Abstract: A method of manufacture of staple glass fibers by drawing a plurality of glass filaments, from a bushing and chopping them directly into staple fibers without intervening winding and storage is characterized by initiating the drawing by forming the filaments into a coil on the circumference of an auxiliary roller, forming an initial winding by rotating the roller with progressively increasing surface speed until the filaments advancing towards the roller attain the normal production drawing speed for the bushing, then diverting the filaments while still travelling at that speed, and without breaking them, into driving contact with a cutter back-up roll driven with substantially the same surface speed as the production speed, advancing the diverted filaments by means of the roll into a cutting zone whereat they are both severed from the initial winding and continuously chopped into staple fibers.

Abstract: Apparatus for drawing newly-spun and dressed glass filaments from a bushing comprises, in combination, a rotary cutter constituted by a blade roll with radially directed blades projecting from its surface and a second, back-up roll having a resilient surface, said rolls being mounted with their axes substantially parallel and with at least the tips of the blades in contact with said resilient surface to define a cutting zone for the cutter, together with an auxiliary, independently driven start-up roll, variable speed drive means for accelerating said auxiliary roll to a surface speed at least equal to the surface speed of the back-up roll under production conditions, and guide means operable to divert a bundle of filaments being wound on said auxiliary roll to the surface of the back-up roll and thereafter into the cutting zone of the cutter, whereby the filaments are cut into staple fibres. A method of manufacturing staple fibres based on the use of above apparatus is also disclosed.