Method for shaping a material with a reticular structure, plant for performing same and reticular material resulting from the method

A method for obtaining a tubular material with a reticular structure of the type formed by filaments that cross over one another at crossover points to form a net mesh, the method comprising the steps of:

• continuously extruding a synthetic plastics material to obtain a tubular reticular structure in which the crossover points of the filaments are thicker than the actual sides of said net mesh;
• continuously subjecting the extruded tubular reticular structure to a two-dimensional molecular orientation operation in longitudinal and transverse directions, by arranging the extruded tubular reticular structure as a rope and hot-drawing the rope longitudinally to form an oriented tubular reticular structure;
• continuously subjecting the oriented tubular reticular structure arranged as a rope to a transversal drawing and flattening operation, using a widening device that gives the oriented tubular reticular structure a flattened configuration in which two parts of the oriented tubular reticular structure are placed one on top of the other to form a flattened oriented tubular reticular structure;
• and
• continuously subjecting the flattened oriented tubular reticular structure, while maintaining the widened and flattened condition thereof, to an operation to even out the thickness of the flattened oriented tubular reticular structure, by passing the flattened oriented tubular reticular structure through a calendering machine that transforms the flattened oriented tubular reticular structure into a laminated oriented tubular reticular structure in which the crossover points of the filaments forming the sides of the net mesh are made to have the same thickness as the actual sides of the net mesh.