A device for producing a 3 dimensional shaped consolidated product. The device includes a rotary drum, defined as a rotary conveyor with a peripheral surface extending in circumferential direction with at least one product shaping area in the form of a cavity on said peripheral surface, the peripheral surface is pervious to air at least in the product shaping area, at least one material feed device to feed a base material into the at least one cavity, a vacuum device designed to generate a negative pressure at least in the at least one cavity, whereby the generated suction is directed towards the interior of the rotary conveyor, and whereby downstream of the material feed device at least one consolidating device is located such that at least a part of the filled cavity is subjected to a consolidating treatment whereby the base material at least partly will adhere to neighboring material.

A device for producing a 3 dimensional shaped consolidated product. The device includes a rotary drum, defined as a rotary conveyor with a peripheral surface extending in circumferential direction with at least one product shaping area in the form of a cavity on said peripheral surface, the peripheral surface is pervious to air at least in the product shaping area, at least one material feed device to feed a base material into the at least one cavity, a vacuum device designed to generate a negative pressure at least in the at least one cavity, whereby the generated suction is directed towards the interior of the rotary conveyor, and whereby downstream of the material feed device at least one consolidating device is located such that at least a part of the filled cavity is subjected to a consolidating treatment whereby the base material at least partly will adhere to neighboring material.

Alternative methods for sealing pouch materials, for example, using radio frequency (RF) sealing techniques, and oral pouched products formed according to those methods are provided. Some pouched products may include an outer water-permeable pouch defining a cavity having a composition situated in the cavity, wherein the outer water-permeable pouch comprises a fleece material, the fleece material comprising a plurality of fibers and an RF sealable material. In some embodiments, methods of RF sealing pouch materials may include providing one or more fleece materials having a RF sealable material and sealing the one or more fleece materials using radio frequency energy to form a RF sealed pouched product.

A fiber structure manufacturing apparatus includes: a defibration unit that pulverizes and defibrates a fiber raw material that contains fibers; a transportation unit that transports a defibrated material after defibration by the defibration unit; a melting-material mixing unit that mixes a melting material into the defibrated material transported by the transportation unit; a fibrous web forming unit that forms a fibrous web by causing a mixture of the defibrated material and the melting material to accumulate; a sheet supplying unit that supplies a shape retainer sheet to the fibrous web; and a heating-and-pressing mechanism that forms a fiber structure by heating and pressing the fibrous web after the shape retainer sheet is supplied; wherein the sheet supplying unit supplies the shape retainer sheet in such a state that nap is raised on a surface, of the shape retainer sheet, that is to be in contact with the fibrous web.

A fiber structure manufacturing apparatus includes: a defibration unit that pulverizes and defibrates a fiber raw material that contains fibers; a transportation unit that transports a defibrated material after defibration by the defibration unit; a melting-material mixing unit that mixes a melting material into the defibrated material transported by the transportation unit; a fibrous web forming unit that forms a fibrous web by causing a mixture of the defibrated material and the melting material to accumulate; a sheet supplying unit that supplies a shape retainer sheet to the fibrous web; and a heating-and-pressing mechanism that forms a fiber structure by heating and pressing the fibrous web after the shape retainer sheet is supplied; wherein the sheet supplying unit supplies the shape retainer sheet in such a state that nap is raised on a surface, of the shape retainer sheet, that is to be in contact with the fibrous web.

A fiber body forming apparatus including an accumulating unit that has a release unit that releases a material containing a fiber and that has an accumulating member on which the material released from the discharging unit accumulates, a sheet substrate supply unit that supplies a sheet substrate to a position vertically below the release unit, and a control unit that controls operation of the accumulating unit and the sheet substrate supply unit, in which the control unit controls the operation of the accumulating unit and the sheet substrate supply unit to selectively execute a first mode for causing the material to accumulate on the accumulating member and the second mode for supplying the sheet substrate to the position vertically below the release unit and causing the material to accumulate on the sheet substrate.

A fiber body forming apparatus including an accumulating unit that has a release unit that releases a material containing a fiber and that has an accumulating member on which the material released from the discharging unit accumulates, a sheet substrate supply unit that supplies a sheet substrate to a position vertically below the release unit, and a control unit that controls operation of the accumulating unit and the sheet substrate supply unit, in which the control unit controls the operation of the accumulating unit and the sheet substrate supply unit to selectively execute a first mode for causing the material to accumulate on the accumulating member and the second mode for supplying the sheet substrate to the position vertically below the release unit and causing the material to accumulate on the sheet substrate.

A filter element including a filter media and methods for making the same are provided. The filter element includes a support core surrounded by a tubular ring of filter media. A first end of the tubular ring of filter media is coupled to a first end cap and a second end of the tubular ring of filter media coupled to a second end cap. The tubular ring of filter media includes a carrier media layer, a coarse filter media layer, a fine filtration media layer, a water-capturing media layer, and an outer wrap.

A filter element including a filter media and methods for making the same are provided. The filter element includes a support core surrounded by a tubular ring of filter media. A first end of the tubular ring of filter media is coupled to a first end cap and a second end of the tubular ring of filter media coupled to a second end cap. The tubular ring of filter media includes a carrier media layer, a coarse filter media layer, a fine filtration media layer, a water-capturing media layer, and an outer wrap.

A sheet manufacturing apparatus includes a coarse crushing portion that crushes a raw material containing a fiber into coarse crushed pieces, a defibrating portion that defibrates the coarse crushed pieces into a defibrated material, a sieve portion that includes a plurality of openings, a sheet forming portion that uses the defibrated material passing through the opening of the sieve portion to form a sheet, and a transport passage that transports the defibrated material, which has not passed through the opening of the sieve portion, between the coarse crushing portion and the defibrating portion.