Apparatus for assembling a plastic mining screen

An assembly apparatus for assembling and thermally welding an elongated support rod having at least a thermoplastic coating simultaneously to a plurality of spaced, profiled screen surface members having at least a thermoplastic coating and which are arranged in a plane so as to be parallel to each other and transverse to said support rod;

• said apparatus having a pair of cooperating feed rollers, at least one of which is driven, for engaging and feeding said profiled members to a welding station wherein they are supported by a support roller;
• at least one of said feed rollers being grooved to accept said profiled members and to establish their spacing relative to each other;
• an elongated support rod positioning bar having at least one surface which includes a groove for receiving a support rod and retaining it, said support rod positioning bar being located above the welding station and said at least one surface comprising its bottom surface during a welding operation;
• an elongated welding bar mounted for movement into and out of a position in a vertical plane in the welding zone area between said support rod positioning bar and said profiled members, said welding bar containing heater means and having upper and lower heated portions for simultaneously heating the bottom side of said support rod carried by said support rod positioning bar and a top portion of each of said profiled members;
• and means for forcing said support rod positioning bar and the support rod positioned thereunder downwardly as the welding bar is removed from said welding zone area, said downward movement causing the intersecting portions of said support rod and profiled members which are at least partially melted or softened by the welding bar to flow together into an intimate fused relationship.