Abstract:
An apparatus for forming a plastic molded collated fastener assembly includes a conveyor for carrying a plurality of fasteners in a horizontal plane defining an upper surface and a lower surface, a preheater for preheating the plurality of nails and a plastic collation molding station. The molding station includes injection nozzles for applying molten plastic to the upper surface of the fasteners and to the lower surface of the fasteners. The station further includes forming wheels including a holding section to, in cooperation with the conveyor, secure the fasteners. The wheels include a forming section to mold the molten plastic to the fasteners to form a collation having a collar encircling the fasteners&#39; shanks and a connecting portion extending between the collars. The apparatus includes at least one cooling spray nozzle to spray a cooling vapor onto the fasteners and collations and at least one cooling spray nozzle to spray a cooling vapor onto the forming wheels. An air chiller further cools the collations.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention pertains to debris-free fastener collations. More particularly, the present invention pertains to an apparatus for making a debris-free collated nail strip formed with a plastic material for use in a fastener driving tool. 
     Fast-acting fastener driving tools are in widespread use in the construction industry and used in industries ranging from pre-fabricated housing construction to luxury residential, commercial and industrial construction. 
     The nails that are used in these tools are assembled in strips that are inserted into a magazine. There are two principal nail strip or nail collation formations—paper tape and plastic. As the name suggests, paper tape collations maintain the nails in a strip by using a strip of tape that is adhered to one or both sides of the arranged nails. Plastic collations use a formed or pre-formed collar-type element to secure the fasteners to one another and parallel in the strip form. 
     Paper tape has certain advantages, one of which is ease of manufacture. In addition, paper tape collations, which use a glue or adhesive to adhere the tape to the fasteners, tend to be quite rigid, but sufficiently easy to separate one fastener from an adjacent fastener, as when the fastener is driven from the tool into a substrate. While rigidity on the one hand is good for the collation in that it reduces the opportunity for strip corrugation, on the other hand, it tends to require additional force to separate the fastener from the strip. Moreover, paper tape collations also produce a significant amount of debris when the fastener is separated from the strip. This debris can cause increased tool maintenance as well as jamming and increased down-time for tool repair. 
     Plastic collations use a collar that is molded to or fit around the shank of the fasteners. The collars are connected by bridges that break or separate to permit the fastener to be separated from the strip. One drawback to commonly available plastic collations is that the collation, although molded around the fastener, is nevertheless only superficially affixed to the fastener. That is, although the fastener is supported within and by the collation, the fastener can be rotated within the collar. It may not be loosely held, but can nonetheless be rotated. This has two ramifications. 
     First, because the fasteners are loosely supported, the collation can be overly flexible. This can result in increased corrugation of the strip in the tool magazine. Second, because the plastic is only loosely affixed to the fastener, it has been observed the plastic collars and bridges fracture as the fastener is driven into the substrate. This has been shown to result in the generation of debris, and in certain instances substantial amounts of debris. At times, it has also been found that the collars collect under the fastener head, thus preventing the fastener from being driven fully into the substrate. This may thus require a user to then drive, by hand, e.g., with a hammer, the fastener the remainder of the way into the substrate. Another drawback to the known plastic collations was that because the collation material was quite brittle, the downstream collation fractured, causing fasteners to become off-centered in the tool, which resulted in tool jams and misfires. 
     In an effort to eliminate the drawbacks associated with the generation of debris and the accumulation of material under the fastener head, and off-centered driven fasteners, a debris-free fastener was developed that uses an adhesive-modified chemistry for the plastic collation material in conjunction with preheating the fasteners prior to application (molding) of the collation. 
     It was found that the improved, debris-free collation generated significantly less debris and that the plastic collation material adhered well to the fastener shank. As a result, the plastic material entered the substrate as the fastener was driven from the strip into the substrate. Such a fastener collation is disclosed in Shelton, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/383,032, filed May 12, 2006, Shelton, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/734,684, filed Apr. 12, 2007, and Heskel, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/935,541, filed Nov. 6, 2007, all of which are commonly assigned with the present application and are incorporated herein by reference. 
     While the above-noted fastener collations overcame many of the drawbacks in prior fastener collations, they were found to be very difficult to manufacture. Using known manufacturing devices and techniques resulted in too much flow of the collation material and thus mis-formed collations, sticking of the collation material to the forming molds, and other manufacturing obstacles. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus for forming a plastic collation system for strip-formed fasteners. Desirably, such an apparatus provides a high quality collation formed on the fasteners. More desirably, such an apparatus uses portions of known extruders to apply adhesive-modified materials for the plastic collation. More desirably still, such a collation forming apparatus provides a high speed process with little to no waste or rejection of product. Most desirably, such a device is used to form a plastic collation formulated from an adhesive polymer such as a polyolefin, such that when the fastener is driven from a driving tool, the collar portion remains adhered to the fastener so that the collar portion penetrates the substrate with the fastener. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An apparatus is configured to form a plastic molded collation on fasteners having a shank, a head and a tip. The fasteners are carried on a conveyor, at least in part, in a horizontal plane that defines an upper surface and a lower surface of the fastener collation assembly. The collation so formed does not use a paper tape. That is, it is a paper tape-less collation. 
     The apparatus includes a preheater for preheating the plurality of nails and a plastic collation molding station. The station includes injection nozzles, preferably two nozzles, one for applying molten plastic to the upper surface of the fasteners and the other nozzle for applying plastic to the lower surface of the fasteners. 
     The collation station further includes upper and lower forming wheels (preferably two sets to form two sets of collations) that each include a holding section to, in cooperation with the conveyor, secure the fasteners and a forming section to mold the molten plastic to the fasteners to form the collations. Each collation has a collar encircling the fasteners&#39; shanks and a connecting portion extending between the collars. 
     The apparatus includes a cooling spray nozzle to spray a cooling vapor onto the upper surface of the fasteners and collations, and a cooling spray nozzle to spray cooling vapor onto the lower surface of the fasteners and collations. The apparatus also includes at least one cooling spray nozzle to spray a cooling vapor onto the forming wheels (preferably at about the 12 o&#39;clock position prior to engaging the fasteners). 
     The apparatus also includes air coolers or chillers to provide a chilled air stream over the fasteners. 
     In a present forming apparatus, the injection nozzles are disposed proximal to the upper and lower surfaces of the fasteners. 
     One or more temperature sensors can be disposed at the nozzles. A temperature sensor can be disposed to monitor the temperature of the fasteners following the preheater. 
     Hold-downs are positioned at the forming wheels to maintain the fasteners in the conveyor, in the horizontal plane and engaged with the lower forming wheel as the fasteners traverse between the forming wheels. 
     In a present apparatus the forming wheels are adjustably mounted to one another to permit some variation in the angle of the fasteners relative to the direction of travel through the apparatus. One adjustable mounting configuration includes a stub fixedly mounted to one of the forming wheels that is received in an opening in the other (its adjacent) forming wheel. The stub is resiliently received in the forming wheel to provide a small amount of movement of the wheels relative to each other. Resilient elements such as o-rings disposed on the stubs can provide the resilient interface of the wheels. 
     In a present apparatus the forming wheels are internally cooled. The wheels include internal cooling channels supplied by a shaft on which the forming wheels rotate. As such, the shaft includes internal cooling channels in flow communication with the internal cooling channels in the wheels. 
     The apparatus can include one or more fastener aligning elements disposed to align the fasteners head to head and/or tip to tip, within the plane. The aligning elements can be disposed prior to and immediately following the plastic collation molding station. 
     These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The benefits and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of an exemplary nail collation formed in accordance with a method of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of an apparatus for carrying out the present method; 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are partial illustrations, as indicated in  FIG. 2 , of the apparatus and method carried out thereby; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial, enlarged view of fasteners being positioned in a singulating and conveying apparatus for preparing the fasteners for positioning within the collation forming apparatus; 
         FIG. 4  is a view of the apparatus of  FIG. 3  as seen from an opposite perspective; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of the apparatus showing the fasteners being positioned on a conveyor and showing both an alignment wheel and a fastener angle sensing station; 
         FIG. 5A  is a view taken along line  5 - 5  showing the fasteners aligned in the conveyor (lying on the conveyor bands); 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective (front) view of the collation forming machine showing the fastener preheating station; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective (front) view of the forming wheels shown in a disengaged state and illustrating the polymer injectors disposed above and below the plane along which the fasteners are conveyed; 
         FIG. 8  shows the wheels in the closed or engaged state with the coolant vaporizers operating to spray vaporized water onto the fasteners; 
         FIG. 9  is an illustration of the fasteners secured in and engaged by the forming wheels; 
         FIG. 10  is a sectional view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective (front) view of the collation forming machine showing the gas (air) cooling station; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective (front) view of the cutting station showing the cutting blade moving down to engage a portion of a fastener strip; 
         FIG. 13  is a view similar to  FIG. 12  showing the blade section pivoting to move with the strip as the cut is made; 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective (front) view of the turning plate for moving the cut strips onto a second portion of the conveyor and showing an ejection paddle in the extended (ejection) state; 
         FIG. 15  is an opposite side view of the turning plate and showing a strip of fasteners moving onto the second portion of the conveyor; 
         FIG. 16  is a top view of the nail strip on the second portion of the conveyor, as indicated at  16 - 16  in  FIG. 15 ; 
         FIG. 17  is a perspective illustration of the tip coating preheater; 
         FIG. 18  is a perspective illustration of the tip coater; 
         FIG. 19  is a perspective (front) view of the end of the conveyor (downstream of the tip coating station); 
         FIG. 20  is a perspective (front) view of the conveyor and stacker; 
         FIG. 21  is a partial sectional view of the forming wheel shaft; 
       and 
         FIGS. 22A-D  are partial sectional views of the forming wheels and shaft, as taken along lines  22 A- 22 A through  22 D- 22 D. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated. 
     It should be further understood that the title of this section of this specification, namely, “Detailed Description Of The Invention”, relates to a requirement of the United States Patent Office, and does not imply, nor should be inferred to limit the subject matter disclosed herein. 
     Referring now to the figures and in particular to  FIG. 1 , there is shown an exemplary nail strip  10  having a plastic collation system  12  formed thereon. The collation  12  is as disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Patent applications to Shelton et al. and Heskel et al. In the illustrated strip  10 , the nails  14  are positioned parallel to one another (e.g., with their axes A 14  parallel) and at an angle a of about 20 degrees to the transverse direction (as indicated at  16 ) of the strip  10 . Other angles α (including zero degrees) are, however, contemplated. The nails  14  can be full head nails, D-head (or clipped head) nails or any other type of nail. 
     As discussed above, the nails  14  are collated and held to one another by the plastic collation  12 . The plastic collation  12  is molded to, over and around the shanks  18  of the nails  14 , and connects each nail  14  to its adjacent nail or nails (that is, extends between the nails  14 ). The collation  12  is formed as a contiguous molding around and between the nails  14 ; nevertheless, for purposes of this disclosure, the molding, indicated generally at  20 , is viewed as having a collar portion  22 , which is that portion that encircles the nail shank  18 , and a connecting portion  24 , which is that portion that extends between and connects adjacent collar portions  22 . The collation  12  so formed does not use a paper tape. That is, it is a paper tape-less collation  12 . Upper and lower moldings or collations  20  are shown that are formed with structure similar to one another. The structure can, however, be different from the upper to the lower collations. 
     As set forth above and in the aforementioned patents to Shelton et al. and Heskel et al., the present nail collation  12  differs from previously known plastic collations in a number of important aspects. First, rather than the plastic merely encircling and extending around and between the nails, the present collation  12  uses a material that is molded (or formed) around and adheres to the nails. It has been found that plastic that is adhered to the nails, rather than merely molded around the nails is advantageous in that the plastic material tends to remain on the nail shank during driving. That is, the collation  12  material is maintained on the shank  18  as the nail  14  penetrates the substrate and thus enters the substrate with the nail. Advantageously, much less debris is generated during driving of a nail from the present nail strip compared to prior known nail strips. 
     In addition, adhesion of the plastic material to the nails  14  also has benefits vis-à-vis the rigidity of the nail strip  10 . That is, when the plastic merely encircles the nail shanks, the plastic can slip around the nail shanks. On the other hand, by adhering the plastic molding to the shanks, the nail strip tends to become more rigid and is less likely to flex and to corrugate. 
     A present material is an adhesive polymer, such as an adhesive polyolefin, such as a maleic anhydride modified polyolefin, such as polypropylene, polyethylene or the like. Other suitable materials, such as epoxies, other resins, such as a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based material, an ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVA) based material, an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) based material, ionomers, methyl methacrylates and the like. Fillers can also be used as can blends of any of the materials, as suitable. Other materials will be recognized by those skilled in the art and are within the scope and spirit of the present invention. 
     In forming the collation  12 , the nails  14  are first surface conditioned to enhance adhesion. Conditioning is first carried out by washing the nails in a caustic solution. The solution is a mildly acidic iron phosphate solution or a mildly alkaline solution. It was found that such a solution conditions the surface of the steel for adhesion with the plastic. 
     The conditioned nails are then fed into a collation forming machine or apparatus  26 . The machine  26  includes, generally, a conveyor  30  to convey the nails  14  along and through various stations, including a preheating station  42 , a collation forming station  43 , a cooling station  100 , a cutting station  102 , a tip coating station  114  and a stacker  122 . One or more drives  101 , such as motors, drive the conveyor  30  and components at other driven stations. The machine  26 , of course includes a controller  103  for controlling the overall operation of the machine  26 . 
     The nails  14  are conveyed through a chute  28  and singulated prior to positioning on the conveyor  30 . A present conveyor  30  is formed as two continuous bands  36 ,  38 , each having a plurality of spaced apart grooves  40  formed therein, much like a saw blade. The bands  36 ,  38  rotate opposing one another in loops with one side of each loop  36   a ,  38   a  parallel and nearest to the opposing side of the other loop. The fasteners (nails  14 ) are carried in the grooves  40  opposite one another as the two loops rotate, thus carrying the nails  14  in a flat (horizontal) plane P along a straight path through the collation forming machine  26 . The bands  36 ,  38  are movable relative to one another to adjust the angle a at which the nails  14  lie in between the bands  36 ,  38 . 
     The nails are positioning into a conveyor  30  at a preselected angle that is the same as angle a, which in a present machine  26  and strip  10 , is 22 degrees. The nails  14  are positioned on the conveyor  30  and aligned so that the tips  32  and heads  34  are all aligned with one another. In a present conveyor  30 , the nails  14  are supported above and below (or outside of) the location at which the collations  12  will be formed. That is, the nails  14  are supported closer to the tips  32  and heads  34 . An aligning element  35  aligns the nails head-to-head with one another. It will be appreciated that the aligning element could be configured to align the nails  14  tip-to-tip. The angle a is measured by an angular measurement device  37  downstream of the aligning element  35 . 
     The nails  14  are then conveyed to the preheater  42  where they are preheated. A preheat temperature of about 500 deg. F. to about 620 deg. F. is a suitable range, and a preferred temperature is about 600 deg. F. for use with the maleic anhydride modified polypropylene. Other temperatures may be better suited for other materials. Preheating is carried out using flame heating, however, induction heaters or any other suitable heating medium and method may be used. Heating is controlled by a sensor  44  (e.g., an infra-red sensor) immediately downstream of the heaters  42 . In a present collation forming apparatus, upper and lower heaters  42   a,b  are used to heat the nails  14  from above and from below to provide more consistent and even preheating. 
     As seen in  FIGS. 7-10 , the nails are then conveyed to the collation forming station at which a pair of forming wheels  46 ,  48  are configured to carry and embrace the nails  14  and to mold the plastic (collations  12 ) between the nails  14  and grooves  50  formed in the wheels  46 ,  48 . Accordingly, the plastic is introduced to the nails  14  immediately prior to the nails  14  entering the nip  52  between the wheels  46 ,  48 . To effect plastic introduction or flow, a nozzle  54  is positioned above the nails and another nozzle  56  is positioned below the nails  14 , just prior to the forming wheels  46 ,  48 . The plastic is carried by the nails  14  into the space between the wheels  46 ,  48 . 
     Plastic flow rate and temperature (from the nozzles  54 ,  56 ) are both controlled to effect proper collation  12  formation. The plastic flow is controlled by the controller which controls the extruder (not shown) that supplies the plastic (that is the plastic feed), and by a gate or valve  58  (one shown) at the nozzles  54 ,  56 . Sensors  57  in the nozzles  54 ,  56  monitor the temperature at the nozzles  54 ,  56 . The plastic flows from the extruder exit to the nozzles  54 ,  56  through piping, tubing or conduit  60 . In that the plastic is highly viscous, even though the extruder stops, plastic continues to flow from the extruder to the nozzles  54 ,  56 . The valves  58  are configured to stop the flow of plastic but are also configured to prevent the build up of pressure at the nozzles  54 ,  56  (which could otherwise result in a shock of plastic when opened). As such, both a “shock” of plastic (upon resuming flow) and a drool of plastic (following isolation) are avoided. In this manner, flow is better controlled and waste is reduced. 
     Temperature of the plastic is also tightly controlled by heaters  62  located in the nozzles  54 ,  56 . In this manner, the plastic is introduced to the nails  14  within a range of about 400 deg. F. to 440 deg. F., and preferably about 410 deg. F. Control of the plastic temperature at the nozzle  54 ,  56  (tip) also prevents the plastic from freezing (hardening) at the tip  64 , thus interrupting the collation forming operation. 
     At the exit of the wheels (as indicated at  66  in  FIG. 8 ), the plastic is hot and is still in a flowable state. In order to stabilize the collation  12 , it is desirable to freeze the plastic—actually to cool the plastic—to a point such that an outer skin or layer is formed and is stable, although the plastic under the outer layer may still be in a plastic or flowable state. As such, the plastic is cooled by a spray of chilled water vapor at the exit  66  of the wheels  46 ,  48 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , vapor spray nozzles  68  are located to spray water vapor V down onto the top surface  70  (as seen in Fla  9 ) and up onto the bottom surface  72  of the collation  12  as it exits the forming wheels  46 ,  48 , to better and more evenly cool the plastic collation  12  and facilitate curing. 
     It has also been found that in order for the wheels  46 ,  48  to properly conform the plastic  12  to the shape of the grooves  50  (in the wheels  46 ,  48 ), and to release the plastic from the wheels  46 ,  48  without sticking (at the exit  66 ), a spray of chilled water vapor is applied to the wheels  346 ,  48 . In a present method, a vapor spray is applied onto the upper wheel  46  from an upper spray nozzle  74  at a point prior to the wheels  46 ,  48  engaging the plastic  12  and the nails  14 . In a present arrangement, the water vapor is applied to the wheels at the apex of the wheels&#39; path (e.g., the 12 o&#39;clock position); however, the exact location can be varied to effect a desired machine configuration. 
     In addition to externally cooling and lubricating the forming wheels  46 ,  48  (with the vapor spray  74 ), the wheels  46 ,  48  are cooled internally. As seen in FIG.  21 - 22 A-D, cooling channels  76  are formed in the wheels  46 ,  48  to maintain the wheels  46 ,  48  at a desired temperature. The cooling channels  76  are fed through channels  78  formed in the shaft  80  about which the wheels  46 ,  48  rotate. Seals  82  are positioned on the shaft  80  to maintain a seal between the rotating wheels  46 ,  48  and the stationary shaft  80 . A liquid, preferably water is introduced into the shaft channels  78 , flows into and through the wheels  46 ,  48  and out from the wheels  46 ,  48  through the channels  78  in the shaft  80 . Cooling is provided independently to each wheel  46 ,  48  through respective channels  78  in the shaft  80 . Other cooling fluids are, of course, contemplated by the present invention. 
     The wheels  46 ,  48  are of a novel design. There are four wheels, which include an upper  46  and a lower  48  wheel for each of the two collations formed on the nails  14 . The upper and lower wheels  46 ,  48  act in concert in forming each of the collations  12 . 
     The wheels  46 ,  48  include a holding portion or groove  84  and a forming portion or groove  86 . The nail  14  is held or secured in the holding portion  84 , while the forming portion  86  has a slightly larger size groove and is that portion of the wheel  46 ,  48  in which the plastic forms (flows) around the nail  14 . Essentially, the forming portions  86  of the upper  46  and lower  48  wheels form a mold cavity to form the collar  22  and connecting portions  24  of the collation  12 . That is, there is sufficient space between the forming portions  86  (of the upper and lower wheels  46 ,  48 ) and the nail  14  to form the plastic collation  12  (the collar portion  22  of the collation  12 ), and sufficient space between the peaks  88  of the forming portions  86  to form the connecting portions  24  of the collations  12 . The holding portions  84  are located, relative to the forming portions  84 , to effect a desired collation profile. That is, if it is desired to form the collar  22  concentric with the shank  18 , then the holding portion  84  is centered with the forming portion  86  (as seen in  FIG. 10 ). Conversely, if it is desired to form the collar  22  eccentric relative to the shank  18 , then the holding portion  84  is offset relative to the forming portion  86 . In a present method, the holding portion  84  is centered relative to the forming portion  86  so that the collar  22  and shank  18  are concentric. 
     The wheels  46 ,  48  are also configured to allow some variation in the angle a of entry of the nails  14 . It will be appreciated that the nails  14  are mass produced consumables and that the operating speed of the machine must be such that the collations  12  are formed at very high speeds. As such, although a desired angle (e.g., 20 degrees) is set by the various operations on the nails  14 , there may be some slight variation in the angle (up to about +/−2.5 degrees) in which the collation is within acceptable tolerances. In order to accommodate that tolerance, and still provide an acceptable collation, the forming wheels  46 ,  48  are permitted to move (rotate) relative to one another with a small degree of freedom, and to allow some measure of misalignment of the nails  14  on the conveyor  30  relative to the wheels  46 ,  48 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 22B , the upper wheels  46   a,b  and the lower wheels  48   a,b  are mounted to one another by a stub  90  that extends between the wheels (e.g.,  46   a,b ). The stub  90  is rigidly mounted to one of the wheels (e.g.,  46   a ), but is mounted to the other wheel (e.g.,  46   b ) with a resilient element  92  (such as an O-ring)  fitted on the stub  90  which is fitted into an opening  94  in the wheel  46   b . This provides the small degree of relative movement (or freedom) between the wheels  46   a,b . In this manner, if there is a small variation in the angle of the nails (within tolerances of course) as they enter the wheels  46 ,  48 , the nails  14  continue to move through the wheels  46 ,  48  without mishap. It will be appreciated that if the nails are rigidly held by the wheels, the nails can, if the angle is slightly off, wedge into the wheels or not fit within the grooves, resulting in a failed collation, machine shut down and related time and material costs. 
     As the nails  14  move through and beyond the forming wheels  46 ,  48  they are held down on the conveyor  30  by a pair of hold down rails  96 . These rails  96  do not apply any significant pressure on the nails  14 , but hold them down on the conveyor  30  to prevent the nails  14  from lifting with the wheels  46  (as they exit the wheels) or from lifting as the plastic  12  cools and cures. Shortly downstream of the vapor spray cooling  68 , the rails  96  end and the nail collations are continued in the conveyor  30 . 
     At this point in time, the outer layer of the plastic has begun to harden or cure, but the material between the outer layer and the body of the nail, although highly viscous, is still in a formable state. A side rail  98  is positioned downstream of the hold-down rails  96  to (axially) align the fasteners tip-to-tip or head-to-head. Typically any adjustment in the alignment is minimal, if needed at all, but can be done with the collation material in this state. 
     A further cooling step is carried out using air coolers  100  to force a gas, preferably chilled air, over the nails  14 . Following the cooling step, the collations are sufficiently cooled and cured to be cut into strips  10  of a predetermined length or number of nails  14 . The nail strips  10  are cut at a cutting station  102  that includes a cutter blade  104  that is mounted to a reciprocating carriage  106 . The carriage  106  is also configured to pivot (as at  108 ) so that the cut can be effected on the moving strip  10  (that is, without slowing or stopping the strip). A biasing element  110 , such as a spring returns the carriage  106  (and thus the cutter blade  104 ) to the home position following the cut. 
     Once cut, the nail strips  10  have a tip coating applied. Prior to coating, the nail tips  32  are heated, such as by the illustrated flame heater  112 . Induction heaters or the like, as suitable, may also be used. The coating is then applied. The coating enhances or eases penetration of the nails  14  into a substrate, and can also enhance the holding power of the nails  14 . The coating can be applied by conveying the nails  14  through a tip coater  114  that includes, for example, a pair of rotating foam rollers  116 ,  118 , one of which  116  is positioned in a reservoir  120  of the coating material (liquid). Following coating and drying, the nail strips  10  are then stacked for packaging at a stacker  122 . 
     It will be appreciated that although certain specific details, for example plastic temperature ranges, preheat temperatures and the like are provided, these specific details are those for use with the noted maleic anhydride modified polypropylene and it is anticipated that the specific temperatures and the like will vary for other materials. 
     All patents referred to herein, are incorporated herein by reference, whether or not specifically done so within the text of this disclosure. 
     In the present disclosure, the words “a” or “an” are to be taken to include both the singular and the plural. Conversely, any reference to plural items shall, where appropriate, include the singular. 
     From the foregoing it will be observed that numerous modifications and variations can be effectuated without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments illustrated is intended or should be inferred. The disclosure is intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.