Wetlaid Nonwovens

Kadant roll cleaner assemblies play a critical role in the production of glass veil and fiberglass mat, which use a wetlaid nonwoven process. In this process, glass fibers are suspended in an aqueous solution and then deposited onto a forming fabric. Water is removed, and the nonwoven sheet begins to form. Several rollers drive the forming fabric and roll cleaning systems are installed on these rollers to remove excess fiber and water. After the initial sheet formation and binder application, during which resins are applied to bond the sheet, a drying process is carried out. The sheet is then conveyed through a drying oven on a metal wire. This wire and its drive rollers require specific cleaning methods to ensure smooth, reliable operation.

The M-clean™ system is designed to effectively remove contaminants from wires, ensuring top-quality material production. It's tailored for use in the forming, saturating, and drying stages of glass veil and fiberglass mat production. By effectively removing contaminants on wire belts, the M-clean system helps maintain the quality of the glass veil sheets while minimizing production downtime.

In glass veil and fiberglass mat manufacturing, roll and belt cleaning solutions, particularly the VeriLite™ roll cleaner assembly,  have the fundamental task of keeping the production rolls clean. This attention to cleanliness is crucial because any contaminants on the rolls can lead to defects in the glass veil sheets. The compact roll cleaner assembly’s efficiency provides continuous roll cleaning, simplifies the process, and directly contributes to the overall quality of glass veil sheets mitigating downtime for the rolls to be cleaned manually.

Filtration products, such as pressure filters and water resource recovery strainers, are used to remove contaminates from liquid in process water before the water reaches the showers. A filtration system will contain a filter media which is used to separate unwanted fibers from the substance being filtered.

Showers are designed with spray nozzles to effectively remove contaminants from a wire or roll. Kadant supplies stationary  or electro-mechanical oscillating showers that move a shower back and forth across the showered surface. Oscillating shower systems help wire and roll cleaning performance because they permit the use of higher intensity needle jet nozzles for deeper cleaning action.