**3. Nonwoven processes**

**2. Textile processes**

56 Non-woven Fabrics

**Figure 1.** Scheme of classical textile process

**Figure 2.** Carding machine

The classical textile spinning process is based on Figure 1. First of all, staple fibers highly compacted in form of bales are opened with the help of a bale opening line. Moving through a coarse and a fine opener, the size of fiber tufts is reduced to be able to feed the carding machine

In a second time, the carding machine, as shown in Figure 2, individualizes the fibers tufts and delivers the fibers in the form of a web. The web is then condensed in a form of sliver.

The sliver goes through a drawing frame and a roving frame which produces slivers which are drawn and twisted on a spinning machine, that is, ring spinning frame. The quality of the final product strongly depends on the efficiency of the carding operation. It can be noticed that this efficiency is strongly correlated to the quality and the evenness of both the fed lap and

chute. The chute delivers a lap of fibers to the carding machine feed rolls.

Nonwoven materials can be considered as "**sheet or web** structures bonded together by entangling fibers or filaments, by various mechanical, thermal and/or chemical processes. These are made directly from separate fibers or from molten plastic or plastic film [1]" or as "a manufactured sheet, **web or mat** of directionally or randomly orientated fibers, bonded by friction, and/or cohesion and/or adhesion, excluding paper and products which are woven, knitted, tufted, stitch-bonded incorporating binding yarns of filaments, or felted by wetmilling, whether or not additionally needled [2]". As above defined, the web formation is a very important part of the nonwoven processes.

Nonwoven production systems are normally based on deposition or laying the fiber material or extruded thermoplastic polymers on a forming or conveying surface. The physical envi‐ ronment at this phase can be dry, quenched in air, wet, or molten – drylaid, wetlaid, or spun [3].
