FELT FOR FORMING FIBER CEMENT ARTICLES WITH BASE FABRIC WITH PARALLEL MD YARNS
A method of forming a fiber cement article includes the steps of: (a) providing a fiber cement felt, the fiber cement felt comprising a base fabric layer that includes a set of parallel machine direction (MD) yarns; (b) depositing a fiber cement slurry on the fiber cement felt; (c) removing moisture from the slurry; and (d) transferring slurry from the felt to a forming structure.
1 . A method of forming a fiber cement article, comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a fiber cement felt, the fiber cement felt comprising a base fabric layer that includes a set of parallel machine direction (MD) yarns;
(b) depositing a fiber cement slurry on the fiber cement felt;
(c) removing moisture from the slurry; and
(d) transferring slurry from the felt to a forming structure.
2 . The method defined in claim 1 , wherein the set of parallel MD yarns comprises a single layer of MD yarns.
3 . The method defined in claim 1 , wherein the felt further comprises a layer of parallel cross-machine direction (CMD) yarns.
4 . The method defined in claim 3 , wherein the set of parallel MD yarns is divided into two layers of MD yarns that sandwich the CMD yarn layer.
5 . The method defined in claim 1 , wherein the felt further comprises a woven fabric layer.
6 . The method defined in claim 1 , wherein the parallel MD yarns have a coarseness of between about 500 and 4000 tex.
7 . The method defined in claim 1 , wherein the felt has a strength of greater than 250 kilopounds/cm.
8 . The method defined in claim 1 , wherein the felt comprises at least one batt layer.
9 . A felt for forming fiber cement articles, comprising:
a base fabric layer that includes a set of parallel machine direction (MD) yarns; and
at least one batt layer overlying the base fabric layer.
10 . The felt defined in claim 9 , wherein the set of parallel MD yarns comprises a single layer of MD yarns.
11 . The felt defined in claim 9 , further comprising a layer of parallel cross-machine direction (CMD) yarns.
12 . The felt defined in claim 11 , wherein the set of parallel MD yarns is divided into two layers of MD yarns that sandwich the CMD yarn layer.
13 . The felt defined in claim 9 , further comprising a woven fabric layer.
14 . The felt defined in claim 9 , wherein the parallel MD yarns have a coarseness of between about 500 and 4,000 tex.
15 . The felt defined in claim 9 , wherein the felt has a strength of greater than 250 kilopounds/cm.