Established in 1907, Oxfordshire, UK headquartered Meech International is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of static control, compressed air technology and web cleaning systems, both contact and non-contact. Meech has specialised in industrial electrostatic control for over 50 years, and in this article, Donald Lewis, Business Development Manager at Meech, explains some of the issues, which manufacturers of textiles and nonwovens face, and presents some of his company’s solutions.

All textile production, regardless of the materials or processes used, generates airborne dust particles, fibres and lint which pose a significant challenge to product quality. These contaminants can get anywhere, working their way into various stages of the production process. Whether it is spun, reeled, woven, knitted or a nonwoven, contamination, and the related challenge of unwanted static generation, are an ever-present threat in the forming of textiles and nonwoven products.

Contaminants can accumulate in significant volume, impacting on the some of the most important stages of production, such as washing, bleaching, dying, sanforising, printing, and inspection. The end result being a product not fit for purpose, which increases rejection and wastage levels.

Because the production challenges facing textile manufacturers are never identical from one business to the next – Meech works in partnership with clients to develop bespoke solutions

The generation of static charges in these environments can also cause problems. Reels that are unwound at high-speed are liable to generate static, which attracts contamination to the surface of the materials. Nonwovens are particularly susceptible to this, due to their manmade fibre makeup. Healthcare products, such as facemasks and diapers are all especially prone to static during manufacturing – so its eradication is important, as any item with contamination on it will be immediately discarded, at a significant cost to the manufacturer.

The challenge for any company in the textile and nonwoven industries is finding a way to safely clean these sensitive textile and nonwoven materials, which can be prone to surface damage. Web cleaners with incorporated static control are available on the market that offer efficient contamination removal, without impacting on the surface of the material.

Web cleaners and static control solutions

Web cleaners come in two forms – contact and non-contact. Contact cleaners for the textile market use faceplates and or brushes to make contact with the surface of the material, releasing the contaminants which are then vacuumed away.

Meech’s contact cleaner, VacClean, has hundreds of global installations. It incorporates an enhanced contact cleaning manifold with either an Air Handling Unit (AHU) or vacuum fan and filter unit, depending on the installation environment and web width.

Non-contact systems, such as Meech’s CyClean and CyClean-R systems, use high volume positive and negative ion airflows to break the boundary layer of the web material, which causes contaminants to be released into the turbulent air and vacuumed into a filtration and capture system.  

Meech’s latest Hyperion static control bars are also included on both web cleaner systems – this is a vital component in combatting recontamination, as by neutralising the static charges present on the web, the chances of airborne loose debris being re-attracted to the web’s surface is greatly reduced.

To determine which web cleaner is suitable for production, consideration must be made as to the sensitivity of the material and levels of contamination found on its surface. Coupled with static control, the ideal web cleaner can prove an essential part of production for textiles and nonwovens, reducing wastage levels and ensuring the consistent, high quality output of products.

Because the production challenges facing textile manufacturers are never identical from one business to the next – Meech works in partnership with clients to develop bespoke solutions. If you want to boost productivity, reduce waste, and improve the quality of your products, get in touch and we’d be delighted to develop a solution for you.

For further information, please follow the link below:

https://meech.com/product/vacclean-contact-web-cleaning-system/