webforming

Webforming is the process of forming a continuous sheet or web of material from a suspension or loose fibers, resulting in a flexible, sheet-like product that can be further processed. The resulting web serves as the starting material for products such as paper, nonwoven fabrics, filtration media, battery separators, and composite preforms. Key goals of webforming include achieving uniform basis weight, controlled thickness, appropriate porosity, and consistent fiber orientation, while minimizing defects.

The methods used to form webs fall into wet and dry categories. Wet forming encompasses traditional papermaking, where a dilute slurry of pulp is deposited onto a moving forming surface, water is removed, and the sheet is pressed and dried. Dry forming covers nonwovens and related materials, where fibers are laid down to form a web via carding, airlaying, or similar laydown processes, and then bonded thermally, mechanically, or chemically. In polymer-based manufacturing, spunlaid and meltblown processes create continuous polymer fiber webs that are subsequently bonded. Web formation is also important in composite manufacturing, where continuous reinforcement fibers are laid to create a preform.

Quality control emphasizes uniformity of basis weight and moisture, fiber or orientation distribution, and successful bonding or consolidation. Common challenges include nonuniform fiber distribution, air entrapment, and defects such as pinholes or thickness variations. Applications of webforming span traditional paper products, nonwoven textiles for hygiene and filtration, industrial separators, geotextiles, and lightweight composite materials.