GB1210554A - Flocking - Google Patents

Abstract

1,210,554. Moulding flocked articles. EAGLE-PICHER INDUSTRIES. Inc. 9 Jan., 1968 [23 Jan., 1967], No. 1318/68. Heading B5A. [Also in Division B2] Flocked sheets are produced by bringing the under surface of a plastics sheet to a molten condition and driving fibres upwardly into the molten plastics by means of an electrostatic field. The plastics sheet may be fused particles on a support, or the plastics may be extruded on to a moving belt, or a sheet of plastics may be secured to a mould and melted. The flocked substrate may then be heated to a temperature above its melting point but below the melting point of the fibres and maintained at this temperature for a period of time. As shown in Fig. 1 a support in the form of a metal mould 10 functions as an electrode in the flocking process. The mould is perforated at 14 and has a cavity 15 adapted to be evacuated through the port 16 having a one-way valve 18. A sheet of plastics material 17 is placed on the surface 11, the cavity 15 evacuated, the sheet heated by infra-red lamps 20 to about 200 F., the mould inverted and the source of vacuum removed, the valves 18 in the port 16 preventing immediate release of the vacuum between the sheet and the surface 11. The sheet is then heated until it becomes fluid and then flocked. In Fig. 2 thermoplastic material is applied by apparatus 33 to conveyer belt 30 and heated by a bank of infra-red lamps 36. The belt 30 has a lower flight 40 which passes over a first flock supply belt 41 and a second flock supply belt 42. The supply belt 41 receives a supply of flock fibres of a first colour from a hopper 43 and similarly the belt 42 receives a second supply of flock felt fibres of different colour from a hopper 44. Electrode plates 45 and 46 connected at ground potential are mounted below the respective flock supply belts. Co-operating electrodes 47 and 48 are mounted above the lower flight 40 of the belt 30 and are connected to a source of high potential. A flexible stencil 50 formed as an endless belt passing around drums 51 and 52 has an upper flight 53 which passes between the lower flight 40 of belt 30 and the upper flight of the hopper supply belt. The drums 32 and 51 are connected together by meshing gears 54 and 55 fixed to the drums 32 and 51. The substrate may be polyethylene or a mixture of polyethylene and other thermoplastics e.g. ethylene-vinyl acetate and ethyleneethyl acrylate copolymers. Polypropylene, rayon and nylon are suitable for the fibres.