Patent ID: 8251686

Claim:
An apparatus for forming a plastic molded collated fastener assembly comprising: a conveyor for carrying a plurality of fasteners, the fasteners having a shank, a head and a tip, the conveyor carrying the fasteners, at least in part, in a horizontal plane defining an upper surface and a lower surface; a preheater for preheating the plurality of nails; a plastic collation molding station including injection nozzles for applying molten plastic to the upper surface of the fasteners and to the lower surface of the fasteners, the plastic collation station further including forming wheels including 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 a collation having a collar encircling the fasteners' shanks and a connecting portion extending between the collars, 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; and a cooler to cool the collations.