Fusing Machinery And Equipments

By:Anand VikramAniket SharmaAsthaSarika

BFT-IVNIFT Patna

Contents• Introduction to fusible interlining• Base Material• Woven Substrate• Knitted Substrate• Non- woven Substrate• Resins • Types of Resin • Methods of applying resins(Coating)• Methods of Fusing• Requirements of Fusible Interlinings• Advantages of Fusible Interlining• Means of Fusing• Machinery and Equipments • Selection Of Fusible• Problems in Fusing • Quality Control• Brands and Manufacturers

Introduction to fusible interlining

Fusible + Interlining

Fusibility: Ability of a material to fuse or melt easily.

Interlining: A layer of fabric inserted between the face and the lining of a garment, drapery or quilt.

Fusible Interlining: A base fabric coated on one side with a thermoplastic adhesive resin which can be bonded to another fabric by the controlled application of Heat and Pressure.

Fusible Interlining is a combination of three factors:• Base Material• Thermoplastic Resin • Coating

Base Material• It is the Substrate or bottom cloth.

• It can be produced from Natural fibres or Synthetics or Blends of each of these fibres.

• It influences the hand, bulk, appearance, durability, Crease Recovery, Shape Retention and Shrinkage Control of the finished garment.

• It is mainly produced in three basic types:1. Woven 2. Knitted3. Non-Woven

Woven Substrate• These are made by weaving warp and weft threads.

• These are not easily distorted by the wear or cleaning .

• These exert a large degree of control on Shrinkage and shape retention.

• Properties like Shrinkage and Shape retention restrict the soft and natural handle to a garment.

• Twill weave with fine warp threads and thicker weft threads is used to improve the handle and bulk property of this type of base cloth.

Knitted Substrate• These are cheaper than Woven Substrates because knitting is a faster

process than weaving.

• These provide a degree of elasticity to the laminate, together with the top cloth, by yielding to the body and limb movements.

• Weft Knitted Substrate has an advantage over Warp Knitted Substrate because it provides soft handle while being resilient at the warp direction.

Non- woven Substrate• Nonwoven substrates are made of a series or mixture of fibres held together

at bond sites. • The fibres can be natural, synthetic or various combinations of the two. The

most commonly used fibres for general purpose fusible are Viscose, polyester, acrylic or nylon.

• The orientation of the fibres in the substrate influences its end use. The three standard web formations are:

1. Random: The fibres are oriented randomly and the resultant substrate is omnidirectional.

2. Parallel: The fibres are oriented to the length of substrate which makes this fusible ideal for preventing stretching.

3. Cross -laid: The fibres are oriented at an angle of 45degree across the substrate which is suitable for cutting components at true bias.

Resins• These are the materials applied to the base cloth, and when subjected to

heat and pressure they become the sole agent between the top cloth and the interlining.

• Through the application of heat and pressure, the heated resin penetrates into the top cloth; on cooling it solidifies again, forming a bond between two fabrics.

Resins have to conform to the following conditions:• Upper limit temperature: The resin should become viscous at a temperature

below that which would damage the top cloth. This temperatures varies according to the top cloth, it rarely exceeds 175˚C.

• Lower limit temperature: This is the lowest temperature at which the resin starts to become viscous. For most fusible fabrics, it is about 110˚C and for the fusible used for leathers and suede materials it is considerably lower.

• Clean ability: The adhesive properties of the resin have to be sufficiently strong to withstand washing / dry-cleaning throughout the normal life of the garment.

• Handle: The resin must contribute to the required handle and not act as an unwanted stiffening agent on the final laminate.

Types of Resin• Polyethylene - All the polyethylene resins used in fusible coatings and

washable .Their main use is in interlinings for shirt collars.• Polypropylene- Polypropylene resin is similar in properties to high density

polyethylene but reaches its softening point at a higher temperature.• Polyamides -Polyamides in the higher temperature melting range are

generally washable up to 60˚C but in the lower melting ranges they are dry cleanable only. Polyamides are used widely in dry cleanable garments.

• Polyesters -These resins are used in garments that are dry cleanable and washable, because polyesters are less water absorbent than polyamides and therefore resist washing better.

• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) - Polyvinyl chloride is generally printed on to base fabrics as a plasticized paste, the fusing temperature is determined by the amount and the type of plasticizer used in its formation. It is used commonly in large area applications on coat fronts.

• Plasticized polyvinyl acetate (PVA) -Plasticized polyvinyl acetate is normally in the form of a continuous coating for fusing to leather and fur at low pressures and temperatures. It is not dry cleanable and has limited wash ability.

Methods of applying resins(Coating)1. Scatter coating (particle size- 150-400 microns*)• In this ,specifically designed scattering heads are used to provide an even

scatter under automatic control. • The resin is then softened in an oven, pressed on to the base cloth and cooled.

2. Dry dot printed coating (particle size- 80-200 microns)• With dry dot printed coating,the powdered resin is filled in engraved holes on a

roller. The base cloth passes over a heated roller and then against the engraved roller.

• The powdered resin adheres to the cloth in the form of dots. Oven heating follows the printing operation to ensure permanent adhesion.

3. Paste coating (particle size- 0-80 microns)• With paste coating,Fine resin powders are blended with water and other agents

to form a smooth paste and are printed on to the base cloth.• Heat removes the water and the dots coalesce into solid resin. • This type of coating gives precisely shaped dots and is used to produce the finer

dots used in shirt collar fusible.

Methods of Fusing• The simplest and safest of all is “Single Fusing”, in which a single piece of

interlining, with raisin side laid down, is placed over a single piece of fabric with face side laid down. Some variations are as follows.

1. Reverse Fusing:• In this method, the outer fabric lies on top of the fusible. • On flat bed press with elements only in the top layer, it is necessary to adjust

temperature settings. • 2. Sandwich Fusing: • This is effectively carried out on horizontal continuous fusing press where heat is

applied from both sides, above and below.• Two pairs of components, forming two laminates are fused together, with the two

outer fabrics on the outside of the sandwich and the two interlinings on the inside.3. Double Fusing:• This is the fusing of two sorts of interlining to the outer fabric in a single operation. • In creation of a satisfactory one-piece collar with a definite break-line, fusible

interlinings play a very important part. Two different constructions are in common use, both requiring two thicknesses of interlining to be fused to the top collar.

• It is most commonly used in Shirts’ collars and Men’s jackets front.

Double fusing

Requirements of Fusible Interlinings

The process of fusing interlining to garments should fulfill certain requirements and avoid certain problems if the garment is to have satisfactory appearance and performance throughout its life.

•The laminate produced by fusing should show the aesthetic property as required by the designer in the finished garment.•The strength of bond of the laminate must be sufficient to withstand handling during subsequent operations in the garment manufacturing processes as well as the flexing that takes place in wear. •Fusing must take place without either strike- through or strike- back occurring. •The fusing process must not cause thermal shrinkage to the outer fabric.

Advantages of Fusible Interlining

• It shortens manufacturing time with a consequent reduction in direct labour cost.

• There is a reduction in the skill required in many operations involving fusing compared with the sewing in of interlinings and this also reduces Training time.

• Fusible Interlinings provides opportunity for alternate method for Garment Construction.

• In large area applications, such as jacket fronts, the fusing operation replaces complex Basting operation.

Means of FusingFusing equipment must control these factors:1. Temperature:• This must be high enough to achieve the necessary temperature at the glue line

which will change the dry thermoplastic resin into a partially molten state in order that it will flow.

• For each resin there is a limited range within which the correct level of flow is achieved.

2. Pressure:• The equipment must provide enough consistent pressure intimate contact between

interlining and outer cloth over the whole surface of the interlining.• This ensures correct transfer of heat to the glue line and correct penetration of resin

among the fibers of the outer fabric. 3. Time:• The equipment must provide enough time to allow the temperature and pressure to

induce melting of the resin and penetration of the outer fabric in order to produce satisfactory bond; too much time may result in strike back and strike through.

4. Cooling:• Enforced cooling is done so that the fused assemblies can be handled immediately

after fusing.

Machinery and Equipments

For fusing, the basic requirement is pressing .There are three types of press:• Steam;• Flat bed;• Continuous fusing.

Steam Press:• Used for certain types of fusibles.• Required glue line temperature is achieved by the means of steam from

the head of the press. Limitations:– Sometimes steam press does not reach the heat level required by most

of the resins.– Fusing of small parts is difficult due to uneven pressure applied over the

full buck area.

Flat Bed Press:• It is a Purpose built fusing machines.• consists of padded top and bottom bucks with heated element in one or

both the bucks.

• Bottom buck is static, with top buck raised or lowered to open or close the press

• can have single or double trays which horizontally move to feed the work into and extract it from the machine.

• Carousel Press is one of its type.

Carousel Press Flat bed

Continuous Fusing:• It transports the assembly for fusing through all the processes on a

powered conveyor belt.

• Different Conveyor belt systems generally used are: - End to end feed - Return feed• It is required for fusing of the trousers and skirt waist bands and other

narrow components.

Selection Of FusibleThe fusible are selected on the basis of the following:

I. Top Cloth • Shrinkage property• Color fastness• Construction II. Base Cloth• The function of the fusible in relation to the area and component to be

fused.• Construction III. Resins• Washability of garment- dry cleanable or washed or bothIV. Costs

Problems in Fusing

• Improper fused.• Glue mark visible at surface.• Fullness of fusing area.• Fabric discoloration.• Pleat on process.• Spot on fabric.• Bubbling: localized de- lamination• Shrinkage.• Strike- Back: Glue penetrates back through interlining.• Strike- through: Glue penetrated through fabric and comes to face side.

Quality Control1. Temperature Control:• Checked by a simple and practical method involving the use of thermal test

papers.2. Pressure Control:• Fusing requires equal amount of pressure in order to ensure quality.• There is controlled and even penetration of the resin points into the fibres of

the top cloth.3. Time Control: • Time element is of value when the assembly is actually being heated.• For flat bed, time is verified by a stopwatch.• For Continuous, it is verified by measuring the conveyor belt speed with a

tachometer.4. Garment Quality Control:• To ensure the quality of fusing of the garments, the strength of the bond

between the outer fabric and the interlining is tested by measuring the force required to peel them off.

• The initial bond strength after fusing and cooling as well as the bond strength after washing or cleaning are tested.

There are many other quality control tools we used to control quality in fused area:

• Machine with well condition.• Data sheet.• Thermo paper strip.• Digital tester.• Bonding tester.• Shrinkage ruler.• Bonding test and report.• Sufficient Light.

Brands & Manufacturers

Brands for Fusing Machines• Braithwaite (UK) • Oshima (China)• Konwa (Selangor , Malaysia)• Hashima Co. Ltd. (Japan)

Some popular Brands for fusible interlinings

References

Reference books-• Carr and Latham’s Technology of Clothing Manufacture• Garment Technology • Manufacturing Technology

Reference Sites- • www.alibaba.com/showroom/fusing-fabric.html• www.fusingbelts.com/fusing%20tests/fusing%20tests.html