3m Innovative Properties Company

Michael G Schwartz

James C Breister

Stanley C Erickson

Patrick J Sager

Marvin E Jones

Seyed Abolhassan Angadjivand

Philip D Eitzman

Ryan T Lindsey

Randon W Beuc

Glen R Edwards

Melt blown or spun bond nonwoven webs are formed by flowing fiber-forming material through a die cavity having a substantially uniform residence time and then through a plurality of orifices to form filaments, using air or other fluid to attenuate the filaments into fibers and collecting the attenuated fibers as a nonwoven web. Each die orifice receives a fiber-forming material stream having a similar thermal history. The physical or chemical properties of the nonwoven web fibers such as their average molecular weight and polydispersity can be made more uniform. Wide nonwoven webs can be formed by arranging a plurality of such die cavities in a side-by-side relationship. Thicker or multilayered nonwoven webs can be formed by arranging a plurality of such die cavities atop one another.

Nonwoven web forming apparatus

Method for making a nonwoven web

Melt blown nonwoven webs are formed by supplying fiber-forming material to a planetary gear metering pump having a plurality of outlets, flowing fiber-forming material from the pump outlets through a plurality of inlets in one or more die cavities, and meltblowing the fiber-forming material. Each die cavity inlet receives a fiber-forming material stream having a similar thermal history. The physical or chemical properties of the nonwoven web fibers such as their average molecular weight and polydispersity can be made more uniform. Wide nonwoven webs can be formed by arranging a plurality of such die cavities in a side-by-side relationship. Thicker or multilayered nonwoven webs can be formed by arranging a plurality of such die cavities atop one another.

Meltblowing apparatus employing planetary gear metering pump

A method and apparatus for charging fibers that contain a nonconductive polymer. A polar liquid is sprayed onto free-fibers and the free-fibers are then collected to form an entangled nonwoven fibrous web that may contain a portion of the polar liquid. The nonwoven web is then dried By applying an effective amount of polar liquid onto the nonconductive free-fibers before forming the nonwoven web followed by drying the individual fibers become charged. The method and apparatus enable the fibers to be charged during web manufacture without subsequent processing.

Method and apparatus for making a nonwoven fibrous electret web from free-fiber and polar liquid

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Hugo, MN, United States of America

Michael G Schwartz