| 摘要 |
Strands of scrap polypropylene and scrap non-melting fabric fibers are mixed together to form a mat. In one mode the mixing involves air-laying the strands and fibers (10, 20) and needle-punching (12, 22) the air-laid mass. The mat is then heated (14, 24) to the melting point of the polypropylene. The heated mat is placed in a cold die for molding (16, 26) to impart a desired shape to a resultant article (36, 40, 46) and wherein the molten polypropylene substantially encapsulates the non-melting fabric fibers. The degree of rigidity of the resultant article (36, 40, 46) is controllable by such factors as the degree of pressure applied during the molding operation (16, 26) and whether one or both sides of the mat are subjected to heating. Additionally, by selectively controlling the pressure applied, articles of variable thickness and/or variable density may be easily and conveniently fabricated. The desired shape of the mold is imparted to the resultant article (36, 40, 46) which, preferably being constituted essentially entirely of scrap materials form other processes, is inexpensive to produce. |
