Abstract: A forming fabric for use in papermaking machines for making tissue products in which the fabric is a three-ply fabric. The upper ply has its machine direction (MD) filaments arranged in groups so that wide channels are provided through the ply between the groups and narrow channels are provided through the ply within the groups. Cross direction (CD) filaments in the upper ply provide CD knuckles spanning across the channels to provide a gridwork for supporting fibers separated from the water of the slurry deposited on the forming fabric, the fibers having a greater density in bands overlying the wide channels than in the intermediate bands overlying the narrow channels. The lower ply is a porous fabric which further controls the flow of the water discharged from the pulp through the upper ply. The two plies are interconnected by integrated binder filaments which cooperate to maintain the groupings of the MD filaments in the upper ply.

Abstract: A wire former comprising a structural framework, a headbox for holding and dispensing the pulp slurry, a breast roll, a couch roll, a forming fabric belt extending endless between the breast roll and the couch roll in a straight run, and drainage elements and suction devices underlying said straight run for extracting liquid from the slurry. The forming fabric is a multi-ply fabric, the uppermost ply being a self-sustaining weave with monofilament warp yarns of a given diameter interwoven with shute yarns, the lowermost ply being a weave with a series of generally ovate warp yarns having a vertical dimension generally equal to the diameter of the warp yarns of the uppermost ply, interwoven with shute yarns. The ovate warp yarns have a horizontal width in the shute direction substantially greater than their vertical dimension. Binder shute yarns interconnect the upper and lower plies by being interwoven with the upper and lower plies so as to be contained within the body of the multi-ply fabric.