Claims
- 1. A moldable resin for use in a molding process to form a molded part at least partially therefrom, the moldable resin comprising:
a base resin; a plurality of shape memory alloy (SMA) particles interspersed in said base resin; and wherein said SMA particles are suspended in said base resin and serve to enhance a specific property of said base resin.
- 2. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise NITINOL® alloy particles.
- 3. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles are less than about 1% of a total volume of said resin.
- 4. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise between about 1% and 50% by volume of said resin.
- 5. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise at least about 50% by volume of said resin.
- 6. The moldable resin of claim1, wherein said SMA particles comprise SMA particles in their austenitic phase.
- 7. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise SMA particles in their martensitic phase.
- 8. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise a mixture of SMA particles in martensitic and austenitic phases.
- 9. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said base resin comprises a thermoplastic resin.
- 10. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said base resin comprises a thermosetting resin.
- 11. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said resin is suitable for use in injection molding and compression molding processes.
- 12. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles are formed in at least one of the group of shapes comprising: spherical, cylindrical and oval.
- 13. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise granules intermixed within said base resin.
- 14. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise a size of between about 0.005 micron to about 50 micron.
- 15. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise a size of at least about 50 microns.
- 16. The moldable resin of claim 1, wherein said SMA particles comprise a size of no more than about 0.005 micron.
- 17. A moldable resin for use in an injection molding process to make an injection molded part, the moldable resin comprising:
a base resin comprised of one of a thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic resin; and a plurality of shape memory alloy (SMA) particles added to the base resin to enhance a property of said base resin.
- 18. The moldable resin of claim 17, wherein said SMA particles are in their austenitic phase when added to the base resin.
- 19. The moldable resin of claim 17, wherein said SMA particles are in their martensitic phase when added to the base resin.
- 20. The moldable resin of claim 17, wherein said SMA particles comprise NITINOL® alloy particles.
- 21. The moldable resin of claim 17, wherein said SMA particles comprise less than about 1.0% by volume of said resin.
- 22. The moldable resin of claim 17, wherein said SMA particles comprise between about 1.0% to about 50% by volume of said resin.
- 23. A moldable resin for use in a compression molding process to make a compression molded part, the moldable resin comprising:
a base resin comprised of one of a thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic resin; and a plurality of shape memory alloy (SMA) particles added to the base resin to enhance a property of said base resin without affecting a moldability of said base resin.
- 24. The moldable resin of claim 23, wherein said SMA particles comprise NITINOL® alloy particles.
- 25. The moldable resin of claim 24, wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles are provided in their austenitic phase when added to said base resin.
- 26. The moldable resin of claim 24, wherein said NITINOL® alloy particles are provided in their martensitic phase when added to said base resin.
- 27. The moldable resin of claim 23, wherein said SMA particles comprise a shape in accordance with one of the group of shapes comprising: oval, spherical and cylindrical.
- 28. The moldable resin of claim 23, wherein said SMA particles comprise granules added to said base resin.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. Ser. No. 10/287,561, filed Nov. 4, 2002 and presently pending.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10287561 |
Nov 2002 |
US |
Child |
10674615 |
Sep 2003 |
US |