The forming section consists of a long moving belt of fine mesh screen supported by rolls or foils. For many decades, this screen belt was made of bronze and called the " wire." Today it is made of synthetic polymer — primarily polyester monofilament — and is called the forming fabric. Newer machines (gap formers) trap the slurry out of the slice between two forming fabrics. As the forming fabric moves along the forming section, water drainage is assisted by foils. The fiber then passes over the suction boxes to pull more water from the furnish. Still more water is removed at the couch roll just before the sheet leaves the forming section. At this point, the sheet consistency is about 20%.

 

Dedicated research has produced synthetic forming fabrics that yield improved drainage, higher production and longer life at a lower cost per ton of paper produced.

 

Keylife's forming fabrics are available in a wide variety of meshes, depending on the type of paper produced. Coarse mesh fabrics are used to manufacture heavy paper grades such as those used in the production of corrugated boxes. Very fine mesh fabrics are required for lightweight paper, such as writing paper, book paper and magazine paper. The average life span of a forming fabric, depending on the type of paper, is approximately three months.

 

SSB forming fabric woven using 24 harness technology, which allows 6 shaft machine side construction to promote improved life potential. Available with 2 or 3 shaft paper side construction and 3:2, 2:1 or 1:1 weft ratio. Excellent raw material is used to further improve life potential and reduce power consumption. Keylife's SSB forming fabric family has options in 56, 36, 42, 60 styles depending upon application or paper grade. The 56 design benefits from high modules machine direction yarns which promote high FSI without compromise to dimensional stability. Keylife's SSB fabric's specification should be available to clothe all former types making all paper grades.

 

SSB Triple Layer Forming Fabric style 36 is a medium coarse weft-bound forming fabric that is used on board and packaging paper machines. The fabric design especially features excellent formation, drainage and fabric stability.

 

Style 36 is an SSB forming fabric that is especially suitable for demanding light-weight board and packaging applications which have to meet high paper quality requirements. Due to the unique warp concept of the style, a fine paper side can be combined with an extremely stable machine side. This unique fabric design leads to optimized fabric surfaces for improved paper quality.

The benefits include: High Open Areas for Fast Dewatering Performance, Cleaner Headbox Operation and Improved Sheet Formation, Better Mechanical Retention Leading to Higher FSI, High Wear Volumes Ensuring Excellent Fabric Life, Outstanding Fabric Stability, Good Guiding Stability on Demanding Applications.