Introduction

Mattress is an important carrier for human beings to pursue comfortable sleep, and one of the cores supporting this industry is mattress machines. From the initial handmade to today's highly intelligent, automated production lines, the development of mattress machinery is a fusion of machinery manufacturing, automation control, intelligent technology and human sleep needs of the industrial history of the evolution of the industry, experienced several technological innovation and industrial upgrading. Mattress machinery development history not only reflects the evolution of the manufacturing path, but also reflects the trend of global industrial synergy, technology integration.

In this paper, we will start from the global mattress machinery development history, systematic combing of mattress machines’ development history, to help readers comprehensively understand the evolution of this industry trajectory, and detailed introduction of each stage of development of the technology evolution process, as well as the most advanced mattress equipment technology and future development trends.

The Initial Stage: the manual era and the budding of mechanization (before the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century)

Mattresses as the basic supplies of human life, its manufacturing history can be traced back to hundreds of years ago. Before the formation of industrialized society, mattress manufacturing is almost entirely dependent on manual completion, mainly using straw, feathers, cotton and other natural materials filled. There were similarities and differences between cultures, but all lacked “equipment” in the modern sense of the word.

The turning point from handmade to mechanical production occurred in the mid-19th century. The introduction of metal springs revolutionized mattress manufacturing with the Industrial Revolution, and in 1871, German engineer Heinrich Westphal invented the first innerspring mattress. This invention began the industrial era of the modern mattress.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe and the United States began to use simple mechanical equipment to assist in mattress production, such as manual sewing machines and compressors, which improved production efficiency and product consistency. However, during this period, mattress machine has not yet formed an independent system, the lack of systematic integration between processes, limited efficiency, still heavily dependent on manual operation.

Industrialization Forming Period: the popularity of basic mattress machinery (mid-20th century)

After the Second World War, Europe and the United States economic reconstruction, rapid expansion of the manufacturing industry. Mattress manufacturing gradually moved from workshop to standardized factory stage.

On the one hand, from the 1950s to the 1970s, with the development of electrical control technology, mattress machines gradually realized preliminary automation, for example, spring forming machines, sewing machines and compressors and other equipment began to be equipped with electric drive systems, reducing the dependence on manual labor, and improving production efficiency.

At this time, the mattress machinery into the “function machine” era, that is, each process is specialized:

·spring manufacturing machine: Pocket Spring Machine can be batch manufacturing conical, barrel-shaped springs;

·sewing machine and edge banding machine: Tape Edge Machine used for mattress fabric sewing;

·package machine: Mattress Packing Mattress used for compression of rolled packages, easy to transport.

On the other hand, commercial mattresses with coil spring cores have appeared in the U.S. and the U.K. Mattress companies such as Simmons, Serta, Sealy, and Tempur-Pedic have taken the lead in introducing automated equipment to improve productivity with the help of mechanical tools such as sewing machines and wood turning lathes, which has pushed the demand for automatic machinery and given rise to the demand for such equipment as Leggett & Platt ( The world's largest mattress materials and machinery suppliers) and other mattress machine companies.

In Europe, some machine manufacturers in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, such as Mecaspring and Lamit, began to focus on mattress machinery design, and its mechanical reliability and process precision recognized by the industry.

In Asia, the mattress manufacturing industry started late, especially in China. in the 1980s, with the deepening of reform and opening up, China began to introduce foreign advanced mattress production equipment and technology, and set up the initial mattress production line. During this period, Chinese mattress manufacturing enterprises mainly rely on imported equipment, the technical level and the international advanced level there is a large gap.

The Period of Global Expansion: the rise of Asian manufacturing (1980s-2000s)

After the 1980s, with the transfer of global manufacturing to Asia, mattress machines also moved eastward. China's mattress manufacturing in the reform and opening up after the rapid development of domestic enterprises began to increase investment in research and development, and gradually realize the transformation from the introduction of digestion to independent innovation, especially in guangdong, zhejiang, jiangsu and so on, emerged a number of excellent mattress equipment manufacturing enterprises.

Chinese mattress machinery manufacturers such as Lianruo Machinery, Tianma Machinery, Hengfeng Machinery, etc. gradually mastered the key technology. Japan and South Korea are also at this stage to develop a number of high-precision equipment for the domestic market, characterized by high stability, adapt to personalized small batch production.

This stage of technological development

·Pocket spring machine: from single needle to double needle to multi-needle side-by-side, improving efficiency and consistency;

·Full-automatic circumferential and piping machine: realizing precision control and multi-curve stitching;

·Hot melt adhesive bonding machine: for automatic bonding of bed net layer.

Taking Guangzhou Lianruo Machinery and Equipment Co., Ltd. as an example, the company developed China's first mechanically-driven pocket spring production machine in 1998, which filled the gap in domestic technology, and in 2005, Lianruo Machinery developed China's first numerical-controlled pocket spring production machine, which marked the entry of China's mattress production equipments into the era of numerical control. By 2025, Lianruo Machinery has 13 types of industry-leading Pocket Spring Machines, 5 types of Pocket Spring Assembly Machines, as well as a variety of intelligent production components and fully automatic mattress packaging production lines, and its products are exported to more than 150 countries and regions.

Automation Upgrade Period: production line integration and numerical control technology (2000s-2010s)

After 2000, the global mattress machine industry ushered in a comprehensive automation upgrade. With the computer control, servo motors and PLC technology is widely used, mattress machinery to say goodbye to the “purely mechanical” era, into the “mechatronics” stage.

The key technology of this stage

·CNC Pocket Spring Machine: it can realize high-speed and high-precision spring molding;

·Automatic feeding system: it connects fabric cutting, spring assembling, tape edging and packing, etc.;

·barcode+database+dispatching system: it can track the production parameter and path of each mattress, and realize the fine management.

European and American equipment companies such as Vanguard, Gribetz (acquired by Leggett & Platt), Ram Elettronica, etc. are still leading in terms of equipment performance and control systems.

But Asian manufacturing began to have a strong cost-effective and technical service capabilities, gradually dominate the mid-range market.

The New Era of Intelligence: AI-enabled and green manufacturing (2015-present)

In recent years, with the application of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and other emerging technologies, mattress machine is developing in the direction of automation, intelligence and integration.

The key technologies at this stage

·Automated Production

Avoid product quality errors caused by manual work, improve production efficiency, and reduce manufacturing costs. For example, the application of automatic glue spraying, automatic sewing, automatic packaging and other machines make the mattress production line realize a high degree of automation and reduces the dependence on manual labor.

·Intelligent production

Meet the customized and personalized needs of customers and enhance customer stickiness. Through the introduction of AI algorithms, sensor technology and big data analysis, the mattress machines can realize real-time monitoring and adjustment of product quality and improve product consistency and reliability.

·Integration

Integrated design can simplify production processes, improve productivity and reduce personnel occupancy. The design, analysis, production preparation, processing and manufacturing, service and other links organically linked together to realize the sharing of information resources, improve the consistency and reliability of information and data.

Also appearing in this stage mattress manufacturers continue to develop differentiated services and embrace the era of intelligence due to fierce competition.

·Intelligent production line

Some headline companies in China, Germany, and the United States have introduced intelligent mattress production lines that can realize data collection, adaptive adjustment, remote maintenance and predictive repair. For example:

·SMART LINE System

The SMART LINE system of Lianruo Machinery integrates various intelligent production components such as winding, packaging, and spraying glue, and realizes the whole process automation and intelligence of mattress production through the intelligent scheduling of the central control system.

·Intelligent Surround System

German company launched the Intelligent Surround System of tape edge machine, which can automatically recognize the size and shape of mattresses and match the sewing routes.

·Visual Recognition Feeding System

Italian brand Ares launched the Visual Recognition Feeding System, which makes sewing and sealing edges more efficient.

·Artificial Intelligence and Robot Collaboration

Robot arms have begun to be used for highly repetitive processes such as material handling and loading and unloading of bed cores. AI algorithms are also used for mattress quality inspection and image recognition to enhance quality control capabilities.

· Green Manufacturing

Under the background of “dual-carbon,” there is a higher global demand for recyclable materials, energy-saving equipment, and glue-free processes. Environmentally friendly processes such as hot-air stitching, spot-spray bonding, and modular structures have become new trends, and mattress machinery has been upgraded to support the production of these new materials and structures.

The Future Outlook: multi-dimensional integration and customization wave

With the increase in consumer demand for healthy, environmentally friendly and personalized products, mattress machines will continue to develop in the direction of high efficiency, intelligence, environmental protection and personalization. Global mattress machines will continue to evolve along the following dimensions:

·High Flexibility

As consumer demand for personalized products increases, mattress machinery needs to be more flexible and adaptable, able to quickly adjust the production parameters according to the different needs of customers, supporting “a mattress a process”, adapting to the fragmentation and customization of the market, and realizing the customized production of small batches and multiple varieties.

·Environmentally friendly materials

Mattress companies will use more environmentally friendly materials, such as natural latex, coconut palm, etc., to reduce the impact on the environment. In the production process, energy saving and emission reduction, noise reduction and waste reduction will also become important considerations in equipment design.

·Global Interconnection

The equipment will become part of the industrial internet, realizing supply chain information synergy;

·Automatic Correction and AI Learning Capability

Machines will be equipped with self-learning and self-adjustment capabilities, gradually realizing “autonomous management”.

·Changes in trade pattern

With the changes in the global trade pattern and the rise of local brands, the future development of mattress machinery will no longer be dominated by Europe and the United States, and China, India, Vietnam and other local equipment manufacturers will play an increasingly important role in the global context.

Conclusion

From handicraft to intelligence, from Europe and the United States to Asia, from functional stand-alone machines to flexible production lines, the global development history of mattress machinery is an industrial history about the common evolution of industrial technology, human lifestyle and market structure. Standing in today's historical node, mattress machine is no longer a simple “manufacturing tool”, but link design, material, data and consumption of “intelligent platform”. In the future, who can find a balance between efficiency, intelligence, environmental protection and service, who can lead a new wave of global mattress machine.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about Global Mattress Manufacturing Equipment Development

1. What are the main categories of mattress machines?

According to the production process, mattress manufacturing equipment mainly includes:

·Mattress spring manufacturing equipment:

such as coil spring machine (Bonnier spring machine), pocket spring machine, pocket spring production line, border molding machine;

·Mattress sewing machine:

such as automatic turn-over hemming machine, multi-needle quilting machine, piping machine, tape edge machine, edge banding machine;

·Mattress gluing machine:

such as hot melt gluing machine, dispensing and spraying gluing machine, non-gluing bonding device, non-gluing pocket spring production line, double-layer pocket spring production line, Box Spring Pad Pocket Spring Production Line;

· Mattress assembling machine:

such as pocket spring assembly machine (gluing machine), Mettress Pocket Spring Integrated Assembly Machine for cube, laminating machine;

·Mattress packing machine:

such as automatic mattress compression machine, mattress roll packing machine, mattress box sealing machine, mattress vacuum packing machine, mattress kraft paper packing machine, sponge pulling and rolling machine;

· Automation integration line:

realize continuous production from spring to finished product.

2. What is the difference between Chinese mattress machine and European and American machine?

·Technical Maturity

Europe and the United States mattress machinery industry has a long history, high precision control system; China mattress machinery technology advances rapidly, excellent cost performance.

·After-sales service

Europe and the United States mattress machinery service system is perfect, long service cycle;

China mattress machinery globalization layout is fast, has a fast response speed, and is convenient to maintain.

·Customization Capability

European and American mattress machines have high-end customization capability and are suitable for big brands; China Mattress Machinery can flexibly respond to customer needs and produce customized models.

·Automation level

European and American mattress machines are highly automated and have strong data integration capabilities;China's mattress machine intelligent control technology is gradually upgrading.

In terms of automation integration capability, Chinese equipment manufacturers have strong competitiveness.

3. Why has mattress machinery placed more emphasis on “intelligence” in recent years?

The driving factors for the trend of intelligence include:

·Rising labor costs: reduce labor and improve efficiency;

·Demand for more varieties and fewer batches: need for more flexible equipment;

·Pursuit of high consistency and quality control: intelligent inspection + automatic adjustment has become the mainstream;

·Rise of the industrial Internet: support for remote monitoring, data analysis, and early warning of failures.

4. How does pocket spring machine evolve?

Pocket spring machine is one of the most frequent technology iterations in the mattress machinery category, and its development is broadly divided into:

·Manual bagging (mid-20th century): low efficiency and large errors;

·Single-needle automatic bagging (end of the 20th century): output of about 60-80 pcs per minute;

·Double-needle/multi-needle synchronized bagging: significantly improve the efficiency of 150-200 pcs per minute;

·Intelligent and high-speed models: integrated pre-cutting, gluing, knotting, inspection and other functions, which can be used to improve the quality of the bagging equipment, Intelligent high-speed models: integrated pre-cutting, dispensing, knotting, testing, etc., can run 24 hours a day. The world's fastest pocket spring production machine produces up to 280 springs per minute.

5. What are the trends in the mattress machine industry for the next few years?

Future industry trends include:

·the rise of environmentally friendly materials supporting equipment (adapting to non-glue, recyclable materials);

·modular design (easy to combine, expand, upgrade);

·“black light factory” practice to promote (fully automated and unmanned production);

·the ability to go to the sea to enhance (especially China's equipment exports around the world rapid growth).

6. What should I pay attention to when selecting mattress machine?

Enterprises should pay attention to the following factors when purchasing mattress machinery:

·Capacity matching: determine the type of equipment according to the order quantity and production line beat;

·Process adaptation: confirm whether it can support a variety of mattress structures and sizes;

·Equipment stability and maintenance simplicity;

·After-sales support and the supply of wearing parts guarantee;

·System upgradability: Whether it supports later access to the MES system or the transformation of the smart factory.