CA1052577A - Synthetic fibrous buff - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

A synthetic fibrous buff composed of layers of non-woven mats of synthetic organic fibers impregnated with an oil-, water-, and grease-resistant polymeric binder material provides a light-weight smooth running buff which is quiet, clean and cool to operate. Certain of the buffs are useful in high temperature environments such as for wiping molten solder from freshly soldered container seams.

Description

lOS'Z577 SYNTHETIC FIBROUS BUFF
Thls inventlon relates to flbrous buffs formed of synehtlc flbersO
Buffs, or buf~ing wheels as they are sometimes re~erred to, are generally formed from layers o~ woven flbrous materlal whlch are fastened together, ror example, by sewlng, stapling, adheslve bondlng or plastlc or metal cllnch rlngs, and supported ~or rotatlonO Such devlces have long been used to finish items such as machined parts, stamped parts, and cast artlcles which very often have surfaces whlch must be modifled, generally for aesthetic purposes. Buffing ls a flnishing process whlch ls typically accomplished after more rigorous treatment o~ the surface by pollshlngl Flnlshes obtalned by bufflng are generally cate-gorlzed lnto four types: "satln flnlshing" ~or produclngsatln, brushed or butler finishes; "cut-down bufflng" for produclng prelimlnary smoothness; "cut and color" bufflng for produclng intermedlate luster; and "color bufflng" for the productlon of a hig~ gloss or mlrror flnlshO Satin flnishes are generally obtalned by applying to the perlphery Or the bufr a greaseless compound comprislng a glue base blnder contalnlng fast-cutting abraslves such as 180 to 220 grade alumlnum oxide or sillcon carbldeO
For ~lner effect~, finer slzes of Amerlcan emery and hard sillca may be employedO For butler ~lnlshes on sllver plate and sterllng, flne bufflng powders Or un~used aluminum oxide and so~t silica may be usedO Bright butler finlshes may be produced by extremely flne greaseless composltlons made wlth blnders lubrlcated wlth certa~ n _l _ ~OSZS7 7 fats and waxes such as ~tearic acld, hydrogenated ~tty aclds, tallow, hydrogenated glycerldes and petrolat~mO
Grease base binder and ~ine cuttlng burfing powders are employed ~or cut-down bu~lng. The flnest abraslve pow-ders are employed for color bufflngO
The buff must not only be capable of withstand-lng the strenuous use condltions typlcally enc~untered ln bufflng operations, but it must also be capable of holding the aforedescrlbed bu~ing composltlons on lts buffing 10 sur~aceO
The particular constructlon of a sewn bu~f wlll depend upon its ultimate us~O Burfs ~ormed o~ layers Or rabrlc whlch are sewn together are typlcally used ~or cuttlng. Very close rows o~ ~tltchlng lncrease the ~tif~-nes3 o~ sewn buf~s to increase cuto The sewing patternsfor such bu~fs may vary, dependlng upon the needs of the user, from concentric sewn, radial æewn, square sewn, splral sewn~ to radlal arc sewn and radlal arc wlth splral centerO Concentrlc sewing results ln non-uniform density when the bu~f wearsO As the buff wears closer to the ~titches, the bu~f wlll become harder and ~ust past a row of stltches lt becomes softerO Spiral sewlng results ln a more unlform denslty, although the buf~ surface will still have a density variationO Square and non-concentric sewing patterns produce pockets that may aid in holding buffing compound.
The puckered or pleated bu~f i~ popular for its cool running capabillty, provlded by pleats or puckers ln lts fabricO The type Or the construction o~ a puckered buff depends upon its ultimate use alsoO Difrerent 105'~577 hardnesses may be required ror variou~ cutting and/or color buf~lng applicationsO Hardness may be controlled somewhat by the spaclng o~ bu~s on the mandrel, but more commonly is regulated by the degree Or puckerlng, the dlameter of the burf relatlve to the cllnch rlng dlameter, or the stlfrness Or the burr ~abricO The stirrness o~ a woven bu~ fabric ls regulated by the tightness of the weave Or the ~abric or by the addition Or sizlng agent~
such as starches or stearatesO A ~ort, color bufr would typically have a thread count o~ 64 by 54 per lnch (205 cm), where a typlcal cut-and-color buf~ would have a thread count Or about 92 by 92, as would a hard, cuttlng bu~r, but wlth the addltlon Or stlfrenlng agents to the latterO
The materlals ~rom whlch the layers ln buf~s have been composed typically include cotton, sisal, wool and paper, with cotton belng by ~ar the most popular.
Slsal ls a long coarse fiber that is twisted into strands and woven evenly into a ~abrlc rOr use ln bu~fso Slsal ~abrlc layers are often interleaved with cotton fabrlc layers to form burr~, but bufrs made entirely Or sisal or cotton are also very commonO Bur~ layers are also typlcally formed o~ layers Or muslin, flannel or woolO
Bu~fs formed Or layers o~ woven material have been round to have a serious dlsadvantage slnce such woven layers tend to unravel in a square con~iguration due to the nature Or weavingO As this occurs, lt forms corners ln the woven piece where the outermost weft and warp threads meet, creating localities o~ di~erent denslty at the per~phery o~ the buffing surface whlch ~05Z5~
prevents the buff from runnlng smoothly and may produce a non-unl~orm fin1shO Placing ad~acent layers 8uch that their ~eaves are on a slight bla~ would ~pread out the~e sltes o~ uneven density, but does not ellmlnate themO
Additionally, woven buffs are notorlously dirty becau~e, as they are used, the woven fabric di~integrates spewing thread-like residue into the surroundlng areaO
Woven buffs may also create a hazard because the long threads tend to grab a small work plece from the hands of userO
The present invention provldes a ~tbrous buf~
composed of layers of non-woven fabrlc formed of adhesive-ly bonded synthetlc organlc ~lbersO The buffs of the lnventlon are llghter ln weight and more unlform running, as well as being generally quleter, cleaner and cooler to operate, than the buffs o~ the prlor artO The buffs o~
the inventlon are capable o~ holdlng bu~flng compounds on thelr buffing surfaces, and when used, provlde a bu~flng actlon in some respects equivalent to woven bu~fs, and, ln other respects superlor to woven buffs, as wlll be explain-ed herelnG Addltlonally, the non-woven fabric o~ the bu~fs of the lnventlon wlll not unravel as does the woven fabrlc of the buf~s of the prior artO The bu~fs of the lnventlon are there~ore much sa~er to use because they do not produce long threads whlch could grab a work pleceO
Whlle the relative amount, by welght, of materlal lost during the bufflng operatlon from the buff of the lnvent~on ls about the same as that lost from a woven buf~, the bu~ of the lnventlon 1~ approximately one thlrd the welght of lts woven counterpart, and thus the ~.~SZ57~
total welght loss is con~lderably lessO Additionally, the non-woven buff of the present lnventlon wlll dl~integrate cleaner because the non-woven ~lbers break of~ in small pieces whlch create a lint or powdery residue rather than the strlngy resldue resulting from uslng a woven bu~fo The residue of buffs of the invention ls therefore con~ld-erably easier to remove by conventional alr exhaust ~ystems~
The buffs made in accordance wlth the lnvention may be of any design or style presently known or contem-plated in the futureO The most popular forms of buf~s are deplcted by Figures 1-~ of the drawlngO
Figure 1 showe perhaps the slmplest ~orm o~
buff 10 composed of layers 11 o~ non-woven ~abric sewn wlth one or more clrc~es of stltching 12 with suitable thread whlch ls known for thls purpose between the outer edge 13 and central opening 14 which may contain a core of a more rigld materlal adhered thereln by a suitable adhesive binderO Layers of non-woven material have a generally clrcular shape and they are stacked (or the entire a~embly is cut) so that the edges of each of the layers deflne a cylindrlcal surface whlch i8 the periph-eral edge of the bu~.
Figure 2 shows a bu~f 20 compo~ed o~ layers 21 o~ bonded non-woven synthetic ~lbers sewn together with several clrcular patterns 22 of ~titchlng wlth æultable threadO The sewlng pattern may be concentrlc (as shown), spiral, square, radial, radlal arc, or a comb~nation thereo~O Bu~ 20 has a central openlng 24 lnto which a suitable mandrel may be inserted for rotation of the buffo lOSZ577 Figure 3 depicts what is known as a "puckered1' bufflng wheel 30 whlch i8 produced by cuttlng a contlnuou~
strip of non-woven synthetlc materlal and convolutely wrapping thi~ strip around the separated ends of axially aligned cylindrical mandrel~, radially constrlcting the wrapped strlp at its mlddle to form a flattened "puckered"
annulus, and lnstalllng a rigld clinch rlng 33 of elther plastlc or metal wlthln the openlng of the annulus. A
"puckered" fabrlc annulus may also be fastened by ~tapllng, sewing or adheslve bonding to a sultable rlgld annulus such as an annulus formed of cardboard.
While lt may be at flrst thought to be obvlous to form a buff of non-woven synthetic flbrous fabrlc, lt has been discovered, after much experlmentation and evaluatlon, that such is not the caseO It has been found that only certain non-woven fabrics provlde a useful buff, as will herelnafter be explalned~
The composltlon of the non-woven synthetic fabrlc going to form the buff of the invention dlctates whether or not thls product will be successful. The non-woven fabrlc ls formed of flexlble, durable, tough, reslllent synthetic organic fibers having a length between about 1 cm and about 15 cm (preferably between about 2 cm and about 7.5 cm)O Fiber lengths outslde of thls length range are dlfficult to form lnto a web fabric using the equipment presently available for this purpose.
Bu~fs formed of non-woven fabrlc consistlng of coarse flbers, 8 denier and larger, do not hold as much bufflng compound as buffs formed of non-woven fabrlc made 105i~577 of smaller denler ~lbers; thererore flber slzes larg~r than 8 denler are not pre~erred. Bu~f~ o~ coarse rlbers may also provlde a surface treatment which is too aggres-~ive for conventlonal bufflngO Flbers of about 8 denler or smaller may be used, but presently fiber denieræ less than about 3/4 are unavallable because of manufacturlng limitationsO The preferred fiber denler ls within the range of about 1 to 6, slnce flbers havlng a denier less than about 1 may produce a relatlvely weaker fabrlc whlch may not be able to wlthstand the forces encoùntered in all phases of buffing.
Fiberæ of relatively weak polymerlc materlals wlll not produce a buff wlth an economlcally u8eful wear ll~eO Useful flbers should there~ore have a breaking tensile strength of at least about 3.5 grams per denier.
Buffs composed of fibers having a fiber breaklng tenslle strength of at least 5 grams per denier are preferred because they have sufficlent strength to provlde ror a long wear life under a wlde variety of condltionsO
The flbers may be formed of any of a wlde variety o~ synthetlc organlc ~iber-forming polymers lncluding both thermoplastic and thermosettlng polymers, provided the fibers have the required physlcal properties described herelnO The preferred polymers for ~iber ~ormation include nylon, both polyamide (eOgO, that sold under the trade designation "Nomex"*or "Kevlar"*) and polylmlde, polyesters, preferably polyethylene tere-phthalate, hlgh modulus viscose rayon, ~ome acrylic polymers, and modacryllc polymers, but not conventlonal *Registered trademark ~05Z57';~

viscose rayonO Bicomponent ~lbers ~ormed by coextruding two different polymerlc materlals are also use~ul. The synthetic organic polymers useful in the inventlon have a meltlng or decomposltion temperature o~ at least 175C
to with~tand the normal heat generated during the buffing operationO Polymers not withstanding at least thls temperature may melt ln use and smear the sur~ace o~ the work plece being buf~ed wlth molten polymer and make the buf~ surface glazed, substantially reducing lts bu~fing compound holding capacityO Polypropylene, for example, ls not satlsfactory because of lts low melting temperatureO
The flbers should have the least degree of crlmp requlred to be utillzed on the web formlng equipment.
The ~lbers prevlously descrlbed are bonded together at thelr polnts o~ lntersection and contact wlth a water-, oil-, and grease- reslstant synthetlc organlc binder which will form a strong adherent bond between fibers. The blnder also has a meltlng or decompositlon temperature above 175C ~or the reasons given aboveO The ~0 cured blnder is rigid but not brittleO The binder is àpp~i~d aa à liquld, e.gO, as a solution or a dlspersion, preferably as an aqueous solutlon, emulslon, dlspersion or latex of the resin which may be thermoplastic or thermo-setting. Exemplary pre~erred binders include acrylate polymers, avallable as acrylate emulsions such as that sold under the trade deslgnation "Rhoplex"*AC-172;
acrylonitrile/butadlene polymers, eOgO, sold under the trade deslgnatlon "Hycar"*1571; polyvinyl chloride, available as a latex such as that sold under the trade *Registered trademark lOSZ577 designation "Geon"*460Xl; and polyvinyl alcohol such as that sold under the trade de~ignatlon "aelvatol'~20-60.
The binder must be selected for and added to the ribers 80 as not to immobllize the ~lbersO Fiber immobllizatlon does not allow rlber fl~xing and r~sults ln premature flber breakage without the rormatlon of "~uzz"
on the buff's perlpheral edge (buffing sur~ace). The non-woven fabric should wear "fuzzy" rather than cleanly to hold bu~fing compo~ltlons and to provide the required burflng e~roct. Non-woven fabrlc havlng unbonded ~lber onds on the periphery on the order Or about 3 mm have been ~ound to be sur~iclently ru~zy to provlde a use~ul bu~flng surrace.
The type and amount o~ blnder may be utllized to regulate the stirfness Or the non-woven fabrlc Or the buff to a certain degree. Tho inherent ~abric stlf~noss, together wlth the sowlng pattern regulate the stlfrness Or a sewn burr, whllo the inherent fabrlc stlrrness, type Or constructlon and/or addltlon o~ external stlf~ening agents, a~ provlously descrlbed, regulates the stl~ness Or a puckered burf.
The blnd~r g~nerally comprlses less than about 60% o~ the total weight of the non-woven ~abrlc. Too much blnder may produce a bu~-whlch could ~mear the sur~ace Or the artlcle ~oing bu~ed or which has a short wear life because o~ fiber lmmobilizationO Typically, the binder content may vary between about 5~ to about 60~ of the total weight of the rabric dependlng upon the composltlon Or the binder and of the ribersO When high modulus *Registered trademark .-- g _ lOS'~S77 viscose rayon fibers are employed, a pre~erred blnder ls butadiene-acrylonltrlle whlch may comprise from about 30-50% by weight of the non-woven fabrlc.
Fibers of the desired length and denler, as hereinbefore described, are processed on a suitable web formlng machine lnto an integral sheet which ls then impregnated with the blnder resin and dried to form the non-woven fabric. The preferred equipment for forming - the non-woven fabrlc is the "Rando-Webber"*apparatus.
The non-woven fabrlc has a denslty on the order of 0.1 to 0.6 grams per cc (preferably 0O15 to 0.35 grams per cc), whlch is relatlvely llght-welght when compared to the density of woven cotton fabrlc which is on the o~der of 0.5 to 0.6 grams per cc. The cotton buf~ læ thus ~rom about l to 6 times heavier than the buff of the inventlon, resulting in considerable savlngs in materials and ship-plng costs for the buf~ of the lnvention.
When making a sewn buff, layers of the non-woven - fabric are first cut into any desired rough dimensions and stacked one on another to form a plle of the desired thlckness. Buffs are then cut from the pile utllizing a conventlonal cutting device such as a stamplng die.
Sewing is preferably accompllshed be~ore cutting. When forming a puckered buff, the non-woven fabrlc ls cut into a continuous strlp of any deslred width and wrapped around the formlng mandrels to a total thickness o~ l/2 the flnal buff thlckness. The puckered buff ls then formed in the manner prevlously described and the fabric 15 then die-cut to provlde a buff of desired dlameter.

*Registered trademark ,~

105'~5~7 The buf~ o~ the lnventlon will be comprised of one or more non-woven fabrlc layers having a thlckness Or at least 0.1 mm. At less than 0.1 mm, the rabrlc layers tear easlly and thus have a very short uneconomlcal use llfeO Typical rabric layers are on the order of 0.25 to 0.4 mm thick. The puckered buff will be somewhat thlcker (e.gO, 0.4 - 0.75 mm), slnce lts conrlguration requlres more strength. It is presently dlrrlcult to make rabrlc layers thlcker than about 0.75 mm because as more and more ribers are laid down to thicken the rabric layer, the blnd-er mlgrates to the surrace, resultlng ln a fabric layer which easily delaminates because it is insurriclen~ly bonded into its interior.
Wear Test An important aspect Or the invention is appli-cants' dlscovery Or a burr rabrlc wear test to determlne which combinations Or synthetic organic fibers and binder~
described above will produce a commercially userul burr.
- The rabrlc wear test involves rirst preparing a test bufr which conslsts Or 4 sectlons Or about 20 layers each Or non-woven fabrlc to make a total burr thlckness Or approximately 2.5 cm. The test burf has a 25 cm outer dlameter, is splrally sewn with about Oo6 cm between splrals, and has a 302 cm dlameter central opening. To test the wear Or a puckered burr, two slde by slde 40 cm diameter puckered test burrs are usedO Each puckered test burr has a total rabric thickness (exclusive Or puckering) Or about 0.5 cmO The weight Or the fabric portlon Or the test bufr ls then determlned texcluslve Or any clinch rlngs ~ 30 or arbors) and the bu~r ls mounted on a shart for rotatlon, lOS'~ 577 using 15 cm diameter flange~ for ~ewn buffs and ? cm diameter flanges ror puckered buf~ to ~irmly hold the bufr ln placeO A wear-test head 18 provlded by eleven 8.41 cm x 2054 cm x lol mm steel blades (each sharpened on a 8041 cm edge by beveling ~rom one side) separated by two 6.4 mm thick spacers between bla~es and placed in a holder wlth the sharp edges ln the same directlon and the beveled sides down, so that the total dlstance - between the outslde blades is 1308 cmO The wear-test head 0 13 centered with the middle blade radlally allgned wlth respect to and touching the peripheral edge of the tcst buff, the remainlng blade edges lylng ln the plane tangent to the peripheral edge o~ the bu~f, and the blade holder ln a vertical position. The wear-test head ls then rastened in a mechanical carrlage which causes lt to travel 14 cm ln an up and down moticn, wlth 6.8 kg force against the buf~ so that the bu~r ~o~ates against the blades. Ir wear occurs durlng a cycle, the wear-head is readJusted to keep the wear-te3t head vertical for the next cycleO Each test buf~ ls sub~ected to 10 wear cycles, wlth adJustment if necessary, after each cycle to maintaln the correct contact between the blades and the buffo Arter 10 cycles the bu~f ls rewelghed and the percent welght loss (~rom the fabrlc) ls determlned~ Buff~ havlng a welght loss of less than 20S will generally have a commerclally use~ul lifeO
Heat-Re~stant Bu~s Certaln comblnatlons of synthetlc ~lbers and binders have been found, qulte surprlslngly, to provlde a heat-resistant buP~ which can be used ln high temperature - 12 _ envlronment5 such a~ ror wlp~ng molten ~older rrom ~reshly soldered metal container seams. Such buf~s wlll generally have a con~lguratlon such as deplcted by Flgure 1 o~ the drawlngO Cotton bur~s have been used ror this purpose in the past wlth llmited success because cotton tend~ to char badly and sometimes actually burns after very short use time. Woven cotton cloth also tends to unravel when used or solder wlplng appllcatlon~, resulting ln a non-unlrorm wlplng surface.
In wlping molten solder, the burf should be capable Or wlthstandlng brler contact wlth a heat~d metal ~urrace Or about 370C wlthout meltlng or exce~slve charrlng. Ir elther the riber or the binder in the bu~
melts ln thls sltuatlon, the surrace o~ the wlper wlll become glazed and hard and wlll not evenly wlpe th~ molten solder ~rom the ~eam, leavlng an lrregular seam whlch may pre~ent proper appllcatlon Or the can covers.
The bu~s accordlng to the lnventlon which per~orm satlsractorlly a~ solder wlplng devices are com-posed Or non-woven rabrlc whlch contains heat- and rlame-reslstant flbers and blndersO Heàt- and ~lame-r~sistant rlbers and blnders are stable at elevated temperatures above about 175C and decompose (rather than m~ltlng or burnlng) above thls temperature to produce by-products whlch wlll not lnterrere with the solder wipingO Some typical examples o~ heat- and ~lame-re~lstant ~lbers lnclude hlgh temperature reslstant nylon ~uch as that sold under the trade deslgnatlon "Nomax"* high strength and hlgh modulus nylon such as that ~old under the trade deslgnatlon "Kevlar"*29, and flame-retardant rayon. The~e *Registered trademark 1~5'~577 ~lbers are adhered together using a rlame-retardant blnder such as polyvlnyl chloride, ror example, such as that sold under the trade name "aeon"*460Xl, or vinylld~ne chlorlde-butadlene, eOgO, that sold under the trade designatlon To perform satls~actorlly as a 8 older wiper, the non-woven ~abric should be soft, uni~orm and firm, but ~lexlble~ Suitable ~abrics will have a "~uzzy" peripheral sur~ace, as hereinbe~ore de~lnad, which will be flrm enough to exert ~ome pressure on the surface belng wiped, but the ~abric layers wlll not be 80 stiff as to be easily forced apart to cause a non-unlform ~urface.
An especially pre~erred solder wlplng buf~ is ~ormed of a mlxture (most preferably equal parts) of high temperature reæistant nylon ~lbers such as those sold under the trade deslgnation "Kevlar"*and "Nomex"*banded together wlth a blnder comprlsed of a mixture of a maJor portion of polyvinyl chloride and a mlnor portion o~
polyvinyl alcohol.
The buffs of the inventlon are illustrated by the following nonllmiting examples, wherein all parts are by weight unless otherwise ~pecifledO
Example 1 This example describes the manufacture of a buff such as depicted ln Figure 2 of the drawing.
A polyvinyl alcohol stock solution is ~lrst prepared by mixing 10 parts polyvlnyl alcohol (such as that sold under the trade designation "Gelvatol'~20-60 by the Monsanto Corporation), 89 parts soft water, one part Registered trademark trlethylene glycol plasticizer, 002 part 2-ethylhexanol antl-foam agent and 002 part surfactant such as that sold under the trade designatlon "Vlctawet 35B"* A saturatlng sol~tion is then prepared by mlxing 17, 5 parts stock solution, 52.5 parts water, 0018 parts ammonium chloride catalyst and 0035 part dlmethylol urea insolubllizerO
A llght weight open non-woven alr-lald web is then ~ormed on a "Rando-Webber"*machlne, commerclally avallable ~rom the Curlator Corporatlon of Rochester, New YorkO The web is ~ormed o~ a blend of 80 parts three denier, 4 cm, hlgh modulus vlscose rayon fibers and 20 parts 105 denier, 4 cm, hlgh modulus vlscose rayon ~ibersO
(The fibers are sold under the trade deslgnatlon "Flber 40" by the FMC Corporatlon)0 InitiaIly, the fibers are ~ed into a conventional garnett machlne to loosen and separate themO The loose staple from the garnett machlne ls then transferred lnto the feed hopper of the "Rando-Webber"*machine and the machine is then started and adJuæted to form a random web having a weight o~ about 40 20 grams per square meterO The web is then led onto a contlnuous conveyor belt ~rom which it ls passed between nip rolls that are contlnuously being supplied wlth the saturatlng solution described aboveO The nlp rolls are operated at a roll to roll pressure of 5O 4 kg per cm, The 25 lower nip roll is a 1705 cm diameter rubber roll havlng a Shore A durometer of about 70 and a grooved surface to increase the solution carrylng capaclty, which roll rotates in a bath of the solutionD The upper nip roll ls a 12D 7 cm diameter steel roll having helical grooves over its surface to increase solution carrying capacityO The Registered Trademark 105'~577 uppcr roll ls supplied with solutlon whlch ls spread unirormly over lts surface by a doctor blade. From the nlp rolls, the coated web pasSes to another conveyor belt whlch carrles the coated web into a 6.1 meter drylng and curlng oven heated at 175C and provlded wlth a hot air supply. The web ls dried untll substantlally all Or the solvent ls removed and the web 18 non-tacky to touch.
The resultant 0.25 mm thlck web has a denslty of 0.18 g/cc.
After removal from the oven, the web ls cut into squares slightly larger th8n 25 cm on an edge, 25 web seg-ments stacked one on another and the stack sewn in a spiral pattern beglnnlng at a 3 cm radlus and contlnulng to the - outslde edge of the stack wlth approxlmately 8 mm between seams and about 2.4 stltches per cm. Thc needle thread is Style NoO 83025 (16/4) left twlst cotton thread sold by the Conso Company and the bobbln'thread ls Style No. 83060 (24/4) left twlst thread by the same companyO
-- A buff ls cu~ from the sewn stack utllizlng a 25 cm dlameter dle havlng a 3.1 cm center punch ~or the arbor hol~e'. When evaluated for wear, the bu~f has a welght loss of 5 2%.
Thls buff may be u~ed to lmpart a hlgh color finlsh on cast brass articles with a commerclal buffing composltlon sold under the trade designation "Formax"*
tripoll buffing compound type T-2 (very dry), by Formax Manufacturlng Corporatlon of Detrolt, Michlgan.
Examples 2 - 10 In Examples 2-10, the non-woven fabrlc was made substantlally as described ln Example 1, with varlations Regi stered trademark A

105'~57'7 there~rom belng noted in Table I. The characterl~tlcs o~ each bufr are shown ln Table II. Table III reveals some characteristics of prlor art cotton buffs.

. , _ 105'~57'7 ~_ U~ .~ .~ o .~ CO ~
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~ U~
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los,~ S7~7 Footnotes 1. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sold under the trade deslg-natlon "~Qlva~ol"*20-60 by the Monsanto Co~any.

2. Sold under the trade deslgnatlon "HYcar"*1571 by the B. F. Goodrlch Company.

3. Sold under the trade de~lgnatlon AC-172 by the Rohm and Haas Company.

4. Type P113 nylon (polyamlde) flbers sold by the E. I.
DuPont de Nemours Company.

5. Type 420 nylon (polyamlde) flbers ~old by ths E.I.
DuPont de Nemours CompanyO

6. Aromatlc nylon (polyamlde) ~lbers sold under the trade deslgnation "Kevlar 29"*by the E. I. DuPont de Nemours Company.

7. PQ1Y~inY1 chlorlde sold under the trade designatlon '!Geon~46oxl ~y the B. F. Goodrlch Company.

8. Hlgh temperature reslstant nylon (polyamlde) flbers sold under the trade deslgnatlon "Nomex'*by the E. I.
DuPont de Nemours Company.

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Claims (15)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN
EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED
AS FOLLOWS:

1. A rotary buff comprised of a plurality of layers of non-woven fabric held together by fastening means, said non-woven fabric having a fabric density on the order of 0.1 to 0.6 grams per cc, being at least about 0.1 mm thick and consisting essentially of a multiplicity of randomly disposed, adhesively bonded, flexible, durable, tough, resilient organic fibers no larger in size than about 8 denier, having a length on the order of 1 cm to 15 cm and a break strength of at least about 3.5 grams per denier, said fibers being formed of an organic fiber-forming material having a melting or decomposition temper-ature above about 175°C, said fibers being firmly adhe-sively bonded at points where they cross and contact one another to form a uniform web with a rigid but not brittle binder material which has a melting or decomposition temperature above about 175°C, said binder material being contained in said fabric in an amount sufficient to firmly adherently bind said fibers together but insufficient to immobilize said fibers.

2. The buff of claim 1 wherein said fiber length is from 2 to 8 cm.

3. The buff of claim 1 wherein said fiber denier is from 1 to 6.

4. The buff of claim 1 wherein said fiber break-strength is at least 5 grams per denier.

5. The buff of claim 1 wherein said organic fiber-forming material is selected from the group consist-ing of nylon, polyester, and high modulus viscose rayon.

6. The buff of claim 1 wherein said fastening means is sewing.

7. The buff of claim 1 wherein said fastening means is stapling.

8. The buff of claim 1 wherein said fastening means is a clinch ring.

9. The buff of claim 1 wherein said fastening means is adhesive bonding.

10. The buff of claim 1 wherein said binder material is selected from the group consisting of acrylonitrile-butadiene polymers, acrylate resins, poly-vinyl chloride, polyvinyl alcohol and mixtures of these materials.

11. The buff of claim 1 wherein said organic fiber-forming material and said binder material are flame and heat resistant.

12. A rotary buff comprised of a plurality of layers of non-woven fabric held together by fastening means, said non-woven fabric having a fabric density on the order of 0.15 to 0.35 grams per cc, being about 0.25 to 0.4 mm thick and being comprised of a multiplicity of randomly disposed, adhesively bonded, flexible, durable, tough, resilient high modulus viscose rayon fibers of a size on the order of 1 to 6 denier, having a length on the order of 2 to 7.5 cm and a break-strength of at least about 5 grams per denier, said fibers being firmly adhe-sively bonded at points where they cross and contact one another with from about 30% to about 50% by weight of butadiene acrylonitrile binder material which has a melting or decomposition temperature above 175°C.

13. A rotary buff especially suited for use in wiping molten solder from freshly soldered metal container seams, said buff comprised of a plurality of layers of non-woven fabric held together by fastening means, said non-woven fabric having a fabric density on the order of 0.15 to 0.35 grams per cc, being about 0.25 to 0.4 mm thick and consisting essentially of a multiplicity of randomly disposed, adhesively bonded, flexible, durable, tough, resilient nylon fibers on the order of 1 to 6 denier, having a length of about 2 to 7.5 cm and a break strength of at least about 5 grams per denier, said fibers bonded together with a binder material consisting essen-tially of a major portion of polyvinyl chloride and a minor portion of polyvinyl alcohol, said nylon fibers and said binder material being flame and heat resistant.

14. A rotary puckered buff comprised of puckered layers of non-woven fabric held together by a rigid clinch, said non-woven fabric having a fabric density on the order of 0.1 to 0.6 grams per cc, being about 0.4 to 0.75 mm thick and consisting essentially of a multiplicity of randomly dispersed adhesively bonded, flexible, durable, tough, resilient organic fibers no larger in size than about 8 denier, having a length on the order of 1 cm to 15 cm and a break strength of at least about 3.5 grams per denier, said fibers being formed of an organic fiber-forming material having a melting or decomposition temper-ature above about 175°C, said fibers being firmly adhe-sively bonded at points where they cross and contact one another to form a uniform web with a rigid but not brittle binder material which has a melting or decomposition temperature above about 175°C, said binder material being contained in said fabric in an amount sufficient to firmly adherently bind said fibers together but insuffi-cient to immobilize said fibers.

15. The buff of claim 14 wherein said organic fiber-forming material is nylon.