The customer
The customer is an American producer of pillows, bedding, and related products. It’s the largest pillow and bedding producer in Minnesota, and also sells mattresses, mattress toppers, slippers, comfortable apparel, bath towels and robes, and pet products. The company’s flagship product is an ultra-comfortable pillow designed by the company founder to give users a good night’s sleep. The company also manufactured cotton face masks for medical workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The problem: traditional fabric spreading slows down production and can lead to fabric wastage
The customer was looking for a fabric spreading machine that would be able to keep up with its high production output. Fabric spreading is the process of unrolling and spreading out fabrics in preparation for use in manufacturing. Fabrics need to be spread with even tension, otherwise, they will be cut incorrectly and consequently go to waste.
Fabric spreading is traditionally performed manually by workers who will smooth out creases in the fabric with a stick. This method comes with a high risk of human error, as workers can get tired and spread the fabric inconsistently after spending hours on the clock. Manual fabric spreading also eats up time and raises labor costs, as 2-6 workers are required to get the job done. Moreover, there’s a risk of injury from workers leaning across spreading tables and hurting themselves if they’re not careful. All of this makes manual fabric spreading an unsustainable method for large manufacturers of garments and other fabric products.
Fabric spreading machines remove the risk of human error from this critical manufacturing process while bringing greater efficiency to the factory floor. Whereas workers can manually spread a mere 1200-1500 pieces of fabric over an eight-hour period, fabric spreading machines can spread a whopping 4000-4500 pieces in the same amount of time, with a high travel speed of 90 meters per minute. Plus, fabric spreading machines only require two workers to operate rather than the up to six workers needed for manual spreading. Manufacturers of garments or bed and bath products can thus take advantage of fabric spreading machines to both reallocate factory staff to other departments and take on larger orders. Fabric spreading machines also make the process safer, as they remove the risk of injury that comes from workers leaning across spreading tables.
The solution: OSHIMA’s heavy-duty fabric spreading machine increases production capacity and removes the risk of human error
The customer purchased the Multi roll Woven Fabric Spreading J3, a high-precision, heavy-duty fabric spreading machine from OSHIMA. This device is built with an ergonomic and user-friendly ground-level fabric loading system designed to make the spreading process more efficient, especially when it comes to high-volume orders of multi-layer products. This made it the ideal fabric spreading machine for the customer, which has to meet high demand from a dedicated consumer base. In addition to bed and bath products, it’s well-suited for producing medical products like isolation gowns and medical masks.
After the fabric is loaded, a machine operator simply presses a button on the J3’s user-friendly, multilingual touchscreen interface. The machine automatically aligns the fabric edges, then spreads the fabric and cuts it off the spool without the need for any further human assistance. This guarantees consistent even tension across the fabric and removes the risk of human error from the fabric spreading process. Given that even tension is necessary for proper fabric cutting, the J3’s automatic system ultimately reduces wastage from miscut fabrics while enhancing efficiency.
The J3 includes a woven material feeding system and adjustable tension controller to enable garment or bed and bath product manufacturers to use a broader range of fabric types. It’s also simple to install and cheap to maintain, making it a wise long-term investment for large manufacturers. OSHIMA’s dedicated after-sales support and affordable replacement parts minimize the time and monetary costs of repair and maintenance.
The result: improved efficiency and precision
As a result of installing the Multi roll Woven Fabric Spreading J3, the customer came to enjoy greater consistency, accuracy, and speed in the fabric spreading process. This means it will be able to further its output and diversify its portfolio, as it did during the pandemic. Purchasing a fabric spreading machine is a substantial investment, but the gains in capacity and efficiency make it worth it.
Contact us today to find out more about how we can help manufacturers of fabric products upgrade their machinery for sustainable growth.
