Materials and Methods

Abstract

A method of forming a shaped foamed polymer article (16) and articles obtained from said method.

Claims

1. A method of forming a shaped foamed polymer article in a mould tool system from a polymer composition, wherein: said polymer composition comprises a polymer and a foaming agent; said mould tool system comprises a core part and a cavity part; said core part and cavity part are engaged with one another to form a mould cavity; further wherein said method comprises: heating the polymer composition to a temperature at or above the melting temperature of the polymer composition to form a foamed polymer composition; heating the mould cavity to a temperature at or above the melting temperature of the foamed polymer composition; feeding the heated foamed polymer composition into the mould cavity; cooling the mould cavity to a temperature below the melting temperature of the foamed polymer composition.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the volume of said mould cavity; may be varied by moving one or both of the core part and the cavity part relative to each other; or is fixed during the formation of the shaped foamed polymer article.

3. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the heated foamed polymer composition is fed into the mould cavity at a controlled rate, e.g. at a steady or non-varying rate.

6. (canceled)

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein: the heated foamed polymer composition is fed into the mould cavity via or through an opening or gate in an external surface of the mould tool system, wherein said opening or gate connects to the mould cavity; and the opening or gate connects with the mould cavity at a single location, or wherein the opening or gate connects with the mould cavity at more than one location.

8. (canceled)

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein: the heated foamed polymer composition is fed into the mould cavity via or through an opening or gate in an external surface of the mould tool system, wherein said opening or gate connects to the mould cavity; the opening or gate connects with the mould cavity at a single location, or wherein the opening or gate connects with the mould cavity at more than one location; and the opening or gate connects with the mould cavity at more than one location and wherein the opening or gate is split into a number of different paths which allow the heated foamed polymer composition after entering the mould tool system to form more than one flow front and wherein said flow fronts meet to form a contiguous part in the mould cavity.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the pressure of the heated foamed polymer composition is controlled, for example by controlling the flow length, wherein the flow length is the length the heated foamed polymer composition must flow from the opening or gate to the furthest location in the mould cavity from said opening or gate, and said length is divided by the section thickness along said flow length.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the heated foamed polymer composition prior to being fed into the mould tool system is extruded from an extruder.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the heated foamed polymer composition prior to being fed in to the mould tool is extruded from an extruder and wherein said extruder comprises a main body and a barrel through which the heated foamed polymer composition is extruded and the heated foamed polymer composition exits said extruder from an exit opening of the barrel of the extruder and enters the mould tool system, e.g. into the opening or gate of the mould tool system.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein: the heated foamed polymer composition prior to being fed in to the mould tool is extruded from an extruder and wherein said extruder comprises a main body and a barrel through which the heated foamed polymer composition is extruded and the heated foamed polymer composition exits said extruder from an exit opening of the barrel of the extruder and enters the mould tool system, e.g. into the opening or gate of the mould tool system; and the extruder is buttressed up against the mould tool system so that the exit opening of the barrel of the extruder is flush with the opening in the mould tool system, optionally for a controlled period of time.

14. (canceled)

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein: the heated foamed polymer composition prior to being fed into the mould tool system is extruded from an extruder; and prior to the extruder and mould tool system being brought into contact to allow heated foamed polymer composition to flow into the mould cavity or gate of the mould tool system, an amount of heated foamed polymer composition is purged from the exit opening of the extruder.

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein: the heated foamed polymer composition prior to being fed into the mould tool system is extruded from an extruder; and the gate of the mould tool system and the exit opening of the extruder self-align when the mould tool system and extruder are brought into contact with one another.

17. A method according to claim 1, further comprising removing or releasing the article from the mould cavity.

18. (canceled)

19. A method according to claim 1, wherein the shaped article has a sprue and said sprue is removed from the shaped article, e.g. by cutting.

20. A method according to claim 1, wherein there is located in the mould cavity part of the mould tool a polymer insert and wherein the heated foamed polymer composition is overmoulded on to said polymer insert to form the shaped foamed polymer article.

21. A method according to claim 1, wherein: there is located in the mould cavity part of the mould tool a polymer insert and wherein the heated foamed polymer composition is overmoulded on to said polymer insert to form the shaped foamed polymer article; and the polymer insert is not an integral part of the mould tool system, or wherein the polymer insert forms at least a part of the core part of the mould tool system, or wherein the core part comprises a recess in which to accommodate said insert; and optionally wherein a surface layer of the polymer insert is heated to a temperature which is at or greater than the melting temperature of the polymer insert.

22. (canceled)

23. A method according to claim 1, wherein: there is located in the mould cavity part of the mould tool a polymer insert and wherein the heated foamed polymer composition is overmoulded on to said polymer insert to form the shaped foamed polymer article; and the polymer insert and the heated foamed polymer composition which is overmoulded on to said polymer insert are the same polymer material or they are different polymer materials.

24. A method according to claim 1, wherein: there is located in the mould cavity part of the mould tool a polymer insert and wherein the heated foamed polymer composition is overmoulded on to said polymer insert to form the shaped foamed polymer article; and the insert polymer has a geometric feature or features present thereon which allow it to form a connection and remain in contact with the heated foamed polymer composition which is overmoulded.

25. A method according to claim 1, wherein atmospheric gas within the cavity mould is expelled from the cavity mould prior to and/or during formation of the shaped foamed polymer article, e.g. by venting the gas out of the cavity mould.

26. A method according to claim 1, wherein the mould tool system is comprised in an (extrusion) foam moulding station, wherein the core part and cavity part are secured to a sliding bearing rail which allows said core and cavity parts of said mould tool system to move towards or away from each other either independently of each other or collectively as a single unit, and/or towards or away from a source of the heated foamed polymer composition, e.g. an extruder.

27. (canceled)

28. A method according to claim 1, wherein: the mould tool system is comprised in an (extrusion) foam moulding station, wherein the core part and cavity part are secured to a sliding bearing rail which allows said core and cavity parts of said mould tool system to move towards or away from each other either independently of each other or collectively as a single unit, and/or towards or away from a source of the heated foamed polymer composition, e.g. an extruder; and a number of the (extrusion) foam moulding stations are comprised on a rotary tool arrangement.

29. A method according to claim 1, wherein: the mould tool system is comprised in an (extrusion) foam moulding station, wherein the core part and cavity part are secured to a sliding bearing rail which allows said core and cavity parts of said mould tool system to move towards or away from each other either independently of each other or collectively as a single unit, and/or towards or away from a source of the heated foamed polymer composition, e.g. an extruder; a number of the (extrusion) foam moulding stations are comprised on a rotary tool arrangement; and the rotary tool arrangement is in the form of a rotary circular, or substantially circular, carousel and said moulding stations are positioned at regular points around the circumference or edge of said carousel.

30. (canceled)

31. A method according to claim 1, wherein: the mould tool system is comprised in an (extrusion) foam moulding station, wherein the core part and cavity part are secured to a sliding bearing rail which allows said core and cavity parts of said mould tool system to move towards or away from each other either independently of each other or collectively as a single unit, and/or towards or away from a source of the heated foamed polymer composition, e.g. an extruder; a number of the (extrusion) foam moulding stations are comprised on a rotary tool arrangement; and a different part of the moulding operation takes place at each moulding station.

32. (canceled)

33. A method according to claim 1, wherein the foaming agent comprises or consists of a polymer shell encapsulating a gas or liquid.

34. (canceled)

35. (canceled)

36. A method according to claim 1, wherein: the foaming agent comprises or consists of a polymer shell encapsulating a gas or liquid; and the temperature of the mould cavity is above a critical onset temperature of the polymer shell which causes the polymer shell to soften and expand, and below the maximum expansion temperature of the polymer shell which causes the polymer shell to burst.

37. (canceled)

38. (canceled)

39. (canceled)

40. (canceled)

41. (canceled)

42. A method according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the mould cavity is kept fixed while the heated foamed polymer composition is fed into the mould cavity and the heated foamed polymer composition is partially foamed when it first enters the mould cavity.

43. A method according to claim 1, wherein the shaped foamed polymer article is a single piece.

44. (canceled)

45. A shaped foamed polymer article obtainable from a method in accordance with claim 1.

46. (canceled)

47. (canceled)

48. (canceled)

49. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0098] The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which currently preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided for thoroughness and completeness, and fully convey the scope of the invention to the skilled person. Like reference numerals in the drawings refer to like elements throughout.

[0099] Additionally, variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effectuated by the skilled person in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word comprising does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article a or an does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain features are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these features cannot be used to advantage.

[0100] FIG. 1 shows a process flow chart in accordance with the present invention

[0101] FIG. 2 shows a cross section of an example mould tool and how it is moved relative to an extruder during the moulding cycle in accordance with the present invention.

[0102] FIG. 3 shows a mould station architecture in accordance with the present invention.

[0103] FIG. 4 shows a plan view of a rotary carousel which holds multiple mould stations of a construction described in FIG. 3.

[0104] FIG. 5 shows a cross section of an example plate mould cavity used to describe the flow length ratio.

[0105] FIG. 6 shows the cross section of a radome structure made from a polymer foam which can be made in accordance with the present invention and a mould tool architecture to mould the radome in accordance with the present invention.

[0106] The flow chart (1) depicted in FIG. 1 shows the extrusion foam moulding process in accordance with the present invention. The foam polymer composition comprising or consisting of host polymer and blowing agent is first mixed in the required mix ratios (2). Typically, dry pellets of the host polymer are used. The present inventors have had the greatest success achieving homogeneous foam void structures using polymer microspheres as the blowing agent. In accordance with the present invention, the polymer microspheres in the form of pellets (e.g. 980MB120) may be mixed with the host polymer in the form of pellets (e.g. HDPE pellets) by simple tumble methods optionally at a ratio of about 0.7-16% or 4-10% by weight before being added to the feedstock hopper of an extruder. The foam polymer composition is heated above the melting temperature of the host polymer (3) as it is conveyed through the extruder barrel by rotating Archimedes screw(s). At the same time, the mould tool cavity surface and insert component surface (if used) are heated to a temperature similar to or above the melting temperature of the host polymer or foamed polymer composition (4). The gate of the mould tool is then brought into contact with the outlet die of the extruder and (partially) foamed polymer composition is conveyed into the mould cavity at a controlled rate for a controlled period of time (5). The mould fill time, or time for which the mould is held in contact with the extruder die before being removed is chosen so as to convey only the required mass of material into the mould tool to fill the cavity volume fully to the mean density required of the shaped foam article but no longer so as to over pressurize the mould cavity and reduce the expansion of the blowing agent in the foamed polymer composition. When the required fill time has elapsed the gate of the mould is moved away from the extruder die so no further foam polymer composition can be conveyed into the mould cavity. The mould, mould cavity surface and shaped foamed polymer article is then cooled to a temperature below the melting temperature of the foamed polymer composition or host polymer (6). This temperature is below the melting temperature of the foamed polymer composition or host polymer to prevent deformation of the shaped foam article when it is removed from the tool cavity. Removal is typically accomplished by ejector pins; metallic rods fitted into holes machined in the mould tool and coincident to the mould cavity surface which are actuated mechanically and move in to the volume of the cavity once the mould has been opened to release a moulded part from the cavity surface. The ejector pins apply significant local forces to the shaped article which would distort the geometry permanently if the shaped article was not cooled to a low enough temperature to achieve adequate stiffness to resist this force. The temperature to which the shaped foamed polymer article is cooled may be below the melting temperature of the foamed polymer composition or host polymer, below the Vicat softening temperature of the foamed polymer composition or host polymer heat deflection temperature of the host polymer, or below the glass transition temperature of the foamed polymer composition or host polymer. The shaped foamed polymer article can then be ejected or removed from the tool cavity. The mould tool is then heated once more to a temperature similar or greater than the melting temperature of the foamed polymer composition or host polymer and a new insert component inserted (if used) ready for the next shaped foam article to be moulded.

[0107] FIG. 2 shows the moulding steps in accordance with the present invention in more detail. No insert is being over-moulded in this example which moulds a shaped foam polymer article only. A mould tool is shown generally at (18) and an extruder die at (12). The extruder die (shown generally at 12) comprises a barrel (12a) and an exit opening thereof (14b) which may be shaped or adapted to incorporate a male or female conical feature which engages with the gate of the mould tool (14a) which is shown with an opposing male or female conical feature. The core part of the mould (10) and the cavity part of the mould (11) are first brought together to form the mould cavity (17) and to close the mould tool (18). The closed mould tool is shown in (a) in the vicinity of the extruder die (12). The mould tool (18) is then heated to a temperature close to or greater than the melting temperature of the foamed polymer composition or host polymer and the extruder barrel and die (12) heated to a temperature greater than the melting temperature of the foamed polymer composition or host polymer. Foam polymer composition (13) is then conveyed through the extruder in Step (b) and purged out of the extruder die (12). Purged foam polymer composition (15) falls out of the extruder die (12) under the force of gravity. The mould tool (18) is then brought into contact with the extruder die (12) in Step (c). The gate of the mould tool has a shaped male conical feature (14a) which fits into a matching female feature (14b) in order to self-align the mould tool as it is brought into contact with the extruder die. The foam polymer composition now begins to fill the mould cavity (17) of the mould tool. After a controlled period of time, the mould cavity (17) is fully filled with the foam polymer composition as shown in Step (d) at which time the mould tool (18) is retracted away from the extruder die (12) as shown in Step (e). The extruder continues to convey material out of the extruder die (12) so foam polymer composition now begins to purge again (15). The mould tool (18) and mould cavity surface is now cooled until the shaped article has reached a temperature below the melting temperature of the foamed polymer composition or host polymer and a temperature below which it is safe to remove the shaped foam article from the mould cavity without geometrical distortion. When the mould tool and shaped foam article are adequately cooled the core part of the tool (10) is removed from the cavity part of the tool (11) and the moulded shaped foamed polymer article (16) is removed from the mould tool. The shaped foam polymer article has a sprue (16a) which is the remnants of the foamed polymer composition which solidified into the gate of the mould. This may be removed subsequently by a secondary cutting or machining operation.

[0108] FIG. 3 depicts an extrusion foam moulding station required to mould shaped foam articles in accordance with the present invention. Both the cavity (24) and core (25) tool parts are secured to a sliding bearing rail (20) which allows them to move towards the extruder die (23) as shown by the cavity part at position (24) and away from the extruder die as shown by cavity part at position (24a). This movement is along an axis of movement coincident with the central axis of the extruder barrel (21). In this example, the core part of the tool (25) is designed to accept an insert (26) in a suitably shaped receptacle machined into the core. The core part of the tool (25) can move independently to the cavity part of the tool (24) such that the mould tool cavity (22) can be opened and closed to place inserts into the core receptacle and to allow for removal of over-moulded insert and shaped foam article assemblies from the tool after moulding. The closed position of the core and insert is signified by (25) and (26) respectively and the open position of the core and insert is signified by (25a) and (26a) respectively. An infrared heating element (27) moves along an axis orthogonal to the central axis of the extruder barrel as shown by the arrow (28). The infrared element can thus be brought into close proximity (but not into contact with) the insert (26a) when the core (25a) is in the open position to heat the surface of the insert to a temperature close to or greater than the melting temperature of the host polymer. A container (29) is provisioned under the extruder die to catch any purged foam polymer composition which falls out of the extruder die under gravity between moulding cycles. The foam polymer composition which falls into this container can be considered as scrap. The extruder die (23) is machined into a female cone shape (4) which matches to a male cone shape machined into the gate of the cavity (24). In this way the cavity (24) self-aligns to the extruder die (23) as the cavity is moved into contact with the extruder die at the beginning of the mould filling stage. Once the mould cavity (24) has been brought into contact with the extruder die (23) a pressure is applied from the actuator which moves it into place in order to clamp the cavity into place during the mould cavity fill stage. This pressure does not need to be high. It only needs to be higher than the conveyance pressure applied by the extruder which is lower than the expansion pressure exerted by the blowing agent (which is approximately 6 bar in the case of polymer microspheres) to prevent leakage at the cavity/extruder die interface during mould filling. It can be seen by those skilled in the art that the features described in FIG. 3 are put to use in the example mould cycles described above and depicted in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

[0109] If the host polymer of the foam polymer composition in accordance with the present invention is HDPE and the host polymer of the insert component is also HDPE, the present inventors have found that the mould cavity surface temperature is preferentially about 140 C. or preferentially in the range 120 C. to 150 C. or preferentially greater than 120 C. or preferentially greater than 140 C. A temperature greater than 120 C. would melt the insert component before it could be over moulded and the geometry of the insert would be distorted. The present inventors have found that an insert surface temperature of 120 C. is adequate for HDPE mouldings (i.e. the cavity half of the tool preferentially has a surface temperature of 140 C. and the insert effectively forming the core half of the tool preferentially has a surface temperature of 120 C.). The present inventors have found that a core temperature of 80 C. can be used. The HDPE inserts are pre-heated to 80 C. An infrared heating element may then be used to rapidly heat the over-mould surface of the insert to 140 C. immediately before the foam polymer composition is over-moulded. This ensures the surface of the insert is at an acceptably high temperature to; [0110] 1) ensure adequate mould fill and foam formation or the foam polymer composition freezes as discussed above, [0111] 2) ensure a thin surface layer of the insert is molten at the point the foam polymer composition comes into contact with it during mould cavity fill. This allows for a strong molecular bond between the insert and foam parts once they have re-solidified.

[0112] Due to the low thermal conductivity of polymers, the present inventors have found that an acceptably high insert surface temperature can be realised without melting the insert component itself and leading to geometrical distortions.

[0113] FIG. 4 depicts a rotary carousel (30) which can be used in a production environment to economically manufacture many shaped foam articles at a fast production rate in accordance with the present invention. An extrusion foam moulding station with the essential features described in FIG. 3 is positioned at each station (a) to (h) on the carousel. The carousel rotates about its centre (31) to move each moulding station successively into contact with the extruder die (32) which is in a fixed position. At each station a different part of the moulding operation is taking place, so that continuous throughput is achieved. The moulding cycle begins at Station (a) where an insert (if used) is positioned into the core part of the tool which is split in this example in order to clamp the insert in place. The core and cavity parts of the tool are heated to the required temperature at Station (b) and Station (c). At Station (b) the infrared heating element is brought into close proximity to the insert in order to heat the surface of the insert to the required temperature. At Station (c) the core component is moved inside the cavity component in order to close the mould cavity. At Station (d) the mould is brought into contact with the extruder die and held in this position for the time period required to fill the mould cavity with the required amount of foam polymer composition. The mould cavity fill time defines the cycling period of the carousel i.e. the time period between the carousel rotating by one increment to bring the next tool station into contact with the extruder die. This time period shall preferably be no greater than the mould fill time plus the time it takes to cycle the carousel and move the mould into contact with extruder die at the beginning of the mould fill stage and then move the mould away from the extruder die at the end of the mould fill stage. Any time additional to this in the chosen cycle time results in additional scrap foam polymer composition which will be purged from the extruder die in the time a mould tool is not in contact with it. At Station (e) the mould and mould cavity surface are cooled. At Station (f) the core part of the tool is removed from the cavity to expose the moulded shaped foam article inside. The sprue is removed from the shaped foam article optionally at Station (g) using a cutting tool maneuvered along the correct path to successfully separate it from the shaped foam article. At Station (h) the insert assembly over-moulded with shaped foam article in accordance with the present invention is removed from the core part of the tool. The example in FIG. 4 shows the minimum number of stations of eight required for the present invention if using an insert to be over-moulded. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the actual number of stations required is dependent on the time taken to heat tool components to the required temperature, heat insert components to the required temperature and cool tool components cavity surface and shaped foam article to the required temperature for removal of the shaped foam article from the tool after moulding. If any of these three time periods is greater than the required mould fill time, additional stations would be required in order to accommodate that time without extending the carousel cycling period and would lead to additional scrap foam polymer composition from purging. For example, if the time required to heat tool components was 60 seconds, the time required to heat insert was 30 seconds the mould fill time was 15 seconds and the cooling time was 60 seconds then fourteen stations in total would be required. In this way, mould heating would be conducted over four stations instead of the two stations depicted in FIG. 4, insert heating would be conducted over two stations instead of the one currently depicted and cooling would be conducted over four stations instead of the one currently depicted giving a requirement for an additional six stations over the eight depicted in FIG. 4. In this example, the carousel would cycle every 15 seconds.

[0114] FIG. 5 shows the cavity surface outline of a simple plate mould cavity. The gate of the tool (42) through which foam polymer composition enters the mould cavity (41) according to the present invention is positioned at the centre of the part as is typical with such mould configurations. Foam polymer composition according to the present invention therefore flows from the gate (42) to the part of the cavity surface (43) furthest from the gate in order to fully fill the mould cavity and form the shaped article. The distance the foam polymer composition must therefore flow is L. The section thickness of the cavity and resulting shaped article T defines the cross sectional area through which the foam polymer composition must flow. The longer the flow length L, the greater the force the extruder must exert on the foam polymer composition to overcome the viscous forces within the polymer volume in order to shear it and continue to move the foam polymer composition into the mould. The greater the section thickness T, the greater the surface area over which that force is distributed and so the lower the pressure within the foam polymer composition. This leads to greater pressure within the foam polymer composition for increasing flow length L or decreasing section thickness T. As a maximum pressure can be exerted on the foam polymer composition before it becomes greater than the expansion pressure exerted by the blowing agent and inadequate void formation this leads to a flow length ratio (44) which should not be exceeded in the method according to the present invention if shaped foam articles with adequately low density and controlled void homogeneity throughout the volume of the shaped foam article are to be realised. As the component section thickness decreases, the flow length ratio increases and it has been found in accordance with the present invention that the method may be limited to a section thickness of approximately 1.6 mm in a 60 mm diameter centre gated part (a flow length ratio of 18.75). Homogeneity increases with increasing section thickness (and decreasing flow length ratio) and the density and dielectric constant reduction over the host polymer increases.

[0115] The flow length ratio limitation means that large shaped foam articles made in accordance with the present invention would preferentially use mould tool architectures with multiple gate locations to feed foam polymer composition into the cavity at multiple locations around the cavity surface. In this manner, multiple flow fronts may spread out from these gate locations and meet to form a contiguous part in which no flow front is required to travel as large a distance as the entire length of the shaped article. In this way, flow length ratio can be reduced and conveyance forces required to fill the tool can be minimized, void homogeneity can be optimized and lower shaped foam article densities can be achieved than would be possible with a single gate location. FIG. 7 shows a typical radome structure (60) which is a technology for which the present invention could be used. The radome (61) is manufactured from a shaped foam article made according to the present invention and is used to protect the radio frequency sensor (62) inside which is typically mounted to an underlying sub-structure (63). Radomes are typically required to be large area structures which would require larger flow length ratios and could be difficult to mould using the present invention. The mould architecture (64) to mould this radome would preferentially benefit from multiple gate locations around the cavity surface (69) through which to convey foam polymer composition (68) into the mould cavity (70). Preferentially, the core part of the tool (65) is permanently sited at the extruder die (67) and is engineered to form part of the extruder die to ensure the temperature and pressure of the foam polymer composition may be controlled between the extruder die (67) and the mould cavity (70). The cavity component (66) is preferentially the mobile component moved away from the core (65) and extruder die (67) in order to open and close the mould cavity and cycle tools to/from the extruder die.

EXAMPLES

[0116] A 60 mm by 1.6 mm disk component was moulded using a Prism TSE 16 twin screw extruder. This has a screw diameter of 16 mm and a screw flight depth of 3.5 mm. The die diameter was 6 mm. The tool core and cavity components were machined from EN24T steel and heated using cartridge heaters controlled by K-type thermocouples (incorporated into the volume of the tool) and Process Integral Differential (PID) digital controller on a feedback circuit. The infrared heating element was manufactured by Ceramicx product code SFEH and connected to a variable current power supply. The sliding rail tool was designed and manufactured by the present inventors to the design depicted in FIG. 3. It was built using Rexrooth aluminium sections and used pneumatic actuators to control all moveable tool parts. The sliding rail tool was a single station system and a rotary carousel was not employed in this example.

[0117] A formulation of 10% by mass Nouryon Expancel 980MB120 and 90% by mass Dow 25055E pellets were tumble mixed and added to the extruder feed hopper. Dow 25055E is the host polymer in this example and is a HDPE with a melting temperature of 124 C. 980MB120 is a grade of polymer microsphere in pelletised masterbatch form consisting of 65% by mass ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA).

[0118] All three zones of the extruder barrel were set to a temperature of 210 C. The extruder was thoroughly purged before the moulding process began to remove any Expancel which had been thermally damaged due to residence time in the extruder barrel. The extruder was set to a screw speed of 53 rpm and set to run continuously whilst the tool was prepared. The insert used in this test was a 4 mm thick by 60 mm diameter disk of Dow 25055E injection moulded in a separate process. The core tool was set to 80 C., the insert disk was pre-heated to 80 C. for 60 minutes in a convection oven. The cavity half of the tool was heated to 140 C. The infrared element was pre-heated using a power of 250 watts for 10 minutes, resulting in an estimated stabilised surface temperature of 390 C.

[0119] The insert disk was removed from the oven and immediately manually positioned into a 60 mm diameter matched recess in the core tool component and held in place by the interference fit. The infrared heating element was positioned over the insert disk at a distance of 5 cm between the surface of the insert and surface of the infrared element for a time of 5 seconds. Once this time period had elapsed the infrared element was moved away from the insert. The core was immediately closed into the cavity component and both components clamped against the extruder die with a compression pressure of 10 bar. The mould was filled for 9 seconds after which the core and cavity were removed from the extruder and the core and cavity heating elements disengaged. A compressed air supply was then passed through cooling channels in the tool to cool the core and cavity components for a period of 3 minutes before the foam over moulded disk was ejected. A foam density of 450 kg/m.sup.3 was achieved which resulted in a dielectric constant of 1.6.

[0120] Inspection of the surface of the disk section clearly showed that the void structure was similar throughout the sample, thus demonstrating that the method according to the present invention can be used to mould shaped foam articles with zero or negligible skin of high density or solid host polymer.

[0121] The person skilled in the art realises that the present invention is by no means limited to the preferred embodiments described above. On the contrary, many modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.