How to make wet wipes？

Non-woven preparation

There are two primary methods of assembling non-woven fabrics: the wet laid process and the dry laid process.

1. One dry laid process is the "meltblown" method, which is used to make non-woven fabrics from plastic resins. In this method, plastic pellets are melted and then extruded, or forced through tiny holes, by air pressure. As the stream of fibers cools, it condenses to form a sheet. Hot metal rollers are used to flatten the fibers and bond them together.

2. A wet laid process is typically used for softer cloths, like diaper wipes, that use cotton blends. In this wet process, the fibers are made into liquid slurries with water and other chemicals. The resultant paste is pressed into flat sheets by rollers and then dried to form long rolls of fabric. These rolls are then further processed and slit into narrow widths and then perforated or cut into individual sheets. The finished cloths are classified by their dry weight that is at least 1.4 oz/in2 (40 g/m2). Absorbency of the wipes is also an important requirement (quality wipes can absorb between 200% and 600% of their weight in solution).

Formula preparation

3. The ingredients used in the wipe solution are prepared in large batch tanks. Depending on the formula requirements, the tank is charged with the first ingredient which is usually water. The tank may be heated during manufacturing to facilitate blending of powders that must be dissolved or other solids that must be melted. The other the ingredients are added sequentially and mixed until homogenous.

Non-woven treatment

4. Onced prepared, the non-woven cloth is fed from storage rolls onto coating machinery, where the cleansing solution is applied. Several methods can be employed in this process. The cleansing solution can be added by running the fabric through a trough of the solution, or sheets of fabric may be sprayed with the formula from a series of nozzles.

5. Alternatively, individual towelettes may be packaged in sealed foil pouches. In this process, sheets of laminated foil are fed into automated equipment which folds them into a small pouch and heat seals three sides to form an open envelope. Simultaneously, another conveyor line feeds the non-woven cloths into the pouch. A liquid feed mechanism, including conduits extending through the stuffing bars, injects moisturizing liquid into the towelette packet simultaneously with the stuffing of the towelette material.

6. Immediately following this operation, another heat sealer closes the pouch tightly.

Packaging operations

7. The finished cloths are automatically folded, stacked, and transferred to their final package. In one patented method employed by Rockline Inc. of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the towelettes are folded and stacked so that they can easily be removed one at a time and then the stack is placed in an inner plastic pack. This inner pack is subsequently inserted into an outer tub with a hinged cover.