Page 217 - Industrial Cutting of Textile Materials

204 Industrial Cutting of Textile Materials

12.4.5 The fusing of delicate fabrics

Some delicate fabrics may be very difficult to fuse, and materials such as velvet, mi-
crofibre, leather, velour, silk, stretch, and mixture fabrics require very careful atten-
tion. A combination of accurate and sensitive temperature control, precise conveyor
belt speed, and very fine pressure adjustment (in some applications even with zero
pressure) is necessary for the delicate fabrics. For these reasons, fusing presses al-
ways include thermostats and sensitive temperature controllers capable of provid-
ing temperatures with an accuracy of ±1–3°C, especially designed heating zones to
reduce or completely eliminate such problems as fabric shrinkage, ‘strike back’, or
‘strike through’ of adhesive and bubbling, and easily controlled and accurate pressure
systems.
The fusing process is problematic in the following fabrics:
Very thin fabrics: it is difficult to fix components on the work surface of a press as their
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structure is not stable.
Fabrics with metal fibres: the interlining will not adhere to metal fibres; therefore, the
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strength of the bonding is reduced.
Fabrics with nap on the face side: the nap may be pressed down during the fusing process. If
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the fusing process takes place in a continuous press, the direction of movement of a compo-
nent must match the direction of the nap.
Fabrics with nap on the reverse side: a reduced strength bond is created.
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Fabrics with low-temperature-resistant synthetic fibres: the temperature required for quality
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fusing will damage the face fabric.
Fabrics with special finishing against dirt: a reduced strength bond is created.
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12.5 Future trends

As garment production cycles become shorter, requirements for highly efficient fusing
machinery increase. To ensure high-quality fusing of wide range of materials in max-
imally efficient way, the tasks for the nearest future are the following:

To improve temperature control system to ensure heating of the fused components in per-
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fectly balanced heating process without any fluctuations in temperature;
To improve heating system of the press to avoid fabric shrinkage or any other fabric damages
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during fusing process;
To improve pressure system to ensure maximally gentle pressing of different face fabrics and
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interlinings and also delicate and problematic materials;
To improve belt cleaning system of the press to avoid any soiling of fused components;
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To ensure fully automated setting of perfect fusing parameters based on automated testing of
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fused materials and database of previously performed fusing processes;
To improve fusing process monitoring system to ensure perfect process parameters during
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the all-work process and to react fast and correct to unplanned situations.