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Always looking for ways to help bedding manufacturers increase their competitiveness, sewing machine manufacturers have recently introduced various new features to their equipment lines to increase productivity, expand design capabilities, and reduce manufacturing costs.
Recent products launched by Global Systems Group, the machinery division of Leggett & Platt Inc. in Carthage, Missouri, include Porter VFM-4516 Hi-Lo Flanger. According to the company, Porter's PFM-4000 machine is used to process dense quilt panels and has been the backbone of the mattress industry for 20 years. The new VFM-4516 combines the functions of PFM-4000 and PFM-516, the latter is designed for fast work on thinner materials. With the push of a button, machine operators can use the new VFM-4516 to switch from thick goods to thin goods, creating a better workflow through the flanging/hemming department.
GSG introduced or improved several other machines to adapt to thicker sewing materials. They include the new Porter Ultra HC-401 heavy-duty binding machine, Porter EST-501 with VFM-4516 sewing head, and Porter POQ-960 long arm quilt repair machine.
“Mattress manufacturers differentiate high-end products from low-end bedding by using thicker plush materials,” said Randy Metcalf, marketing manager at GSG. "(But) some of the thicker materials designed today exceed the capacity of standard machines, either reducing production speeds, putting more pressure on operators, or causing the machine to fail prematurely."
Metcalf said that with the new Porter Ultra HC-401 and other products recently added to the GSG product line, “customers can expand their current capabilities to produce high-value thicker products.”
GSG stated that in addition to the growing demand for machines that can handle thicker materials, mattress manufacturers are also looking for less specialized machines to maximize productivity.
"It is not cost-effective to leave equipment for a particular product idle, because different product types require different machine combinations," Metcalf said. "Most factories produce various styles of mattresses, and the output of each style varies greatly. They need machines that can easily switch between multiple product types and meet the unique daily production schedule of each product."
A key trend that Atlanta Attachment Co. sees among its mattress customers is "reliable sewing equipment is needed to increase production, help improve the efficiency of the mattresses being produced and (provide) better overall quality," Doug Guffey said the company's vice president of sales is headquartered in Lawrenceville, Georgia. "Everyone is facing increasing labor challenges and looking for ways to simplify the manufacturing process through automation and labor-saving equipment."
To this end, Guffey said, Atlanta Attachment continues to explore new time-saving and labor-saving equipment in a wide range of production functions including sewing. He said that through all mechanical development, the goal is to "increase mattress production and simplify multiple processes into seamless processes, and help improve the quality of manufactured products."
"The ability to integrate multiple functions and the automation of the sewing process involved will continue to drive our business development and provide the mattress industry with the technology needed to meet the growing demand in the industry," Guffey added. "Having reliable sewing equipment that can provide clean and efficient sewing is the foundation of the appearance of the final product. The investment in this equipment by manufacturers today will continue to drive their business growth tomorrow. The growing online direct-to-consumer model forces manufacturers Invest to stay up to date, but more importantly, stay alive in the future."
Garfield said that Atlanta Attachment's latest equipment is equipped with a new Windows-based patented application that can be used as part of the workshop's complete control system for real-time networking and monitoring.
Machinery experts agree that, looking forward to the future, the use of process de-skilling and integrated automation will become common in the sewing operations of mattress manufacturers.
"As the cost of technology drops and the available skilled labor becomes more and more difficult to obtain, automation solutions become more feasible," GSG's Metcalf said. "The first step in the automation journey is to de-skill the process. The ergonomic machine design simplifies the process, making it easy for low-skilled sewing machine operators to perform tasks and reducing the manufacturer’s reliance on experienced tailors. . This helps maintain a consistent workflow rate regardless of the skill level of the employee."
When trying to attract and retain new employees, ergonomics and technological advancements can also be valuable assets. "In this challenging labor shortage period, the appeal of easier workloads is critical to recruiting," Metcalfe said. "Efficient computerized equipment also eliminates the common misunderstanding of many job seekers that factory work is boring and old."
At Elektroteks, headquartered in Bursa, Turkey, the new highly automated Hemmer machine has aroused great interest, said CEO Serkan Güler. “One of the most time-consuming parts of mattress production is flanging the quilted panels,” he said. With the use of thicker mattress panels, excessive locking of the panels is usually unavoidable, "because it is impossible to sew thick panels through tape edge sealing."
In addition, the traditional flanging process “brought a lot of extra labor and inaccuracy to the production process,” he said.
With the new Hemmer system, the flanging process is automatic, thereby increasing efficiency and minimizing waste. "It can save up to 4% of quilting materials, including fabrics, foams, polyester fibers and non-woven fabrics," or they may be discarded, Güler said.
In the entire production line of Elektroteks, the company provides a strong online support network, enabling engineers to connect to the company's machines on site, and provide on-site troubleshooting and training. "We can quickly and effectively provide global customers with the answers they need," Güler said.
James Cash Machine Co., located in Louisville, Kentucky, recently started manufacturing several machines and its own products from the former DR Cash Inc. production line. Part availability and quality continue to be important elements of its service equation.
"We are proud to serve our customers," said Linda Ferry, president of James Cash. In order to minimize potential downtime in the production process, the company stated that it maintains a sufficient inventory of high-quality parts. "This is important because our parts not only last longer and need to be replaced less frequently, but when the parts last longer, labor and downtime are also reduced," she said.
In addition, James Cash modified many components to improve its operation. "Many competitive parts are not sold with this modification and must be modified by our customers, requiring labor and downtime," Ferri said. She added that the company's machines continue to be designed and produced in the United States, and are designed with many modular components to facilitate maintenance and improve reliability.
Marketing manager Randy Metcalf said that Global Systems Group has enhanced its product line with several new machines and features designed for thicker sewing materials. The new machine includes the Porter Ultra HC-401 heavy-duty binding machine, which is designed to connect thick frame materials to thick quilt panels or non-woven decorative materials. According to the company, even if the vertical handle is sewn on the tape production line, this sturdy binder can be sewn through thick borders. “When mattress designers seek new styles to stand out from the competition, they cannot be limited by the low-level functions of the machine,” Metcalf said.
Another new product of the GSG production line is Porter VFM-4516 Hi-Lo Flanger, designed for sewing thick or thin materials. It is based on the same walking foot technology that Porter International edgers have used for decades. But VFM-4516 has a key difference, Metcalf said: It allows the operator to "switch between the thickest and thinnest products with just the push of a button."
In addition to these new sewing machines, GSG has also added new features to several other models. Porter EST-501 is a semi-automatic belt table flange system that can now be used with the new VM-4516 sewing head, enabling operators to process thick or thin goods on the same machine. EST-501 also automatically rotates the mattress quilt panel during the sewing process, so the operator can produce high-quality finished products with minimal skills and energy.
Metcalf said that another product that has attracted attention on GSG is the Porter POQ-960 long arm quilt repair machine. The powerful sewing head of POQ-960 enables operators to sew quilts on the thickest and densest materials in the industry for repairs. "Being able to recycle these heavy panels is a huge cost saving advantage because they are composed of some very expensive filling and ticking materials," he said. "Scrapping them due to unrepairable defects can result in a very expensive waste of resources."
The H238 Pronta automatic sock closer from Atlanta Attachment performs a complete flame-retardant sock application in a single automated process. According to the company, work that once required multiple steps and different work centers can now be done on one workstation. The fully automatic operation detects the core size when adjusting, wrapping and sewing FR socks to each individual foam or latex mattress. H238 Pronta can produce one wrap-around mattress per minute. According to the company, the machine uses FR socks without the need for glue during the closing process, thereby forming an FR barrier with cleaner lines than typical. H238 Pronto can be connected to conveyor belts provided by Atlanta Attachment, as well as conveyor belts from other manufacturers.
Another new product of Atlanta Attachment is the 13551 Decorative Frame Workstation, which extends the creative boundaries of frame making, including more detailed designs, simulated tufting patterns and even custom logos. According to the company, custom programmable pattern spacing offers almost unlimited design potential, enabling mattress manufacturers to create more unique products. The machine can accommodate frames up to 18 inches, and automatically detects jumpers and disconnections.
Elektroteks' Hemmer panel edging machine was launched in 2020 and quickly became one of the best-selling products in the company's product line. Hemmer automates one of the most time-consuming parts of mattress production, combining panel cutting and edge hemming that occurs after quilting into one efficient operation.
"The traditional flanging process requires a lot of labor, resulting in inaccurate final panel dimensions," said CEO Serkan Güler. "Through our method, Hemmer will automatically crimp and then cut, so as to achieve more accurate crimping and less waste."
According to the company, by fully automating this production stage, Hemmer eliminates the amount of wasted material generated by traditional flanging, which can be as high as 4%. Elektrotek's Hemmer can be synchronized with any multi-needle quilting machine and can be fed directly into the quilting roll.
As labor shortages affect everything from construction to food service, the ability to hire and retain skilled employees becomes more and more important for every company, including those in the sleep products industry. Finding the right belt edge operator can be particularly challenging, and the fact that certain machines are difficult to manage for shorter employees makes the process even more difficult. In order to solve this problem, James Cash Machine Co. developed the MX100C machine, which has a shorter and more compact bracket, which is convenient for operators of short stature.
The bracket is 4 ½ inches shorter than the traditional MX100 bracket, which provides the operator with greater visibility and control, and improves the ability to reach the suture area. Like the MX100, the MX100C has easy-to-use controls, electronic braking, a minimized electrical system to maximize uptime, smooth automatic corner deceleration, and adjustable knee pads and table heights. The machine is manufactured in the United States and can accommodate mattress heights from 3 ½ inches to 24 inches.
In addition, James Cash has recently started producing a variety of products from the previous DR Cash production line, including BT96 stacking stations and BT15 foam packaging stations. James Cash is also evaluating optional edging heads for its edging machines in order to provide customers with cheaper alternatives, and is exploring the development of new machines in sewing operations.
The multi-needle chain quilting machine HC 4000 newly launched by Hengchang Machinery Factory has made many improvements on the basis of the earlier version. For starters, the HC 4000 has a more compact design and a more powerful mechanism, with a weight increase of 40%, making the machine's performance more stable and consistent. In addition, according to the company headquartered in Dongguan, China, the HC 4000 now reaches a top speed of 1,350 rpm, which improves the efficiency and accuracy of the quilting effect.
The output power of the machine has also been expanded to 10 kilowatts, making the quilting of thicker materials more stable. The company said that the height of the platen is controlled by a computer, with a widescreen display, and the machine can be easily adjusted to suit different quilting thicknesses.
In terms of service, the machine adopts a new automatic lubrication system and no longer uses timing belt drive. The HC 4000 made its debut at the Interzum trade show in Guangzhou, China in March. The machine shown here is part of a complete system for fabric quilting, stitching, cutting and panel cutting.
According to the company, Mert Makina's latest generation M-2 single-needle double-head quilting machine produces high-quality mattress panels, as well as textiles used in a wide range of other industries such as automobiles and furniture. The machine is designed to process thin layers of jacquard, knitted, silk and cotton fabrics, as well as memory foam and latex up to 4 inches thick. M-2 is equipped with an automatic feeding system with a working speed of up to 3,500 rpm, which can realize fast and smooth quilting.
The company’s sales and marketing director Ibrahim Ethem Yildirim said that other features include Siemens servo motors with automatic control and an asymmetric drive system with two Dürkopp Adler 867 sewing machine heads, which provide excellent volume, performance and precision. At the same time expand mattress design capabilities. Headquartered in Kayseri, Turkey.
The company said that M-2 can also save manufacturers' time and labor costs because it has a cutting system that eliminates the need to separately flange the bedding panels. In order to allow manufacturers to use more custom modes and change modes more quickly, Mert Makina is testing several other machines in the field.
MPT Group stated that its recently updated iQuilt 2 machine (top) provides mattress manufacturers with a powerful multi-needle quilting solution. As the latest member of the company's Matramatic quilting series, iQuilt 2 offers a variety of patterns, including more than 180 pre-installed designs. According to the company based in Bacup, UK, designs are grouped together according to fixed needle positions, making pattern selection simple, and the integrated CAD system allows operators to easily modify existing designs or create their own patterns.
iQuilt 2 can be installed as a standalone machine or integrated with MPT's Smart-Hem machine (bottom) to form a complete quilting and hemming system without the need for secondary flanging of the finished panel.
Smart-Hem is a fully automatic four-bread side station. The panel is first quilted and then hemmed automatically. Features include double chain sewing, Windows operating system with digital adjustment function for precise size adjustment, and a built-in waste removal system. An optional stacking system is also provided, allowing the finished panels to be easily moved during the manufacturing process.
According to the company headquartered in Helsingborg, Sweden, the Hector automatic tufting system provided by Styrteknik Europe AB can quickly and accurately tuft polyurethane foam and latex and fiber-filled mattresses. Styrteknik is represented by P. Bjerre Inc. based in Carver, Minnesota.
The system has one or two Hector long-arm machines, placed opposite each other, with a conveyor belt in between. Through photoelectric control, the mattress is sent to the position on the conveyor belt and automatically tufted. When equipped with two Hector long-arm machines, the system can tuft two single mattresses individually at a time, or it can be combined to tuft one mattress in tandem. The company says the conveyor belt eliminates the time-consuming loading and unloading of mattresses and allows them to move through the tufting process quickly. The distance between Hector machines is automatically controlled by the positioning system, and any distance and number of clusters in each row can be programmed. The computer can store different patterns for various types and sizes of mattresses.
According to the company, the normal production capacity of each sewing machine head is 8 to 10 tufts per minute, depending on the tufting pattern and stitch length. The maximum width of two sewing heads is about 79 inches, and the maximum width of one sewing head is 47 inches.
The company said that United Mattress Machinery's UM-FM-5000 flange machine was launched in 2020, with improved walking foot technology, enhanced linkage design, and 135 parts in the pressure and needle height system. The machine can sew panels from 3/8 inches to 6 inches thick, and the maximum sewing speed is 3,200 rpm. More than 20 key sewing parts, such as loopers, knives, needle guards, and walking foot connecting rod components, all adopt the company's patented PTP surface treatment, and provide a one-year warranty.
"Our goal is to build a machine from the ground up, not to modify what people have done in the past three decades," said Mike Porter Sr., CEO and Chairman of the Delray Beach-based company, Florida. He said that in order to create the "ultimate flange machine", United focused on improving three key elements-feed mechanism, pressure system and needle height. For its feeding mechanism, United Airlines uses a walking foot system, which Porter believes is "much better than a belt system." The second element-United's pressure system-consists of only four components instead of dozens of custom parts, which makes other machines "complex and difficult to maintain," Porter said. UM-FM-5000 also provides a higher needle height, allowing bedding manufacturers to easily flange thicker panels.
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