Patent ID: 8123990

Claim:
A method for producing a fiber composite having a structure in which reinforcing fibers are bonded with a thermoplastic resin, characterized in that said reinforcing fiber is at least one of a plant fiber and an inorganic fiber, and said method comprises: a feeding process in which a thermally expandable capsule having a shell wall composed of a thermoplastic resin is fed to one of either front surface or back surface of a mat comprising said reinforcing fiber and a thermoplastic resin fiber, a dispersing process in which said mat is subjected to vibration from another side of said mat while pressing said one surface side of said mat with a roller to disperse said thermally expandable capsule fed to said one surface side of said mat towards said another side of said mat, a melting process in which said thermoplastic resin fiber constituting said mat is molten, and an expanding process in which said thermally expandable capsule dispersed in said mat is heated to expand.