Method for wet processing, drying and moisture conditioning tubular

Abstract

A process and apparatus for treatment of continuous lengths of tubular knitted fabrics, involving wet processing, drying and then moisture conditioning of fabric. The fabric web is impregnated with a finishing resin in a wet processor, and is passed through a dryer to both eliminate the water of the processing solution and to cure the residual resin. The fabric emerging from the dryer is both extremely hot and, typically, bone dry, a condition considered unsatisfactory for gathering and further processing. In the disclosed invention, fabric enters a moisture conditioning chamber, in the lower portion, passes under a condensation guard, and then is guided vertically upward between opposed sets of finely atomizing spray nozzles. The fabric continues an upward course for a distance, and then is guided to a folder or roll up device. A wetting agent is utilized to assure thorough penetration of the spray, and advantageously this is introduced by way of incorporating a so-called re-wetting agent in the resin processing material introduced in advance of the dryer. Alternatively, a wetting agent can be incorporated in the water supply leading to the spray nozzles. A cotton fabric can have its moisture content increased by 5% or more in the conditioning process, which significantly enhances the fabric for further processing and also improves subjective characteristics of the fabric, such as hand and feel.