Category: News

Basic Info.

Model NO.
M231

Material
Polyester

Age Group
Adults, Children

Feature
Anti-Pilling, Portable

Type
Pure Wool Blanket

Knitting Method
Machine Weaved

Pattern
Printing Pattern, Embroidered

Usage
Home, Travel, Airplane, Picnic, Hospital, Hotel, Home, Hotel

Gram Weight
400-500GSM

Product Name
Children Wearable Plush Bath Towel

Unpick and Wash
Removable and Washable

MOQ
500PCS

Logo
Woven Label or Embroidery

Packing
Color Box Customized

Customization
Acceptable

Sample Leadtime
3~15 Days

Delivery Time
15~25 Days for Mass Production After Pre-Productio

Transport Package
OPP Bag/Gift Box

Specification
Cotton/bamboo / polyester

Trademark
OEM

Origin
Shanghai

Production Capacity
50000/Month

Product Description

Packaging & Delivery
Package:Color Box

Port: Shanghai

Lead Time :

Quantity(Pieces) 1 – 5000 5001 – 10000 >10000 Est. Time(days) 20 25 To be negotiated

Specification

*******************

item value Use PROMOTION Place of Origin Shanghai,China Brand Name Touch,OEM Product Category Toy Blanket Printing offset printing, SILK SCREEN PRINTING Print Method 4 COLOR, 1 color Product name Animal Type Plush Blanket Size Our Standard sizes / customized sizes Material Plush Printing Silk Printing,Offset Printing,Embroidery Logo Packing Each in a poly bag/ customized packaging MOQ 500pcs Factory Audit BSCI, BV audit

Details

**********

Our Company

*******************

 

In the furore surrounding the incidents in Metz on Saturday, it may have been easy to forget that what is Lyon’s biggest match of the season takes place this evening at the Parc OL.

Defeat Sevilla by two goals or more and Lyon are through to the knockout stages of the Champions’ League for the first time in five years. Any other result sees them drop into the Europa League, a result which, while disappointing, still comes on the back of two of the club’s most impressive performances.

Going toe-to-toe with Juventus was hardly to be expected given the way the club had capitulated against Sevilla at the Pizjuan, but the point earned in Turin was enough to make this match matter after the Bianconeri did Lyon a favor by winning 3-1 in Spain.

Team News:

Lyon have nearly a full complement of players available to them, as Anthony Lopes, the primary victim in Saturday’s incident, has returned to training. Likewise young centre back Emanuel Mammana, who has brushed off a thigh injury and could see a place on the bench owing to his lacking match fitness.

Christophe Jallet is still a miss at right back, but otherwise the team is fully fit, and the only questions surround how Bruno Genesio will set the team up.

The team had played an expansive double pivot system in the second half against Paris Saint-Germain, turning in one of their more coherent attacking performances in the process. Needing to score, Genesio should do well to progress with that system. Lopes should start in goal if training yesterday wasn’t an issue, with a back four of Rafael, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Mouctar Diakhaby and Jérémy Morel.

Maciej Rybus could supplant the former Marseille man at left back, but with Rafael more likely to be getting forward in attack, Genesio will crave the solidity that the veteran brings. Corentin Tolisso and Maxime Gonalons will be in central midfield, with Mathieu Valbuena and Rachid Ghezzal in wide areas.

Nabil Fekir was rested against Metz, and he should partner Alexandre Lacazette in a slightly withdrawn role. There is a small chance Genesio could opt for a 4-3-3 with one of Sergi Darder or Jordan Ferri in and Fekir, Ghezzal or Valbuena dropping to the bench, but the manager should opt to have as many goal-scoring options on the pitch as possible.

Sevilla have a similarly empty treatment table, although Fran Vazquez is suspended after being sent off against Juventus and Dani Carrico is unlikely to feature owing to a thigh injury, while former Bordeaux man Benoit Tremoulinas is a long-term absence.

Even though we have a fairly solid idea of the personnel available to manager Jorge Sampaoli, guessing how he will deploy them is another matter. A draw is enough to secure progression, but a win could see Sevilla top the group on 13 points if Juventus should stumble against Dinamo Zagreb.

Sergio Rico is a given in goal, and a nominal 4-2-3-1 makes the most sense, especially given the propensity of the fullbacks to get forward, but a three-man defence could also be deployed, as it provides more solidity in central areas without sacrificing the attacking intent of the full-backs.

If the latter is the case, Adil Rami, who missed the reverse fixture, will start alongside Nicolas Pareja and Gabriel Mercado, with Timothée Kolodziejczak a candidate as well.

Click Here: springbok rugby Jerseys

Mariano and Sergio Escudero, who was magnificent when these team met earlier, would be wing-backs, with a midfield of Steven N’Zonzi, Vicente Iborra and Samir Nasri.

Vitolo would then play off of one of Luciano Vietto or Wissam Ben Yedder. The Argentine was profligate against Lyon earlier, but has been more decisive in the league of late.

That said, Ben Yedder may be a better option given his ability to stretch play on the counter. Sampaoli himself was elusive about his eleven in yesterday’s pre-match press conference, acknowledging the different abilities of the pair and saying the it was a decision he was yet to make.

However he sets his side up, Sevilla, who sit third in La Liga, are still a dangerous opponent, and Lyon will do very well to get the result that they need.

Danger Men:

Mathieu Valbuena, Olympique Lyonnais

Rested against Metz at the weekend, “Le Petit Velo” has been incandescent of late, scoring against Paris Saint-Germain and delivering a man-of-the-match performance against Nantes a week ago.

Misused tactically upon arriving in Lyon and suffering under the emotional weight of being a former Marseille player and his sex tape scandal, Valbuena rarely demonstrated his considerable capabilities last season. This campaign has been marred by injury, and he is only recently back to full fitness.

Playing on the left of a 4-3-3, his preferred system, his dribbling ability and passing have been top-drawer, and with Rachid Ghezzal similarly stretching play on the opposite flank, Lyon have finally showed themselves to be a capable attacking side.

With at least two goals needed against Sevilla, if Les Gones are to have any hope of progression, Valbuena will have to be back to his incisive best.

Steven N’Zonzi, Sevilla FC

N’Zonzi has always been a player of some quality, having impressed during his time at Stoke City. He was also an integral part of Sevilla under Unai Emery’s management as well, but under Jorge Sampaoli, he has blossomed, even being discussed for the national side.

Given the competition for places under Didier Deschamps, that is still an unlikely scenario, but is a testament to his energy and work rate. Against Lyon in the reverse fixture, and often in La Liga, N’Zonzi has been a one-man wrecking crew in midfield, his endless running covering the ground two or three players would.

This has allowed Sevilla to play with not only a slew of attacking midfielders but also see the fullbacks bomb on as well.

It may seem reckless to play with only one defensive midfielder and two centre backs as orthodox defensive players, but the way N’Zonzi can control a midfield means that the club’s performances have rarely suffered.

Score Prediction: Olympique Lyonnais 2-1 Sevilla FC

E.D.

Premier League side Southampton have made an enquiry for PSG’s French international central defender Presnel Kimpembe, according to our colleagues at L’Équipe.

The Saints appear to be activating back up plans for the possible departures of either José Fonte or Virgil van Djik. However, there is virtually no chance of Kimpembe joining Claude Puel’s men next month, as he is currently PSG’s third and only other choice at centre-back behind Marquinhos and Thiago Silva.

Click Here: PSG Jordan soccer tracksuit

Premier League side Liverpool will seek to offload French central defender Mamadou Sakho his January.

According to Yahoo Sport journalist Manu Lonjon, Liverpool could accept an offer as small as €15m next month in order to part with the player.

West Brom, who attempted to sign him in the summer, have cooled their interest somewhat.

Click Here: mens f1 polo,classic f1 shirts

The journalist in question claims that a number of other unnamed English clubs are lining up a possible move.

Women who suffer from fibromyalgia benefit from a treatment regimen in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, according to researchers at Rice University and institutes in Israel.

A clinical trial involving women diagnosed with fibromyalgia showed the painful condition improved in every one of the 48 who completed two months of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Brain scans of the women before and after treatment gave credence to the theory that abnormal conditions in pain-related areas of the brain may be responsible for the syndrome.

Results of the study appear in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome that can be accompanied by – and perhaps related to – other physical and mental conditions that include fatigue, cognitive impairment, irritable bowel syndrome and sleep disturbance.

More than 90 percent of those diagnosed with the syndrome are women, said Eshel Ben-Jacob, a lead author of the proof-of-concept study who developed the analytical method used to show the association between patients’ improvement and changes in their brains. He is an adjunct professor of biosciences at Rice University, a senior investigator at Rice’s Center for Theoretical Biological Physics and a professor of physics and member of the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University.

“Symptoms in about 70 percent of the women who took part have to do with the interpretation of pain in their brains,” Ben-Jacob said. “They’re the ones who showed the most improvement with hyperbaric oxygen treatment. We found significant changes in their brain activity.”

Scientists have not pinned down the syndrome’s cause, although another recent PLOS One study identified a possible RNA-based biomarker for its diagnosis. A variety of treatments from drugs to lifestyle changes have been tried to relieve patients’ suffering, with limited success, Ben-Jacob said.

“Most people have never heard of fibromyalgia,” he said. “And many who have, including some medical doctors, don’t admit that this is a real disorder. I learned from my M.D. friends that this is not the only case in which disorders that target mainly women raise skepticism in the medical community as to whether they’re real or not. However, these days there are increasing efforts to understand the effect of gender on body disorders.”

Researchers at the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center and Tel Aviv University were studying post-traumatic brain injury patients when they realized hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) could help patients with fibromyalgia.

“Patients who had fibromyalgia in addition to their post-concussion symptoms had complete resolution of the symptoms,” said Dr. Shai Efrati, who noted his own mother suffers from the syndrome. Efrati is lead author of the study, head of the research and development unit at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center and a member of the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University.

Hyperbaric oxygen chambers that expose patients to pure oxygen at higher-than-atmospheric pressures are commonly used to treat patients with embolisms, burns, carbon monoxide poisoning and decompression sickness (known to divers as “the bends”), among many other conditions.

One effect of exposure is to push more oxygen into a patient’s bloodstream, which delivers it to the brain. Efrati’s earlier trials found HBOT induces neuroplasticity that leads to repair of chronically impaired brain functions and improved quality of life for post-stroke and mild traumatic brain injury patients, even years after the initial injury.

Ben-Jacob said two patients spearheaded the push for the study. One was an Oxford graduate student who developed fibromyalgia after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a train crash. “By chance, the secretary of the department where she worked is the mother of the nurse in charge of the HBOT. She said you have to go and try to do it,” he recalled.

The other, he said, is a professor of sociology who specializes in post-traumatic stress disorders due to child abuse. The professor had suffered from fibromyalgia for many years. Her symptoms got worse through the initial treatments – a common experience for other patients in the study who she said had suppressed memories due to child abuse – before they got better. But by the end of treatment both women showed remarkable improvement, Ben-Jacob said.

Efrati said some patients will likely require follow-up sessions. “The abnormalities in brain regions responsible for the chronic pain sensation in fibromyalgia patients can be triggered by different events,” he said. “Accordingly, the long-term response may be different.

“We have learned, for example, that when fibromyalgia is triggered by traumatic brain injury, we can expect complete resolution without any need for further treatment. However, when the trigger is attributed to other causes, such as fever-related diseases, patients will probably need periodic maintenance therapy.”

The clinical trial involved 60 women who had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia at least two years earlier. A dozen left the trial for various reasons, but half of the 48 patients who completed it received 40 HBOT treatments five days a week over two months. Half of the 48 patients who completed the trial received 40 HBOT treatments five days a week over two months. The 90-minute treatments exposed patients to pure oxygen at two times the atmospheric pressure.

The other half were part of what Ben-Jacob called a crossover-control group. They were evaluated before the trial and after a control period that saw no improvement in their conditions. After the two-month control, they were given the same HBOT treatment as the first group and experienced the same relief, according to the researchers.

The researchers noted the successful treatment enabled patients to drastically reduce or even eliminate their use of pain medications. “The intake of the drugs eased the pain but did not reverse the condition, while HBOT did reverse the condition,” the researchers wrote.

Efrati said the findings warrant further study. “The results are of significant importance since, unlike the current treatments offered for fibromyalgia patients, HBOT is not aiming for just symptomatic improvement,” he said. “HBOT is aiming for the actual cause—the brain pathology responsible for the syndrome. It means that brain repair, including even neuronal regeneration, is possible even for chronic, long-lasting pain syndromes, and we can and should aim for that in any future treatment development.”

Provided by
Rice University

Citation:
Hyperbaric hope for fibromyalgia sufferers (2015, June 2)
retrieved 10 December 2024
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-06-hyperbaric-fibromyalgia.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

For over a century, researchers have known about “the bends”, a serious condition affecting scuba divers. However, we still know relatively little about its physiological basis. Doctors do not yet have a definitive test for the bends, instead relying on symptoms to diagnose it. A new study in Frontiers in Physiology is the first to investigate genetic changes in divers with this condition, finding that genes involved in inflammation and white blood cell activity are upregulated. The findings cast light on the processes underlying the bends, and may lead to biomarkers that will help doctors to diagnose the condition more precisely.

The bends, more formally known as decompression sickness, is a potentially lethal condition that can affect divers. Symptoms include joint pain, a skin rash, and visual disturbances. In some patients, the condition can be severe, potentially leading to paralysis and death.

Researchers have known about the condition for a long time. A paper published in 1908 correctly hypothesized that it involves bubbles of gas forming in the blood and tissue because of a decrease in pressure. However, despite this, researchers do not yet fully understand the precise mechanisms underlying the condition. Animal studies have suggested that inflammatory processes may have a role in decompression sickness, but no-one had studied this in humans.

Divers have developed methods to reduce the risk of the bends, including controlled ascents from the depths, and it is now relatively rare. However, for suspected cases, doctors have no way to test for the condition, and instead rely on observing symptoms and seeing whether patients respond to hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which involves breathing oxygen at high pressures.

To investigate the basis of decompression sickness, the researchers behind this new study took blood samples from divers who had been diagnosed with decompression sickness and divers who had completed a dive without developing the condition. The researchers took blood samples at two distinct times: within 8 hours of the divers emerging from the water, and 48 hours afterwards, when the divers with decompression sickness had undergone hyperbaric oxygen treatment. They performed RNA sequencing analysis to measure gene expression changes in white blood cells.

“We showed that decompression sickness activates genes involved in white blood cell activity, inflammation and the generation of inflammatory proteins called cytokines,” explained Dr. Nikolai Pace of the University of Malta, a researcher involved in the study. “Basically, decompression sickness activates some of the most primitive body defense mechanisms that are carried out by certain white blood cells.”

Interestingly, these genetic changes had diminished in samples taken at 48 hours after the dive, after the patients had been treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The findings provide a first step towards potentially developing a diagnostic test for decompression sickness, and may also reveal new treatment targets.

“We hope that our findings can aid the development of a blood-based biomarker test for human decompression sickness that can facilitate diagnosis or monitoring of treatment response,” said Prof Ingrid Eftedal of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, who was also involved in the project. “This will require further evaluation and replication in larger groups of patients.”

Provided by
Frontiers

Citation:
Molecular changes in white blood cells can help diagnose ‘the bends’ earlier in divers (2021, June 10)
retrieved 10 December 2024
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-molecular-white-blood-cells-earlier.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Manchester United attacker Anthony Martial is unhappy with his current situation at the Red Devils, according to L’Équipe.

The player, who did not feature in Manchester United’s victory over West Ham United, wants to receive more playing time and there is a feeling that the enormous fee that the Red Devils paid for him is not being reflected in his current importance to Mourinho’s outfit.

Martial is one of the most highly sought after attackers on the European market today. Sevilla and West Ham United have had loan approaches rejected by Manchester United, with Mourinho keen to keep the French international on for the rest of the season in his current bit-part role.

Click Here: Cheap FIJI Rugby Jersey

Serie A side Fiorentina have submitted a €5m bid for Montpellier midfielder Ellyes Skhiri, according to Sky Italia.

Montpellier have no intention of selling their tall and versatile midfield prospect, who has had somewhat of a breakout campaign so far in 2016/17.

The 21 year old has represented Tunisia at U23 level once.

Click Here: Belgium soccer tracksuit

The relationship between manager and management at Montpellier has always been an uneasy one, especially since the departure of René Girard for Lille in 2013. Jean Fernandez didn’t even make it to the winter break as Girard’s successor, and while Rolland Courbis did last two years, he was also unceremoniously dumped in December 2015. There then followed a bizarre interregnum with a two-man team of Pascal Baills and Bruno Martini before Frédéric Hantz assumed the reigns.

Hantz has had a somewhat star-crossed career as a manager, bringing Le Mans back to Ligue 1, as well as winning consecutive promotions with Bastia, but also being decidedly underwhelming during his spells in charge of Sochaux and Le Havre. This season, Montpellier have been decent enough in the face of injuries (Daniel Congré, Casimir Ninga, William Rémy, Ryad Boudebouz) and departures (Jamel Saihi, Jonas Martin, Bryan Dabo).

Leaky at the back at times, the club have still endeavoured to play attractive, attacking football, a rarity for a mid-table club in Ligue 1, and Hantz’s imaginative lineups in the face of injury and inexperience have been central to that. He has also done well to foster the development of young players, as Ellyes Shkiri and Steve Mounié have been hugely important this season at just 21 and 22, respectively.

Over his time at the club, 38 matches before today’s visit from Dijon, he has earned 52 points, well above relegation form, if not quite knocking at the door of European qualification.

For a club of Montpellier’s means, playing aesthetically pleasing football while recording the odd famous result (the recent wins over Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain), developing young talent and comfortably avoiding relegation is an impressive achievement. In a season like this one, it is perhaps even more so, as the club have had to scrap for free agents such as Stéphane Sessegnon and Cedric Mongongu to even fill the bench.

That is why the news of a recent imbroglio at the club involving Hantz and Louis Nicollin is somewhat surprising. One could understand the dismissals of Fernandez and Courbis; the former hasn’t managed in France since, while the latter is now a pundit.

Both were emblematic of the tracksuit manager stereotype, playing unimaginative football even as they had talented creative players (Boudebouz, Rémy Cabella, Anthony Mounier) at their disposal. Hantz, however is the antidote to that, easily balancing the need to stay in the top flight with the fans’ desire for good football.

In an interview with France Bleu Herault, conducted by the journalist Philippe Sers, on the heels of Montpellier’s 5-0 defeat by Lyon in the Coupe de France, Nicollin expressed, in no uncertain terms, his frustration with Hantz’s performance, specifically his ability to maintain consistency: “I am asking questions about the coaching of the team; we are capable of good results, and then afterwards we fall apart. At 74, I am not going to try to understand this, but I will tell my son to rush in the stretchers.”

Nicollin continued, lambasting Hantz’s recruitment philosophy, “Me, I say that we must recruit a good defender, but the manager is a problem child, asking me questions. It’s not normal to give up two goals to Lyon in ten minutes; we’re not an amateur team! It’s serious, we should be fighting, but here it’s sad, sad.”

The owner concluded, hinting at relegation “I am angry with my manager and my team; I have had it up to here. We don’t have the means to fire him, it’s up to him to do his job. We have a recruiting unit that would do better in Pinder’s Circus. If we don’t play well in the next two matches against Dijon and Metz, we are going to join our friends in Nimes. If we go into the second division and play before 4 or 5,000 people who like us, it will make us stronger mentally, it doesn’t matter. But if we stay up or go down, we must thank the recruitment team, in June it’s going to be hot for them.”

Now, obviously Nicollin has a long history of being outspoken, but he and his son do control the team’s business interests. Recruitment, then, at least as far as its financial limits is the purview of he and the board, more specifically sporting director Bruno Carotti, against Nicollin has also railed in the recent past.

However, in that same interview, with RMC, Nicollin also emphasized that he didn’t view the club’s struggles as being the fault of Hantz but management; it appears his net is now widening in search of someone to take the fall. Carotti’s recruitment may be poor, but he is a club legend, and it would be far more difficult to replace a sporting director than a manager at this point in the season.

Hantz, then, was understandably upset.

In yesterday’s pre-match press conference, he said “I was very upset. The phrase that made me feel worst: we don’t have the means to fire him, he must do his job. For me, in my soul, this represents a rupture. I can understand, on my part, his anger after the match at Lyon, but also I am astonished after we’ve been together for a year. Up until now, with Louis Nicollin, there has never been a shadow of doubt. I speak with him regularly and I’ve never had any reproach from him, even in difficult times, he always supported me. Today, around him, there are people who feed him information. There is a future but what worries me is that the last time Louis Nicollin used this phrase was in September 2015, against my predecessor, Rolland Courbis. We know how that finished. Because of this statement, I have been thrown to the wolves in terms of my environment and my dressing room. It creates a gap, because there will be questions about the relationship between the president and myself.”

It is hard not to feel for Hantz, whose simple yet eloquent response speaks of an astonishment and a hurt, considering the facts at hand. Yes, recruitment has been an issue, but that already seems to be changing. This winter, the club have managed to bring in Nordi Mukiele from Stade Lavallois, a promising youngster capable of playing both centre back and right back, in a deal confirmed before the Lyon match.

However, Hantz described the player as being a “medium/long term project,” which means that despite his obvious potential he may not be, in the eyes of the manager, capable of performing at a top-flight level as yet. Considering the €1.5m fee for the youngster (only Boudebouz and Kévin Berigaud, both fairly established in Ligue 1 prior to their arrival, have cost more in the last five years) Hantz may be under pressure from Nicollin to incorporate the youngster as quickly as possible.

That presents an issue, though, beyond Hantz’s appraisal of his talent. Mukiele is a talented and mobile player, but he is also a right-sided centre back, and that position is currently occupied by the club captain, Hilton. Hantz spoke about being put in a delicate situation in the dressing room as a result of Nicollin’s comments, but matters would surely be made worse were he to drop his captain for an unproven 19-year old merely because he is a new recruit.

Hilton may be aging, but when Daniel Congré is fit, the two are comfortably Montpellier’s best centre back partnership. The merits of recruiting younger players for their sell-on value (Sanson, Jérôme Roussillon, etc) are manifest, but in this case, a more experienced player would probably have been the better option if Nicollin really felt that relegation was a worry as an extension of a lack of centre backs.

Hantz labeled Nicollin’s comments as creating a “rupture,” and the meaning is clear. There is no going back from what the president said, especially given his history. Nicollin finally had found a manager who could manage a dire financial situation and a threadbare squad, (Montpellier are likely to only name four outfield players on their bench today) but in conflating his frustration with recruitment with the club’s on-field situation, he has jeopardised a good thing.

Hantz may last the season, but surely not beyond, and he won’t be lacking in suitors come the summer given his heroics this season. Foot Mercato titled their report of Nicollin’s comments “The big blow from Nicollin’s mouth,” but ironically, the owner may be the one feeling the blow at season’s end, as he will surely struggle to replace Hantz with a manager of any quality.

Nicollin’s mooted relegation, likely to be avoided this season, will loom much larger in 2017/18 and the owner may find himself wishing he had kept his mouth shut for a change.

E.D.

Click Here: men football kit

Time to read: 8 min

Compression molding produces parts by placing a pre-measured amount of material into a mold, closing the tool, and applying heat and pressure. This pre-measured material is called a charge or load, and the mold is usually pre-heated so that the material flows more readily and fills the tool as it’s compressed. When molding is complete, the part is cooled, ejected, and trimmed or de-flashed.

Often, compression molding is used to produce larger or heavier parts – especially ones that are flat or have simple contours. Yet this molding technique can also be used with smaller parts and can produce threads, holes, and grooves. Compression molding supports a wide range of plastic, rubber, and composite materials, but it’s generally used for low-to-medium part volumes.This article explains what part designers need to know about compression molding, one of the many services that we provide. Keep reading to learn more, and partner with Fictiv for complex parts at amazing speeds. Getting started is as simple as creating a Fictiv account and uploading your part drawing. Along with a quote, you’ll receive expert design for manufacturability (DFM) feedback. 

Compression Molds

Compression molds have a movable top half (the core) and a fixed bottom half (the cavity) that are usually made of aluminum or steel. The parting line is where the two mold halves meet. Some compression molds have a single cavity, but most have multiple cavities to help offset the longer cycle times associated with compression molding. To facilitate part release, molds can also use ejector pins and sliders but many are manually removed from the tooling by hand.

How Compression Molds are Made

Typically, compression molds are machined from hardened steel blocks. Manual machining with milling and drilling, or automated machining are used. Compression molds can be die-cast instead, but the dies still require CNC machining. 3D-printed inserts can be used to reduce tooling costs, but they won’t last as long and can’t match the tolerances of metal molds, especially hardened steel ones.

Types of Compression Molds

There are three main types, or styles, of compression molds.

• Flash
• Positive
• Semi-positive

Flash molds

Flash molds are the most common mold because they’re the simplest and least expensive to produce. Before molding, an operator loads the cavity with an excessive amount of charge. When the mold is compressed, material fills the mold completely but flash escapes between the parting line. To control costs associated with waste, flash molds are often used with less expensive materials. 

Positive Molds

Positive molds cost more than flash molds and require an accurately measured charge. Often, positive molds are used when it’s important to control part density, or if a part is molded from expensive materials. Positive molds are also used when parts have a deep draw, meaning that the depth of the compression molded part exceeds its diameter.

Semi-Positive Molds

Semi-positive molds are the most expensive compression mold, but they combine the advantages of flash molds and positive molds. Although semi-positive molds don’t require extremely accurate charge measurements, using an excessive amount of charge can cause the material to escape between the parting line during mold compression.

Compression Molding Materials

There are three main types of compression molding materials

• Plastic
• Rubber
• Composite

Compression Molded Plastic Materials

Compression-molded plastics can be divided into thermosetting and thermoplastic materials.

Thermosets

Thermosets have low shrinkage rates and high durability. They tend to have better mechanical properties, but can only be liquefied once. Consequently, they can’t be remolded. Examples of compression-molded thermosets include:

• Phenolic resins
• Epoxy
• DAP

Thermoplastics

Thermoplastics can be melted repeatedly and are re-moldable. However, they’re generally not as hard and strong as thermosets.  Examples of compression-molded thermoplastics include: 

• Polypropylene
• Nylon
• High-density polyethylene
• Polyester
• PEEK

Compression Molded Rubber Materials

Compression-molded rubber is stretchy and elastic. Depending on the specific compound, it can also provide oil, temperature, or chemical resistance. Examples of compression-molded rubber include:

• Nitrile
• SBR
• EPDM
• Silicone
• Viton®
• Fluorosilcone

Compression Molded Composite Materials

Thermosets and thermoplastic materials can contain fibers for added strength. For example, bulk molding compound (BMC) is a thermoset composite that’s supplied as a dough-like combination of polymer resins, chopped fibers, and a hardening agent. Nylon, a thermoplastic, can be filled with glass fibers and compression-molded into strong but lightweight parts.Rubber-based composites are also supported by compression molding. For example, silicones and fluorosilicones that contain metal, metal-coated, or bimetallic particles provide electrical conductivity and shielding against electromagnetic interference (EMI). These composite materials don’t flow readily enough for injection molding, but they can be compression-molded. 

The Compression Molding Process

Compression molding is a relatively simple process, but it still involves a series of steps:

• Prepare the charge
• Load the mold
• Apply heat and pressure
• Cool or cure the part
• Release the part from the mold
• Trim or de-flash the part
• Clean the mold

Prepare the Charge

Preparing the charge involves measurement. The compression mold type helps determine the charge’s size, but molders still want to avoid excessive trimming or de-flashing. If the charge is too large, compressing the mold will cause excess material to escape between the parting line and produce flash. If the charge is too small, there won’t be enough material to fill the mold completely.

Load the Mold

Loading the mold involves placing the charge in the cavity, the bottom half of the tool. With flat, rectangular parts, the cavity usually has a flat, rectangular opening that approximates the size of the part. For compression molded parts that require a hollow interior, the core combines with the cavity and creates the interior section.   

Apply Heat and Pressure

With rubber materials, compression molds are usually pre-heated to soften the charge and reduce its viscosity, or resistance to flow. With plastics, the pellets put into a mold might not be heated until the mold is compressed. Regardless, the top of the mold (the core) is closed on the bottom half of the mold (the cavity). Heat and pressure are then applied so the charge flows and fills the tool.

Cool or Cure the Part

With thermoplastic materials, lowering the mold temperature causes the molten charge to harden into the final part. With rubber materials, catalysts are used to promote curing, a process that’s also used with thermosetting plastics. With rubber compression molding, there are two main curing systems: condensation curing uses a tin catalyst, and addition curing uses a platinum catalyst.

Release the Part from the Mold

After the part is cooled or cured, the compression mold is opened and the part is released. Depending on part complexity and volumes, part ejection can be manual or automated. Manual ejection is fine for simpler parts and low-volume applications. Automated ejection is used for more complex parts and higher volumes. Typically, a plunger-style ejector pin that telescopes from the underside of the mold is used.  

Trim or De-Flash the Part  

Some mold flash is expected, but excessive flashing needs to be removed so that it won’t detract from the part’s appearance or interfere with assembly or performance.

• Manual trimming is used with simpler parts, larger parts, and lower volumes. Typically, handheld trimming tools such as knives are used.
• Cryogenic deflashing, a semi-automatic machine-based process, can be used with batches of smaller parts, including ones with more complex features.

Clean the Mold

After compression molding is complete, it’s essential to clean the core and cavity to remove any residual material. Regular cleaning is usually done with a  handheld tool, but more thorough periodic cleanings are also required. Technologies include dry ice blasting and cleaning with chemicals, lasers, or ultrasonic immersion. Finally, a release agent is applied to help prevent sticking during future molding cycles.

Compression Molding with Insert Molding and Overmolding

Compression molding also supports insert molding and overmolding, processes that eliminate post-molding part assembly.

Insert Molding

Insert molding compresses a charge over a prefabricated component. The charge then encapsulates some or all of the insert. For example, a metal knife blade (the insert) can be placed into a compression mold with a plastic charge. When the plastic is heated and compressed, it forms a handle around the blade. Insert molding is also used with electrical contacts such as plugs.  

Overmolding

Overmolding compresses a charge over a previously molded component. This provides the advantages of two separate molding materials. For example, a harder material can be compression molded to form a strong, durable handle. A softer material can then be compression molded over the handle to improve its ergonomics and aesthetics.

Compression Molding Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages of compression molding begin with lower tooling costs but don’t end there. Because compression-molded materials are placed directly into a mold, they don’t need to flow through a complex series of channels and openings as with injection molding. Consequently, compression molding supports the use of heavier and harder-to-flow materials. Because the charge is placed directly in the cavity, compression-molded parts are free of flow lines and residual stresses that can cause defects.

Compression molding isn’t used for fine part tolerances, but compression-molded parts still have good dimensional accuracy. Compression-molded parts also have a smooth, attractive surface finish and can achieve a good level of detail. Because they’re strong and lightweight, compression-molded parts can replace metal ones in structural components and assemblies. Compression molding support for insert molding, overmolding, and a wide range of materials underscores its versatility.

Compression molding is not a good choice for complex parts with sharp edges, steep angles, or intricate details despite its many advantages. Generally, the part geometries are relatively simple so compression molds don’t need to include ejection mechanisms that increase the cost of tooling. Longer cycle times are also a disadvantage, and activities such as preparing the charge, filling the cavity, and trimming finished parts all add costs.

Compression Molding Industries and Applications

Compression molding is used in many industries and applications. Here are a few examples.

Aerospace Compression Molding

Aircraft manufacturers are replacing heavier aluminum parts with compression-molded C-channels, H-beams, U-sections, L-stringers, and T-strings. Aerospace compression molding is also used to produce O-Rings.

Automotive Compression Molding

The automotive industry uses compression molding to produce fenders and large vehicle panels. Compression-molded plastic parts are also used in automotive interiors to protect engine components. Related applications include housings for LED lighting.  

Medical Compression Molding

Medical compression molding is used to produce plastic syringe stoppers and silicone respirator masks. Because this molding process is cost-effective at low volumes, it can also be used to produce dentures for individual patients.    

Compression Molding for Consumer Products

Compression molding for consumer products is used to produce kitchenware such as utensils, boots, scuba gear, and appliance housings. Household electrical components such as sockets, switches, faceplates, and metering devices are also compression molded. 

Designing Compression Molded Parts

DFM is about designing your part so that it’s easy to manufacture and, therefore, less expensive and faster to produce. Here are four things to avoid when designing a part for compression molding.

• Avoid excessively thick walls. Compression molding supports larger, heavier parts, but parts with thinner walls are less expensive to produce. That’s because they require less material and cool more quickly.
• Avoid unnecessary undercuts. Compression molding supports recessed or protruding part features, but undercuts require ejection mechanisms such as sliders that increase tooling costs.
• Avoid sharp corners and sudden changes in wall thickness. Otherwise, the charge may not flow smoothly and uniform cooling may be difficult to achieve.
• Avoid putting the parting line in a highly visible location, especially if you plan to use a flash mold. Even if your part is not cosmetic, it’s important to account for witness lines and the presence of flash.

If your part design is still in development, you may not have considered parting line locations yet. That’s why it helps to partner with Fictiv, a provider of compression molding services that provides DFM assistance. You’ll also gain access to a carefully vetted network of compression molders.

Compression Molding Services from Fictiv

Is your project a good fit for compression molding? Are you considering 3D printing or maybe even low-volume injection molding instead? Fictiv provides all these services and more, so consider us for your next project. Getting started is as simple as creating a free account and uploading your part design. Let’s get started.