Patent ID: 7000435

Claim:
A method of applying binder/wetting agent to a plurality of fibers that are formed by drawing the fibers through a fiber path extending downwardly from orifices in a glass-containing furnace that reciprocates along a reciprocation path above a drawing drum to the drawing drum, said drawing drum being rotated around an axis that is aligned substantially parallel to the path of furnace reciprocation, and winding the glass fibers around the drawing drum, the method comprising: (a) drivingly linking a roll coater to the furnace, the roll coater including a coating drum, having an axis about which the coating drum is rotatably mounted, below the furnace orifices and above the drawing drum with a circumferential, side surface of the coating drum in the fiber path, and in contact with substantially all of the fibers extending downwardly from the furnace orifices to the drawing drum, the roll coater also including a bath below the furnace orifices and the coating drum, the bath containing a pool of liquid binder/wetting agent in which at least a portion to the circumferential surface of the coating drum is submerged for picking up binder/wetting agent and applying it to substantially all of the fibers; and (b) rotating the coating drum about its axis.