Claims
- 1. A method of slush molding having steps of dosing a powder to a mold heated to a given temperature thus obtaining layer of partially or completely melted powder on the mold, heating mold to complete melting, cooling mold with suitable cooling means to form a film, and stripping film from mold, said method characterized by:
a) said powder dosed to mold comprising
i) 5-95% by weight of an acid copolymer comprising at least 50% by weight of ethylene, 1-35% by weight of an unsaturated carboxylic acid, and 0-49% by weight of a moiety selected from at least one of alkyl acrylate, alkyl methacrylate, vinylether, alkylene, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide; ii) 95-5% by weight of a cross-linking copolymer comprising at least 50% by weight of ethylene, 0.5-25% by weight of at least one reactive moiety selected for the group consisting of
(i) an unsaturated epoxide of 4-11 carbon atoms, (ii) an unsaturated isocyanate of 2-11 carbon atoms, (iii) an alkoxy or alkyl silane wherein the alkyl group is from 1-12 carbon atoms, (iv) an alkyl halide, and (v) oxazoline, and 0-49% by weight of a moiety selected from at least one of an alkyl acrylate, alkyl methacrylate, vinylether, alkylene, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide, where the alkyl and ether groups are of 1-12 carbon atoms; and iii) a cross-linking promoter; wherein said powder is made by blending the components for a time at a temperature below that at which substantial cross-linking occurs; and b) mold is heated to complete melting at a sufficient temperature and is held for sufficient time to cross-link the melted film in-situ.
- 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the acid copolymer component i) of powder dosed to mold is partially neutralized with metal ions.
- 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the powder dosed to the mold comprises:
a) 10-90% by weight of an acid co- or terpolymer of ethylene and 5-25% by weight of a carboxylic acid and an alkylacrylate, b) 90-10% by weight of a cross-linking co- or terpolymer of ethylene and 1-15% by weight of glycidylacrylate or methacrylate; and c) less than about 1.0 wt. % cross-linking promoter based on the weight of components (a) and (b).
- 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the acid co- or terpolymer of the powder dosed to the mold is partially neutralized with metal ions.
- 5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the cross-linking co- or terpolymer is one of ethylene, glycidylacrylate or methacrylate and an alkylacrylate.
- 6. The method of claim 3 wherein the powder dosed to the mold comprises:
a) 30-70% by weight of a acid co- or terpolymer of ethylene and 5-20% by weight of acrylic- or methacrylic acid and an alkylacrylate, b) 70-30%, by weight of a cross-linking co- or terpolymer of ethylene and 1-15% by weight of glycidylmethacrylate, and c) about 0.1 to about 0.6 wt. % of a partially neutralized phosphate ester cross-linking promoter based on the weight of components (a) and (b).
- 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the acid co- or terpolymer of the powder dosed to the mold is partially neutralized with metal ions.
- 8. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the cross-linking co- or terpolymer is one of ethylene, 1-15 wt. % glycidylacrylate or methacrylate and 1-10% by weight of butylacrylate.
- 9. The method according to claim 1, 3 or 6 wherein the powder dosed to the mold further contains a sufficient amount of a release agent.
- 10. The method according to claim 9 wherein the release agent is present in an amount of from about 1 to about 12 wt. % based on the weight of the acid copolymer and the cross-linking copolymer.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/129,409, filed Apr. 15, 1999, herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.
[0002] This application is a Continuation-in-Part of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/544,679 filed Apr. 7, 2000 which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60129409 |
Apr 1999 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09544679 |
Apr 2000 |
US |
Child |
10284924 |
Oct 2002 |
US |