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Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorStanley Rendon
Estimating the term…
A method of molding a composition comprising a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP) comprising mesogens; providing a mold having a mold cavity, with a feature cavity (43) comprising a fine feature chamber; heating the composition to form molten composition; filling the fine feature chamber with molten composition moving at a flow velocity that causes flow alignment of at least a portion of the mesogens in the molten TLCP filling the fine feature chamber (49), relative to a flow direction of the moving molten composition; and solidifying the molten composition such that mesogens of at least the solidified TLCP in the fine feature chamber maintain their flow alignment. A molded article comprising a body and a 3-dimensional structural feature protruding out from the body and comprising a fine feature element having a minor dimension, with TLCP mesogens across the minor dimension being in a flow aligned state.
A method of molding an article, said method comprising:
(canceled)
A molded article comprising a body and at least one 3-dimensional structural feature integral with and protruding out from said body, said at least one structural feature comprising at least one fine feature element having a minor dimension, and said at least one structural feature comprising at least one thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP) having a plurality of mesogens, with at least a portion of the mesogens across said minor dimension being in a flow aligned state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.