Tampon, especially for feminine hygiene, and a process and apparatus for producing this

A process for producing a tampon comprising the steps of:

• (i) forming a fibrous tampon blank;
• (ii) radially pressing a circumferential surface of the blank at a first pressure over spaced apart longitudinally extending portions about the circumferential surface of the blank so as to produce a preform having a central approximately circular compressed fibre core and a plurality of longitudinal ribs formed between the longitudinally extending pressed portions, each of the longitudinal ribs extending radially outwards from a proximal end at the fibre core and a distal end opposite thereof, and being separated from one another by longitudinal grooves, an inner end of the longitudinal grooves defining an outer diameter of the core;
• and (iii) exposing the longitudinal ribs to a radially applied second pressure, the second pressure being less than the first pressure to form a tampon having a core of substantially the same outer diameter as that of the core of the preform and having a soft, essentially smoothly cylindrical outer surface defining an outer diameter that is greater than the outer diameter of the core.