How to use Conwed Netting in Production

How to use Conwed Netting in
Production Processes
CREATE EXCEPTIONAL
COMPOSITES POWERED BY
CONWED NETTING
Incorporating Conwed netting in your
product construction can help you save
material, improve physical product
performance and increase line speed.
Our R&D and engineering teams collaborate with our
customers from the moment the concept is born until the
specific product performance is achieved. Our customers use
our netting to create strong, lightweight composites through
extrusion coating, extrusion lamination, thermal lamination,
ultrasonic welding, wet and dry adhesive lamination and
diverse nonwoven processes.
1.EXTRUSION COATING/LAMINATION
A polymer film can be extruded directly onto the substrate
to provide a bonding layer (extrusion lamination) or an
impervious coating (extrusion coating). Conwed plastic netting
can be trapped between the substrate layer and the extruded
film layer to significantly increase the tensile strength of the
final product.
LDPE, HDPE, PP, etc.
extrusion unit
CONWED netting
chill roll
COLD
nip roll
laminate rewind
1st material
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2.NONWOVEN PROCESSES
Nonwovens consist of millions of individual fibers. In a first manufacturing
step, the nonwoven material is produced via drylaid, wetlaid, spunbond or
meltblown processes. Conwed netting can be incorporated in a first step called
web formation and subsequently bonded by different bonding techniques.
I. WEB FORMATION
It is the stage where individual fibers or molten polymers are laid to form a nonwoven web that will eventually be bonded for
additional integrity, strength and stability.
air in
fibers
AIRLAID PROCESS
Drylaid nonwovens can be carded
or airlaid. Airlaid is a technology to
convert fibers into fabric nonwovens.
Fibers are introduced into an air
stream and form a web of randomly
distributed fibers.
fibers
CONWED netting
fibers
to further bonding
conveyor belt
air out
fiber and water slurry
WETLAID PROCESS
This technology also uses fibers to
form fabric nonwovens. It is a process
similar to papermaking where a
water/fiber mixture is released onto
a forming belt. The excess water is
removed to generate a fiber and pulp
web.
CONWED netting
to further bonding
conveyor belt
extracted water
polymer chips
extrusion die
extruder
SPUNBOND OR MELTBLOWN PROCESS
These two technologies use polymers
to form fabric (melt-spinning)
nonwovens. Meltblown differs from
spunbond by its finer filaments and
softer materials.
filament attenuator (cooling and stretching)
CONWED netting
fiber
dispersion
to further bonding
conveyor belt
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II.BONDING
After the web formation step, the fibers and the plastic
netting are bonded together to form the final nonwoven
composite. Conwed can customize the plastic netting design
and configuration to meet the properties and performance
required in the final nonwoven product. There are different
processes available to bond various types of nonwovens. We
illustrate some of the most common processes:
perforated drum
CHEMICAL BONDING
drying
from web formation
wind up
A bond is established between the
fibers of the web using a bonding
agent.
impregnation
embossed cylinder
THERMAL BONDING
from web formation
cooling
HOT
wind up
The criss-crossed fibers of the web are
welded together into a firm nonwoven
by passing them through hot rotating
cylinders.
hot smooth calender
MECHANICAL BONDING
needlepunch or spunlace (hydro-entanglement)
from web formation
wind up
Strengthening of the web is achieved
by the inter-fiber friction as a result
of the physical entanglement of
the fibers. There are two major
types of mechanical bonding:
needlepunch and spunlace (or hydroentanglement).
web compression
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A laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or more layers
of material. The various layers that make the laminate can be similar or different
materials: plastic netting, plastic films, nonwovens, paper, etc.
3.LAMINATION
THERMAL LAMINATION
ULTRASONIC WELDING
One of the two materials of the laminate is melted to the other
material under increased temperature and pressure to secure a
good bond.
Similar polymers can be combined using mechanical vibration
and pressure. The substrates are threaded through a wellprecised gap where high frequency vibration and pressure
generate heat to weld the layers together.
1st material
1st material
CONWED
netting
CONWED netting
ultrasonic vibration
laminate rewind
laminate rewind
HOT
2nd material
2nd material
Unless one of the fabrics develops adhesive properties in certain conditions, an
additional medium is necessary to secure the bonding between the layers. Two
adhesive lamination techniques are illustrated below.
4.ADHESIVE LAMINATION
WET LAMINATION
DRY LAMINATION
A solvent or emulsion adhesive is applied to the netting or the
nonwoven, putting both materials together under pressure and
letting the solvent evaporate.
Powders (e.g. E.V.A.), plastisols or hot melt adhesives are
applied to one of the substrates via several coating techniques:
roll coating, spray coating, die coating, etc., and laminated
together under pressure.
drying tunnel
laminate rewind
heating tunnel
CONWED netting
2nd material
combination nip
CONWED netting
laminate rewind
combination nip
2nd material
1st material
1st material
adhesive application
adhesive application
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ABOUT CONWED
WHO WE ARE
Conwed is the leading plastic netting manufacturer
in the world.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Conwed has five manufacturing
locations on two continents and a global distribution network. We have more
than 45 years of experience developing netting solutions to help our customers
improve their products in a wide range of industries.
WHAT WE DO
Among our core products and technologies we
manufacture extruded, oriented and knitted
netting with unique customization capabilities.
Our engineering and R&D teams solve product development challenges for our
customers and we specialize in customizing our netting products to meet strict
specifications and performance targets.
HOW WE DO IT
We focus on business development opportunities
and work closely with our customers from concept
to commercialization.
We understand the importance of exploring, analyzing and testing components
and materials during our customers’ product development processes, so we
tailor our products to meet their performance requirements and uncover
potential innovation through ongoing testing and experimentation.
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GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS
EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS
2810 WEEKS AVE SE
MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55414
TEL 800.426.0149 FAX 800.426.0137
EMAIL contact@conwedplastics.com
MARCEL HABETSLAAN 20
3600 GENK, BELGIUM
TEL +32.89.848310
FAX +32.89.848320
EMAIL sales@conwedplastics.com
www.conwedplastics.com