Abstract: The invention relates to a process and an apparatus for the dry forming of a material web from a long-fiber material, wherein fibrous material is blown into a forming space to form a porous material web on a wire passing through the forming space. The dry forming of long fibers in lengths of at least 20 mm is problematic. In accordance with the invention, this problem has been solved in such a way thatthe fibrous material is blown into the forming space by at least one air current (A) that is substantially horizontal and transverse to the wire,the fibrous material is guided onto the surface of the wire (1) by an air current (D) that is substantially vertical and passes through the wire downwardly,and the desired material web (F) is formed by the combined effect of said horizontal and vertical air currents.

Abstract: A method for forming a dry web on the wire, with the fibre material being fed into at least one perforated drumlike forming element that covers essentially the whole width of the web to be formed, in which forming element fibres are conveyed in the drum along the width of the web and screened through the mantle of the forming element onto the wire. To achieve such web formation as has as few disturbances as possible, the fibre material is fed into the drumlike forming element in such a way that the bulk of the fibres, when advancing in the feeding direction toward the other end of the forming element, get screened from the forming element onto the wire, and that those fibres that do not get screened, but travel through the forming element are removed from the forming element and returned for a new defibration.