Patent ID: 8715555

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a plank in a fiberglass pultrusion process, comprising the steps of: providing a stainless steel die coated in chrome that contains a machined cavity of constant cross-section through its length which is the shape of the final part having incorporated in the stainless steel die a ridged pattern for a slip-resistant surface; creating in the die internal voids with mandrel inserts set to specific dimensions to establish interior wall thickness of the end product; providing dry, glass reinforcements in roving and continuous strand mat; organizing the dry, glass reinforcements in roving and continuous strand mat in racks; pulling the dry, reinforcements in roving and continuous strand mat through a bath of catalyzed, liquid thermosetting polyester resin so as to wet them thoroughly with the resin; passing the wet reinforcements through a series of guide plates cut from either steel or sheet plastic so as to pre-form them into the shape of the profile; immediately prior to entering the stainless steel die, using a final guide plate to reduce the liquid resin quantity to that required for the finished part; passing the wet reinforcement through the stainless steel die where it is cured to the final shape; heating the stainless steel die to a desired temperature in order to initiate the curing reaction of the plastic resin; and after leaving the stainless steel die exit, pulling the finished profile through a mechanical pulling system.