7.

MANUFACTURING PROCESS
7.1 MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF ZIPPERS
Different types of zippers have different manufacturing process. Below is
the manufacturing process of polyester zippers in which the tape, coil, cord,
lace and the box and puller of the slider are all made from 100% polyester.
The basic processes involved are :
I. Formation of monofilament
II. Coiling
III. Stitching
IV. Dyeing
V. Drying
VI. Slider making
VII. Assembling
VIII. Quality inspection
IX. Packaging

I. FORMATION OF THE MONOFILAMENT

1. First of all the polyester chips are taken and melted in a hopper (Fig
7.1).

Fig. 7.1
2. Then the melted chips are passed through a feeding hopper.
3. Further, it is passed through the extruder in which the heaters are
fitted. The chips are melted here completely and can flow. The
melting point of the chips is around 250 degree Celsius.
4. It is then passed through the head. The dye is fixed here and has
certain holes, for example #3 will have about 32 holes and #5 will
have about 20 holes i.e. as the diameter increases, number of holes
decreases.
5. Then it is passed through a cooling water tank which has a
temperature of about 70 to 72 degree Celsius.
6. Here we get the monofilament but the diameter of this filament is
more than required.
7. It is then passed through the first draw roller (Fig 7.2) for stretching
purpose. The speed of the draw roller varies according to the size of
the zipper and also on the material of the filament.

Fig. 7.2

8. It is again passed through the hot water bath to provide strength.

9. Then it is passed through the second draw roller for stretching
purpose. Here, the diameter of the filament reduces.
10. From the rollers, it is then passed onto the first oven which
maintains an average temperature of around 217 degree Celsius. But
 again the temperatures vary according to the different sizes. The
ovens help in the shrinkage purpose.

Fig. 7.3

11. It then goes to the third draw roller for further strengthening.
12. It is then sent through a second oven for elongation. It should
be followed with heating or else the filaments will break.
13. From here on, it passes through the fourth draw roller for
elongation and stretching.
14. After this stage, the filament is tested for its diameter using a
dial thickness gauge. If it does not match the required dimensions
then it is again sent for processing.
15. It is then winded on bobbins with the help of a winding
machine. The bobbins are then sent for the coiling process.

II. COILING
Once the monofilaments are ready, they are passed through a coiling
machine which is different for different sizes. The coiling machine (Fig 7.4
and 7.5) consists of gears and hookers. The hooker has a needle like
structure which helps in shaping the monofilament. Two temperatures are
maintained here, each of 100 and 200 degree Celsius. Coiling machines
can either be high speed machines or low speed machines.

Sometimes a cord is inserted between the coils. But, it is added in

accordance with the cost as there emerges an immediate cost difference. A
cord is nothing but a multi folded yarn. They are available in different types
such as 7 ply cord, 14 ply cord, 20.

Another type of machine used is the LFC or the lace form coil machine.
There is no insertion of cord here. A lace is used to cover the chain.

Fig 7.4 Fig. 7.5

III. STITCHING
This process involves the stitching of the parts together, i.e., the woven
tape and the lace is stitched together along with the coil. There are two
types of machines used for this purpose :

LFC STITCHING MACHINE (Fig 7.6): It contains the sewing threads,

hooker and needles. Stitching of the lace and the attachment of woven tape
takes place here.

Fig. 7.6

CFC STITCHING MACHINE (Fig 7.7): There is no lace to cover the chain
in this type. This machine also has sewing threads, a hooker and needles
for stitching purpose. The needle thread uses approximately 450 deniers of
yarn while the looper thread has around 300 deniers. Two machines can
also be placed on one platform for faster production.
 Fig. 7.7

The tape is manufactured on a power loom and is wound on bobbins on a

warping machine. The width of the tape varies for different sizes.

Thus, the raw zipper is ready. It is then sent for dyeing according to the
customer requirement.

IV. DYEING

In the dyeing process, the raw zippers are colored as per the customer
demands.
Before dyeing, the zippers are wound on bobbins. This process is called
Batching.
Vessels used in the dyeing process are HT, HP vessels i.e. high
temperature high pressure vessels.

There are four stages in the dyeing process :

 IV. Steaming
V. Levelling
VI. Cooling
VII. Rinsing or soaping

Steaming : Bobbins are placed inside the vessel. Steam is passed into the
vessel at a temperature of 135-140 degree Celsius. This process lasts for
an hour. It is a computerized programming.

Levelling : levelling starts automatically after one hour of steaming.

Coloring occurs at this stage. A temperature of 135-140 degree Celsius is
maintained. The vessel is left untouched for 45 to 60 minutes. A pressure
of 4 kg/cm/sec.sq. is applied.

Cooling : Cooling is done using water. Air pressure decreases and

temperature is reduced from 135 to 90 degree Celsius.

Rinsing : Chemicals like acetic acid is added here. In this process,

impurities are removed. Rinsing is done using water at a temperature of 60
degree Celsius.

The material is then sent for a quality check to meet the standards.
V. DRYING
Steam is used for the drying process. The material is then sent for
packaging.
LFC ZIPPERS

For zippers manufactured on LFC machines, a different process is

followed. The zipper is first passed through a HEAT SETTING MACHINE
for ironing as wrinkles appear during stitching. Heaters are fitted here.
There may be some changes in the dimensions of the chain width and
thickness here. It is then sent for batching, dyeing
And a heat finishing process. Then it is sent for inspection for properties
like color fastness using acid/alkali reactions.

MOULDED ZIPPERS

For these types of zippers, delrin acetal resin is used to make the chips.
The chips are melted by heaters fitted in the machines and passed through
screws having teeth. A temperature of 182 degree Celsius is maintained for
melting the chips. There is a teeth formation of the acetal resin material
which is fixed to the tape and the runner is removed. The tape is taken in
by the machine as a result of pneumatic pressure and the machine works
with hydraulic pressure. A small gap is left for fittin the sliders, which may
either be done manually or by machines. A zipper of 20 to 30 inches is
manufactured in this process.

V. SLIDER MAKING
Slider is the moveable element that opens and closes the zipper. It
composes of body, puller and bridge. Most sliders are made of zinc alloy
raw material. There are also sliders made of copper alloy, iron and plastic
to fit specific purpose.

Bodies and pullers are made separately and then assembled together. Raw
material for sliders is zinc alloy. Different shapes are made for different
sliders depending upon the need. The process involves the following
steps :

1. DYE-CASTING (Fig 7.8): In this process, zinc alloy which

contains 99% zinc, is melted in a crucible at a temperature of 429
to 431 degree Celsius. At a time, ten pieces can be made. For a
particular body, a particular type of puller is used.

Fig. 7.8

2. BARRELLING (Fig 7.9): Here unwanted impurities are removed.

Only the body and puller remains.

Fig. 7.9
VII. ASSEMBLING (Fig 7.9): The assembling machine works on
pressure. The body and puller are fused together here.

Fig. 7.10

Thus the formation of slider takes place.

After assembling, the sliders are sent for finishing which includes
processes like nickel coating (Fig 7.11).

Fig. 7.11

VIII. CUTTING & PACKING