Continuous molding process and apparatus

Claim 1

A METHOD OF CONTINOUSLY MOLDING A SHEET OF TETRAFLUOROETHYLENE RESIN OF A WIDTH SEVERAL TIMES ITS THICKNESS, INCLUDING THE STEPS OF: RAMMING SUCCESSIVE INCREMENTS OF THE RESIN INTO A FIRST LONGITUDINAL PORTION OF A PASSAGE OF THE CROSSSECTIONAL CONFIGURATION OF THE SHEET TO FORM A CONTINUOUS MOVING MASS AND TO PLACE THE MASS UNDER UNIFORM SURFACE PRESSUE IN THE PASSAGE BY THE OPPOSITION TO THE RAMMING ACTION OF THE FRICTIONAL RESISTANCE TO TRAVEL OF THE MASS THROUGH THE PASSAGE; CONCURRENTLY WITH SAID RAMMING, HEATING FIRST LONGITUDINAL PORTION OF THE MASS IN THE PASSAGE TO RAISE THE TEMPERATURE THEREOF TO A SINTERING TEMPERATURE; PRESSURE MOVING SAID MASS THROUGH A SECOND LONGITUDINAL PORTION OF THE PASSAGE DOWNSTREAM FROM SAID FIRST PORTION; AND CONTROLLABLY ADDING HEAT TO SAID SECOND LONGITUDINAL PORTION OF SAID PASSAGE TO CONTROLLABLY LOWER THE TEMPERATURE OF THE MOVING MASS BY EXPOSURE THEREOF BELOW SAID SINTERING TEMPERATURE AND ABOVE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, SAID TEMPERATURE LEVEL IN SAID SECOND PORTION BEING CONTROLLED TO MAINTAIN UNIFORM SURFACE PRESSURE ON SAID MASS IN SAID SECOND PORTION OF THE PASSAGE.