SETeMa B.V. (Scientifically Engineered Textile Machines) based in the Netherlands was founded in 2002. Its main objective is design and manufacturing of textile machinery based on the scientific knowledge of the underlying processes.

SETeMa is focussing towards all textile finishing processes, around the printing process like dyestuff fixation, washing, padding/coating and drying.

SETeMa introduces its complete new Porta-Wash roll to roll washing line consisting of a series of four different washing modules. These modules can be combined to meet customer demands to wash various cloth- and fibre types.

The new Porta-Wash line consists of a base module PW-B, a large module with twice the cloth contents PW-L, a large module with a separation wall PW-LD and a J-Box module PW-J with a maximum content of 40 meter.

To achieve good water-, wash- and rub-fastnesses a minimum of unfixed dyestuff in the fibre is the main goal of the washing process. For these diffusion limited washing processes the time, temperature and concentration differences are essential factors rather than amount of fresh water and mechanical force.

The requirements of the diffusion wash process are the basis for the Porta-Wash line combining a long dwell time with minimal water content, a minimum of fresh water usage and a moderate mechanical impact.

In the Porta-Wash line the separate washing modules use recycled and fresh soft water. Spraying nozzles, which are pressurized by circulation pumps, supply the mechanical energy to increase the washing effect.

The newly developed vacuum system in each module largely prevents polluted water being dragged by the cloth into the next bath. To further enhance the washing effect the cloth is sprayed with clean soft water prior to the vacuum slit. This maintains the for the washing process required concentration differences between the cloth and the water in each bath.

The vacuum system is ideal for the removal of polluted water containing the excess of dyestuff and thickeners from the cloth. Due to the nature of the vacuum system the evenness over the width is excellent. The vacuum is adjustable to accommodate for different fabrics and can achieve rest moisture content as low as 30% for synthetics and 60% for natural fibre.

To obtain a high energy efficiency each Porta-Wash module is equipped with a counter-flow heat exchanger for the cold incoming and hot outgoing water, an airflow circulation at the vacuum system and thermally isolated walls. Optional scroll rollers, tension control bars, two types of drying systems and several winding and unwinding systems can be combined to suit customer demands. The modularity of the system assures a high flexibility where customers can add modules afterwards.

A PLC enables the control of the washing speed, water temperature and the vacuum per cloth type in each module. Each washing module can be equipped with a fully automatic dispensing system for the required chemicals.

The Porta-Wash comes with an user friendly full-colour touch-screen interface. The first two Porta-Wash lines will be operational before the end of the year at two sites. The Porta-Wash is, as well as all other SETeMa products, available in 3 cloth widths: 1.85 m, 2.50 m and 3.40 m.