Fabric slitting for thermobond
Before a paint roller fabric can be thermobonded onto a tube, it has to be cut into narrow strips of exact width. Antares does this in-house on its own slitting machine: rolls of technical textile up to 1650 mm wide are cut into strips that go straight to the thermobond machines.
How fabric slitting works
- Unwinding. The roll of fabric is unwound under tension controlled by a PLC. The tension stays constant through the cutting zone, so the fabric does not stretch or slacken and the strip width does not change along the roll.
- Guiding. The fabric is guided into the cutting shafts. A deviation-tracking mechanism holds it on a straight path and stops any sideways drift, so each strip has straight, parallel edges.
- Cutting. A rotary cutting module divides the fabric into strips of equal width. The width is set on the cutting module, so all strips from one roll come out the same.
- Rewinding. Each strip is rewound separately in the take-up module, ready for thermobonding.
Technical data
- Strip widths: 35, 50 and 73 mm
- Width tolerance: ±0.1 mm
- Maximum roll width: 1650 mm
- Cutting speed: up to 3 m/min
- Capacity: up to 1,125 m per shift
Process control
Tension, tracking and strip width are set before each run and held by the machine for the whole roll. This keeps the strip width within ±0.1 mm from the start of the roll to the end.
What this means for you
- A clean spiral seam. A strip of uniform width is what allows tight spiral winding on the roller tube, with no gap and no overlap between turns.
- Fabric prepared in-house. Antares slits its paint roller fabrics in its own workshop, with no outside processing. This is part of the closed production cycle.
Frequently asked questions
Does Antares process its own paint roller fabrics?
Yes. Antares slits technical textile into strips in its own workshop and thermobonds them onto its own roller tubes, with no outside processing.
How does Antares prevent gaps and overlaps in the spiral seam of a paint roller?
Each fabric strip is slit to a uniform width under PLC-controlled tension with deviation tracking. A strip of uniform width winds onto the tube without a gap or overlap between turns.
What strip widths does Antares slit?
Antares slits paint roller fabrics into strips of 35, 50 and 73 mm, with a width tolerance of ±0.1 mm.
Related: Tube extrusion · Thermobond · Cutting and finishing · Paint rollers · Private label