MXPA97003971A - Method of manufacture of a variety of articles of identy form - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a variety of articles identically from a sheet or roll of material is presented. The method includes the steps of forming a sheet or roll of material from one or more layers and then cutting the sheet or roll into a variety of articles identically and a variety of scrap-cut members. All articles are oriented in the same direction and no part of any article is superimposed on another article. Each of the articles has an outer periphery with at least 4 separate peripheral segments. Each of the peripheral segments come into contact with a portion of the periphery of a different adjacent article. The method also requires that when the articles are cut from a sheet or roll of material, the proportion of the scrap cut members with respect to the articles is at least 2.

Description

METHOD OF MANUFACTURE OF A VARIETY OF ITEMS OF IDENTICAL FORM FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method of manufacturing a variety of articles identically from a sheet or roll of material. More specifically, this invention relates to a method of manufacturing a variety of identical absorbent articles and a variety of scrap trim members from a sheet or roll of material, whereby the proportion of trim pieces of Waste with respect to absorbent articles is at least 2: 1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Today, many types of articles are manufactured that involve cutting or stamping a variety of articles identically from an elongated sheet or roll of material. The sheet or roll of material can be a single layer or a laminate formed by two or more layers. When producing the articles, there is usually a waste cut and it is beneficial, from a cost point of view, to minimize the waste. Waste scraps are defined as material that does not constitute a finished article. It includes the waste located adjacent to the periphery of each item as well as the waste cuts from the interior of the item. Even when waste cuts are kept to a minimum, their presence continues to cause problems, as they have to be separated and transported away from the finished items, and have to be recovered, recycled or disposed of properly. For items of unique configuration, which have at least one non-linear edge, it is very difficult to completely eliminate waste clippings. However, waste cuts can be minimized and the waste disseminated so that it has a certain profile, so that it can be easier to handle as it separates from the finished items.

It has been recognized that when a variety of articles are cut or stamped identically from an elongated sheet or roll of material, there may be a scale of scraps of waste. This is especially true when two or more articles are cut in a side-by-side arrangement or in an offset arrangement across the width of the material sheet. A scale of waste scraps are the remains of the sheet or roll of material, after the items have been cut. A scale of waste trimmings is an elongated, unbroken member that facilitates removal because once the end of the scale of waste trimmings is routed to a vacuum or pressure conduit, the entire scale of waste trimmings can be withdrawn. However, when cutting an interior segment of an article, or when cutting items that have square or angled corners, or articles that have curved or arc-shaped outer peripheries, it is difficult to obtain a single scale of waste trimmings while Keep reducing waste to a minimum. For such items, it is more cost-effective to minimize the amount of waste clippings that will be produced and then discover how the multiple pieces of waste scraps can be recovered or disposed of or both.

One method that is used to minimize waste trimmings is to fit the items in a side-by-side or offset arrangement, so that more items can be cut from a given sheet or roll of material. Another method is to use line-to-line die cutting to produce the articles with a single cut. Single-line die cutting works well on items that have linear sides, but it becomes difficult at intersections and corners.

Now, a method has been invented to manufacture a variety of articles in an identical way that minimizes scrap cuts, even when the articles have curved or arched exterior profiles.

SYNTHESIS OF THE INVENTIONwrong.

A method of manufacturing a variety of articles identically, from a sheet or roll of material. The method includes the steps of forming a sheet or sheet of material and then cutting the sheet or roll into a variety of articles identically and a variety of members of waste cuttings. All articles are oriented in the same direction and no part of any article is superimposed on another article. Each of the articles has an outer periphery with at least four separate peripheral segments. Each of the peripheral segments comes into contact with a portion of the periphery of a different adjacent article. The method also requests that when the articles are counted from a sheet or roll of material, the proportion of waste trim members, with respect to finished items, is at least 2: 1.

The general objective of this invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a variety of articles identically from a sheet or roll of material. A more specific object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a variety of identical absorbent articles, eg, panty-protectors, from a sheet or roll of absorbent material.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method for reducing the amount of waste clippings by cutting articles identically from a sheet or roll of material.

A further objective of this invention is to provide an efficient method of manufacturing a variety of articles identically and a variety of scrap clip members from a sheet or roll of material, whereby the proportion of scrap members of a scrap or scrap is reduced. Waste with respect to absorbent articles is at least 2: 1.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a simple and cost-effective method of manufacturing a variety of articles identically.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a variety of absorbent articles and a sheet or roll of material formed with multiple layers.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the following description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic view of a die cut pattern of the prior art, showing a variety of items separated by a scale of waste trimmings.

Figure 2 is a schematic view of a die cutting pattern in accordance with the present invention for the manufacture of a variety of articles identically from a sheet or roll of material.

Figure 3 is a top view of an absorbent article, for example, a sanitary napkin or panty towel, having an hourglass profile and having a longitudinal central axis X-X.

Figure 4 is a side view of the absorbent article, shown in Figure 3 which represents several distinct layers. Figure 5 is a flow diagram of the method of this invention for making a variety of articles identically.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the method of this invention for cutting a sheet or roll of material in a variety of articles identically.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY Figure 1, a schematic diagram of a prior art die cutting pattern shown to cut a variety of articles identically 12 from an elongated sheet or roll of material 14. Articles 12 are depicted as articles absorbent, for example, sanitary or panty-protective pads, which have the shape of an hourglass. When the articles do not have a non-linear outer periphery, a waste clipping scale 16 is created that must be separated and removed from the finished articles 12. After the scale of scrap cuttings 16 is removed it can be chopped and possibly recycled. The scale of waste scraps 16 is nory recycled when the sheet or roll of material 14 is formed from reusable materials.

It will be noted that the scale of waste cuttings 16 can represent a considerable portion of the roll 14, for example, the scale of waste cuttings 16 can represent up to 30%, and sometimes even up to 50%, of the total material of the roll 14 This amount of waste can become substantial when you have to discover ways to handle it, dispose of it and possibly recover it.

Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown a schematic view of a die cutting pattern 18, in accordance with the present invention, by which a variety of articles of identical shape 20 and 20 'can be counted or stamped from an elongated sheet or roll of material 22. The sheet or roll of material 22 can be a single layer or can be formed with two or more different layers or identical layers that are stacked, assembled, rolled or joined vertically. The articles 20 and 20 'can be of any type of products imaginable. The articles 20 and 20 'can have any known shape or profile and can be taken from almost any conceivable material. Among the materials stand out: paper, plastic, thermoplastic film, absorbent speck, coform, foam, wood pulp, cardboard, wood or any other known material or combination of these. The coform consists of a spunbonded carrier sheet with a mixture of pulp fibers and extruded polypropylene available from Kimberly-Clark Corporation, which has an office located at 401 North Lake Street, Neenah, WL 54956. For analysis purposes only, the articles 20 and 20 'are represented as absorbent articles, for example, sanitary or panty-protective pads with an outer profile in the form of an hourglass. However, it should be noted that the current method can be used regardless of the shape of the articles and is particularly useful for making articles with linear edges. Items with a square, rectangular, or parallelogram appearance tend to be easier to fit and die cut line by line.

The articles 20 and 20 'are shown in a compensated arrangement, side by side, in such a way that multiple articles can be cut, for example: two, three, four, five or more items, across the width of the sheet, or roll of material 22. By producing the articles 20 and 20 ', first members of scrap cuttings 24 and 25 and second members of waste scraps 26 are formed. The first scrap clipping members 24 and 25 are located adjacent to the rows. most external of articles 20 'and are the members of right and left waste cuts. Each member of the left and right waste trimmings, 24 and 25, respectively, are long and narrow and could be identical in appearance. Each waste trimming member 24 and 25 has the appearance of a long strip or strip. By directly viewing the sheet or roll of material 22, the left waste trimming member 24 is located on the left side of the sheet or roll of material 22 while the right waste trimming member 25 is located to the right of the sheet or roll of material 22. The left waste trimming member 24, is a mirror image of the right waste trimming member 25, but slightly offset in the pattern 18.

The pattern 18 also includes a variety of second waste scrap members 26 located adjacent to each of the articles 20 and 20 '. There must be one or more second waste trimming members 26 related to each article 20 and 20 '. Preferably, there are from one to six seconds members of waste scraps 26 related to each article 20 and 20 '. In addition, there is a single second waste member 26 related to each item 20 'having associated with it one of the first waste scrap members 24 and 25. For each item 20 not in contact with the first waste scrap member 24 and 25, there are at least a pair of second waste trim members 26 related thereto. The second members of waste scraps 26 are small star-shaped pieces, a majority of which have an identical profile.

The sole exception of the profile identically occurs at the ends 28 (one of which is shown) of the sheet or roll of material 22. At each end 28, only a portion of the second waste scrap members may be present. .

During the production method of the articles 20 and 20 'it will be necessary to separate the first members of waste scraps 24 and 25, as well as the second scrap cuttings members 26, the waste scraps 26, the finished articles 20 and twenty' . This can be done using pressure, vacuum or a combination of both, or through another known separation mechanism. For example, it may be possible to separate the first members of waste scraps 24 and 25 and the second scrap cut members 26, using a vacuum to separate them from the separate articles 20 and 20 '. After all, members of waste scraps 24, 25 and 26 have been separated from items 20 and 20 ', can be chopped, recycled or disposed of, or all of these.

With reference to Figures 3 and 4, one of articles 20 is shown, which may be a mass produced by the method of this invention. A variety of articles can be manufactured identically 20, forming a sheet or roll of material 22 and then cutting or stamping the articles 20. By forming a variety of the articles 20 from paper, cardboard or absorbent paper, it can be advantageous to use a sheet or roll of material consisting of a single layer. However, many absorbent articles 20, for example, sanitary or panty-protective pads are formed from multiple layers of different and distinctive materials.

The absorbent article 20 shown in Figure 3 has an outer profile in the form of an hourglass and has a longitudinal central axis X-X. Most absorbent articles 20, for example, sanitary or panty-protective pads, are longer than wide. The sanitary and panty-protective pads 20 are designed to be adhesively bonded to the crotch portion of a underwear. These items are usually constructed from several layers of different and distinctive materials that are arranged vertically. Said layers, from top to bottom, may include a liquid permeable cover 30, an absorbent 32, a liquid impermeable partition layer 34, an adhesive 36 secured to a lower surface of the partition layer 34, and a release strip 38 Other layers may also be used, for example, a transfer layer, a cotton packing cap, a layer containing superabsorbent materials, additional absorbent layers. The various layers can be stacked, assembled, laminated or vertically joined, or all of these, to form the sheet or roll of material 22, from which the articles 20 are subsequently cut or stamped. The various layers can be joined using: heat; Pressure; heat and pressure; adhesives; a hot melt glue; sewing with thread; ultrasonic union; mechanical union; thermal bonding; chemical union; or a combination of these or other means known to those skilled in the art.

The liquid permeable cover 30 is designed to contact the wearer's body and may be constructed of woven and nonwoven material that is easily penetrated by the body fluid. The liquid permeable cover 30 can also be formed, either with natural or synthetic fibers. Among the suitable materials, the rolls of bonded carded polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon and other heat-stable fibers stand out. Other polyolefins also work well, for example polypropylene and polyethylene copolymers, linear low density polyethylene, finally perforated film rolls and mesh materials. A preferred material is a composite of an open thermoplastic film placed on a woven and nonwoven material. The composite material can be formed by extruding a polymer onto a roll of spunbonded material to form an integral sheet. An example of this material is a thermoplastic polyethylene film, joined to a material joined by spinning. Spunbond is a nonwoven material manufactured and sold commercially by Kimberly-Clark Corporation having an office located at 401 N. Lake Street, Neenah, Wisconsin 54956. The open / non-woven film laminate exhibits a uniform appearance and is soft to the touch. This material is soft and does not irritate the wearer's skin and, nevertheless, produces a cushioned sensation due to its volume.

Another useful material as a liquid-permeable cover 30 is a roll of polypropylene spun-bonded. This spunbond roll can contain between about 1 percent to about 6 percent of a bleaching agent, for example, titanium dioxide (Ti02) or calcium carbonate (CaC03) to give it a clean, white appearance. A uniform weight of the spunbonded material is desirable because it will have sufficient strength, after being punctured to resist shearing or being pulled during use. The most preferred polypropylene rolls have a basis weight of between about 18 g per square meter (gsm) to about 40 gsm. An optimum weight is between about 30 gsm to about 40 gsm.

The absorbent layer 32 may be present as a single layer or as two or more different layers. The absorbent layer 32 can be formed from various natural or synthetic fibers, for example wood pulp fiber, virgin cellulose pulp, regenerated cellulose fiber, cotton fiber, peat moss or a mixture of pulp and other fibers. The absorbent layer 32 could also be formed from a fine-pored fabric, for example, fabric with metallic threads wet-laid, dried with air or from a non-creped, air-dried wire cloth (UCTAD) with a weight maximum of about 30 gsm to about 120 gsm. The UCTAD wire cloth can be prepared through the process presented in U.S. Patent No. 5,399,412 issued to Crook et al. on September 17, 1991. UCTAD wire cloth is presented in U.S. Patent 5,399,412 issued to Sudall, March 21, 1995. Each of these patents is incorporated by reference and is made a part of this document. . The absorbent layer 32 can also be composed of other well-known materials, for example: cellulose fiber, rayon fiber, cellulose sponge, synthetic hydrophilic sponge, for example, polyurethane and the like.

The liquid-impermeable partition layer 34 is designed to allow air or steam to pass out of the absorbent article 20 while blocking the passage of body fluid. The liquid-impermeable partition layer 34 can be made from any material having these properties. The dividing layer 34 can also be constructed from a material that blocks the passage of the vapor as well as that of the fluids, if desired. A good material from which the liquid-impermeable partition layer 34 can be constructed is a micro-embossed polymeric film, for example polyethylene or polypropylene. Films and components can also be used. A preferred material is polyethylene film. More preferably, the polyethylene film will have a thickness in the range of about 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm.

It should be noted that construction adhesive can be used in article 20 to join the various layers. For example, construction adhesive can be used to bond the liquid-impermeable partition layer 34 to the absorbent 32 or attach the absorbent 32 to the liquid-permeable cover 30. The presence of said construction adhesive and the amount used will depend on the specifications of each one's manufacture. National Starch and Chemical Company, which has an office located at 10 Findeme Ave., Bridgewater, New Jersey 08807 commercially sells useful construction adhesives.

The absorbent articles 20 also include one or more strips or elongated areas of garment-binding adhesive 36 which is secured to the lower surface of the liquid-permeable cover 34. The garment-bonding adhesive 36 functions to attach to the absorbent article. 20 the inner crotch portion of an undergarment during use. The garment-binding adhesive 36 allows the sanitary napkin or pantiliner to be properly aligned and retained in relation to the vaginal opening of the wearer in such a manner that maximum protection against fluids can be obtained.

The garment-binding adhesive 36 can cover the entire lower surface of the liquid-impermeable partition layer 34 or only a portion thereof. The garment-binding adhesive 36 may consist of a swirl pattern of adhesive or be one or more strips of adhesive. The bonding adhesive 36 may also consist of several adhesive spots which are arranged randomly or uniformly on the outer surface of the partition layer 34. When in the form of a strip, the garment-bonding adhesive 36 may be aligned with the adhesive. length of the longitudinal central axis, of the absorbent article 20. Alternatively, the garment-binding adhesive 36 may be present in the form of two or more separate longitudinal strips. The garment-binding adhesive 36 is of such a nature that it will enable the wearer to remove the absorbent article 20 and replace it in her undergarment, if required. A heat-melt adhesive that also works as the garment-bonded adhesive is sold commercially by National Starch and Chemical Company having an office located at 10 Findeme Avenue, Bridgewater, New Jewry 08807.

In order to protect the adhesive from a garment 36 from contamination before use, the adhesive 36 can be protected through a release strip 38. The release strip 38 can be a white Kraft paper, coated on one side, in such a way that can be removed from the adhesive 36. The coating can be silicone, for example from a commercially available silicone polymer from Akrosil having an office located at 206 Garfield Avenue, Menasha, Wisconsin, 54952. The release strip 38 is designed to be removed by the wearer before joining the absorbent article 20 to the inner portion of the crotch of her underwear.

METHOD With reference to Figures 5 and 6, the method of this invention is represented for the manufacture of a variety of articles identically. Figure 5 is a flow diagram of the method and Figure 6 is a schematic view of the manufacturing method for cutting a sheet or roll of material 40 into a variety of articles of identical shape 20. The method includes forming a sheet or roll of material 40. The sheet or roll of material 40 can be wound onto a supply roll which is then mounted on a rotary arrow 44. The sheet or roll of material 40 unwinds, usually under tension, to form an elongated sheet or ribbon . The sheet or tape is then routed through a nip between two rollers formed by a die cutter 46 and a rotary anvil 48. The die cutter 46 is shown placed under the anvil 48, but can also be placed above the anvil 48, if desired. The rotary die cutter 46 has multiple die cutters 50 mounted around its outer circumference having a predetermined geometric shape corresponding to the outer periphery of the articles 52 to be produced. The die cutters 50 are designed to come into contact with the blade or movement 40 and to cut or stamp articles identically 52. All the articles 52 should be oriented in the same direction and no part in any article 52 should be superimposed on another article 52. As the articles 52 are cut from the roll 40, the scrap trim members 53 are also cut from the sheet or roll 40. The scrap trim members 53 can be moved away from the articles 52 by the use of air pressure. , vacuum or both, and then are routed through a duct 54 or other means to a storage or holding container 56. Air pressure, vacuum, gravity, mechanical means or other known means may be used to facilitate the collection of limbs. of waste trim 53. The use of air pressure or vacuum is preferred. If any of the waste clip members 56 are elongated pieces in the form of tapes, they can be cut or chopped in a subsequent operation, to facilitate their reuse.

The articles 52, which have been separated from the waste trim members 53, are then directed away from the rotary die cutter 46, for example, by a conveyor belt 58, and are stacked, packaged or assembled in a box or box. container 60. The articles 52 can be in the form of finished products or they can be semi-finished products that can be subjected to one or more additional steps in order to form a finished product. If additional steps are required to produce a finished article, these steps can be executed before the items 52 are packaged for shipment to the final consumer.

With reference again to Figure 2, it will be noted that there are four rows of articles of identical shape 20 ', 20, 20 and 20'. The two inner rows are composed of several articles 20 placed end to end, while the two outer rows are composed of several articles 20 'placed end to end. Each of the articles 20 and 20 'has an outer periphery with approximately 4 to 6 separate peripheral segments, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70 and 72. Each of the peripheral segments 62-72 comes in contact with a portion from the periphery of a separate adjacent article 20 and 20 'or both. It will be noted that each of these articles 20 'has only 4 peripheral segments, while each of the articles 20 has 6 peripheral segments 62-72. Each of the peripheral segments 62-72 is linear and has a length of approximately 30 inches (about 76 mm), preferably, less than about 24 inches (about 61 mm), and more preferably, less than about 12 inches (approximately 31 mm). For sanitary pads or pantiliners, the length may vary from 0.1 to about 2 inches (about 2 mm to about 5 mm), more preferably, between about 0.5 inches to about 1 inch (about 1.3 mm to about 3 mm). The actual length may vary depending on the size and configuration of the finished article. Each of the peripheral segments 62-72 may have a length that is equal to or different from the other peripheral segments 62-72.

Peripheral segments 62-72 can be obtained by die cutting from line to line. Line-to-line die cutting refers to a cutting method, whereby a single blade is used to cut an edge portion between two adjacent articles, for example, the edge portion 64 located between the articles 20 and 20. ' As the articles 20 and 20 'are cut from the roll 18, the ratio of the number of waste scrap members 24, 25 and 26 to the number of articles 20 and 20' will be at least 2: 1. This ratio may increase depending on the unique shape of the articles 20. The ratio will also increase when small segments of the interior of the articles 20 are cut, if a small opening were to be formed in the center of each of the articles 20 and 20 '. , then the number of members of waste cuts 126 would increase. The presence of waste clip members 24, 25 and 26 in a ratio of 2: 1 or greater is important, since it means that a single waste trimming scale will not be present. In addition, by using line-to-line die cutting, you can obtain unique shapes and geometries that have been difficult to cut until now. It should also be noted that as the proportion of waste scrap members 24, 25 and 26 increases by more than 2: 1 in relation to the number of items 20 and 20 ', that members of waste 26 reports are generally becoming smaller and the percentage of waste with respect to the general surface area of the 18 mesh is decreasing. As noted above, the pattern 18, shown in Figure 2, is designed to produce first and second members of waste scraps. The first members of waste cuts are the left and right scales of the cuts, 24 and 25, respectively. Both the left-right scales of the waste scraps 24 and 25, are long and narrow strips. The second members of waste cuts are smaller and account for the largest number of pieces. The first members of waste scraps 24 and 25 have a similar profile, one is simply a mirror image compensated for the other. All second members of waste scraps 26 also have an identical profile that is different from the first members of waste scraps. An exception to this is that each end 28 of the material sheet 22, the second pieces of waste chips 26, can only be partially formed.

Another interesting feature of the pattern 18 is that the ratio of the number of second members of waste scraps 26 to the number of first waste scrap members 24 and 25 is at least 3: 1. Using this ratio, the amount of remaining waste clippings between the trimmed articles 20 and 20 'can be minimized. Yet another interesting feature of this invention is that each article 20 and 20 'has at least 4 members of waste scraps 24, 25 and 26 in contact with their periphery. The article on the extreme left 20 'has a waste trimming member 24, located on its left and three second waste trimming members 26 located adjacent to its upper, right and lower surface, respectively. This differs from each of the centrally located articles 20, where each has six scrap cuttings members 26 in contact with their outer periphery. By increasing the number of rows across the width of the sheet or roll of material 22, the amount of waste clippings that will be present can be decreased. This is advantageous in that less waste cuts result in a more efficient and lower cost operation.

Finally, it should be noted that when articles 20 and 20 'are sanitary napkins, pantiliners or some other type of articles, for example, diapers, incontinent garments, training pants, articles may vary in profile. The most common profiles will include a generally H-shaped configuration and an hourglass configuration. The absorbent articles 20 and 20 'can also be constructed to have wings, fins, panels or flanges, extending laterally or outwardly, if desired. Any of these unique profiles could be die cut using the method described above. The invention has been described, along with a specific embodiment, it should be understood that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art, under the light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this invention extends to encompass all alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims (20)

R E I V I ND I C A C I O N S

1. A method for making a variety of articles identically, the method comprising the steps of: a) form a sheet of material; Y b) cutting the sheet into a variety of articles identically and a variety of waste trimming members, the articles being oriented in the same direction and no part of any article being superimposed on another article, the articles having an outer periphery with at least 4 separate peripheral segments, each of the peripheral segments being in contact with a portion of the periphery of a different adjacent article, and by which the proportion of the waste trim members with respect to the articles is at least 2: 1.

2. The method, as claimed in the clause 1, characterized in that each of the segments is linear.

3. The method, as claimed in the clause 2, characterized in that each of the linear segments has the same length.

4. The method, as claimed in the clause 3, characterized in that each of the linear segments has a length of at least about 0.5 inches.

5. The method, as claimed in the clause 2, characterized in that at least one of the segments has a length of less than about 30 inches.

6. The method, as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the waste clip members include first and second members with distinctive shape, all the first members having an identical profile and having a majority of the second members of an identical profile , and the profile of the first members of the profile of the second members being different.

7. The method, as claimed in clause 6, characterized in that the ratio of the second waste scrap members to the first scrap cut members is at least 3: 1.

8. A method of manufacturing a variety of articles identically, the method comprising, the steps of: a) forming a roll of material from at least two different layers; Y b) cutting the sheet into a variety of articles identically and a variety of waste trimming members, the articles being oriented in the same direction and no part of any article being superimposed on another article, the articles having an outer periphery with at least 4 separate peripheral segments, each of the peripheral segments being in contact with a portion of the periphery of a different adjacent article, and by which the proportion of the waste trim members with respect to the articles is at least 2: 1.

9. The method, as claimed in clause 8, characterized in that each of the segments is linear.

10. The method, as claimed in clause 9, characterized in that each of the linear segments has the same length.

11. The method, as claimed in clause 10, characterized in that each of the linear segments has a length of at least about 0.5 inches.

12. The method, as claimed in clause 10, characterized in that at least one of the segments has a length of less than about 24 inches.

13. The method, as claimed in clause 8, characterized in that the waste clip members include first and second members with distinctive shape, all the first members having an identical profile and having a majority of the second members of an identical profile , and the profile of the first members of the profile of the second members being different.

14. The method, as claimed in clause 13, characterized in that the ratio of the second waste scrap members to the first scrap cut members is at least 3: 1.

15. The method, as claimed in clause 8, characterized in that at least four members of distinct and distinctive waste trimmings come into contact with the outer periphery of each of the articles.

16. A method of manufacturing a variety of absorbent articles for adhesive bonding to the crotch portion of an undergarment, each of the absorbent articles having a generally hourglass-shaped configuration and having first and second arcuate ends, comprising the method the steps of: a) forming a roll from multiple layers of material, the layers being arranged vertically from top to bottom and including a liquid impervious cover, a liquid-impermeable absorbent partition, an adhesive secured to the bottom surface of the layer dividing, a removable strip removably secured from the adhesive wing and b) cutting a hole in a variety of absorbent articles identically and a variety of waste trim members, all absorbent articles being oriented in the same direction and no part of any absorbent article superimposed on another absorbent article, each having of the absorbent articles an outer periphery of four to six separate peripheral segments, each of the peripheral segments being in contact with a proportion of the periphery of an adjacent absorbent article and by which the proportion of the waste trim members of the absorbent articles, be at least 2: 1.

17. The method, as claimed in clause 16, characterized in that each of the peripheral segments is in contact with a portion of the periphery of a different adjacent absorbent article.

18. The method, as claimed in clause 16, characterized in that the waste scrap members include first and second members with distinctive shape, all the first members having an identical profile and having a majority of the second members of an identical profile , and the profile of the first members of the profile of the second members being different.

19. The method, as claimed in clause 18, characterized in that the ratio of the second waste scrap members to the first scrap cut members is at least 3: 1.

20. A method of manufacturing a variety of absorbent articles for adhesive bonding to the crotch portion of an undergarment, each of the absorbent articles having a generally hourglass-shaped configuration and having first and second arcuate ends, comprising the method the steps of: a) forming a laminated sheet from multiple layers of material, the layers being arranged vertically from top to bottom and including a liquid impervious cover, an absorbent liquid-impermeable barrier layer, an adhesive secured to the bottom surface of the dividing layer, a removable strip removably secured from the adhesive wing and b) cutting the laminated sheet into a variety of identical absorbent articles and a variety of waste trim members, all the absorbent articles being oriented in the same direction and no part of any absorbent article superimposed on another absorbent article, having each one of the absorbent articles an outer periphery of four to six separate peripheral segments, each of the peripheral segments being in contact with a proportion of the periphery of an adjacent absorbent article and by which the proportion of the waste cuttings members of Absorbent articles, be at least 2: 1.