MOLDING MATERIAL UNDER THE APPLICATION OF SHEAR, COMPRESSIVE AND/OR TENSILE LOADS

摘要

An apparatus and system for molding a flow of moldable materialunder the application of shear, compressive and/or tensile loads. The apparatusincludes a mold housing that has a flow of moldable material supplied to it.First and second boundary elements, located within the mold housing, define thefirst and second side of the flow of moldable material. A driver in contact withthe first boundary element deflects the first boundary element in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the flow of the moldable material. The deflectionof the first boundary element imposes shear, compressive and tensile loads onthe flow. The applied shear, compressive and tensile loads produce mixing ofthe moldable flow of material and can also be controlled to effect therheological properties of the moldable material. A flexible joint is incorporatedinto the apparatus to allow the first boundary element to deflect. A system isalso disclosed which includes the steps of mixing a first material component anda second material component so as to produce a mixture. The mixture is meltedto form a moldable material. The moldable material is conveyed between firstand second boundary elements of the molding apparatus. A portion of the firstboundary element is deflected in a direction substantially perpendicular to theflow of moldable material. The deflection of the first boundary elementimposes shear, compressive and tensile loads on the flow of moldable material.The moldable material is then cured into a final product.