Abstract: A throughdrying fabric for the drying section of a papermaking machine is disclosed in several embodiments. In each embodiment, the fabric has a load-bearing layer and a sculpture layer. The sculpture layer is characterized by impression MD knuckles, in the present instance formed as warp knuckles floating over a plurality of shutes but positioned substantially above the tops of the lowest shute knuckles in the load-bearing layer so as to provide machine direction knuckles projecting in the sculpture layer. Methods of weaving the fabric are disclosed using a standard fourdrinier loom. The loom may embody an auxiliary jacquard mechanism which is effective to control the impression warps in the sculpture level to produce a wide variety of patterns of impression knuckles which, in turn, produce an image on the pulp web which the throughdrying fabric carries through the machine.

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.