MXPA00005072A - Method of making a fibrous pack - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of making a fibrous pack (36) includes centrifuging at least two sets of mineral fibers from molten material using at least two rotary mineral fiber spinners (12) that are arranged in a machine direction along a collection surface (14), directing each set of the mineral fibers into a downwardly moving veil (24) beneath one of the mineral fiber spinners (12), generating a downwardly moving array (52) of aligned organic fibers from at least one orificed die (50) that is spaced apart from each of the mineral fiber spinners (12) and directing the array (52) into contact with the mineral fibers, and collecting the mineral fibers and organic fibers as a fibrous pack (36).

Description

METHOD TO OBTAIN A FIBROUS PACKAGE TECHNICAL FIELD AND APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the manufacture of fibrous products, for such uses as thermal and acoustic insulation and as structural molding means. More particularly, this invention relates to processes for the manufacture of fibrous products having both organic and mineral fibers, such as polymer fibers, with the different fibers being integrated with each other for beneficial properties of the product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Mineral fiber products, particularly products made of glass fibers, are manufactured as continuous fibers or discontinuous fibers. Various organic coatings can be applied to these fibers, to protect them from abrasion, to connect the mineral fibers together and form a structural product, and to provide the compatibility of the mineral fibers with other materials, such as the compatibility between the fibers of the fibers. reinforcement and a plastic matrix. In the case of insulation products, the mineral fibers are usually joined together by an organic material, such as a phenol / formaldehyde binder, to form a spring-like matrix, which can be recovered after compression, during the formation of the package. A mat product, which has both glass fibers and fibers of an organic material, and manufactured by a non-woven textile process, is disclosed in the U.S. patent. No. 4,751,134 to Chenoweth et al. The application of an organic material to mineral fibers can take several forms. The continuous mineral fibers can be treated through a bath or by a coater, which applies a coating to the fibers, such as during the application of a gluing to the continuous fibers. Alternatively, the organic material can be sprayed on the mineral fibers. This method is commonly used in the manufacture of insulation products with a rotating process, where a cylindrical veil of mineral fibers meets the dew of the phenol / formaldehyde binder. One of the problems with the application of prior art aqueous organic binders to cylindrical mineral fiber webs is that a portion of the binder tends to evaporate before contact between the drop of the liquid binder and a mineral fiber in the web. This problem is increased by the need to apply the binder relatively close to the fiber-forming element, i.e., where the hot environment is particularly likely to cause droplets of the liquid binder to evaporate before contact with the glass fiber. The evaporated binder material gets to pollute the exhaust air of the process and must be cleaned in order to avoid pollution problems. Likewise, the binder material on the mineral fibers tends to be sticky, which requires extensive cleaning of the apparatus that collects the fibers, to prevent the accumulation of masses of glass fiber insulation material, which can fall inside the product and cause a defective product In addition, the binder material must be cured in an oven, which requires tremendous energy, not only to cure the binder itself, but also to expel the water associated with the binder, and to environmentally clean the gaseous byproducts of the heating process and healing. Attempts have been made in the past to integrate organic binder materials with mineral fibers from a rotary process, without merely sprinkling the fiber web with an aqueous solution of the binder material. For example, U.S. Patent No. 5,123,949 to Thiessen discloses a rotary process for forming fibers, wherein the additive particles are supplied through a hollow bobbin or rotating spinner shaft. The particles are directed towards the veil of mineral fibers from a site within the veil. The additive particles can be fibrous in nature, such as cellulose fibers, and may also be of resinous material in a particulate form. Another approach in the integration of an organic material with rotating mineral fibers is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,614,132 to Bakhshi et al. A rotating apparatus forming glass fibers is operated to produce a hollow, downwardly moving veil of glass fibers, and an apparatus that forms polymer fibers is operated with the hollow veil to produce polymer fibers, within the veil , but directly radially outward to the glass fibers. The polymer fibers are intermixed with the glass fibers, producing a reinforced resinous product, which has both glass fibers and polymer fibers. When the process of this patent is operated experimentally to obtain a plastic material reinforced with glass mats, the polymer fibers experienced considerable heat from the environment that forms the hot fibers, with the typical result that most of the polymer fibers they melt and end as non-fibrous particles on the glass fibers or on the polymer fibers. See, for example, Column 4, line 66 to Column 5, line 2.

This is not satisfactory for intermixing glass fibers and polymeric material in a molding material (a thermoplastic glass mat material), suitable for molding into a dense, reinforced plastic product. Due to the nature of the compression of the product in a molding process, there is no need to provide a more substantial retention of the polymer in fibrous form with the glass fibers. However, it is believed that the thermal resistance of the insulation products would benefit from having a majority or more preferably a substantial amount of the polymer material in the fibrous form. As an alternative to the intermix coaxial rotary process, U.S. Patent No. 5,595,584 to Loftus et al. Discloses an alternative process of intermixing, where rotary glass fibrizers centrifuge glass fibers and rotating polymeric fibrizers. , which centrifuge the polymer fibers, are alternately placed together, arranged along a collection surface. The polymer fiberizer can be oriented at an angle to the vertical, so that the flow of the polymer fibers is directed at an angle in contact with the web of the glass fibers. While the purpose of the alternative intermixing process is to decouple the environment that forms the polymer fibers from the region forming the glass fibers, it was perceived as quite difficult to uniformly integrate the rotating forming polymer fibers in the glass fiber web . The non-uniformities of the rotating polymer process, combined with the formation of vortices and the chaotic environment of the glass fiber-forming region, will prohibit the significant penetration of polymer fibers into glass fibers, potentially resulting in Laminar product, not predictable, that has properties lower than those desired for some products. It would be advantageous if an improved process for integrating the polymer or other organic fibers into a flowing stream of glass fibers would be developed, to produce a generally uniform mixture of glass fibers and polymer fibers, preferably uniform, by the distribution of fibers and uniformity in weight. Such a process will provide the protection for the polymeric material supplied in fibrous form, so that the polymer fibers are not subjected to the hot environment which could inconveniently vaporize the polymer material or otherwise degrade this polymer material, or which could soften or melt the polymer fibers into non-fibrous particles. In addition, such a process would allow flexibility in how polymer fibers would be integrated with mineral fibers. Also, ideally, the process should enable polymer fibers from two or more polymeric materials to be integrated with the glass fibers.

COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION The above objects, like other objects not specifically listed, are achieved by a method for obtaining a fibrous package, which includes centrifuging at least two sets of mineral fibers from a molten mineral material, using at least two spinners of mineral fibers, which are arranged in the direction of the machine, together with a collection surface, direct each set of mineral fibers in a veil, which moves down, under one of the rows of mineral fibers, generate at least an arrangement, moving downwards, of organic fibers aligned from at least one die with holes, which is spaced from each of the spinners of mineral fibers and directing the arrangement in contact with the mineral fibers, and collecting these mineral fibers and the organic fibers as a fibrous package. In accordance with this invention, an apparatus is also provided to obtain a fibrous package, which includes at least two spinners of mineral fibers, which are arranged in the machine direction along a collection surface, for centrifuging at least two sets of mineral fibers from the molten mineral material, elements for directing each set of mineral fibers in a veil, moving downward, under one of the mineral fiber spinners, at least one die with orifices, which is spaced from each row of mineral fibers, to generate an arrangement, which moves downwards, of aligned organic fibers, and direct the arrangement in contact with the mineral fibers, and a collection surface, to collect the mineral fibers and the organic fibers as a fibrous package.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic view, in elevation, of the apparatus for integrating the polymer fibers with glass fibers, according to the method of the invention. Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a schematic view, in elevation, illustrating the apparatus of Figure 1 in greater detail and illustrating, in particular, the generation of polymer fibers . Figure 4 is a schematic side elevational view of an insulation product, obtained according to the invention, with the polymer fibers generally integrated with the glass fibers. Figure 5 is a schematic side elevational view of an insulation product obtained in accordance with this invention, with the polymer fibers generally layered with the glass fibers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention will be described using glass fibers as an example of the mineral fibers of the invention. It will be understood that the invention can be practiced using mineral fibers of another heat softenable mineral material, such as rock, slag and basalt. Likewise, although the invention will be described using polymer fibers as the fibers to be contacted with the glass fibers, it will be understood that fibers of any organic material, such as an asphalt material, can be used with the invention, as long as the fibers are long or substantially continuous fibers, suitable for improving the properties of the product. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the apparatus for carrying out the method of the invention includes a plurality of spinners 12, which are generally disposed longitudinally, ie, along the machine direction, as it is indicated by the arrow 13, of a collection surface of moving fibers, such as the formation chain .14. As shown more clearly in Figure 3, the rows are surrounded by an annular blower 16, and are rotated on an axis or bobbin 18. Optionally, an annular burner, not shown, can be placed to distribute the heat to the spinner and the environment that forms' the glass fibers. A stream 20 of molten glass is delivered from a glass melting furnace, not shown, and the molten stream 20 falls into the spinneret 12. The centrifugal forces of the spinning force of the molten glass spinner emanating from the spinner in the shape of fine streams of glass, which bend downwards like the glass fibers 22 by the action of the blower 16 and the gases induced by the blower. The blower gases and the induced air attenuate the glass fibers to their final fine diameter, typically within the range of about 3 to 8 microns. The glass fibers travel in a veil 24, which moves downward, which is generally cylindrical in configuration, and which contains not only glass fibers, but also air that moves rapidly from the blower 16. The veil 24 initially has a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the spinner. The size or diameter of the veil, and the speed of rotation of the gases and fibers within the veil, change as the veil moves downward. These changes are due to the dissipation of the original energy of the gases within the veil, and to the external forces that influence the veil. Generally, the veil expands as it moves downward in the present invention. Nozzles, not shown, can optionally be placed to direct liquid sprays into the veil. Such sprays may include water or other evaporative liquid, to cool the fibers and associated gases within the web. The nozzles can also spray a lubricant on the fibers, to reduce fiber friction against fiber in the final insulation product, which could thus prevent damage. If desired, the nozzles can also be used to add an optional resinous binder to the glass fibers, although the method of the invention should result in a product having sufficiently good integrity and recovery properties, so that a binder will not be necessary. Resinous binders, such as a urea-phenol-formaldehyde, are well known in the art. The nozzles are supplied with the desired liquid for resources not shown. Another device for affecting the web 24 is an optional set of air folders, not shown, which can be positioned to distribute the web 24 in the directions transverse to the machine direction 13. The air beams discharge air to sweep or direct the veil from one side to the other in the collection chamber or the formation cover, so that the package 36 collected in the formation chain 14 and has a uniform distribution across the width of the formation chain, from one wall 40 of the cover to another. The forming chain 14 is mounted for movement as a conveyor and is foraminous, so that a suction box, not shown, placed under the forming chain, can evacuate the gases from the cover 34 and the package 36. Placed inside. of the forming cover 34 there are several (two or more) devices that generate polymer fibers, preferably dies 50 of polymer fibers. It will be understood that the dies 50 can be assembled so they can be adjusted. As shown in Figure 3, the die 50 of polymer fibers produces an array 52 of polymer fibers 55 and directs them into contact with the glass fibers 22, to integrate the polymer fibers 55 with the glass fibers. The speed of the polymer fibers in the array, in the direction away from the die, is at least 50 meters / second at a distance of 20 cm downstream from the die, and preferably is at least 100 meters / second . The polymer fibers 55 and the intermingled glass fibers 22 are collected together in the form of an insulation package. The die 50 of polymer fibers can be any suitable device for forming fibers of polymer material or other organic material, capable of forming fibers. A suitable polymer die 50 is a die that blows a melt, capable of generally producing continuous polymer fibers, having an average diameter greater than about 4 microns, and preferably within the range of about 4 to 25 microns, and more preferably , around 6 microns. Suitable polymer dies are available from J & amp;; M Laboratories, Inc., of Dawnsonville, GA, and of Biax FiberFilm Corporation, Nena, Wl. The polymer die 50 will preferably be selected to be capable of delivering a polymer content, by weight, within the range of about 1 to 10 percent of the total expected production of the glass fibers and polymer fibers. For example, if the production of the glass fibers is 454 kg / hour, and the desired ignition loss (LOI) of the polymer fibers is 2.5 percent, then the polymer die will be configured to have a production of approximately 11.7 kg / hour. The LOI is the percentage of the total material that is organic that will burn when heated.

The fibers 55 of the polymer can be obtained from any polymeric material, from which fibers can be formed with desired length, strength, durability and insulation characteristics. It is well known in the melt blowing industry that the fibers of a meltblown polymer die are produced in substantially continuous lengths. Polymer materials suitable for obtaining the polymer fibers are polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene. Other polymer materials potentially useful for obtaining fibers include polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), nylon, polycarbonate, polystyrene and polyamide. Although the invention is described using polymer fibers 55, as an example, it will be understood that other materials, including resins, asphalts and other thermoplastic and thermoset materials, can potentially be used with the present invention. Polypropylene and PET are preferred materials for forming polymer fibers. As shown in Figure 3, associated with die 50 of polymer fibers is an extruder 60, which supplies the polymer material to the die 50 of polymer fibers by means of a line 62 of polymers. This extruder can be any suitable for heating and pressurizing the organic material and supplying it in a form that can form fibers. Suitable extruders are available from the aforementioned polymer die suppliers. Also associated with the polymer fiber die 50 is a blower 64, which supplies pressurized hot air to the polymer fiber die for the attenuation of these fibers of the polymer 55. The volume of air required is a function of the diameter of the fibers. required and the amount of the polymeric material to be fibrillated, as well as other factors. The air is heated with the booster 66, which is preferably an electric heater, and the heated air is supplied to the polymer die 50 by means of the hot air line 68. This hot air exits the polymer fiber die 50 to help attenuate the polymer fibers and keep them in a soft attenuating condition, as necessary, for satisfactory reduction in diameter. The array 52 of the aligned organic fibers is generated by discharging the molten polymeric material through the holes of the polymer die 50 and attenuating the polymeric material with the gases flowing away from the die. As with die 50 of polymer fibers, polymer extruder 60, blower 64 and heater 66 are commercially available. The fiber die 50 of the polymer is preferably provided with an insulation material, not shown, to prevent excessive heat loss. Each die 50 is supplied with the molten polymer material by a polymer line, not shown in Figure 2, and the polymer lines can be fed by a polymer collector, not shown, and connected to the polymer extruder, not shown in Figure 2. The dies 50 of the polymer are also supplied with hot air by the hot air lines, not shown in Figure 2, which can be supplied by hot air collectors, not shown. The hot air helps in the attenuation of the fibers of the polymer, keeping these fibers in a soft, attenuated state during the attenuation process. If the polymer fibers are cooled too quickly, after leaving the die 50, they would be too greasy. The air supplied to the die is at a sufficient volume and pressure to result in almost sonic air velocities. As shown in Figure 2, the fiber die 50 of the polymer is placed between and spaced from two successive spinners of glass fibers. It can be seen that the fiber die 50 of the polymer extends transverse to the machine direction 13, substantially across the width of the forming chain 14. The arrangement 52The downwardly moving polymer fibers 55 generated by the fiber die 50 of the polymer are directed in contact with the glass fibers 22 to integrate the polymer fibers 55 with the glass fibers 22. In some situations, the polymer fibers 55 intercept the web 24 before the glass fibers 22 in the web reach the forming chain 14, and in other situations, the polymer fibers do not contact or mix significantly with the fibers of the polymer. glass until these fibers of the polymer reach the fibrous package 36 in the formation chain 14, as shown by the polymer fibers from the polymer die. When the fibers of the polymer are to be directed into the web 2, a balance must be maintained to ensure that the fibers of the polymer are directed sufficiently high in the web 24 of the glass fibers, for good penetration and not so high as for the fibers of the polymer to find enough heat to excessively melt many of the fibers. It is important to retain most of the organic material in fibrous form. As the fibers 55 of the polymer move away from the die 50, the trajectories of the fibers begin to diverge as the array begins to decline. The regime in which the arrangement declines will depend on several factors, including the initial velocity of the polymer fibers, the volume of the air flow with the arrangement of the fibers, the mass flow rate of the polymer material leaving the die, and the amount of air currents or turbulence surrounding the die. In a typical melt blowing die 50, the parallel nature of the fiber arrangement declines substantially at a distance of about 30 to 40 cm. from the die. As a practical form, where the fibers 55 of the polymer are directed within the web 24 of the glass fibers, it would be beneficial if the fibers of the polymer arrive in the web of the glass fibers in a state of relative alignment, in order to achieve the successful insertion or integration of the polymer fibers in the glass fibers. Typically, the fibers of the polymer are still in an array aligned at a distance of about 20 cm from the die, because most of the fibers of the polymer will still be substantially normal to the bottom of the die 40. As a variant to the die. polymer standard, the die 50A is placed between two adjacent spinners 12, and mounted for rotation about an axis, such as the vertical axis 42, to enable the arrangement of the aligned polymer fibers to move to adjust the distribution of these polymer fibers in the fibrous package.

As another variant to the standard polymer die 50, a shorter die 50B can be placed at specific locations, such as on one side of the forming cover 34, to distribute these fibers 55 of the polymer at a specific location in the fibrous bundle 36. As shown in Figure 2, the short die 50B is placed to deposit the fibers of the polymer at the longitudinal edge 44 of the fibrous pack 36. If it is desired that most or substantially all of the polymer fibers of a particular die be deposited on top of the package 36 previously collected, as a layer of polymer fibers, and not generally intermingled with the glass fibers, the polymer die, such as the polymer die 50C, can be placed substantially lower than the level of the spinners 12. It can be seen that the rotating strands 12 of the glass fibers are placed at a first distance D from the forming chain 14 and the die 50C with holes is placed closer to the forming chain 14, at a second distance d from the forming chain. Preferably, the second distance d is less than about 60 percent of the first distance D. In another variant of the invention, two polymer dies 50D are placed between adjacent spinners 12.

As shown, these two polymer dies 50D can be placed at vertical angles to direct the polymer fibers within the glass fiber webs 24 so that a substantial portion of the polymer fibers intercepts the web 24 above the chain deformation. One of the features of the invention is that by using a multiplicity of dies, 50, 50A, 50B, 50C or 50D, a method for obtaining a fibrous package 36 may include the use of one or more punched dies, which generate arrays, which they move downwards, of fibers aligned from a first material. organic or polymeric, and one or more of the dies with holes, which generate the arrangements, moving downward, of the fibers aligned from a second organic or polymeric material. If desired, the fibrous package can be subjected to a downstream heat-setting furnace to soften the polymer fibers to a sufficient extent to bond these fibers of the polymer to the glass fibers, without causing the polymer fibers to lose its fibrous nature. It is important to note that such a furnace will be required in its supply in a conventional process, where a binder must be cured. This reduced energy requirement can cause tremendous savings in cost. In addition, the surface layers of the polymer fibers in the fibrous products can be subjected to a heating process to convert the polymer fiber layers into a bonded polymer network for advantageous qualities of the product. Such a surface layer will make the resulting product stronger and easier to handle without damage. Likewise, the fibrous package can be subjected to a molding process, in which either the total fibrous package or the package surfaces can be molded under heat and pressure, to form various insulating or structural products. When the fibers of the polymer are directed to intercept with the web 24 of glass fibers, above the forming chain 14, as shown by the two dies 50D in Figure 1, the fibers 55 of the polymer will be integrated with the fibers. of glass, the resulting integrated insulation product 46, is illustrated in Figure 4. When the fibers of the polymer are directed not to intercept with the glass fiber web 24, above the forming chain 14, but rather to being deposited on the previously formed material, as shown by the dies 50C in Figure 1, the fibers 55 of the polymer will be layered with the glass fibers 22 in the fibrous pack 36. The resultant layered insulation product 48, illustrated in Figure 5. The layers of the fibers 55 of the polymer alternate vertically with the layers of the glass fibers 22.

It can be seen from the above discussion that various combinations of one or more polymer dies 50, 50A, 50B, 50C and 50D can be used to effect different attributes of the product in the insulation products produced according to the method of the invention . The capacity and flexibility of the method of the invention will enable the manufacture of improved products, which have better weight distribution and better fiber distribution, without the need for auxiliary distribution or folding devices for the polymer fibers. In addition, there is an improved control of the nature of the interface of the polymer / glass fiber fibers, which includes the degree of entanglement between the fibers of the polymer and the fibers of the glass. Additionally, the introduction of relatively long and strong polymer fibers into the predominantly glass fiber package provides several significant advantages. First, it makes the most suitable package for a sewing process, which enables the production of insulation products without the traditional binders. Second, it advantageously provides increased mechanical and tensile strength, thus enabling the insulation products to exhibit improved handling capability. For example, non-binder wall cavity insulation products, capable of being picked up and retained at one end, can be obtained using the method of the invention. Finally, polymer fibers are lighter than glass, and on a weight basis they provide an increased surface area compared to glass fibers, thus contributing to improved thermal and acoustic performance. The principle and mode of operation of this invention has been described in its preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that this invention can be practiced in another way to that illustrated and described specifically without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (22)

1. CLAIMS 1. A method for obtaining a fibrous package, this method comprises: centrifuging at least two sets of mineral fibers from a molten mineral material, using at least two spinners of mineral fibers, which are arranged in the machine direction to along a collection surface; direct each set of mineral fibers within a veil, which moves downward, under one of the spinners of mineral fibers; generating an arrangement, which moves downward, of aligned organic fibers, from at least one meltblowing die, which is spaced from each mineral fiber spinner, and directing the arrangement in contact with the mineral fibers; and collect the mineral fibers and the organic fibers as a fibrous package.
2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating and directing includes directing a substantial portion of the arrangement to intercept the veil, above the harvesting surface, to integrate the organic fibers with the mineral fibers.
3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the speed of the organic fibers in the array is at least 50 meters / second, at a distance of 20 cm. downstream from the dies.
4. 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the speed of the organic fibers in the array is at least 100 meters / second at a distance of 20 cm. downstream from the dies.
5. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating and directing includes generating an array of aligned organic fibers, discharging molten organic material through the orifices of the melt blown die, and attenuating the organic material with a gaseous flow that moves away from the die.
6. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the generation and steering step includes directing a substantial portion of the array to intercept the glass fibers on the picking surface.
7. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating and directing includes generating and directing at least one array from at least one die that blows the melt, from a first organic material, and at least one array from at least one die that blows the melt from a second organic material.
8. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the generation and steering step includes generating and directing the array from a die that blows the melt, transverse to the machine direction, substantially across the width of the picking surface.
9. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating and directing includes generating and directing at least two arrangements from at least two dies that blow the molten mass, placed between the spinners of mineral fibers.
10. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the mineral fiber spinners are placed at a first distance from the picking surface, and the die blowing the melt is placed at a second distance from the picking surface, this second distance is less than about 60 percent of the first distance.
11. 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising rotating the die that blows the melt around an axis, to adjust the distribution of the organic fibers in the fibrous package.
12. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the fibrous bundle has a longitudinal edge and wherein the generation and steering step includes directing the array in contact with the mineral fibers, along the longitudinal axis of the fibrous bundle.
13. 13. Apparatus for obtaining a fibrous package, this apparatus comprises: at least two spinners of mineral fibers, which are arranged in the direction of the machine, along a collection surface, to centrifuge at least two sets of mineral fibers from the material molten mineral; resources to direct each set of mineral fibers within a veil, which moves downward, beneath one of the mineral fiber spinners; at least one die that blows the melt, which is spaced from a mineral fiber spinner, to generate a downwardly moving array of aligned organic fibers and direct the array in contact with the mineral fibers; and a collection surface, to collect mineral fibers and organic fibers as a fibrous package.
14. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the element for directing each set of mineral fibers is an annular blower, surrounding each mineral fiber spinner.
15. 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein at least one die blowing the melt is positioned to direct a substantial portion of the array to intersect the veil above the collection surface to integrate the organic fibers with the mineral fibers.
16. 16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein this at least one die blowing the melt, is positioned to direct a substantial portion of the array to intersect the mineral fibers on the collection surface to integrate the organic fibers with the mineral fibers.
17. 17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said at least one die that blows the melt includes at least one die that blows the melt for generation and arrangement direction from a first organic material, and at least one blowing die. the melt to generate and direct an array from a second organic material.
18. 18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the die that blows the melt extends transverse to the machine direction, substantially across the width of the picking surface.
19. 19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said at least one die that blows the melt includes at least two dies that blow the melt, placed between the spinners of mineral fibers.
20. 20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the mineral fiber spinners are placed at a first distance from the picking surface, and the die blowing the melt is placed at a second distance from the picking surface, this second distance is less than about 60 percent of the first distance.
21. 21. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said at least one die blowing the melt is mounted for rotation about an axis, to adjust the distribution of the organic fibers in the fibrous package.
22. 22. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said at least one die blowing the melt is mounted to direct the array in contact with the mineral fibers, along a longitudinal edge of the fibrous bundle.