Abstract:
A method and an apparatus are provided for forming sheet material that can be used as a stiffener. The sheet material may be unitary and is formed from a material that exhibits appropriate resiliency, stiffness and shape retention. The sheet material preferably is formed with a profiled die so that at least one edge of the stiffener is chamfered. The profiled forming and cutting die may be part of press or part of a roll former.

Description:
[0001]     This application relates to Provisional Patent Application No. 60/570,159 filed May 12, 2004 and Provisional Patent Application No. 60/577,962 filed on Jun. 8, 2004. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming sheet material, and particularly sheet material that can be used as a stiffener. The sheet material can be used in many manufacturing processes, including, for example the manufacture of footwear, hats, luggage, golf bags and clothing, to name a few.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Stiffeners are used in the footwear to provide varying degrees of resilience, stiffness and shape retention in the heel and toe portions of the footwear. These materials often are made from a needle punched non-woven fabric or a woven fabric. The fabric alone generally does not provide the desired degrees of resiliency, stiffness and shape retention. Hence, the fabric is treated with a resin, such as latex, to provide appropriate resiliency, stiffness and shape retention.  
         [0006]     Several optional manufacturing processes have been used to provide the necessary resiliency, stiffness and shape retention to the stiffeners for shoes and sneakers. For example, some manufacturers pass a web of the woven or non-woven fabric from a roll through a bath of latex resin. The latex resin saturates the fabric. The saturated fabric then is passed from the bath and passes through heating devices for curing. Other manufacturing processes apply a latex powder to the woven or non-woven fabric rather than passing the fabric through a bath. The fabric then is heated sufficiently for the latex powder to melt into the fabric. Still other manufacturing processes extrude a coating of latex onto the non-woven fabric.  
         [0007]     The stiffener typically must be adhered to adjacent layers of the footwear. Thus, the latex-saturated non-woven fabric typically is treated with a hot melt coating to provide a finished stiffener that has adhesive properties. Accordingly heat and/or pressure applied during the footwear manufacturing process will bond the stiffener to inner and outer layers of the footwear.  
         [0008]     Stiffeners for footwear typically are made by manufacturers with special expertise in this technology. The manufacturers form the stiffeners from long rolled webs of non-woven fabric. The long webs then are cut into rectangular sheets that are stacked on a pallet, wrapped and transported to the manufacturer of the footwear. The footwear manufacturer then stamps out small blanks from the large sheets to form stiffeners of appropriate dimensions for the heel and/or toe portion of the footwear. The stiffener for the heel portion of the footwear generally is referred to as a heel counter, while the stiffener for the toe portion of the footwear generally is referred to as a box toe.  
         [0009]      FIGS. 1 and 2  herein show the blank of a stiffener that eventually will extend across the heel portion of a shoe or sneaker. In this context, the term blank indicates that the heel counter has been cut from a larger sheet but has not been processed and formed completely.  FIG. 2  shows that the blank  100  for the heel counter has opposed parallel top and bottom surfaces  101  and  102  and edges  103  and  104  that extend perpendicularly between the top and bottom surfaces  101  and  102 . The blank  100  could be incorporated into a shoe or sneaker in this form. However, at least one of the edges  103  and  104  that will extend around the heel of the foot and will form a well defined line in the footwear. The well defined line is aesthetically unacceptable to most footwear manufacturers. Additionally, the well defined edge  103  or  104  can present discomfort to the wearer. Similar problems exist with box toes. As a result, most footwear manufacturers perform a skiving operation on at least one edge of the stiffener before incorporating the stiffener into the footwear. The skiving operation is slow and labor intensive and requires the stiffener blank  100  to be fed into a skiving machine that will convert the blank  100  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  into a stiffener  106  or  108  with a cross-sectional shape as shown in  FIG. 3  or  4 . The skiving operation creates the potential for mistake, and hence post-skiving quality control is essential.  
         [0010]     The stamping operation that is used to form the blanks  100  necessarily leaves a substantial amount of waste material as the blanks  100  are cut from the sheet. The skiving operation also creates a substantial amount of waste material, and the quality control checking typically identifies rejects that constitute waste. Waste produced during the manufacture of shoe stiffeners can be recycled due to environmental concerns of the shoe manufacturer and/or environmental laws of the governmental jurisdiction in which the shoe manufacturing is carried out. The shoe manufacturer typically will not have the interest or ability to undertake a recycling of the scrap stiffener materials. Hence, the shoe manufacturers typically return the scrap to the manufacturer of the stiffener materials for recycling.  
         [0011]     The large sheets of stiffeners produced by the above-described prior art manufacturing processes typically is highly automated and often is carried out in more industrialized areas of the world. Other aspects of shoe manufacturing, including the skiving operations, are more labor intensive and hence often are carried out in less industrialized areas of the world. Thus, it is not uncommon for the sheets of stiffeners to be made in Europe or North America. The sheets then are transported long distances to areas of the world that have cheaper sources of labor. The scrap material then is transported back to the source of the sheet material. Hence, there are substantial shipping costs relating to portions of the stiffeners that are not used. The shoe manufacturing industry is highly competitive, and even small savings in cost can lead to a significant competitive advantage. Thus, processes that reduce or eliminate the transport of excess stiffener materials could be commercially very beneficial to the manufacturers of stiffeners.  
         [0012]     Significant competition also exists among the shoe manufacturers. Hence, there is a commercial advantage to reducing the costly labor intensive aspects of shoe manufacturing, such as the above-described skiving operations and quality control checking.  
         [0013]     The footwear industry was the focus of the preceding discussion of sheet materials and stiffeners. However, other industries employ sheet materials that must have specified stiffness, resiliency and shape retention characteristics. For example, sheet materials with specified stiffness, resiliency and shape retention characteristics are used in hats, purses, luggage, back packs, golf bags, clothing and many other products. Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a method for manufacturing sheet material, such as stiffeners, in a more efficient manner.  
         [0014]     It is another object of the subject invention to provide an apparatus for efficiently manufacturing sheet material that must be cut and formed, such as the sheet material used in heel counters and box toes of footwear.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     The invention relates to a process and apparatus for making profiled sheet material, such as sheet material that may be used for stiffening selected areas of footwear. The process includes forming a sheet material having appropriate stiffening, resiliency and shape retention characteristics for the specified end use. The process then includes cutting the sheet material into blanks with specified shapes and substantially simultaneously forming the cut blanks of sheet material to have the required profile. The forming step preferably is carried out to provide at least one chamfered edge on the sheet material.  
         [0016]     The cutting and forming may be carried out with a stamping apparatus or with a rotary cutter. The stamping apparatus or the rotary cutter may include at least one continuous cutting edge for cutting through the sheet material. The stamping apparatus or the rotary cutter also may have a profiled region substantially bounded by the cutting edge. The cutting edge and the profiled region cut the sheet material into small blanks of specified shapes and substantially simultaneously form the cut blanks of the sheet material to have the specified profile. The forming aspect of the process may be carried out to define the above-referenced chamfer along at least one of the cut edges.  
         [0017]     Embodiments of the invention that employ rotary cutters may cut sections of the sheet material from an elongate web while the web is fed longitudinally and continuously through the rotary cutter. Embodiments of the invention that employ a stamping press may cut the sections of the sheet material from an elongate web of sheet material as the sheet material is fed incrementally into and through the stamping press.  
         [0018]     The formation of the specified profile on the blanks of sheet material requires some movement or flowing of the sheet material as part of the forming process. The cutting and forming of the blank of the sheet material can be carried out more easily if the sheet material is sufficiently warm to permit flowing of the sheet material in response to forces exerted by the forming and cutting die. Thus, the forming and cutting step of the process preferably is carried out before the sheet material is cured completely. Alternatively, the sheet material may be heated prior to forming and cutting to ensure that the sheet material can be formed without excessive pressure.  
         [0019]     The sheet material that is subject to forming and cutting may be the above-described fabric that has been saturated with a resin. However, a preferred embodiment employs an extruded resin rather than a resin saturated fabric. The extrusion process enables a unitary matrix of resin to be formed with specified stiffening characteristics and with specified adhesive characteristics. Furthermore, the extruded resin is more easily formable than the resin saturated fabric. The apparatus for forming the resin web preferably includes an adjustable lip die to permit the thickness of the resin web to be varied in accordance with the specification of the finished product.  
         [0020]     The process and apparatus of the invention eliminates the labor intensive skiving operations associated with the prior art. Hence, the stiffeners such as heel counters or box toes can be formed easily with a high degree of automation at the location at which the sheet material is formed. The profiled stiffeners then can be shipped to the site for manufacturing the finished product without the need to transport waste portions of the web to the site of manufacturing and then to transport waste portions of the web back to its origin for recycling. Hence, the subject invention results in very substantial reductions in shipping costs, and corresponding reductions in overall costs. For example, waste of the web may be ground up or otherwise processed at the site of the web production. Particles derived from the waste of the web may be heated or otherwise processed to achieve proper moisture content and then may be re-deposited directly back into the extruder.  
         [0021]     The process and apparatus of the invention achieves many other manufacturing efficiencies. For example, prior art processes typically require complicated and costly compounding of powders for coating onto a fabric web. Those process steps are entirely unnecessary with preferred embodiments of the subject invention. Prior art processes also often require mixing of hot melts for application to a fabric web. The costs and time associated with mixing and applying the hot melt coating is avoided with preferred embodiments of the subject invention. Processes that involve saturating a fabric web also require large ovens for drying the fabric web. The ovens take up a substantial amount of floor space in a manufacturing facility and require significant amounts of energy to operate. In contrast, preferred embodiments of the subject process and apparatus may rely largely upon the heat imparted to the web as part of the extrusion process. Any reheating that may be required to soften the web prior to forming and cutting is less than the heat required for drying the saturated web. Hence, heaters used with the apparatus of the subject invention are preferably smaller and more energy efficient. Still further, the subject invention avoids the sheeting that is an integral part of prior art processes. In particular, the prior art webs are cut into rectangular sheets for shipment to a separate manufacturing facility. The sheets then are fed sequentially into a stamping apparatus. In contrast, the subject invention enables finished products to be formed and cut substantially simultaneously and directly from the web. The separate sheeting process is not required. Recycling also is much more efficient. Unused parts of the web can be recycled directly into the hopper of the extruder. Prior art processes typically must include a cryogenic grinding process or some other complex grinding process for the waste material.  
         [0022]     An alternate apparatus and method in accordance with the invention avoids the initial formation and/or use of sheet material prior to making the profiled blanks. In this regard, the apparatus may include first and second rolls defining a nip therebetween. The first roll may have a smooth outer surface. The second roll, however, is formed with an array of inwardly directed die recesses corresponding to the specified shapes of the profiled blanks. Areas between their respective die recesses are disposed to substantially contact the smooth outer surface of the first roll at the nip between the first and second rolls. The apparatus of this embodiment is employed by depositing a flowable resin at the leading side of the nip between the rolls. Rotation of the rolls forces the resin into the die recesses in the second roll and hence forms the resin material into shapes corresponding to the specified profile for the blanks. Further rotation of the rolls moves the profiled blanks away from the nip and enables the blanks to be separated from the second roll and transported to an appropriate location for quality control, packaging and shipment to a customer.  
         [0023]     The alternate apparatus may further include a retainer disposed in the interstice at the downstream side of the nip. The retainer has a shape substantially conforming to the shape of the interstice and functions to keep the flowable resin in the die recesses while the resin is curing sufficiently to be separated from the die recesses of the second roll. A specified flowability and curing can be achieved at appropriate times during the process by heating the first roll and/or by cooling the second roll and the retainer. The heating of the first roll helps to maintain flowability of the resin as the resin approaches the upstream side of the nip. The cooling of the second roll and the cooling of the retainer helps to cure the resin after the resin has been urged into the respective die recesses.  
         [0024]     The apparatus and method of the alternate embodiment described above achieves all of the advantages of the first embodiment. However, the alternate embodiment offers still further advantages. In particular, the process of the alternate embodiment avoids the need and expense for an extruder that first forms a web of material. Rather, the resin is fed directly into the nip between the first and second rollers. Second, the alternate embodiment produces virtually no waste that would otherwise require recycling. In contrast, the first embodiment and the above-described prior art yield significant amounts of waste at locations on the web between the blanks that are cut according to the prior art process or roll formed according to the first embodiment. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0025]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a prior stiffener blank that can be fabricated further for use in the manufacture of footwear.  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  2 - 2  in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIG. 2 , but showing one edge of the blank after skiving so that the blank is fabricated sufficiently for use in certain footwear.  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , but showing a prior art blank skived on all sides and rendered suitable for use in certain footwear.  
         [0029]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of an apparatus in accordance with a first embodiment of the subject invention.  
         [0030]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a rotary forming and cutting die used in the apparatus of  FIG. 5 .  
         [0031]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  7 - 7  in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0032]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a blank formed by the die of  FIG. 7 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIG. 7 , but showing a die with a different shape.  
         [0034]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of a blank formed by the die of  FIG. 9 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view similar to  FIG. 6 , but showing an alternate rotary forming and cutting die.  
         [0036]      FIG. 12  is a schematic view of a portion of an alternate apparatus that can be used to practice the method of the subject invention.  
         [0037]      FIG. 13  is a schematic view of an apparatus that can be used with the apparatus of  FIG. 12 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 14  is a top plan view of an apparatus in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention.  
         [0039]      FIG. 15  is a cross sectional view taken along line  15 - 15  in  FIG. 14 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0040]     An apparatus in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention is identified generally by the numeral  10  in  FIG. 5 . The apparatus  10  includes an extruder  12  with a screw (not shown) driven by a motor  14 . The extruder  12  further includes a hopper  16  for loading controlled amounts of appropriate resins into the extruder  12 . The resin is selected to meet the requirements of the finished product, and may be a polycaprolactone, PETG, ABS, EVA, polyester or the like. The screw driven by the motor  14  is operative for advancing the flowable resin in the direction of the arrow  18 . The extruder  12  further includes a die  20  with a pair of spaced-apart lips to define an outlet slot  22 . Resin is extruded through the slot  22  to define a web  24 . At least one of the lips of the slot  22  preferably is adjustable toward and away from the other lip that defines the slot  22 . Thus, the thickness of the web  24  extruded from the die  20  can be varied through a range of about 15-150 mils by moving at least one of the lips that define the slot  22  of the die  20 .  
         [0041]     The web  24  produced by the extruder  12  is deposited onto a conveyor  26  that moves the web  24  away from the extruder. A heating station  28  is in proximity to the conveyor  26  and prevents the web  24  from curing and solidifying into its stiffened state. The heating station  28  may include an array of infrared heaters that function to maintain the resin web  24  in a semi-molten soft state and hence readily deformable in response to pressure thereon. However, the web  24  is not heated sufficiently to generate flow or dimensional changes in the absence of pressure. Hence, the thickness of the web  24  passing through the heating station  28  can be controlled.  
         [0042]     The apparatus  10  further includes a forming and cutting station  30  substantially adjacent the downstream end of the heating station  28 . The forming and cutting station  30  of the apparatus  10  includes a rotary forming and cutting die  32  as shown most clearly in  FIG. 6 . More particularly, the rotary forming and cutting die  32  is generated substantially cylindrically about an axis  34  aligned substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the web  24  along the conveyor  26  and substantially parallel to the plane define by the web at locations adjacent the rotary forming and cutting die  32 . The rotary forming and cutting die  32  includes a cylindrical outer sleeve with a plurality of forming and cutting die sets  36  formed thereon. Each forming and cutting die set  36  includes a continuous peripheral cutting edge  38  that is sufficiently sharp and has a sufficient extension to cut completely though the web  24 . Portions of the die set  36  inwardly from cutting edge  38  are recessed relative to the outer projecting end of the cutting edge  38  for receiving portions of the resin web  24  inwardly from the continuous cutting edge  38 . Additionally, portions of the die set  36  adjacent at least a portion of the cutting edge  38  are configured to define a chamfer along at least one edge of the section of the web  24  cut by the die set  36 . For example,  FIG. 7  shows that the cutting edge  38  of one die set  36  includes an inwardly facing surface  40  aligned substantially radially. However, another portion of the cutting edge  38  includes an inwardly facing chamfered surface  42  aligned at an acute angle to the outer circumferential surface of the rotary forming and cutting die  32 .  
         [0043]     The die set  36  produces a blank  44 , as shown in  FIG. 8 . The blank  44  has opposite surfaces  46  and  48  and defines a uniform matrix of the resin substantially free voids that exist with stiffeners are made from a woven or nonwoven fibers. An edge  50  is produced by the radially aligned section  40  of the cutting edge  38  and extends orthogonally between the surfaces  46  and  48 . However, the blank  44  also has a chamfered edge  52  produced by the chamfered portion  42  of the cutting edge  38 . Thus, the radially aligned section  40  of the cutting edge  38  will produce a right angle cut through the thickness of the web  24 . However, the chamfered section  42  of the cutting edge  38  will simultaneously cut and deform the web  24  to form a chamfer along at least one edge of the cut section of the web  24 . The chamfer  52  preferably defines a small acute angel of less than about 20°, and most preferably about 5°-10°. Additionally, the chamfered surface  52  will be smooth and free of cut marks skiving marks.  
         [0044]      FIG. 9  shows a further embodiment of the sleeve  32  with a die set  36   a  and a cutting edge  38   a  that is chamfered about the entire periphery of the die set  36   a . The die set  36   a  of  FIG. 9  will produce blanks  44   a  from the resin web  24  with a chamfer  52   a  extending about the blank  44   a , as shown in  FIG. 10 . All portions of each die set  36 ,  36   a  may be coated with a material, such as PTFE, that will facilitate separation of the blank  44 ,  44   a.    
         [0045]     The rotary cutting and forming die  32  shown in  FIG. 6  includes three circumferential arrays of die sets  36 . However, other arrangements of die sets can be provided. For example,  FIG. 11  shows a rotary forming and cutting die  32   a  with a total of six circumferential arrays of die sets  36   a .  FIGS. 6 and 11  show all of the die sets  36  on the rotary forming and cutting die  32  being substantially identical. However, some of the die sets  36  can be different from others. The differences may relate entirely to dimensions. Thus, one die sets  36  may be used for producing heel counters for a large shoe, while another die set  36  may be used for producing heel counters for a smaller shoe. Alternatively, die sets  36  may differ to produce different types of products. For example, one circumferential array of die sets  36  can produce heel counters, while an adjacent circumferential section can produce box toes. The die sets  36  can be parts of sleeves that can be mounted removably on a mandrel to enable the forming and cutting of different blanks. Additionally, the rotary forming and cutting die  32 ,  32   a  can be in communication with a supply of cool water. Thus, the blanks  44 ,  44   a  can be chilled and at least partly cured during the forming and cutting process.  
         [0046]     The conveyor  26  extends downstream from the forming and cutting station  30  and then wraps around a drive roll  54 . As a result, blanks  44  or other cut sections are deposited into an appropriate receptacle, while remaining portions of the web  24  are sent to a different receptacle for recycling.  
         [0047]      FIGS. 12 and 13  show an alternate apparatus  60  for practicing a method according to the subject invention. The apparatus  60  includes an extruder  62  that may be substantially identical to the extruder  12  illustrated in  FIG. 5  and described above. A web  64  produced by the extruder may be substantially identical to the web  24  produced by the extruder  12 . However, in the embodiment of  FIGS. 12 and 13 , the web  64  is passed between and around cooling rolls  66  and  68  to cure the resin web  64 . The resin web  64  then is wound onto a roll  70  at a winding station  72 . The roll  70  then may be moved to an unwind station  74 , as shown in  FIG. 13 . The web  64  is unwound from the roll  70  at the unwind station  74  and is passed along a conveyor  76  through a heating section  78 . The heating station  78  may include a gas infrared heater station. The function of the heating station  78  is to soften the previously cured web  64  so that the resin in the web  64  is rendered soft and easily formable.  
         [0048]     The apparatus  60  further includes a forming and cutting station  80 . In this embodiment, the forming and cutting station  80  includes a stamp forming and cutting press  82  that moves toward and away from the web  64  and in directions substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the web  64  along the conveyor  76 . The stamp forming and cutting press  82  includes a plurality of die sets  84 , each of which has a peripheral cutting edge  88  similar to the cutting edge  38  on the die sets  36  of the rotary forming and cutting die  32 . The cutting edges  88  are dimensioned to pass completely through the web  64 . Additionally, areas of each die set  84  bounded by the cutting edge  88  are configured to form a specified profile. In this regard, the cutting edge  88  may include a first section where an inner surface of the cutting edge  88  is aligned parallel to the direction of movement of the stamp forming and cutting press  82 . However, a second section is aligned at an acute angle to the direction of movement of the stamp forming and cutting press  82  to form a chamfer  52  along at least one edge, as shown in  FIG. 8 . Alternatively, the cutting edge  88  may have a continuous chamfered inner face extending entirely thereabout to produce a blank with a continuous chamfer, as shown in  FIG. 10 .  
         [0049]     The portion of the apparatus  60  shown in  FIG. 12  differs from the first embodiment in that the web  64  is advanced incrementally along the conveyor  76 . In particular, the web  64  is indexed into a position aligned with the forming and cutting station  80 . The press  82  in the forming and cutting station  80  then is actuated to form and cut a plurality of blanks  44  from the web  64 . The press  82  then is lifted up and away from the web  64  and the conveyor belt  76  indexes the web  64  sufficiently to align a new section with the forming and cutting station  80 . The conveyor  76  includes a roll  89  downstream from the forming and cutting station  80  which generates a greater than 90° change in direction of the conveyor  64 . Cut and formed blanks  44  with profiles as shown in  FIG. 8  or  10  then are deposited in an appropriate receptacle, as in the first embodiment. Waste portions of the web  64  then are sent to another location for recycling as described with respect to the first embodiment.  
         [0050]     A further embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the invention is identified generally by the numeral  90  in  FIGS. 14 and 15 . The apparatus  90  includes a first roll  91  and a second roll  92  that are rotatable in opposite directions about parallel axes. The first roll  91  includes a smooth cylindrical outer surface  93 . However, the second roll  92  includes an outer surface  94  formed from a plurality of die recesses with shapes corresponding to the specified shapes of the profiled blanks specified for a particular article of manufacture (e.g. a heel counter). The apparatus further includes end dams  96  at opposite longitudinal ends of the rolls  91  and  92  for channelizing a flow of resin R into a nip  97  defined between the rolls  91  and  92 . The apparatus further includes a retainer  98  at the outlet side of the interstice define by the nip  97  between the rolls  91  and  92 . As shown in  FIG. 15 , the first and second rolls  91  and  92  are arranged with their axes in a substantially horizontal plane and rotate so that the upstream entry to the nip  97  is gravitationally above the axes. The retainer  98 , therefore, is gravitationally below the nip  97  between the rolls  91  and  92 . A conveyor belt  99  or other transportation means is provided below the retainer  98  and the second roll  92 .  
         [0051]     As shown most clearly in  FIG. 15 , the apparatus  90  is employed by depositing a flowable resin compound R in the upstream interstice between the rolls  91  and  92  and above the nip  97  between the rolls  91  and  92 . The first roll  91  is heated to maintain the flowing characteristics of the resin R entering the nip  97 . The resin R is urged by forces of gravity and by forces of the rotating rolls  91  and  92  into the die recesses  95  in the outer surface  94  of the second roll  92 . Hence, the resin R will adopt the specified profile of the profiled blanks  101 . The second roll  92  and the retainer  98  are cooled to facilitate curing of the resin R that has been urged into the die recesses  95 . The profiled blanks  101  then advance beyond the retainer  98  and are deposited gravitationally onto the conveyor belt  99  for transportation to an appropriate location where the profiled blanks  101  can be packaged and shipped to the manufacturer.  
         [0052]     The alternate method illustrated in  FIGS. 14 and 15  avoids the need to initially extrude a sheet of material that is subsequently formed and separated from the sheet as part of the forming process. Hence, the alternate apparatus and method depicted with respect to  FIGS. 14 and 15  results in substantial space savings in a manufacturing facility because there is no need for an extruder or for rolls or conveying systems to transport the extruded web to the roll forming dies. Additionally, the apparatus of the subject invention produces virtually no waist that requires recycling. In this regard, portions of the outer surface  94  of the second roll  92  between the recesses  95  substantially contact the outer surface  93  of the first roll  91  at the nip  97 . Hence, only portions of the resin R in the die recesses  95  will move through the nip  97  and there will be virtually no waste traveling downstream from the nip  97 .