Molded Bodies Containing Polyacetals and Method for Producing Said Molded Bodies

1 - 20 . (canceled)

21 . A process for producing a molding comprising:

forming a thermoplastic melt comprising a polyacetal polymer;

adding an amount of from 10 −8 to 5% by weight of the thermoplastic melt of a supercritical fluid thereby dissolving said fluid in the thermoplastic melt, the thermoplastic melt being at a temperature above the critical temperature and the pressure above the critical pressure of the supercritical fluid;

injecting the thermoplastic melt and supercritical fluid into a mold, the injection conducted at a pressure of 45% or less than an the injection pressure required of a polyacetal thermoplastic melt absent said supercritical fluid, the mold receiving said injection at a temperature of from 20° C. to 160° C.;

applying a mold clamping pressure of 30% or less than the clamping pressure required of a polyacetal thermoplastic melt absent said fluid;

forming a molding, and

removing the molding from the opened mold, wherein the supercritical fluid is spontaneously released from the molding forming a microcellular structure within the molding.

22 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein upon addition of the supercritical fluid, the viscosity of the thermoplastic melt is reduced by up to 60%.

23 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein a clamping pressure for the mold is from 500 N to 10,000 N.

24 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein the melt temperature, measured at the outlet of an injection nozzle during injection of the thermoplastic melt into the mold, is from 150° C. to 250° C.

25 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein the supercritical fluid is selected from the group consisting of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, dinitrogen monoxide, ethylene, propane, ammonia, and combinations thereof.

26 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , further comprising forming at least one perforation in the molding.

27 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein the molding has an average wall thickness from 0.1 mm to 100 mm.

28 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein the flow path length is from 1 mm to 250 cm.

29 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein the molding is formed with a minimum wall thickness and a maximum wall thickness, the difference between the minimum and maximum wall thicknesses being at least about 3 mm.

30 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein the ratio of flow path length to wall thickness is from 1:1 to 500:1.

31 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein the polyacetal comprises from 0.1 to 20 mol % of repeat units of the general formula

wherein R 1 to R 4 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl group, and halogen-substituted alkyl groups containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R 5 is selected from the group consisting of —CH 2 —, —CH 2 O—, alkyl group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and haloalkyl-substituted methylene groups containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and n is a whole number from 0 to 3.

32 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein the microcellular structure is generally uniform throughout the molding.

33 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein the density of the molding after formation of the microcellular structure is 10% to 25% less than the density of a corresponding solid molding.

34 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 21 , wherein the molding further comprises a metal, the molding constructed by metal overmolding.

35 . A process for producing a molding comprising:

forming a thermoplastic melt, the thermoplastic melt comprising at least 70% by weight of a polyacetal polymer having a melting point from 140° C. to 180° C., a number-average molecular weight from 2,000 to 200,000, and a volume flow index from 1 cm 3 /10 min to 70 cm 3 /10 min;

dispersing a supercritical fluid into the thermoplastic melt, the supercritical fluid comprising nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or combinations thereof, the supercritical fluid comprising from 10 −8 % to 5% by weight of the thermoplastic melt, the thermoplastic melt being at a temperature above the critical temperature and the pressure above the critical pressure of the supercritical fluid;

injecting the thermoplastic melt and supercritical fluid into a mold to form a molding, wherein the injection pressure required to inject the thermoplastic melt into the mold is 45% or less than an injection pressure required of a pure polyacetal thermoplastic melt, wherein the molding is formed with a minimum wall thickness and a maximum wall thickness, the difference between the minimum and maximum wall thicknesses being at least about 3 mm;

applying a clamping force to the molding, the clamping force for the molding being 30% or less than a clamping force required for a pure polyacetal thermoplastic melt; and

removing the molding from the mold, wherein the supercritical fluid is spontaneously released from the molding forming a microcellular structure within the molding, wherein the density of the molding after formation of the microcellular structure is 10% to 25% less than the density of a corresponding solid molding.

36 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 35 , wherein the thermoplastic melt comprises at least 95% by weight of the polyacetal polymer.

37 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 35 , wherein upon addition of the supercritical fluid, the viscosity of the thermoplastic melt is reduced by up to 60%.

38 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 35 , wherein a clamping pressure for the mold is from 500 N to 10,000 N.

39 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 35 , further comprising forming at least one perforation in the molding.

40 . The process for producing a molding as in claim 35 , wherein the molding further comprises a metal, the molding constructed by metal overmolding.