Patent ID: 8597016

Claim:
A pultrusion system comprising: a device for wetting yarns of fiber with a polymeric resin precursor when the yarns are pulled through the device, the device comprising a first zone provided as an open bath for coating external surfaces of the yarns and a second zone for coating fibers within the yarns, the second zone being in fluid communication with the first zone and having a cross-sectional area that decreases between an entrance to the second zone and an exit from the second zone; wherein the first zone includes a top opening through which the polymeric resin precursor may be introduced into the open bath and through which the polymeric resin precursor is exposed to the surrounding atmosphere during the wetting of the yarns of fiber, the open bath being at atmospheric pressure configured to separate the yarns of fiber from each other by an appropriate distance and to cause exterior surfaces of the yarns to be thoroughly wetted by a force of gravity without impediment so that the polymeric resin precursor fills an entire open bath without voids; a mixing system having a metering device configured to pump the precursor into the open bath, the metering device having an open exit positioned a distance above the top opening configured to permit the precursor to exit therefrom and enter into the first zone prohibiting contact of the open exit with the precursor in the open bath; and wherein the first zone further includes a plurality of walls for containing the polymeric resin precursor, one of the walls including a plurality of holes configured for spacing the yarns apart prior to entering the first zone through the plurality of holes to allow the polymeric resin precursor to flow around external surfaces of the yarns, the plurality of holes being located below a top level of the polymeric resin.