Owens Corning Fiberglas developed short staple glass fiber webs produced by carding as a replacement for asbestos. Carding orients the fibers and increases the directional strength translation efficiency. The oriented webs serve as fibrous preforms for composites or, when stacked, as quasi-isotropic composites. Carding also uniformly mixes and distributes the fibers. Blending glass fiber with other fiber types modifies web properties and is generally requisite to optimal carding. Polyester is frequently used as a carrier fiber and also increases the toughness of a composite because of its higher elongation. Because of the high level of fiber mobility, these webs are very conformable, which facilitates the production of complex shapes by pressure molding or deep draw molding. Specifications frequently require the removal of the polyester. One strategy involves melting the polyester to form a preliminary matrix and infiltrating the resulting debulked material, which has the advantages of degrading the carding oil and producing a processable, consolidated material prior to resin infiltration. 4 refs.