Patent ID: 8663524

Claim:
A method comprising: compression molding thermoplastic pellets to provide a molded article, wherein the thermoplastic pellets are produced by a method comprising: (1) blending a mixture comprising molten thermoplastic resin and particulates in the form of reinforcing fibers; (2) extruding the blended mixture through a die orifice with a cross-sectional shape having a rectangular envelope with an aspect ratio of about 1.5:1 to 5:1, wherein the reinforcing fibers have a largest dimension which is no more than about 90% of a width of the die orifice; and (3) cutting the extruded mixture to form pellets, each pellet having a pellet fiber orientation predominantly in an axial dimension thereof, each pellet having an axial length to cross-sectional width ratio of about 0.25:1 to 5:1, and each pellet having a pair of opposing substantially planar faces with a cross-sectional shape and aspect ratio derived from the cross-sectional shape of the die orifice, wherein each pellet has dimensions and a degree of orientation of the reinforcing fibers which are controlled to provide a molded article fiber orientation predominantly in a plane perpendicular to an axial direction of compression during the compression molding, and wherein the molded article fiber orientation has an overall random orientation in the perpendicular plane.