Patent ID: 7192253
Filing Date: 2007-03-20
Classification: B29C,B29K,B29L,F04D,F05D,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method for producing a fan wheel having an inner hub, a plurality of fan blades extending radially from the hub and an outer ring connected with distal ends of the fan blades, the method consisting essentially of: (a) injection molding a casting compound into a mold cavity that includes a generally disk-shaped cavity having a shape corresponding to a generally solid, disk-shaped central hub of the fan wheel, wherein said cavity is generally hollow prior to said molding; (b) providing a ring or fan gate adjacent to the center of the disk-shaped cavity; (c) directing the casting compound through the ring or fan gate in all directions toward the outer ring of the fan wheel to fill the mold cavity; and (d) removing the ring or fan gate, wherein the casting compound comprises a reinforcing fiber filler, and wherein the reinforcing fiber is aligned in a tangential orientation in the generally solid, disk-shaped central hub of the fan wheel.