Melting heater and method for manufacturing molded product

A method for manufacturing a molded product using a melting heater including a plurality of element heaters arranged in a unit having a flat plate shape, the plurality of element heaters comprises a plurality of pair heaters, each pair heater being two adjacent element heaters of the plurality of element heaters, each pair heater comprises a first end portion in which first ends of the adjacent two of the plurality of element heaters are connected to each other so as to be connected in series, and a second end portion in which second ends of the adjacent two of the plurality of element heaters are spaced apart and connected to a power supply, the method comprising:

• molding a pair of semi-molded products by a pair of molds;
• leaving one semi-molded product in one mold and leaving the other semi-molded product in the other mold;
• bringing joining end surfaces of the pair of semi-molded products close to each other and causing the joining end surfaces to face each other;
• inserting the melting heater between the joining end surfaces of the pair of semi-molded products in a non-contact manner to melt the joining end surfaces;
• and
• retracting the melting heater, closing the molds, and pressure-bonding the joining end surfaces to each other.