Manufacture of bonded articles

An arrangement for producing a bonded friction element of the type having one major face of a thermoset friction lining secured to a platform of a carrier by a thermosetting adhesive system, the arrangement comprising

• a) formulating means, operable to produce a green, plastic friction lining element, comprising fibrous reinforcement and friction modifying materials in a matrix of uncured thermosetting resin binder between said one major face of the element and an opposite major face defining its thickness, of lesser density and major face dimensions than required of the final lining, and characterised by
• b) platform preheating means operable to heat a said carrier to a temperature in excess of that required to initiate cross-linking of the resin binder of the element and the adhesive system,
• c) a stabilising press including
• 1) a bed, shaped to conform substantially to the carrier platform, containing a recess dimensioned to receive therein said green, plastic lining element with said opposite major face thereof against the floor of the recess and said one major face thereof without the recess,
• 2) heating means, operable to heat the bed to provide a recess floor temperature above the cross-linking temperature of the lining element binder,
• 3) a non-sealing closure member operably defined by a said heated carrier,
• 4) guidance means extending away from the bed and operable to support said closure member overlying the recess and effect guidance between the closure member and the recess in a direction towards and away from the recess,
• 5) ram means, having relatively displaceable parts fixed and movable respectively with respect to the bed, operable to drive the closure member (11) and bed (51) towards each other,
• 6) locking means operable to retain the closure member in position with respect to the bed, and
• 7) control means operable
• (i) to cause the ram means to move the closure member to sandwich the green, plastic friction lining element and adhesive system between the closure member and the recess floor,
• (ii) to cause the ram means to apply a force between the closure member and bed increasing between predetermined levels in a predetermined consolidating interval, sufficient to force the incompletely cross-linked materials of the adhesive system and lining element into conformity with the platform and recess without significant extrusion of unconfined materials, prior to significant cross-linking of the thermosetting resins thereof due to heat and pressure applied to their surface regions,
• (iii) to initiate operation of the locking means to lock the closure member in position with respect to the bed at the end of said consolidating interval for a setting-up interval in which said surface regions achieve by continued cross-linking structural strength in excess of internally generated forces resulting from subsequent cross-linking and heating, and
• (iv) to initiate release of the locking means at the end of said setting-up interval to permit the bonded intermediate product of platform and partially cured friction lining element to be removed from the press, and
• d) oven means operable to receive said bonded intermediate product unconfined at a predetermined baking temperature for a predetermined baking interval to effect additional cross-linking of the thermosetting components thereof to cure the friction lining and adhesive bond to a predefined condition of hardness and physical strength.