Methods for manufacturing articles of manufacture from hydraulically settable sheets

A method for manufacturing a container from a sheet having a substantially dried hydraulically settable matrix, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) mixing together a hydraulically settable binder, a substantial quantity of an inert inorganic aggregate filler, and water in order to form a hydraulically settable mixture that is capable of being passed between a pair of counter-rotating reduction rollers while in a green state to form a cohesive sheet;
• (b) passing the hydraulically settable mixture between a pair of counter-rotating reduction rollers to form a sheet having sufficient cohesive strength while still in the green state and prior to drying such that the sheet does not rupture as the sheet exits the reduction rollers;
• (c) drying the sheet in an accelerated manner to form the substantially dried hydraulically settable matrix of the sheet such that the sheet is substantially dried in less than about 10 minutes after the hydraulically settable mixture is formed into the sheet;
• and
• (d) fashioning at least a portion of the substantially dried sheet obtained in step (c) into a desired shape of the container.

A method for manufacturing an article of manufacture from a sheet having a substantially dried hydraulically settable matrix, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) forming a hydraulically settable sheet having a substantially dried hydraulically settable matrix from a hydraulically settable mixture including a hydraulically settable binder, water, fibers, inorganic aggregate material, and a rheology-modifying agent in a manner such that the sheet has sufficient cohesive strength while in a green state and prior to drying so that the sheet does not rupture during forming, the inorganic aggregate material and fibers together being included in significant quantity;
• (b) rolling the substantially dried hydraulically settable sheet obtained in step (a) onto a spool;
• and
• (c) removing at least a portion of the spooled, substantially dried hydraulically settable sheet from the spool of step (b) and fashioning the removed portion of the substantially dried hydraulically settable sheet into a desired shape of the article of manufacture.