Patent ID: 8168103

Claim:
A method for making a mushroom-type hook strap for mechanical fasteners, the method comprising the steps of: providing a rotational molding roller, the molding roller having a plurality of substantially Y-shaped molding cavities formed in an outer periphery surface thereof and a cooling device provided therein, the Y-shaped molding cavities each having a stem adjacent and opening onto the outer periphery surface and a flared fork at an opposite end of the open stem pointing to an axis of the roller; providing an extruder, the extruder having a extruding die disposed imminently close to the outer periphery surface of the rotational molding roller with a gap being formed therebetween; feeding a thermoplastic material to the extruder and melting the thermoplastic material in the extruder to extrude the melted thermoplastic material through a channel within the extruder and extruding die and into the plurality of substantially Y-shaped molding cavities and onto the outer periphery surface of the rotational molding roller through the extruding die; cooling the thermoplastic material on the outer periphery surface of the rotational molding roller from within the molding roller and within the substantially Y-shaped molding cavities with the cooling device to form a hook strap on which a plurality of Y-shaped hook preforms are molded, each said Y-shaped preform having a substantially flared V-shaped free end; peeling off the hook strap from the molding roller; and feeding the hook strap through a nip formed between a pair of calender rolls, wherein the calender roll that contacts the V-shaped free end of the hook preforms is heated to a temperature above a plastic deforming temperature of the thermoplastic material to deform the flared V-shaped free end of each hook preform into a single multifaceted head shape situated on top of an axis of a single stem and thereby forming a mushroom type hook having a single multifaceted head portion on the axis of the single stem, the single multifaceted head portion providing protruding portions in substantially every direction for engaging fabric loops of a loop strap.