Page 213 - Industrial Cutting of Textile Materials

200 Industrial Cutting of Textile Materials

12.4 Fusing quality problems and their prevention

Problems during the fusing process may affect both the strength of glue bonding and
the condition and productivity of the fusing presses. Fusing process quality problems
are fabric shrinkage, fabric bubbling, an increased overlap of the interlining, and the
‘strike back’ or ‘strike through’ of adhesive resins on the fabric surface or machinery.
These problems may be caused by incorrect fusing conditions, incorrect choice of
interlining, or inadequate maintenance of the fusing presses.

12.4.1 Bubbling of the face fabric
‘Bubbling’ is a phenomenon that may occur after the fusing process when small areas
of the face fabric detach from the interlining, causing the face fabric to form ripples
on its surface (see Fig. 12.8). The problem may be caused by poor-quality interlining
with irregular placement of adhesive resin on its surface, by an insufficiently high-
fusing temperature that may cause patchy adhesion, or by the fused components being
removed too quickly and destroying the newly created bonds between the face fabric
and its interlining. If a surface is not clean, bubbling may occur because the adhesive
of the interlining sticks to the dirt and not to the surface of the fabric.

12.4.2 Increased overlap of the interlining

An increased overlap of the interlining may arise if the interlining component is larger
than its face fabric component or if the interlining is not accurately placed onto its face
fabric component on the loading belt (lower surface) of the press (see Fig. 12.9). As
a result, part of the interlining comes into direct contact with the lower surface of the
press and is contaminated by adhesive resin. The fused component may then become
attached to the conveyor belt or build up against the offload guides. The fused com-
ponent will then be irrecoverably damaged, and the fusing press has to be stopped to
extract the component.

12.4.3 Adhesive ‘strike through’ and ‘strike-back’
‘Strike through’ occurs when the adhesive flows through the face fabric component,
onto its surface and then onto the lower work surface (conveyor belt) of the press
(see Fig. 12.10). In ‘strike back’, the adhesive flows back through the interlining and
onto the upper work surface (conveyor belt) of the press (see Fig. 12.11). The ‘strike
through’ and ‘strike back’ effects result from the adhesive of the interlining becoming
too viscose. This may be caused by the overall temperature of the press being too high,
the temperature of one working surface of the press being significantly higher than the

Face fabric
Interlining
Fig. 12.8 Bubbling of the face fabric.