Plastic beach mat production line: the six machines you need

A plastic beach mat production line is a set of six machines that turns polypropylene pellets into baled, edge-sewn woven mats. Two of those machines prepare the two materials the mat is made of — hollow PP straws for the weft, warp yarn wound onto a beam — a jacquard loom weaves them together, and three more cut, sew and bale the result. A seventh machine, a monofilament yarn extruder, is optional and only needed if you want to produce the warp yarn in your own factory instead of buying it. This guide walks through the line in order, gives the machine for each step with its figures from our catalogue, and sets out how to size a line if you are planning one. Wenzhou Xiangyi Machinery builds the straw extruder, warping machine, jacquard loom, cutting machine and monofilament extruder, and supplies the sewing machine and baling press to complete a line.

Key definitions

• Weft. The material laid across the mat on every pass of the loom. On a beach mat line the weft is a hollow plastic straw, extruded from PP raw material.
• Warp. The yarns running along the length of the mat. They are wound side by side onto a beam before weaving, and the beam is mounted on the loom.
• Warp beam. The roll the warp yarn is wound onto. Its width is what has to match the loom you are feeding.
• Jacquard. The mechanism that decides, for every straw laid across, which warp ends are lifted above it. That sequence of decisions is the mat's pattern, woven in rather than printed on.
• Monofilament. Round single-strand yarn drawn from HDPE or PP. It is one of the things warp yarn can be made from.
• Complete line. All six steps under one roof, so woven roll never leaves the factory as an intermediate product.

The two feeds and the single chain

Most descriptions of a production line read as a straight sequence, and that is the first thing to unlearn here. A beach mat line has two starting points that run at the same time.

The first feed is straw extrusion. PP raw material is heated until molten, extruded and drawn out into hollow straws. The second feed is warp preparation: yarn is wound evenly onto a beam wide enough for the loom it will be mounted on. Neither waits for the other. They converge at the loom, which is why the loom is the machine the rest of the line is built around.

From the loom onwards there is one chain and no branches. The mat leaves the loom as a continuous roll, is cut to the length each order calls for, has its edges sewn so the selvage cannot come loose, and is pressed into bundles for shipping. If you are sizing a line, think of it as two feeds and a chain rather than as six boxes in a row — it changes where the bottlenecks can be.

The six steps and the machine for each

Every figure below is as printed in our catalogue. Fuller spec tables are on each machine's own page, and the line is also laid out step by step on the production line page.

Step	What happens	Machine	Key figures	Who makes it
1	Extrude the straws	LG series straw extruder	LG55/2 draws 2 straws, LG55/4 draws 4; 55 mm screw, L/D 23:1; 23.5–24.5 kW total	We make it
2	Prepare the warp	Warping machine ZJ-2000	Up to 440 yarns; beam 900–2000 mm wide; 4 kW main motor; automatic stop on yarn break	We make it
2a	Make the warp yarn (optional)	Monofilament yarn extruder SJ-YS	Three models; 30–140 kg/h; yarn 0.1–0.35 mm; 150–256 spindles; 75–100 kW installed	We make it
3	Weave the pattern	Jacquard weaving machine XY-KTC	Eight models, 900–3000 mm weaving width; 184–632 warp ends; 1.5–2.25 kW	We make it
4	Cut to length	Heat cutting machine XY-QDJ	Cutting width 2000–3000 mm; 6 kW heating; 500 kg	We make it
5	Sew the edges	Double-needle sewing machine GC3720	220 V, 50–60 Hz; 200–650 rpm; computer-controlled direct drive	We supply it
6	Bale for shipping	Hydraulic baling press	Presses finished mats into solid bundles; ask us for its current specification	We supply it

Step 2a is numbered as a branch of step 2 on purpose: it feeds the warping machine, not the loom. A line without it buys warp yarn in and is a six-machine line. A line with it makes its own and is a seven-machine line with a considerably larger electrical load.

How to size a line

1. Start from the mat width. Pick the XY-KTC model whose maximum weaving width covers the widest mat you intend to sell. The eight widths are 900, 1200, 1500, 1800, 2000, 2200, 2700 and 3000 mm, and the number in the model name is that width.
2. Accept the width-versus-speed trade-off. Wider looms carry more warp ends and run slower: the XY-KTC900 turns at 80–130 r/min, the XY-KTC3000 at 50–60 r/min. If most of your orders are narrow, several narrower looms may suit them better than one wide one. The jacquard loom guide compares the models in full.
3. Match the warping set-up to the loom. The ZJ-2000 takes up to 440 yarns on a beam 900 to 2000 mm wide. Ask us to confirm how warp beams are prepared for the width of loom you choose, especially for the wider models — see the warping machine guide.
4. Size the straw supply to the looms. Straws come from the LG series extruder: LG55/2 produces two at a time, LG55/4 four. Tell us how many looms the extruder has to keep running and we will say which model and how many you need.
5. Decide whether to make your own warp yarn. Buying it in keeps the line to six machines. Making it on an SJ-YS line gives you control of the yarn but adds 75 to 100 kW of installed power; the monofilament extruder guide sets out the three models.
6. Check the cutting width against the loom. The XY-QDJ takes cutting widths of 2000 to 3000 mm, so confirm with us that the cutter covers the mat width your chosen loom produces. Finishing is covered in the cutting and finishing guide.
7. Add up power and floor space. Each machine page carries its installed size and power. Compare the total against what your factory actually has available before anything is ordered — this is the step that most often changes a machine list.

What to send us

The quickest way to get a machine list is to send four things: the width or widths of mat you want to sell, the output you are planning per day or per month, whether you will buy warp yarn or make it, and the voltage and power available at your factory. If you are adding to an existing factory, tell us which machines you already have and we will plan the line around them.

You can see all of the equipment together on the machines page. When you are ready, send us an enquiry with those four details and we will put together the machines for your line.