Decorative structural supports

Abstract

A process for making a support member having a rigid elongate body formed of a member material comprising a plastics material and an outer surface comprising a plurality of non-longitudinal surface portions defining raised ridges outstanding from said member, said process comprising extruding said plastics material at a melt temperature through a die orifice at a selected extrusion rate and die orifice temperature to produce an extruded profile having an outer surface, the improvement comprising said extrusion rate and die orifice temperature being selected as to cause said outer surface to continuously, consistently and intermittently adhere to and be released from the die as defined by the stick-slip effect to form a desired plurality of scallop, wave-like ridges of uniform constant inter-ridge distance and essentially uniform height on said surface. The process provides a support member having a rigid elongate body formed of a member material comprising a plastics material and an outer surface comprising a plurality of non-longitudinal surface portions defining raised ridges outstanding from said member of use as a support structure, particularly, for plants, ornamental and other garden structures.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.