Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Joseph W Petrin

John W Louks

Ronald P Swanson

David W Osten

Steven J Lenius

Mark A Berman

Eugen Will

James B Cysewski

Anatoly Akselrod

An open tube apparatus and method for continuously producing a rotating elongate strip of material are disclosed. An extrusion die continuously extrudes flowable material to form an open tube with a central longitudinal cavity and a transport mechanism includes a plurality of drive rollers which engage and pull the tube downline. A driver rotates the extrusion die and transport mechanism. A tube cutter, which is offset at an angle with respect to the downline direction and defines the open end of the tube, cuts the tube into a continuous elongate web of the desired width as the tube moves downline. An air seal seals the tube cavity to prevent air from escaping through the open end of the cavity, and a tube pressurizer controls air pressure in the central longitudinal cavity of the tube to expand the tube laterally outwardly.

Apparatus and method for producing an elongate strip of material

Growing community of inventors

Woodbury, MN, United States of America

Joseph W Petrin