Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Metal detectable scouring pad

Abstract:

A detectable scouring pad is provided that is made with a sparse unwoven base polymer that defines the pad shape, an overcoating of cured thermoset resin loaded with a particulate on the base polymer, the particulate present in an amount to render the polymer detectable by X-ray detection or magnetometer detection. A process of detecting a scouring pad includes forming a fiber composed of a base polymer having a cross-section and a length, and distributing a particulate on the thermoplastic polymer in a thermoset resin matrix. The process further includes forming a sparse unwoven thermoplastic polymer from the fiber, and manufacturing the scouring pad from the sparse unwoven polymer by overcoating the base polymer with a particulate loaded thermoset resin. The scouring pad is passed through an X-ray detector or a magnetometer detector, and a signal is collected from the detector indicative of the presence of the scouring pad.