The Wiggins Teape Group Limited

Peter L Wallace

Anthony J Willis

Bronislaw Radvan

David G Jeffs

A process for preparing a permeable sheet of glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic material for moulding into a shaped product which includes binding thereto a surface layer of particulate material which is compatible with or inert to the thermoplastic content of said sheet and which acts to improve the surface finish thereof when the sheet is subsequently heated and chill moulded under pressure.

Process for the surafce enhancement of articles of fibre reinforced

A process for the manufacture of a stiff permeable sheet-like fibrous structure which includes forming a web with 20% to 60% single fibres having a high modulus of elasticity (as herein defined) and between 7 and 50 millimeters long, and 40% to 60% by weight of a wholly or substantially unconsolidated particulate plastics material, and then treating the web by heating to melt the plastics material and passing it between a pair of nip rollers so that the plastics material can flow and wet out the fibres, the nip between the rollers being set to a dimension less than the thickness of the unconsolidated web and greater than that of the web if it were to be fully consolidated, and allowing the web to expand and remain substantially permeable after passing through the rollers.

Process for the manufacture of a permeable sheet-like fibrous structure

A layer of particulate material is formed by forming a foamed dispersion of a particulate material, supplying the foamed dispersion to a predetermined zone of a plane through which a foraminous element is moving, applying a vacuum to said plane across the zone on the other side of the foraminous element, so as to drain foam and form a particulate layer thereon, removing any free air from the drained foam, and continuously recycling the resulting foam for re-use in forming the foamed particulate dispersion. An apparatus is provided for carrying out the process.

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Flackwell Heath, United Kingdom

Peter L Wallace