Button rods are made of different colored resins containing thixotropic agents and having catalyst and promoter agents added to separated portions of each resin so that when the resins are combined their gel time is accelerated. The combined resins are mixed both for mixing purposes and to lower the apparent viscosity, and the resins are fed through nozzles and into an inclined trough. The nozzles are reciprocated in arcs to lay the resins in a zig zag pattern in the trough, and the resins flow from the trough into an inclined casting tube where they quickly attain a relatively high apparent viscosity until they are removed from the tube before completely hard. The rods can then be sliced into button blanks or hardened and ground into beads.
This is a division of parent application Ser. No. 512,845, filed Oct. 7, 1974, entitled DECORATIVE ROD MAKING, which is a continuation of grandparent application Ser. No. 300,134, filed Oct. 24, 1972 and abandoned upon filing of the parent application.
An apparatus and process are provided for mixing and dispensing high viscosity, multiple component reactive liquids into a mold. The apparatus and process are particularly suitable for mixing and dispensing highly viscous intumescent fireproofing materials. Each reactive liquid component is stored in a separate pressure tank. The liquid components flow through separate conduits leading from each pressure tank, and are metered by a gear pump located in each component conduit. A gear linkage synchronously links the gear pumps together, and a self-locking motor is adapted to drive the linked gear pumps. When the motor is turned off, the gear pumps act as a valve to stop flow of the component liquids. The metered components flow into a common conduit, which has therein a static mixer for thoroughly mixing the components. The mixed components are then dispensed through an orifice. This orifice can be directed to the bottom of the mold so that the mold can be filled with the highly viscous material from the bottom to reduce the formation of air voids.
