Inventors:
Richard A. Freundlich - Summit NJ
Assignee:
Celanese Corporation - NY
International Classification:
B32B 1704, B32B 508
Abstract:
Disclosed is a novel filled continuous thermoplastic sheet material highly suitable for use in electrical applications, such as in the production of printed circuit boards. This material comprises an extruded sheet of a thermoplastic polymer, preferably poly(1,4-butylene terephthalate), containing from about 5 to 60% by weight of reinforcing filler material such as glass fibers, and having a polymer-rich surface, a gloss value of at least 15, and a maximum roughness of about 150 microinches. Also disclosed is a process and apparatus for the production of this material by extruding a filled thermoplastic polymer into a continuous laminar melt stream, conveying the laminar melt stream to a hot, highly polished surface, and then contacting the resulting melt stream with the hot, highly polished surface under temperature and pressure conditions sufficient to cause the filler material to retreat from the surface of the melt stream and to produce a sheet material having a smooth, glossy, polymer-rich surface thereon.