Abstract:
There is provided herein a method of manufacturing a device comprising at least a first fibre using a draw apparatus, the method comprising: providing a first preform comprising a shape memory polymer to the draw apparatus; heating a first portion of the first preform; and drawing, using the draw apparatus, the heated first portion in order to form the first fibre.
Abstract:
Apparatuses for expanding tubing and methods of use are provided herein. An exemplary process may include heating tubing to an expansion temperature, expanding the heated tubing within an expansion chamber by injecting a first fluid within the heated tubing to expand the heated tubing, and constraining expansion of the heated tubing within the expansion chamber by introducing a second fluid between an outer sidewall of the heated tubing and an inner sidewall of the expansion chamber.
Abstract:
A balloon catheter including: a flexible sheath which has at least one lumen; and a cylindrical balloon which is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the sheath and can be inflated with a fluid supplied from the lumen; wherein the sheath has a large diameter portion whose outer diameter is greater than a basic outer diameter thereof, and the balloon is set to have a maximum inner diameter greater than the basic outer diameter when deflated, and is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion.
Abstract:
Provided are a method and an apparatus for producing a heat-shrinkable tube. An apparatus 100 includes a pair of pinch rollers 105 that can be moved along a feeding path of a tube 101 and that can be opened and closed with the feeding path therebetween, an air vent 104 that supplies air from an end of the tube 101 to the inside of the tube, a pair of pinch rollers 106 that is arranged closer to the air vent 104 than the pinch rollers 105 and that can be opened and closed with the feeding path therebetween, and a control unit 114 that adjusts inflation of the tube by supplying air in the tube while the pinch rollers 105 are closed and the pinch rollers 106 are opened, then closing the pinch rollers 106, and changing a distance between the pinch rollers 105 and the pinch rollers 106.
Abstract:
An apparatus for manufacturing a heat-shrinkable tube has a die formed with a center bore through which a resin tube passes and a plurality of radial holes extending from the bore to the outer periphery of the die. The die is contained in a tank filled with a cooling fluid so that the die will be immersed in the cooling fluid. The interior of the tank is kept under reduced pressure. At the inlet side of the die, a pre-cooling unit is provided which supplies a cooling fluid to the outer periphery of a resin tube which have been heated to a temperature above its softening point beforehand. The tube is expanded at least by the suction force applied thereto while passing through the die kept under reduced pressure. The cooling fluid in the tank and that supplied from the pre-cooling unit serve to reduce the friction between the tube and the inner periphery of the die, thus preventing the tube from expanding lengthwise. A jacket may be provided around the die to supply the cooling fluid.
Abstract:
A process for manufacturing a sealant coated heat recoverable polymeric article is disclosed. The process includes the steps of extruding at least two different polymeric materials to form a unitary shaped article and thereafter exposing the shaped article to a source of ionizing radiation to thereby cross-link one of the polymeric materials and convert the other polymeric material into a tacky sealant. The article may be rendered dimensionally heat recoverable by either: (a) deforming the article into a different shape at a temperature below the crystalline melt temperature of the cross-linkable material and then exposing the deformed article to a source of ionizing radiation or alternatively, (b) subsequent to an irradiation step, heating the article to about the crystalline melt temperature of the cross-linked material, distorting the article, and then cooling the article while maintaining it in the distorted shape to a temperature below the crystalline melt temperature; thereby by either method rendering the cross-linked portion of the article recoverable toward its original shape upon subsequent heating.
Abstract:
A novel method for dilating cold shrink articles such as insulating tubing is disclosed. The method makes use of a two phase bath comprising two immiscible liquids in which the lower phase is a swelling agent for the cold shrink material and the upper phase serves as a protective blanket which eliminates the generation of fumes by the swelling agent.
Abstract:
A wraparound closure article comprising a slit tubular body having upstanding rails extending along the slit is formed by a combination of blow-and compression-moulding. The rails are formed by compressing a longitudinal edge portion of a parison between two parts of a closed split-mould to form a flange, and the tubular body is formed integrally with the rails by blowing the remainder of the parison into contact with the closed mould. The flange is then cut to provide the slit of the wraparound closure article and to divide the flange into two discrete rails. The slit extends along the pinch-line that forms as a result of compressing the edge portion of the parison in the closed mould.
Abstract:
A heat recoverable article comprising a recoverable portion and a fusible portion integrally formed so that on heating to recover the recoverable portion, the fusible portion can fuse. The article is especially suitable for encapsulating electrical connections.
Abstract:
An article such as a tube formed of heat-shrinkable material is bonded exteriorly or interiorly to an elastomeric member to form a laminated article. The bonding preferably takes place before heating and expanding of the heat-shrinkable tube. After expansion and cooling, the parts remain in the heat recoverable position. Subsequent heating of the parts causes them to recover radially about a substrate.