Method and apparatus for manufacturing a material-backed engaging member for surface fastener

A method of manufacturing a continuous length of surface fastener engaging member including a base layer on the front surface of which a multiplicity of coupling elements are molded and on the back surface of which a backing material is attached, comprising the steps of:

• (a) extruding from an extrusion nozzle a width of molten resin;
• (b) introducing the molten resin, which is extruded from the extrusion nozzle, into a gap between the extrusion nozzle and a die wheel, said gap having a constant depth extending around a partial circumference of said die wheel, which has a multiplicity of coupling element molding cavities on its circumferential surface and a cooling unit inside, to fill up the coupling element molding cavities with the molten resin as the die wheel rotates in one direction;
• (c) continuously molding a multiplicity of coupling elements integrally on the front surface of a continuous board-shaped base layer as the die wheel is rotated in such a direction as to extrude the molten resin;
• (d) applying a porous backing material, which is supplied separately from the molten resin and adjacently to the extrusion nozzle while being heated, to the board-shaped base layer under pressure while the board-shaped base layer is moved in response to the rotation of the die wheel;
• (e) cooling the die wheel to a predetermined temperature;
• and
• (f) positively pulling a resulting engaging member, which includes the board-shaped base layer with the backing material attached thereto as cooled, from the die wheel in the molten resin extruding direction as the molded coupling elements of the engaging member are removed off the coupling element molding cavities.