From the Sector

• Industrial yarn: Capacity expansion in the high-end sector

Remscheid – the Chinese industrial yarn manufacturer Zhejiang Kingsway High-Tech Fiber Co., Ltd. is expanding its production capacities by a further 40,000 tons per annum with 5 Oerlikon Barmag lines. Kingsway is already successfully manufacturing special high-quality yarns, exclusively deploying Oerlikon Barmag industrial yarn systems.

The 21 new spinning positions will be used to manufacture a broad product range: in addition to super-low-shrinkage (SLS) and high-tenacity (HT) yarn, the business also plans to produce automotive yarns for seat belts and airbags. This flexibility is made possible as a result of the Oerlikon Barmag systems’ configuration. The new systems are expected to commence manufacturing next year.

Industrial yarns for greater safety

As a quality-conscious industrial yarn producer, Kingsway has been manufacturing its sophisticated, high-end yarns on Oerlikon Barmag filament yarn systems since 2015. Alex Yang Yu Long, CEO of Kingsway, is proud of relying on engineering artistry from Remscheid: “As expected, the yarns are first-class in terms of quality. Our products are used in safety equipment, sometimes in situations where lives depend on them. Therefore, there can be no compromises. To this end, we select our partners with the utmost care."

Sustainable solutions that pack a punch  

With over 6,500 visitors and more than 2,000 participants at a total of 720 minutes of live presentation sessions and with many potential new customers in the live info chat, the virtual interpack conference organised by Sappi was a resounding success. Sappi presented its latest developments, future prospects and current range of packaging and speciality papers at the event. In addition to further networking opportunities, the visitors took full advantage of the chance to get in contact with the Sales team.

• For the packaging of the future: sustainable, high-quality paper
• Second-generation barrier papers ensure optimal protection of goods as food packaging
• Providing what the world wants: fully recyclable packaging

Based on the motto ‘Pro Planet: Paper Packaging – welcome to the new pack-age’, the market leader in functional paper packaging presented numerous opportunities at its virtual interpack 2020 conference for its customers to package their food or non-food products in sustainable, premium packaging. In doing so, the company is contributing to the UN’s sustainability objectives. With the Sappi Guard range, Sappi presented barrier papers that render additional special coatings and laminations redundant and can be recycled in the paper stream. Featuring integrated barriers, they ensure that the product quality of foods and other goods is preserved. The second generation of barrier papers, now even more environmentally friendly, was also introduced at the virtual event. Another area of focus of the virtual interpack event was sealable papers, suitable for a wide range of packaging applications in the food and non-food sectors.

Of course, the concept of sustainability was also a key issue at the conference. As a home-compostable paper, Algro Nature meets the current demand for fully recyclable packaging. Sappi thus remains true to its goal of presenting its customers with more and more environmentally friendly solutions for the benefit of people and the environment.

‘We were overwhelmed by the success of our first virtual interpack conference, but we look forward to having direct contact again in spring 2021 in Düsseldorf,’ says Thomas Kratochwill, Vice President Sales & Marketing Packaging and Speciality Papers at Sappi Europe, with regard to the delayed interpack conference.

• Live Event Series Launched to Connect with Customers and Drive New Opportunities After COVID-19

Mimaki Europe, a leading manufacturer of inkjet printers and cutting systems, has announced it will host a three-part virtual event series – Mimaki Live Series – to support customers looking for inspiration and advice on how to maintain or revive business after the COVID-19 crisis.

Building on the success of Mimaki’s Virtual Print Festival in March and April this year, Mimaki has created an exciting and insightful three-day programme for three market-focused virtual events:

• Event I – Sign Graphics – 30th June 2020
• Event II – Textiles – 14th July 2020
• Event III – Industrial Printing - 27th August 2020

Each event will provide a platform for Mimaki representatives, customers, and suppliers to discuss the impact the COVID-19 crisis has had on their business and the wider industry, as well as share their experiences, challenges, and success stories.

The Mimaki Live events will feature a host of engaging panel discussions, opinion polls, live chats and Q&As, all designed to prompt important, topical discussions and share information and advice across the print community.  

To register for the Mimaki Live event series, please visit www.mimakieurope.com/mimaki-live-event.

Technologies with an excellent environmental performance throughout the entire product life cycle – that is what “Autoneum Pure.” stands for. In future, components that meet the highest standards in terms of sustainability and eco-friendliness can be identified at a glance under this label. This also includes the innovation “Mono-Liner” for wheelhouse outer liners.

As innovation leader in acoustic and thermal management, Autoneum continuously invests in the development and production of resource-saving components that make cars lighter and thus more climate-friendly. In view of an increasing sustainability awareness and the correspondingly greater information needs on environmentally-friendly vehicle components, the Company has now launched Autoneum Pure. The label determines particularly sustainable technologies, thereby guiding car manufacturers in product selection for future models.

Autoneum Pure is based on a comprehensive set of criteria assessing the sustainability performance of a product in all four phases of its life cycle: material procurement, production, use and end of life. For example, components with a high content of recyclable materials or those that achieve significant weight savings compared to comparable standard components qualify for the “Autoneum Pure.” label. Autoneum already offers various multifunctional technologies that meet the high standards for Autoneum Pure products: Ultra-Silent for underbody systems or battery undercovers, Di-Light for carpet systems, Prime-Light and IFP-R2 for inner dashes and floor insulators as well as Hybrid-Acoustics PET for e-motor encapsulations and engine-mounted parts, which was launched in fall 2019.

With Mono-Liner, the latest innovation for wheelhouse outer liners is also included in the Autoneum Pure portfolio. Among other things, the Mono-Liner-based components convince thanks to their lightweight construction, thereby contributing to lower vehicle weight with correspondingly less fuel consumption and emissions. The excellent life cycle assessment is also based on their particularly resource-saving manufacturing: Production cut offs of the components, which consist to a large extent of recycled PET fibers, can be processed into pellets and completely returned to the manufacturing process as fibers. An SUV and a crossover model from a US vehicle manufacturer already benefit from Mono-Liner wheelhouse outer liners.

Anahid Rickmann, Head of Corporate Communications & Responsibility, explains: “With Autoneum Pure we are the first automotive supplier to establish a sustainability label in the field of acoustic and thermal management. Autoneum Pure is part of the Company's Advance Sustainability  Strategy 2025 and sets industry standards in product communication.”

• Joint proposal of TUD and RWTH Aachen University

On 29 May, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) decided to fund the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC)/Transregio 280 "Carbon reinforced concrete" at Technische Universität Dresden, short TUD, and RWTH Aachen University with the participation of the Institut für Textiltechnik, short ITA, with 12 million euros over the next four years.

The CRC/Transregio 280 “Design Strategies for Material-Minimised Carbon Reinforced Concrete Structures - Principles of a New Approach to Construction” breaks with the traditional way of designing reinforced concrete plants. The interdependence of reinforcement and matrix is being investigated in depth and a completely new design and construction strategy for building with carbon reinforced concrete is being developed.

Carbon reinforced concrete enables completely new design and construction possibilities in the building industry. The reasons for this are its very high strength and the possibility of a very low concrete overlay of only a few millimetres, as carbon, unlike structural steel, does not rust. However, the successful use of the new material, which was awarded the German Future Prize in 2016, requires completely new design and production strategies, which are being investigated in the CRC/Transregio.

Up to now, textile reinforcements have been coated and cured prior to component manufacture. This process is called offline consolidation. These stiff semi-finished products are not suitable for the production of complex components based on new, digital and continuous manufacturing processes (including 3D concrete printing and concrete extrusion). Therefore, ITA is investigating in the sub-project B02 of the CRC/Transregio how forming and consolidation steps are shifted in time by prepreg systems into the concreting process and how they can be applied within the new digital continuous manufacturing processes. In addition to established curing mechanisms, such as by heat or UV radiation, new approaches are also being researched. These new approaches include activation via the alkalinity of the concrete, microwaves and induction

The TUD and RWTH Aachen were awarded the grant on the basis of many years of experience in the research field of textile reinforced concrete. The material textile reinforced concrete was developed in two special research areas at both universities from 1999-2011 and was first fundamentally researched.

19 individual institutes are involved in the CRC/Transregio 280. The spokesman of the TUD is Professor Dr Manfred Curbach, the spokesman of the RWTH is Professor Dr Josef Hegger.

• AACOMA - Accelerate advanced composite manufacturing
• EMR Region Belgium, the Netherlands & Germany area hot spot for the future of lightweight materials and technologies

The Euregio Meuse-Rhine provides a huge potential with its many highly innovative, leading companies and especially SMEs which are active in the area of advanced material manufacturing in many industrial sectors, such as Automotive, Aerospace, Electronics, Building and Infrastructure, etc. The advanced material sector is growing, with a consolidated offer, ranging from raw material producers over technology development to production, research and development as well as industrial OEMs.

Interreg Euregio Meuse-Rhine invests EUR 96 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the period 2014-2020. Through the investments in cross-border projects, the European Union invests in the economic development, innovation, territorial development and social inclusion and education of this region.

Project

The Euregio Meuse-Rhine is a potential hot-spot for the further development of advanced material and process technologies. Technical Centers and Institutes around Aachen/Germany, Liège/Belgium and Eindhoven/The Netherlands were awarded with this new project AACOMA.

Innovative material design and advanced manufacturing provide large opportunities for SMEs. The AACOMA project kick-off took place in Aachen at the Campus of the RWTH University of technology in 1 Q 2020. The aim of the project, which is running for 3 years until 2023 with a budget of €3 Mio, is to connect SMEs with innovation hot-spots like institutes and technical centers.
Seven partners from all three regions will carry the project out: Centexbel is the project leader and gets support by University of Liège, Sirris and Flanders Make from Belgium, as well as Fontys University of Applied Science and AMIBM of Maastricht University in the Netherlands and AMAC in Germany.

Statements

Bernard Paquet, Project Coordinator from Centexbel/ Belgium stated:
“Centexbel, with a strong experience in textile and composites, will identify with its Interreg partners and an advisory board of international experts several demonstrators which will enable an accelerated advanced manufacturing of composite parts. This could include new materials and intermediates, high performance additives, bio-based products and new composites by additive manufacturing”.

Michael Effing, Managing Director of AMAC/ Germany said:
“The major goal of the project is to connect around 200 innovative SMEs with each other and establish the links to the world-class institutes in the EMR region. We will facilitate 6 roadshow events, addressing key topics like automated manufacturing, additive manufacturing or bio-based material systems combined with match making and training events. The first roadshow will be held on September 24, 2020 at the Aachen Campus of the RWTH University of Technology.”

Prof. Gunnar Seide from the AMIBM/The Netherlands continued:  
“Our AMIBM offers already an international master program on bio-based materials. The AACOMA project will be an important element for transborder research and will identify new players in the value chain coming from the EMR region. Innovative companies find markets for their new bio-based building blocks, chemicals and polymers. Their success stories and upcoming technological breakthroughs are needed for a sustainable future.”

STAMFORD – German ultralight aircraft specialist Flight Design has chosen Hexcel as its key supplier adopting low-temperature curing prepreg into its aircraft production. Hexcel’s HexPly® M79 Carbon Fiber prepregs deliver a more consistent final product by ensuring constant material quality and processing parameters and produce a lighter and stronger aircraft at a more competitive overall cost.

Flight Design has always relied heavily on composites for its aircrafts’ ultralight construction and turned to long-term composite materials partner Lange + Ritter, part of Hexcel’s European distribution network, when they began searching for a prepreg material solution. Hexcel and Lange + Ritter created several new product codes specifically for Flight Design and then supplied materials for initial handling trials and prototyping. Hexcel’s HexPly M79 low temperature curing out of autoclave solution was first used in the new F2 prototype. As part of its material supply package, Lange + Ritter also sent a team for on-site training and technical support, allowing the Flight Design production team to get up to speed with prepreg as quickly as possible.

HexPly M79 prepregs can be cured at temperatures as low as 70˚C for eight hours or 80˚C for four hours, reducing tooling costs and increasing build rates. When combined with Hexcel’s innovative air venting Grid Technology, HexPly M79 UD carbon tapes can also be laminated with reduced debulking steps to produce void contents <1% irrespective of laminate thickness. With consistently low void contents and improved mechanical properties, designers and engineers are able to further optimize highly loaded composite aerostructures.

As more and more of its composite aircraft parts are transferred to prepreg technology, Flight Design is seeing the benefits of its switch to HexPly M79. Lay-up is cleaner and more precise, low temperature oven curing is quick and energy efficient, and the manufacturing process consistently outputs exceptionally high-quality laminates and components. The long-term strategy is to integrate HexPly M79 across the range, with Hexcel materials lightening the ultralight aircraft at Flight Design even further.

“The materials and technology package from Hexcel and Lange + Ritter has been a big success for us at Flight Design,” comments Daniel Gunther, Managing Director at Flight Design. “When we took the decision to switch to prepreg, we looked at many options but only Hexcel and Lange + Ritter could offer us low temperature out-of-autoclave (OOA) curing, globally respected material quality and the customer service levels we were searching for.”

Center of competence for hygiene established in Wiener Neudorf to support Austria and the EU in the Covid-19 crisis for the industrial production of high-quality protective masks with a monthly capacity of 12 million pieces.

Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG found “Hygiene Austria LP GmbH”, in which Lenzing AG holds 50.1% and Palmers Textil AG 49.9%. The newly founded company will start producing and selling protective masks for the domestic and European markets from May 2020.

Over the past few weeks, Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG have invested several million euros in a modern production infrastructure at the Wiener Neudorf location and secured the corresponding raw materials for protective masks production. In a first step, the company produces so-called mouth-nose protective masks (MNS) and surgical protective masks of class EN14683. Hygiene Austria LP GmbH plans to increase its capacities to over 25 million masks per month over the next few weeks and to expand this business geographically as well.

The demand for high-quality MNS and respiratory masks for medical personnel is increasing rapidly, and there is real competition on the international market for these products. In order to sustainably secure domestic supply now and in the future and to strengthen the business location, the two companies Lenzing AG and Palmers Textil AG have now set a milestone with their own competence center for hygiene based in Austria.

Hygiene Austria LP GmbH thus makes a significant contribution to combating the Covid-19 pandemic and ensures the long-term supply of these critical goods in Austria in high quality.

a leading Asian large-scale manufacturer of manmade fibers and polymers has invested in a new Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown system. The recently-signed contract comprises a 2-beam system for manufacturing filtration nonwovens – predominantly for medical products such as face masks – with a nominal capacity of up to 1,200 tons of nonwovens a year. The commercial production launch has been scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2020.

The 2-beam system has an operating width of 1.6 meters and is equipped with the new patented Oerlikon Nonwoven electro-charging unit. The Oerlikon Nonwoven meltblown technology is recognized by the market as being the technically most efficient method for producing highly-separating filter media made from manmade fibers, particularly in conjunction with electrostatic charging and with extremely low-pressure loss. Electro-charging the filter nonwovens allows the manufacture of sophisticated EPA- and HEPA-class filter media as well as media that comply with the requirements of N95-, FFP2- and FFP3-class respiratory masks.

The demand for filtration nonwovens for medical applications has risen tremendously across the globe since the outbreak of the Sars-CoV-2 (coronavirus) epidemic, presenting all manufacturers with huge challenges. A meltblown system will be commissioning at the site of a leading Western European nonwovens producers as early as the second quarter of 2020. This system will be deployed exclusively in the manufacture of nonwovens for respiratory masks.

Due to the current state of emergency with regards to the local supply of face masks, Oerlikon Nonwoven is currently using its own laboratory system to produce electrostatically-charged filter media which are being sent to local small businesses and companies for the manufacture of face masks. 

Less wear and superior fiber quality

Technological changes to Oerlikon Neumag’s Baltic crimper thrust pad contacting device have resulted in considerably reduced friction in the crimper rolls and hence less wear and fewer metal particles contaminating the crimped staple fibers.

Thrust pads close the gap between the crimper rolls on either side. Normally, these thrust pads are continually pressed – under high pressure – against the sides of the crimper rolls. Wear and metal debris on the thrust pads is the result of this constant contact. The metal debris can contaminate the fibers, something that is particularly undesirable in hygiene applications.

New thrust pad contacting device for reduced metal debris and greater durability
With the new system, the thrust pads are pressed against the rolls with less pressure and then fixed into place. This prevents fibers from being caught and the frictional force between the pressure disk thrust pad and the crimper roll is minimized. Pilot applications have demonstrated that metal debris from the pressure disks thrust pads is dramatically reduced, making them between three and seven times more durable.