FELT MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

1.Yarn Arrangement First the warp and weft yarns that are used to weave the base fabric are prepared. Warp yarns are wound in a warping machine and weft yarns in a pirn winder in such a manner as to achieve equal tension. The quality of the base fabric that will be woven from the yarns depends on precise control of yarn tension during this process. Yarn arrangement thus requires both the expertise that comes only from years of experience and absolute attention to detail.

2.Weaving The warp and weft yarns prepared during the previous stage are woven by looms into the base fabric. Throughout this process yarn tension is carefully controlled again, loom by loom, and the completed base fabric is subjected to more than 30 inspections for such factors as size, weight, and mesh, before being sent to needling.

3.Needling The qualities of needle felt are determined primarily by the needling process whereby layers of batt (film-shaped webs of fibers) are needled onto the base fabric. First the base fabric is subjected to a check. Then the batt, which is prepared by a slender and carding machine, is needled on with special needles. The needle punching process causes the layers of batt to become interlocked and produces dense felt. At this stage, the needled products are examined for thickness, hardness, permeability, and other characteristics before being sent to the next step.

4.Finishing The felt is subject to various chemical treatments to improve quality and performance characteristics. The surface of the treated felt is then singed in a cylinder dryer. Next the felt is stretched and heatset according to specifications while another special treatment is applied. Lastly the felt is subjected to final inspections.

5.Inspection At the final inspection all aspects of the product are evaluated on the basis of extremely strict standards. The results of every inspection are passed along to each stage of the production process to help improve quality control and the design of future products.