How does hot welding of fabrics work?
The fabric in process is about to finish and runs through the AWE ARROW splicing press.
As the fabric on the roll comes to an end, the operator activates the fabric lock command. The pneumatic clamp (A) locks it while the accumulator positioned after it gradually cedes the fabric as it continues to move towards the fabric treatment line, which does not have to be stopped.
Before proceeding, the operator brings the flap of fabric from the new fabric to the roll covered in black rubber with high gripping power (b). This roll turns only in the forward direction to dispense the fabric and with the help of the operator pulling the initial part of the new fabric, it is evenly tight along all points of its length, then the rubber cylinder is moved adjacent to the cylinder entering the machine so that the fabric is pressed and kept evenly tight.
At this point the operator overlaps the edge of this fabric manually with the edge of the fabric already in the machine and cuts them both simultaneously, eliminating any waste, and the two fabrics to be spliced are now perfectly aligned edge to edge. For cutting, there is a guide for a cutting tool located next to the lower heated bar. ZP ARROW supplied this tool, which is specially designed for cutting even very difficult fabrics, upon request.
The operator places the thermal adhesive tape on the edge of the fabric already in the machine, advances the new fabric by 7/8 cm by rotating the cylinder with the idle roll (C) and places the fabric over the other end.
The tail end of the old fabric and the head end of the new fabric are now overlapping with the thermal adhesive tape between the two ends and ready for splicing. The two fabrics are aligned and stretched equally, selvedges and center.
The operator activates the closure of the machine for hot welding fabrics and the weld is executed under the pressure of the heated bar (D).
The necessary time ranges from 40 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the thickness of the fabric.
Once the preset pressure time has elapsed, the heated bar is raised automatically. The operator releases the clamp (A) and the fabric once more feeds towards the accumulator in the direction of the finishing line. The splice has been executed without interrupting the production of the fabric treatment line.