Suppliers Partner to Streamline Production of QUILTED Products

four suppliers of automated systems and machinery have joined forces to offer the home fashions industry a new approach to manufacturing rounded-corner quilted products for the top of the bed.

Bobbin previewed the new modular concept this past December in Charlotte, NC, at a demonstration hosted by the suppliers behind the solution, including: Hauser Textile Systems, a division of Parker Hannifin and a manufacturer of automatic quilting machines; AKAB of Sweden, a producer of automatic sewing systems for the home textiles industry; Jensen, a maker of laundry, garment handling and folding machines; and Eton, a supplier of unit production systems (UPS).

Suppliers Find Strength in Collaboration

Employing machinery from each of the companies, the system is a major step toward complete automation of the quilted products manufacturing process, from sewing and filling to folding and packaging. As Sven Bodell, corporate director of business development at Eton, describes the system, it is designed "to link together each of the islands of automation to create one complete state-of-the-art solution."

Executives of each of the participating companies say development of the new concept began a few years ago. The firms found themselves working closely together in informal partnerships in the course of servicing their similar customer bases, and decided to pool their resources to offer a comprehensive solution for quilted products manufacturing.

"We shared a common market experience, and decided to be proactive rather than reactive," says Eton's Eric Hardegard. "We not only have developed this innovative solution, but also are reaching out to customers with the same sales force, technicians, customer service, etc. ... It's all one contact, and that's the idea. Customers do not have to go to several different companies to try to find and implement a solution."

Automation Essential in Home Fashions

While the home furnishings industry has been generally healthy, it has not been immune to the challenges faced by the textiles industry and other sewn products sectors, such as apparel. Even the top U.S. home fashions firms face relentless pressure from a variety of common fronts, the suppliers report, including the continued surge of U.S. imports from low-labor-cost countries, consolidation among retailers and producers, dropping stock prices, labor shortages and unpredictable seasonal weather trends. Moreover, they say retailers are setting increasingly high expectations for quick replenishment, and relying more heavily on their vendors to manage inventory of quilted products, such as comforters and bedspreads, which are bulky and consume a lot of space in warehouses and distribution centers.

However, the suppliers also indicate that the home fashions industry may be better prepared than some other sewn products sectors to tackle these challenges because it has been investing in automation for many years. Indeed, some point to the continued thrust toward plant automation as the lifeblood of the home fashions industry.

"Automation is important because many companies in the United States are facing a shrinking pool of experienced workers. They cannot find enough people to work for them," relates Hauser's Joseph Pramberger, summing up the forces pushing home fashions firms to invest in automated systems. "Another challenge is floor space. Because these types of products [quilts and comforters] are naturally big and heavy, it is vital that they [manufacturers] better utilize floor space."

Pramberger adds that many U.S. manufacturers are looking for alternative ways to cut costs without outsourcing production to lower-cost countries. "We have seen many come back from offshore due to quality and shipping issues," he notes. "Investment in automated equipment and technology is needed to stay competitive."

Pramberger states that North American firms, especially those based in the United States, have had a stronghold in serving the U.S. home fashions marketplace. Approximately 50 million quilts are produced annually in the United States, he says, observing: "It is the No. 1 market by far. In terms of business, the past four years have been tremendous in the amount of investment we have seen U.S. companies put into automated equipment."

Bringing It All Together

The system developed by the suppliers automates four major production steps, including quilt bag sewing/cord insertion; filling; quilting; and folding. The Eton UPS acts as the "central nervous system," moving quilted products through each step in the process and tracking their progress. Here's a look at how it works.

Making the Quilt Bag. The first operation to be performed by the system is production of the quilt bag, which is the outer shell of fabric that eventually will be stuffed with filling and quilted to form the comforter or other quilted bedding. AKAB's model AK 238 automates this production step, including the insertion of a continuous length of cording into the edge of the quilt bag.

The machine starts two rolls of fabric, which eater the AK 238 simultaneously through different inlet systems and pass through a guide roller. The fabric layers are measured for length and crosscut with a rotary knife, which cuts through both the top and bottom fabrics as if they were a sandwich. The fabrics then move onto the AK 238's vacuum table, where two separate sewing heads quickly perform all of the stitching needed to form the quilt bag, explains Steve Carrigan, vice president of sales for Jensen USA Inc.'s textile division. As part of this step, the machines sew in the cording, which is inserted along the edge of the quilt bag in a continuous strip via a track.

The new automated system is unique in that rounded-corner quilt bags traditionally have had to be stitched at different sewing machines by operators, explains AKAB's Eckhard H. Zimek, export sales director. Also, with previous methods, the cording often was cut into multiple pieces for easier insertion into the sides of the bag, which utlimately detracted from the look and feel of the bedding.

Transporting the Product and Tracking Production. After the quilt bag is produced, the Eton UPS enters the picture. Its computerized overhead conveyor system is used to automatically load, transport and buffer the quilting bags between the different workstations, or islands, in the production process. In addition to eliminating much of the manual transportation of pieces through the manufacturing facility, the UPS' computer system monitors real-time production, synchronizes the movement of pieces through the different processes and identifies potential problems, such as bottlenecks, at individual workstations, emphasizes Eton's Bodell. The UPS, like the other links in the automated system, is programmed to accommodate the system's unique variables, such as the need for bobbin changes at the quilting station.

Filling the Quilt Bag. The Eton UPS' first stop with each quilt bag is the filling station, where a piece of foam or other filling material is cut with a cold cutting knife to the size needed to fill the quilt bag. (The use of a cold knife rather than a hot knife reduces the fumes that emanate from the cut foam or filling when it is cut, thus eliminating the need for an air purification system to extract fumes from the work area.) The foam or filling material can be mounted on the cutting mechanism either lengthwise or widthwise, and cut in either direction. A Sansara SFM quilt filling machine is then used to automatically insert the filling into the quilt bag.

Quilting the Product. After filling is complete, the product, which is now considerably heavier, is again transported via the UPS to a quilting station, which consists of a Hauser model SNA 3300 quilting machine. The SNA 3300 is a PC-controlled frameless sewing system with a movable sewing bridge. Powered with nine motors, the machine offers sewing speeds of up to 4,500 stitches per minute, with a transport speed of up to 21 meters per minute in sewing mode. The latest model has two sewing heads -- one for sewing the border, and the other for sewing the buttons on the quilted product. Hauser's Pramberger explains that each machine can produce about 300 quilted products per shift and notes: "In the past it took at least two operators to complete such a task. Now, one operator can do the job."

Folding and Packaging. Once quilting is completed, the finished item is sent to a folding station equipped with a Jensen Quiltex machine. Designed specifically to fold bulky products, such as quilted comforters, the Quiltex can produce a variety of lateral and cross folds at speeds of up to six seconds per piece, or up to 600 pieces per hour.

The Quiltex's laser positioning system assists one or two operators (depending on the size of the product) with placement of the quilted product onto a vacuum-equipped in-feed table.

Reversing conveyors and air blasts are used to create lateral folds, while cross folds are achieved with reversing conveyors and a folding knife. The quilted product is kept in position by sandwich conveyors, which prevent it from opening up after folding. The machine has settings that can determine the thickness of each lateral fold section. In addition, the Quiltex's CT 342 touch-screen operator panel, which is connected to the machine's microprocessor controller, can be used to store and execute up to 99 custom folding patterns.

In the final stage of the process, the folded product is compressed and inserted into a bag that will serve as its packaging at the retail store.

In conclusion, it's evident that the collaborative efforts of Hauser, AKAB, Jensen and Eton have brought previously isolated islands of automation within one-stop reach.

Shawn Meadows is assistant editor of Bobbin.

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