Kwik-P, Bloemfontein

Disposable diapers are produced in a continuous process. A baby diaper machine is typically between 20 to 45 meters long, depending on the speed and the complexity of the product to be made. A typical machine will also need from 8 to 15 meters in width. Typical diaper machine speeds range between 250 to 600 diapers per minute, however some of the largest companies have machines running at 1,000 pieces per minute. The process starts at the mill, where a sheet of pulp is fed to a rotary mill and converted into fibers (from 2.4 to 2.7 mm in length). These fibers are transported into a forming pocket using a vacuum generator also called the "dust collector", please visit Auxiliary equipment under Machine vendors if you want to learn more about these systems. As the fibers are produced, they are mixed with super-absorbent within the drum former. The drum former usually holds between 8 to 12 pockets depending on diaper size and the diameter of the drum. The mix of pulp and powder coming out from the drum is called "the pad" or "absorbent core". Once the pad is formed, it is transported using a layer of tissue, this can be on the top, bottom or around the whole pad. The pad is compressed using a debulker roll, and later cut into individual pieces of pad. Next step, poly or cloth-like material is added at the bottom of the pad (or laminated on line), and non-woven is added at the top. Frontal tape was previously glued to the poly film or cloth-like backsheet using a cut and place applicator. In order to glue all these materials, hot melt is used in the form of multi-lines or spray. Specialty glue is also used to a help with pad integrity when the pad is made very thin, this helps to reduce the breaking apart of the diaper when it is wet. Elastomerics are also added at this point to provide stretch to the waist and the leg area and glued with hot melts. Typical Elastomerics used in a diaper are Lycra (Spandex), and polyurethane or polyesther foam.