Rendering synthetic or natural leather supple - by alternately applied shear stresses perpendicular to transport direction

摘要

In the continuous softening and fibre opening of flat materials, the material is processed as multiple strip elements running transversely to the direction of transport at the minimum spacing corresponding to the advance within each oscillation, by stressing in shear in alternating directions in the plane of the material. The strip elements are transported at the instant when they are released from tension. This solves the problem of rendering supple materials with only slight expansion capacity, which cannot be treated by the usual leather staking tools without risk of tearing.