Environmentally-Sustainable Single End Slashing

The process of weaving fabrics with high levels of tension and abrasion can cause damage to the yarn threads. To protect threadlines during the process, a protective polymer is coated on the surface of the yarns prior to weaving. This application process is known as slashing. The current slashing system is incompatible with today's demand activated manufacturing strategies. Methods of improving the uniformity of polymer coating application were studied, and several applicators were designed and evaluated. Prewetting of the threadlines before coating application was shown to greatly improve coating uniformity. The objective of the research is to design a single-end slashing process that is environmentally friendly and will improve productivity and flexibility.