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E.i. Dupont De Nemours and Company

James L Patton

George Joseph Ostapchenko

Edward Hatchadoorian

Harlan S Young

Reinforced poly(ethylene terephthalate) sheets are thermoformed to articles having one or more surfaces in contact with the mold of such a degree of smoothness that they virtually completely replicate the mold face. When the mold face is completely smooth, the concave imperfections caused by air entrapment in the plastic material account for less than 6% of the surface area. Composite articles consisting of a face member and a backing member are made by thermoforming in a single mold a face member having one or more surfaces in contact with the mold face of such a degree of smoothness that it completely replicates the mold face, and its proportion of concave imperfections is less than about 6% of the surface area. The backing member is bonded in the mold with an adhesive to the face member, and the composite structure is allowed to remain in the mold for a sufficient time to permit subsequent removal without distortion. The initial polymer sheets are less than about 5% crystalline, but the thermoformed article is left in the mold until it crystallizes to the desired degree.

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Wilmington, DE, United States of America

James L Patton