Patent ID: 8017053

Claim:
A process for fabricating a fiber-reinforced tubular extrudate having at least one or more bends, the process comprising the steps of: (i) extruding a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composition to form a fiber-reinforced tubular extrudate, wherein said extruding takes place through a mandrel expansion extrusion die that includes an inner part movably positioned within an outer part and an annular die passage between the inner part and outer part, whereby the direction that the extrudate exits the die is controlled by a robotic handing unit attached to the die; (ii) during at least a portion of said step of extruding, positioning the inner part concentrically within said outer part to thereby produce concentricity in said annular die passage; (iii) during at least a portion of said step of extruding, offsetting at least one of the inner part and the outer part, relative to one another, to thereby produce eccentricity in said annular die passage and thereby produce a bend in the extrudate; and (iv) changing the direction that the extrudate exits the die by moving the die with the robotic handling unit in relation to the said step of offsetting to thereby produce a tubular extrudate having constant wall thickness on the inside and the outside of the bend, wherein the movement of the robotic handling unit is aligned with the off-setting of the die parts.