Conductive plastic with metalized glass fibers retained in partial clumps
AssigneeInternation Business Machines Corporation
InventorsEdward G. Crosby, Frederick C. Hornbeck
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Abstract
Articles of a thermoplastic having an improved level of electromagnetic shielding are molded from plastic pellets that have a core of metalized glass fibers that are arranged to partially disperse through the molded article as individual fibers and partially to remain in clumps of generally aligned closely contacting fibers. The clumps have approximately the length of an individual fiber but they are substantially wider than an individual fiber. Improved conductivity is attributed to increased electrical bridging between fibers that is provided by the width of the clumps of fibers.
Claims8
A thermo plastic molding pellet for molding articles of plastic and metalized glass fibers by a process in which the fibers disperse through a molded article but tend to become aligned in the general direction of the flow of plastic into a mold and contact between adjacent fibers for electrical conductivity is thereby reduced, comprising,
- a core of metalized glass fibers and an outer body of a thermoplastic,
- wherein the metalized glass fibers in the core of a pellet are arranged to partially disperse in the molded article as individual fibers and partially to remain as clumps having a thickness that is appreciably greater than the thickness of an individual fiber for improving the fiber to fiber contact in the direction orthogonal to the general direction of plastic flow in a subsequently molded plastic article.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.