for operation of the molding system are provided. The method includes flowing a molten polymeric material from an upstream device into an in-mold tuning chamber in a filling position where the in-mold tuning chamber is positioned at least partially within a mold cavity. The method also includes adjusting at least one of a temperature of and a pressure applied to the molten polymeric material in the in-mold tuning chamber to create a first tuned molten polymeric material and releasing the tuned molten polymeric material into the mold cavity from the in-mold tuning chamber.