Two-axial alignment of magnetic platelets

Abstract

A method of planarizing a plurality of orientable non-spherical flakes supported by a longitudinal web is disclosed. A web supporting a coating of field orientable non-spherical flakes is placed between magnets so that the fields from the magnets traverse the web. First and third magnets are provided on one side of a feedpath and a second magnet is provided between the first and third magnets on the other side of the feedpath. The first and third magnets have a same polarity and the second magnet has a complementary polarity to the first and third magnets, so that a first magnetic field spanning the feedpath is present between the first and second magnets and second magnetic field spanning the feedpath is present between the second and third magnets, wherein the magnets are positioned so that a plurality of non-spherical field orientable flakes moving along the feedpath experience a first rotation as they pass the second magnet during relative movement between the web and the magnets; The web is then moved through the fields passing the magnets and the coating is subsequently cured.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.