Fused filament tuft and fused brush strip

摘要

A fused filament tuft includes a plurality of filaments which are fused on at least one end to form a cluster or tuft. A cross section of the tuft of filaments may have any shape, such as round, rectangular, or oval. The fused filament tufts fabricated from metallic filaments may be formed by fusing at least one end with a welding process and then cutting the plurality of filaments. Filaments fabricated from synthetic materials may be fused into tufts with sonic welding and then cut to length. A nonfused end of each tuft may be flared by squeezing the perimeter of the tuft at substantially the fused end thereof. A plurality of tufts may be captured to form a brush with a base structure. A fused brush strip is an unified lengthwise progression of metallic filaments which may exceed twenty inches. The fused brush strip does not require a base structure to retain a plurality of filaments. The filaments are joined on one end thereof. The fused brush strip is preferably formed with a welding process. A nonfused end of the fused brush strip may be flared with squeezing dies. The fused brush strip may be flexed into a nonlinear shape and held by a retaining mechanism.