Forming fabric

The forming fabric / Forming wire or "wire" of a paper machine is the continuous belt or belts of mesh screen upon which the paper sheet is formed. Most modern forming fabrics are no longer comprised of metal wires. Rather, they are comprised of polyester monofilament. The weave pattern and layering of a forming fabric is designed to meet stringent requirements of dimensional stability, resistance to abrasion (on the wire side), minimum resistance to drainage, minimum wire mark, and (sometimes) maximization of retention of fiber fines. Traditional Fourdrinier paper machines have a single wire. Modified Fourdriniers and gap formers can have two.

Forming fabric is very important for a paper machine in a paper mill. In the general formation of paper depends on wire cloth and refining of paper pulp. Paper machine wire cloth (forming fabric) made from polyester or polyamide monofilaments. To shape an uninterrupted belt, it is made by endless of a seam. During woven of forming fabric, filaments are composed of the paper machine direction and paper machine cross direction. The filaments of paper machine direction or lengthwise are called warp. One the other hand the filaments of paper machine cross direction are called weft or Shute or filling. The construction of wire cloth depends on some weaving variables such as pattern, mesh, yarn, diameter, degree of crimping etc. Mesh is very important for a wire cloth (forming fabric). Water drainage and retention of fibers depend on it.