Altaeros UK facilities feature state-of-the-art manufacturing
and inflatables test equipment
Manufacturing Facilities
Our manufacturing facility is located within the esteemed Wrexham Industrial Estate. Our production floor features a 10m tall ceiling and 2,300 sqm of production space. This facility houses all tools required for inflatables manufacturing including hot air welding, high-frequency welding, fabric cutting, and sewing capabilities.
Tools and Capabilities
Hot-Air Welding
Hot-air welding is the process of a heater nozzle applying hot air onto the surfaces of panels and weld tape enabling them to fuse together, weld tapes are typically 50mm wide. The heated area moves through a set of rollers at a predetermined pressure and speed. Through the control of the three variables: temperature, speed, and pressure, weld settings are able to be optimized for maximum strength.
High-Frequency Welding
The primary distinction between high-frequency welding and hot-air welding lies in how heat is generated. Unlike hot-air welding, where heat is directly applied to the surfaces being joined, high-frequency welding employs high-frequency energy in the form of an electromagnetic field, to stimulate molecules at the centre of the weld thickness. This stimulation generates heat, facilitating the bonding of the surfaces. The entire process takes place under a clamped tool, maintained at a predetermined pressure.
21m Cutting Table and Fabric Cutting
The cutting system uses files generated by the design department to cut panels which can be manufactured through various processes into products. It has a flatbed suction table to hold the fabric in place, a control box, and a carriage unit that holds a pen, a knife cutter, and a pizza wheel cutter. Each file consists of various layers, the design department assigns a different tool to each of these layers, an example is the CUT layer being assigned to the pizza wheel tool, and text being assigned to the pen tool.
Sewing Machines – Twin needle, Single needle, Zig-zag and long arm twin-needle
Depending on the requirements for various parts of products we have the capability to use several different sewing machines. Operators will reference drawing sets to identify which type of stitch is required: single, double, or zig-zag which in turn identifies which machine to use. The drawing set will also identify which sewing thread to use. Sewing machines are used in the manufacture of smaller components such as loop patches and load patches, to larger components such as aerostat fins or tubes of inflatable buildings.
Instron 34TM-10 with Environment Chamber Testing Machine
The Instron testing machine is used for fabric evaluation and daily production testing. Samples are manufactured to be tested within the Instron chamber, the samples are cut into 50mm strips and tested at room temperature or an elevated temperature, when testing at an elevated temperature the sample is held at the temperature for a predetermined time allowing the heat to soak in, this is generally 5 minutes. Samples are clamped between 2 jaws and then a force is applied moving the jaws apart until the sample fails. Depending on the type of material being tested there will be a required rate of force needed to be achieved to allow the material to be considered suitable for any desired application, this is called the pass/fail rate and is measured in KGF.
Inspection Machine C-TEX FIM
The inspection machine is used for incoming material inspection before the material is released to production. Rolls of material are placed onto the machine, they are then re-rolled while passing over a light-sourced table allowing flaws in the material to be identified and tagged with the machine measuring lengths, total fabric length as well as flaw lengths and location. The machine allows material to be lit from the back, from the front, or as a mixture of both as required. From this inspection, a decision can be made regarding the quality of the fabric, how the fabric can best be used, and even rejection if it is of sufficiently poor quality and returned to the supplier.