METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CAPPING STEM FASTENERS

摘要

A method and apparatus for capping headed stem fasteners. The precursor web (54) having a backing (56) with a rear surface (58), a front surface, and a multiplicity of polymeric stems (60) projecting distally from the front surface of the backing is fed into a variable nip (64) between a heated member opposite a support surface (68). The support surface (68) has a shape generally conforming to the contour of the heated member (66). The variable nip (64) compressively engages the polymeric stems between the heated member (66) and the support surface (68) so that distal ends of the polymeric stems are deformed. The heated member (66) can be a heated roll or a heated belt. The support surface (58) may be a curved capping shoe or a belt shaped to create a particular nip profile.