Importance

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for the manufacture of a glass fiber bulk strand roving which is made up of a multiplicity of strands, each of which is made up of a plurality of individual fibers, for example, 200 of such fibers. Each strand of the roving has a multiplicity of rather long, axially extending loops, for example, axially extending loops with a calculated length of at least 6 inches, and a multiplicity of shorter, unbroken, cross-axially extending loops that are formed in the axially extending loops of such strands. The axially extending loops and the cross-axially extending loops interengage and intertwine with one another to form a composite entangled structure. The roving which is produced by the method and apparatus of the present invention is made by a process that uses an array of inwardly projecting fingers to form axially extending loops in the strands and a spinner with an inlet that is positioned adjacent the fingers. The looped strands from the fingers pass through a relatively unrestricted passage in the spinner which imparts a twist to such a looped strands, and then through a relatively restricted outlet orifice that is downstream of the outlet of the spinner. A back-up or puddling of the looped strands occurs in the spinner near the outlet thereof, due to the axial length of the loops in the strands and the restriction in the outlet of the spinner in the form of the outlet orifice, and this back-up or puddling of the looped strands in the spinner, in conjunction with the spinning thereof, results in the formation of the cross-axial loops in the axial loops of the strands. The fingers are positioned either in engagement with the wall of the spinner to rotate with the spinner or in engagement with a separately rotated spinning ring.

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First Claim