Structural foam molding process

Claim 1

A process for molding a foamed thermoplastic article characterized by a foamed core, a non-foamed exterior shell, and a surface that faithfully and reproducibly replicates a predetermined portion of the inner surface of the mold which comprises: feeding as a charge a molten mixture of a thermoplastic polymer and a soluble gas foaming agent into a mold maintained at a temperature sufficiently low to cause the outer portion of said mixture to form a self-supporting exterior shell in said mold and at a volume sufficient, in the unfoamed state, to substantially fill said mold cavity; allowing the outer portion of the charge to cool in said cavity to form a self-supporting exterior shell while maintaining the mold cavity at a pressure above the foaming pressure of said mixture; thereafter releasing the pressure within the mold cavity to provide a temperature and pressure gradient to cause (i) the thermoplastic material therein to contract and (ii) gas desolubilization and expansion so as to balance the volume contraction of said charge which would otherwise have resulted from said gradients, to produce a foamed core and exterior solid shell; and removing the resultant article from said mold cavity.