Web with molded articles on both sides

Injection molding parts onto a carrier web located between mold halves, each mold half having a cavity, resulting in molded articles having parts on both sides of the carrier web. Polymer flow into the cavities is assisted by application of ultrasonic energy to the mold. After the molding operation, mold halves are separated, and the carrier web is advanced, or indexed, to a next position for another molding sequence. Articles produced include lenses with part of the carrier web between lens halves, and a carrier web bearing an array of molded parts.

METHODS OF MAKING HOLLOW MICRONEEDLE ARRAYS AND ARTICLES AND USES THEREFROM

A method of making hollow microneedle arrays is described. Also described are the articles therefrom and the use of the articles in applications such as delivering fluid to and/or extracting body fluid from a subject. 1. A method of manufacturing a hollow microneedle array comprising: (i) opposed first and second major surfaces; and', "(ii) a first mold surface connecting said first and second major surfaces; and wherein the plurality of cavities is open at least to the first mold surface and includes a cavity surface wherein the cavity surface intersects each respective plate's first major surface and each respective plate's first mold surface;"], '(a) providing a first mold half comprising a stacked laminate mold, the stacked laminate mold comprising a plurality of plates and a plurality of cavities, wherein each of the plates comprises(b) providing a second mold half comprising a second mold surface, wherein the second mold surface comprises a plurality of projections;(c) contacting at least the first mold surface or the second mold surface with polymeric material; and(d) inserting the plurality of projections into the plurality of cavities.2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of projections is inserted into the plurality of cavities before contacting at least the first mold surface or the second mold surface with polymeric material.3. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least the first mold surface or the second mold surface is contacted with polymeric material before inserting the plurality of projections into the plurality of cavities.4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the projection comprises a base end claim 1 , which is connected through a neck to a tip end claim 1 , wherein the maximum base end area is at least 3 times larger than the tip end.5. (canceled)6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising positioning the tip end and at least a portion of the neck within the cavity.7. (canceled)8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising registering ...

ULTRASONIC INJECTION MOLDING ON BOTH SIDES OF A WEB

Injection molding parts onto a carrier web located between mold halves, each mold half having a cavity, resulting in molded articles having parts on both sides of the carrier web. Polymer flow into the cavities is assisted by application of ultrasonic energy to the mold. After the molding operation, mold halves are separated, and the carrier web is advanced, or indexed, to a next position for another molding sequence. Articles produced include lenses with part of the carrier web between lens halves, and a carrier web bearing an array of molded parts. 1. A method of injection molding comprising:providing an injection molding apparatus having a first mold member and at least one movable mold member that can move toward and away from the first mold member to close a mold; andapplying ultrasonic vibrations to the mold;said method characterized by:i) positioning a carrier web so that, when the mold is closed, the carrier web is between the first mold member and the moving mold member, part of the web faces the mold and part of it is outside of the closed mold; andii) injecting polymer melt into mold cavities in both the first and movable mold members between which the carrier web is positioned while the mold is closed,whereby an injection molded article is made having parts on both sides of the carrier web.2. The method of in which claim 1 , for one molding cycle claim 1 , a first portion of the carrier web is positioned facing the mold cavities and a second portion of the carrier web up-web of the first portion is not facing the mold cavities; and the method further comprises indexing the carrier web to a next position in which the first portion is down-web of the mold cavities and the second portion is facing the mold cavities for the next molding cycle.3. The method of which further comprises removing a molded article from the mold cavities by means of the carrier web without the use of mechanical ejector means such as ejector pins claim 1 , lifters or a stripper ...

Method of molding a microneedle

A method of molding a microneedle including providing a mold apparatus having a mold insert having the negative image of at least one microneedle, a compression core, a mold housing configured to allow a reciprocal motion between the mold insert and the compression core. The method includes placing the mold apparatus in a closed position, injecting polymeric material into the closed mold apparatus, compressing the injected polymeric material between the mold insert and the compression core by a reciprocal motion between the compression core and the mold insert, opening the mold, and removing a molded microneedle from the mold. The mold insert has a mold insert height and the molded microneedle has a height that is from about 90% of the mold insert height to about 115% of the mold insert height.

Web With Molded Articles On Both Sides

Injection molding parts onto a carrier web located between mold halves, each mold half having a cavity, resulting in molded articles having parts on both sides of the carrier web. Polymer flow into the cavities is assisted by application of ultrasonic energy to the mold. After the molding operation, mold halves are separated, and the carrier web is advanced, or indexed, to a next position for another molding sequence. Articles produced include lenses with part of the carrier web between lens halves, and a carrier web bearing an array of molded parts. 1. An article comprising the combination of a carrier web and an array of molded polymeric lenses adhered to the carrier web which molded lenses are characterized by parts opposite each other on both sides of the carrier web.2. An article comprising the combination of a carrier web and an array of molded polymeric articles adhered to the carrier web which molded articles are characterized by parts opposite each other on both sides of the carrier web on which the array comprises columns of molded articles aligned in the down-web direction and rows of molded articles in the cross-web direction , on which the closest center-to-center , or edge-to-edge , distance between the molded articles is closer than the diagonal center-to-center , or edge-to-edge , distance between a molded article and another molded article in the next adjacent row and next adjacent column.3. The article of characterized by an absence of sprues and runners.4. A lens comprising polymeric material claim 2 , having a first part claim 2 , a second part claim 2 , forming two sides of the lens claim 2 , and between said parts and joining them a third polymeric part that comprised a portion of a carrier web on which the lens was molded.5. The lens of of which one side has a different aspect ratio than the other side. This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/530,382, filed Jun. 22, 2012, now allowed, which is a continuation of U.S. ...

ULTRASONIC-ASSISTED MOLDING OF PRECISELY-SHAPED ARTICLES AND METHODS

An ultrasonic-assisted injection molding system and method for making precisely-shaped articles. A source of ultrasonic energy is positioned to apply vibrational energy to a mold cavity connected to at least one gate in flow communication with a source of molten (co)polymer. The mold is heated to a temperature of 104-116° C., and the molten (co)polymer is injected into the mold cavity. After cooling the mold until the molten (co)polymer within the gate has solidified, ultrasonic energy is applied to the mold without remelting the solidified (co)polymer within the gate until the temperature increases to 116-122° C., thereby substantially relieving flow induced stresses. The mold is then cooled until the temperature decreases to 101-107° C., and is thereafter heated until the temperature increases to 116-122° C., thereby substantially relieving any thermally induced stresses. The mold is cooled until the molten (co)polymer has solidified, thereby forming a precision molded plastic optical element. 1. A molding method , comprising:providing an injection mold having a first mold member and at least one movable mold member that can move toward and away from the first mold member to close the mold, wherein a mold cavity is formed in at least one of the first or movable mold members, the cavity having at least one gate therein, and further wherein a source of ultrasonic energy is positioned to apply ultrasonic energy to the cavity;closing the mold, whereby the at least one gate is fluidly connected to a source of molten (co)polymer;heating the mold to a mold temperature measured adjacent to the cavity of from 104° C. to 116° C.;thereafter injecting the molten (co)polymer into the cavity through the at least one gate of the closed mold to substantially fill the cavity and the gate with the molten (co)polymer;allowing the closed mold to cool until the molten (co)polymer within the gate has solidified;applying ultrasonic energy from the source of ultrasonic energy to the ...

Microneedle Arrays

Microneedle arrays made by an injection molding process that uses ultrasonic energy to assist flow of polymer melt into a mold cavity, said microneedles having a high proportion (at least 60%) of fill, i.e., completely formed microneedles across the array. Microneedle array can be on a base or land no more than 250 μm thick. 1. A microneedle array made of polymeric material comprising a multiplicity of microneedles having a height of 20 to 1000 micrometers and an aspect ratio greater than 2:1 on a land , characterized by at least 60 percent of the microneedles across the array being filled , the term filled meaning that the microneedle mold cavities used to form the microneedles were filled with polymeric material to form complete microneedles.2. The microneedle array of comprising 10 to 1288 microneedles.3. The microneedle array of comprised of a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyphenyl sulfides claim 1 , polycarbonates claim 1 , polypropylenes claim 1 , acetals claim 1 , acrylics claim 1 , polyetherimides claim 1 , polybutylene terephthalates claim 1 , polyethylene terephthalates claim 1 , and blends thereof.4. The microneedle array of having a land no more than 250 micrometers thick The present disclosure relates to ultrasonic assisted molding methods and related devices.Molded articles are well known and commonly used. Molded articles having delicate structures thereon can be challenging to mold and subsequently process and handle. Injection molding small delicate structures is typically accomplished by injecting molten material into a mold cavity and applying additional heat to the molten material while in the mold and allowing additional time for the molten material to flow into the small cavities in the mold.A method of molding microneedles is disclosed in International Publication WO 2005/082596, and a method which may include the use of ultrasonic energy is disclosed in International Publication WO 2006/062974. A method of molding parts onto ...

Containment system and increased strength radome assembly

A containment system for containing all or part of a radome and an external subassembly that is protected by the radome is disclosed. One embodiment of the containment system comprises a fabric material and an attachment system for attaching the fabric material to the radome and to the radome attachment ring. An increased strength radome for covering the external subassembly is also disclosed.

Web with molded articles on both sides

Injection molding parts onto a carrier web located between mold halves, each mold half having a cavity, resulting in molded articles having parts on both sides of the carrier web. Polymer flow into the cavities is assisted by application of ultrasonic energy to the mold. After the molding operation, mold halves are separated, and the carrier web is advanced, or indexed, to a next position for another molding sequence. Articles produced include lenses with part of the carrier web between lens halves, and a carrier web bearing an array of molded parts.

Ultrasonic injection molding on a web

The present invention relates to an article comprising the combination of a carrier web and an array of molded polymeric lenses adhered to the carrier web which molded lenses are characterized by parts opposite each other on both sides of the carrier web.

Method of making a mold and molded article

The present invention is directed to a method of forming a mold for use in making molded articles having a plurality of microprojections. Additionally, the present invention provides a method of forming a molded article having a plurality of microprojections. In one aspect, a mold workpiece is provided, a tool having a tip with a shape corresponding to the microprojection, wherein the hardness of the tool is greater than that of the mold workpiece, is pressed into the mold workpiece and removed, thereby creating a mold with a microprojection cavity suitable for use in making the molded article.

Ultrasonic injection molding on a web

The present invention relates to a microneedle array made of polymeric material comprising a plurality of microneedles having a height of 20 to 1000 micrometers and an aspect ratio greater than 2:1 on a land, characterized by at least 60 percent of the microneedles across the array being filled.

Molded articles comprising microneedle arrays

A molded article comprising at least one chain of microneedle arrays wherein adjacent arrays in the chain are interconnected by integrally formed runners. Such a molded article may further comprise two or more chains of microneedle arrays, wherein adjacent chains are interconnected to each other by integrally formed runners. Also, methods of making molded articles and positioning them for delivery to a patient.

Ultrasonic injection molding on a web

Injection molding, parts onto a carrier web (34) located between mold halves (18,20). Flow of polymer melt into the mold is assisted by application of ultrasonic energy to the mold cavity. After the molding operation, mold halves are separated, and the carrier web is advanced, or indexed, to a next position for another molding sequence. Molding apparatus comprises a moving mold face (20), that can move toward and away from a first mold member (18) (which can be stationary) in which the mold cavity is located, a means (24,25,26,30,32) for moving and/or indexing carrier web between the first mold member and the moving mold face, means (16) to inject polymer melt into the mold cavity, and an ultrasonic system (42) providing ultrasonic energy to the mold cavity. The carrier web can transport molded parts to subsequent process steps, such as coating, drying, inspection, curing, assembly or packaging.

Improved microreplicated surface

This disclosure relates to improvements to microreplicated surface structures such as stem arrays. The improvements include the formation on a stem array having separate zones of stems of differing heights, and the formation of directional microreplicated features (e.g., stems) which are oriented and shaped to promote or restrict frictional interaction in one or more particular directions.

Method of molding a microneedle

A method of molding a microneedle using a mold apparatus that comprises a mold insert (210) having the negative image of at least one microneedle (12), a compression core (240), and a mold housing configured to allow a reciprocal motion between the mold insert and the compression core. The mold apparatus has an open position and a closed position. The mold apparatus is placed in the closed position and polymeric material is injected into the closed mold apparatus. The injected polymeric material is compressed between the mold insert and the compression core by a reciprocal motion between the compression core and the mold insert. Also, molding methods wherein the mold apparatus has sidewalls having an injection gate (270). Also, molding methods comprising a heated mold insert. Also, molding methods comprising the application of high frequency acoustic energy, such as ultrasonic energy, to the mold apparatus.

Roll-good fuel cell fabrication processes, equipment, and articles produced from same

Fabricating roll-good fuel cell material involves laminating first and second bonding material webs having spaced apart windows to first and second surfaces of a fuel cell membrane web. First and second active regions of the membrane web are positioned within the respective bonding material windows. Third and fourth gasket material webs having spaced apart windows are respectively laminated to the bonding material on the first and second membrane web surfaces. The bonding material windows align with the respective gasket material windows so that at least some of the bonding material extends within the respective gasket material windows. Fluid transport layer (FTL) material portions cut from fifth and sixth FTL material webs are laminated to the respective first and second active regions. The FTL material portions are positioned within respective gasket material windows and contact the bonding material extending within the respective gasket material windows.

Fabrikationsprozess von aufgerollten brennstoffzellen, anlage und daraus hergestellte artikel

Verfahren zur herstellung eines geformten polymerartikels

Registration arrangement for fuel cell assemblies

A registration arrangement for a fuel cell stack assembly incorporates registration posts and registration apertures or recesses. Fuel cell assemblies of the stack may include first and second flow field plates and a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) having an active area. Registration apertures are defined in each of the MEA and the first and second flow field plates. The respective registration apertures are situated within non-active areas of the MEA when the first and second flow field plates and the MEA are in axial alignment. Registration posts are configured for reception within the registration apertures. Each of the registration posts has an outer surface differing in shape from a shape of the inner surface of the registration apertures. The inner surface of the registration apertures contact the outer surface of the registration posts at a plurality of discrete press-fit locations.

Registration arrangement for fuel cell assemblies

A registration arrangement for a fuel cell stack assembly incorporates registration posts ( 212 ) and registration apertures or recesses ( 210 ). Fuel cell assemblies of the stack may include first ( 202 ) and second ( 206 ) flow field plates and a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) ( 204 ) having an active area. Registration apertures are defined in each of the MEA and the first and second flow field plates. The respective registration apertures are situated within non-active areas of the MEA when the first and second flow field plates and the MEA are in axial alignment. Registration posts are configured for reception within the registration apertures. Each of the registration posts has an outer surface differing in shape from a shape of the inner surface of the registration apertures. The inner surface of the registration apertures contact the outer surface of the registration posts at a plurality of discrete press-fit locations.

Registration arrangement for fuel cell assemblies

A registration arrangement for a fuel cell stack assembly incorporates registration posts ( 212 ) and registration apertures or recesses ( 210 ). Fuel cell assemblies of the stack may include first ( 202 ) and second ( 206 ) flow field plates and a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) ( 204 ) having an active area. Registration apertures are defined in each of the MEA and the first and second flow field plates. The respective registration apertures are situated within non-active areas of the MEA when the first and second flow field plates and the MEA are in axial alignment. Registration posts are configured for reception within the registration apertures. Each of the registration posts has an outer surface differing in shape from a shape of the inner surface of the registration apertures. The inner surface of the registration apertures contact the outer surface of the registration posts at a plurality of discrete press-fit locations.

Registrationsanordnung für brennstoffzellen- baugruppen

Flow field

An article bearing a flow field such as a distribution plate for use in a fuel cell is provided. The active portion of the article, i.e., the portion of the article bearing the flow field, comprises at least two subsections; a first central subsection and a second peripheral subsection; wherein channels within the first subsection have a cross-sectional profile that differs from that of channels within the second subsection. Typically, channels of the first subsection have lesser depth, greater draft or greater ratio of draft to depth. In addition, an article bearing a flow field is provided where the flow field comprises at least two channel segments which differ in draft. In addition, an article bearing a flow field is provided where the flow field comprises at least one channel segment comprising first and second channel walls which differ in draft.

Flow field

An article bearing a flow field such as a distribution plate for use in a fuel cell is provided. The active portion of the article, i.e., the portion of the article bearing the flow field, comprises at least two subsections; a first central subsection and a second peripheral subsection; wherein channels within the first subsection have a cross-sectional profile that differs from that of channels within the second subsection. Typically, channels of the first subsection have lesser depth, greater draft or greater ratio of draft to depth. In addition, an article bearing a flow field is provided where the flow field comprises at least two channel segments which differ in draft. In addition, an article bearing a flow field is provided where the flow field comprises at least one channel segment comprising first and second channel walls which differ in draft.

Method for making a molded polymeric article

Molded multi-part flow field structure

A molded multi-part flow field structure (100) includes a molded flow field plate (102) formed of a conductive material comprising a first polymer. A molded frame (104) is disposed around the flow field plate and formed of a non-conductive material comprising a second polymer. The molded flow field plate and frame preferably define a unipolar flow field structure. Manifolds (106) are formed in the molded frame, and a molded gasket arrangement (114) is disposed proximate a periphery of the manifolds. A molded coupling arrangement (204, 202, 120a, 120b) may be formed to extend from the frame and configured to couple the flow field structure with other unipolar flow field structures to define a continuous web of the unipolar flow field structures.

Improved microreplicated surface

Methods of making hollow microneedle arrays and articles and uses therefrom

Methods of making hollow microneedle arrays and articles and uses therefrom

A method of making hollow microneedle arrays is described. Also described are the articles therefrom and the use of the articles in applications such as delivering fluid to and/or extracting body fluid from a subject.