Binders can be laid onto the web surface to join the fibers together chemically. This may result in surface blemishes, and so needs careful inspection.
Composite nonwovens combine a mixture of fibers and plastics to form a specialized fabric. This requires surface monitoring to ensure the different components form a uniform surface.
Webs of synthetic fibers are bonded together by heat, often applied by heated rolling. An automated inspection system will detect any surface defects from this production process.
Fibers can be spun into a web by directed, heated air through a continuous process. Manual inspection can be difficult at this stage, so an accurate automated solution is required.
This is a versatile dry-laying process where short fibers are fed into an air stream, then sent to a moving belt or perforated drum, where they form a web.
Carding is a mechanical dry-laying process where fibers are combed into a web by a carding machine, a rotating drum covered with fine wires or teeth, providing good tensile strength.
This process combines short wood-pulp fibers with fine meltblown fibers to create a homogenous, pillow-like sheet – the fiber ratio determines material properties. It is ideal for personal care and medical uses.
Nonwoven materials can be laminated to enhance their properties and performance. This process can affect surface integrity, and so requires automated monitoring to reduce waste product.
Polymers with a low viscosity are extruded into a high-speed airstream upon leaving the spinneret. This results in scattering of the melt, which solidifies and then breaks up into a fibrous web.
Suitable for most fiber types, this process uses needles that are pushed and pulled through the web to entangle the fibers. This allows webs of various properties to be needled together.
A slitting machine, or slitter, is used to cut large rolls of nonwoven material into smaller rolls. This may affect the condition of the web, and so requires accurate monitoring.
By melting polymer granules and extruding through spinnerets, continuous filaments can be produced which deposit onto a conveyor, forming a uniform web. This provides a less flexible material with greater strength.
Hydroentanglement, also called spunlacing, uses fine, high-pressure water jets to make the fibers become physically entangled in a mechanical bonding process. It is sometimes combined with carding or wetform processes.
A mixture of water and fibers is deposited onto a moving wire screen, then drained to form a web. Further drying, rolling and treating follows to create a wide range of materials.
Fiberglass strands can be used to form nonwoven webs using the wet laying process. This process allows the strands to be mixed with resin to form composites with desired properties.