From the Sector

SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. is exhibiting at the Knit-Tech 2024 Exhibition (1st-4th March 2024) in Tiruppur, India, in cooperation with its partner Universal MEP Projects & Engineering Services Ltd.

SHIMA SEIKI will be introducing the latest computerized flat knitting equipment to this market as proposals for sustainable production through innovative shaping technology and the latest digital solutions.

SHIMA SEIKI's lineup at Knit-Tech is headed by its workhorse N.SSR®112 garment shaping machine in 14 gauge. N.SSR®112 features innovations such as the R2CARRIAGE®, spring-type moveable sinker, DSCS® Digital Stitch Control System, stitch presser, yarn gripper and cutter, and takedown comb. Shown for the first time is SHIMA SEIKI's new N.SSR®072 computerized jacquard collar machine that can produce shaped collars efficiently based on computer-generated designs.

Design is demonstrated on SHIMA SEIKI's SDS®-ONE APEX4 design system. At the core of the company’s "Total Fashion System" concept, it provides support throughout the supply chain, integrating production into one smooth and efficient workflow from yarn development, product planning and design, to machine programming, production and even sales promotion.

Eltex of Sweden, a pioneer in the adoption of electronic sensors by the weaving machinery industry, is marking its 60th anniversary this month.

The electronic detection of broken or missing weft yarns during production was the problem Eltex founders Åke Rydborn and Ragnar Henriksson set out to solve with the development of the world’s first electronic weft-stop-motion. Its potential was recognised on its introduction at the 1963 ITMA exhibition in Hannover, Germany, leading to the foundation of the company in a modest 12-square-metre workshop in Älmhult, Sweden, in February 1964.

By 1968 the company was operating from a modern 3,000-square-metre plant and beginning to establish a global presence, introducing the first all-in-one printed circuit board (PCB) for its sensor systems in 1971. As exports increased, further Eltex operations were established in the USA and Ireland and the company expanded its product range including energy control devices, temperature and humidity loggers, food handling safety systems, and military grade battery chargers. Further textile milestones in parallel to advances in weaving technology included optical arrival detectors for air-jet weaving machines at the beginning of the 1980s, and the QTV system for warp preparation, which introduced digital stop-motion control to the industry at the start of the 1990s. In 2009, the company branched out into carpet tufting, first with the CoTS clamp-on tube sensor for tufting machines, followed by the Compact sensor for tufting machines in 2013. In 2019 the Compact II further cemented the company’s position in this sector.

Newly developed Eltex EyETM and ACT-R
Most recently, Eltex has launched the Eltex EyETM system for the monitoring of yarn tension on warp beams. Not only does it eliminate problems when warping, but also in the subsequent weaving or tufting processes. Eltex EyETM monitors the yarn tension on all positions in real-time and a minimum and maximum allowable tension value can be set. If any yarn’s tension falls outside these values the operator can be warned or the machine stopped.

The Eltex ACT and ACT-R units meanwhile go beyond yarn tension monitoring to actually control yarn tension. This extends the application range greatly. The plug and play system automatically compensates for any differences in yarn tension that arise, for example from irregularities in yarn packages.

Eltex has been owned by Brian Hicks, Seamus O’Dwyer and Jonathan Bell since 2007, following a management buy-out and the subsequent formation of Eltex Global Holdings in Ireland. Today, its head office, Eltex of Sweden AB, is in Osby, Sweden where it provides research and development, administration and global sales for the group. Eltex Manufacturing in Ireland is now the group’s primary production facility and Eltex US, Inc. provides sales and service for North America.

In the fourth quarter of 2023 Italian textile machinery orders index, drawn up by the Economics Department of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, appears to be stationary compared to data recorded for the same period in 2022. In terms of absolute value, the index stood at 82.4 points (basis: 2015=100).

This is the result of an upswing in orders from foreign markets, counterbalanced by declining orders on the domestic front. While orders in Italy decreased at 18% rate, a 4% increase was observed abroad. The absolute value of the index on foreign markets amounted to 77.9 points, whereas it came in at 126.2 points domestically. Overall for the fourth quarter, the average order backlog yielded 3.7 months of assured production.

For the whole 2023 year, the index declined 25% overall compared to the 2022 average (absolute index of 82.4). On the home front however, the index dropped 24% (absolute index of 124.5), while slipping 25% abroad (absolute index of 78.4).
 
ACIMIT president Marco Salvadè commented: "The orders index for October – December 2023, as elaborated by our Economics Department, confirms an intake of orders that is still weak, with a negative trend in demand for machinery that is ongoing for the domestic market."

Nonetheless, the orders index abroad shows a slight increase. We estimate that the global geopolitical context is still a source of concern,” continued Salvadè, specifying that, “For the first nine months of 2023, Italian exports on major global markets (i.e. China, Turkey, India and the United States of America), confirm a widespread decline. However, some positive signs emerged in the fourth quarter of last year, as reflected by the latest orders index. For 2024 we expect a consolidation of this trend reversal."

Mit der Inbetriebnahme der neuen Polyestergarn-Produktion bei Garden Silk Mills in Surat, Indien, zeigt das zur Schweizer Oerlikon Industriegruppe gehörende Unternehmen Oerlikon Barmag seine Kompetenz als einer der führenden Anbieter von Chemiefaseranlagen. Der Um- und Neubau der Polyesterspinnerei mit 216 WINGS FDY Spinnstellen ging einher mit einer umfangreichen Engineering-Leistung, die im engen Zusammenspiel der Experten aus Deutschland und aus Indien erbracht wurden.

Das Expansionsprojekt für FDY-Garne bei Garden Silk Mills Private Limited (GSMPL) markiert den Beginn einer Periode schnellen Fortschritts im Textilsektor durch die Chatterjee Group (TCG) unter der Führung ihres Vorsitzenden Dr. Purnendu Chatterjee. Mit ihrer modernen Produktionsanlage in Jolwa, in der hochwertige Polyesterchips, POY, FDY und andere Spezialgarne hergestellt werden, und der Marke Garden Vareli, die eine zeitgemäße Kollektion von Saris und Kleidungsstoffen anbietet, schafft die Chatterjee Group, die weltweit Investitionen in Höhe von 8 Milliarden US-Dollar tätigt, den ,Garten von morgen‘. „Wir bei MCPI und GSMPL sind entschlossen, die textile Vision von Dr. Purnendu Chatterjee, dem Vorsitzenden von TCG, zu verwirklichen", sagte D.P. Patra, Whole Time Director und CEO von MCPI.

Oerlikon Barmag Anlagen beherrschen nahezu alle Prozesse zur Herstellung textiler und technischer Garne und verspinnen die gängigen Polymere Polyester, Polyamid 6 und 6.6 oder Polypropylen. Bei Garden Silk Mills geht es um vollverstreckte Garne (FDY). Sie werden ohne weitere Veredelung zu textilen Flächen verarbeitet. Überall dort, wo Textilien glatt fallen oder aber gleiten soll, kommen vollverstreckte Garne zum Einsatz.

Das WINGS Konzept durchbricht dabei die Grenzen konventioneller FDY Spinnanlagen. WINGS steht für optimierte Produktionsprozesse, geringe Abfallraten und um rund 30 Prozent reduzierten Energieverbrauch. Hohe Garnqualität ist dabei verpflichtend. Einsetzbar ist diese Technologie im FDY Prozess für Polyester und Polyamid.

Oerlikon Barmag WINGS Technologie unterstützt Garden Silk Mills bei der Produktion von FDY Premiumgarnen – leistungsstarke Spinnereikomponenten wie Spinnpumpen, Spinnbalken und Düsenpakete bis zur Crossflow-Anblasung und den 216 WINGS Wicklern wurden im Direktspinnverfahren im Anschluss an eine bei Garden Silk Mills vorhandene Polykondensationsanlage installiert.

In a judgment in December 2023, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China ruled in favor of Rieter in a legal dispute. The case concerned the infringement of a Rieter patent by a competitor’s draw frame. Rieter protects its innovations with patents and registered designs and consistently takes action against infringements of its intellectual property.

Rieter draw frames are known for their stable operation with high sliver quality and productivity. Scanning precision and autoleveling dynamics ensure outstanding sliver evenness and thus the production of high-quality yarns. Draw frames have also been the subject of a patent litigation by Rieter in China at various levels of jurisdiction. Rieter had sued a competitor for unauthorized use of its patented draw frame technology.

In the summer of 2022, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court confirmed the patent infringement identified by Rieter and prohibited the accused competitor from continuing to use Rieter’s patented technology. The infringing party was also ordered to pay damages to Rieter.

The culpable competitor then appealed the decision of the Shanghai court to the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China.

In December 2023, the Supreme Court of China in Beijing upheld the Shanghai decision, confirming that the patent had been infringed. As a result, Rieter’s competitor is prohibited from selling the infringing machine types and is required to pay the damages determined by the court.

This Supreme Court decision represents a major success for Rieter in defending its proprietary technologies in China. It is further proof that foreign companies can effectively defend their intellectual property in China.

As the technology leader in spinning machinery manufacturing, Rieter invests around 5% of its turnover annually in research and development. Rieter protects its innovative products with patents and registered designs and takes consistent action against infringements of industrial property rights.

Mimaki Europe, Hersteller von Tintenstrahldruckern und Schneidetechnologien, hat die Ernennung von Takao Terashima zum neuen Managing Director bekanntgegeben.

Terashima begann seine Laufbahn bei Mimaki 1997 in der Forschungs- und Entwicklungsabteilung des Unternehmens. In den vergangenen 26 Jahren entwickelte er umfangreiche Fachkenntnisse in Bezug auf das Technologieportfolio von Mimaki und den zugehörigen Markt.

Während seiner Zeit bei Mimaki hatte er mehrere leitende Positionen im Unternehmen inne. Bevor er seine neue Rolle übernahm, war er Senior General Manager der Asia Oceania Business Unit, eine Position, die er 2017 antrat. Davor war er von April bis Oktober 2017 sechs Monate lang Senior Deputy General Manager of Quality Management.
 
Terashimas beruflicher Werdegang bei Mimaki führte ihn über den japanischen Hauptsitz hinaus in mehrere Niederlassungen des Unternehmens, wo er unterschiedliche Zuständigkeiten hatte. Zwischen 2013 und 2017 war er vier Jahre lang Managing Director von Mimaki Singapur. Zu Beginn seiner Karriere arbeitete er auch bei Mimaki USA im technischen Support.
 
Terashima, der Takahiro Hiraki als Managing Director von Mimaki Europe ablöst, wird umfangreiche Branchenkenntnisse, analytisches Denken, geschäftliche und teambildende Fähigkeiten sowie ein umfassendes Wissen über das Unternehmen in die neue Rolle einbringen.

Fibre Extrusion Technology Limited (FET) has been awarded £50,000 of grant funding to collaborate with the University of Manchester on complex spin pack and spinneret designs. This funding will provide FET with access to the expertise of four universities and the National Physical Laboratory to develop the next generation of machinery.

The grant is awarded by a consortium led by AMPI (The Advanced Machinery and Productivity Institute) and NPL (The National Physical Laboratory). AMPI’s Innovation for Machinery (I4M) programme supports businesses in West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester as part of an overall initiative to drive innovation for the UK’s advanced machinery manufacturers to meet the challenges of developing new technology and entering emerging markets.

In this project, FET will be working with the University of Manchester to conduct computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies on a number of complex spin pack and spinneret designs. The aim of this work is to identify areas of improvement for FET’s spin packs and spinnerets and to use computer aided designs to develop significantly more efficient versions. The goal is that the research will improve the throughput of FET extrusion systems, thus reducing the amount of polymer lost through inefficient flow paths. This development, in turn, will reduce the environmental impact of synthetic polymer processing.

FET designs, develops, and manufactures extrusion equipment for a range of high value textile material applications worldwide. Established in 1998, FET’s major strength has always been to collaborate with customers in testing, evaluating and developing high value materials with diverse, functional properties. Efficiency and sustainability are key, so enhanced development of spinneret technology will contribute significantly to these objectives.

Der Epson SureColor V1000 ist ein A4-UV-Flachbettdrucker der Einstiegsklasse, der speziell auf die Anforderungen kleiner Unternehmen in der Werbeartikelbranche zugeschnitten ist.

Basierend auf der bewährten Epson Technologie bedruckt der SureColor V1000 feste, starre Medien mit einer Dicke von bis zu 70 mm, darunter Acryl, Polycarbonat, PVC, Aluminium, Metall, Polyester, Schaumstoffplatten, Styrol, Holz und Stein. Der SC-V1000 verfügt über ein integriertes Tintensystem mit sechs Farben (CMYK plus Weiß und Lack). Die Tinte befindet sich in Beuteln und produziert daher kaum Abfall.

Der SC-V1000 ist besonders bedienungs- und wartungsfreundlich. Dank seines automatischen Reinigungssystems, das über einen einfachen Touchscreen aktiviert wird, erübrigt sich eine manuelle Wartung. Auch der Tausch der Tintenbeutel gestaltet sich dank des Epson RIPS (Replaceable Ink Pack System) als einfach. Er ist mit einem effektivem Luftfiltersystem ausgestattet und der Druckbereich ist vollständig gekapselt, so dass er im Betrieb praktisch geruchsneutral ist.

Der neue Drucker ist standardmäßig mit Gigabit Ethernet, USB- und WLAN-Schnittstellen ausgestattet. Im Lieferumfang des SC-V1000 sind die Epson Edge Print RIP-Software, der Zugang zur Epson Cloud Solution PORT-Plattform sowie eine dreijährige Garantie enthalten.

SHIMA SEIKI ITALIA S.p.A., Italian subsidiary of leading Japanese computerized knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD., will exhibit at the 94th edition of the Pitti Immagine Filati exhibition in Florence, Italy (24th-26th January 2024). It will exhibit as part of the CustomEasy section, which involves the concept of Fashion at Work and explores customization in the presence of textile machinery and design software, represented in part by SHIMA SEIKI's lineup of WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machines and APEXFiz® design software.

The new SWG-XR® flagship machine features 4 needle beds for all-needle knitting of high quality WHOLEGARMENT® products using the company's original SlideNeedle™, in addition to a re-designed sinker system and a compact, light-weight carriage featuring 4 systems as well as auto yarn carriers. All contribute to increased productivity of more than 25% over the previous MACH2®XS machine, as well as increased product range using a wider variety of yarn for supporting knits for all seasons, and higher quality for knitting beautiful fabrics and silhouettes; even items that were impossible to knit with the MACH2® series, including punch-lace patterns, variable stitch knitting and intarsia knitting. Setting new standards for the next generation of waste-free, sustainable WHOLEGARMENT® knitting, SWG-XR® at Pitti Filati will be shown in 15L and 18L as well as a prototype machine in 22L.

APEXFiz® subscription-based design software supports the creative side of fashion from planning and design to colorway evaluation, realistic fabric simulation and 3D virtual sampling. Virtual samples are a digitized version of sample making that are accurate enough to be used effectively as prototypes. By replacing physical samples, virtual samples reduce time, cost and material that otherwise go to waste.

The product planning capability of APEXFiz® is enhanced by several web services featured as part of the SHIMA SEIKI Online Services (SHIMA online) web platform. These include SHIMA Datamall™ digital content web service that allows users to search, browse and purchase a variety of useful data for streamlining the planning and production of fashion items, as well as the recently renewed yarnbank® digital yarn sourcing web service that offers digitized yarn data by yarn companies from around the world for download and use in virtual sampling. SHIMANAVI® e-learning system is also part of the online platform.

Epson bringt mit dem SureColor F1000 als einer der ersten Hersteller einen DTG und DTFilm Hybrid-Drucker der Einstiegsklasse mit weißer Tinte auf den Markt, der sich auch für dunkle Stoffe eignet. Der SC-F1000 vervollständigt Epsons Angebot an DTG- und DTFilm-Hybrid-Druckern (Direct to Garment bzw. Direct to Film) und ist besonders für Anwender geeignet, die eine kostengünstige Lösung zum Drucken von kleinen Auflagen auf vielen unterschiedlichen hellen und dunklen Stoffen suchen.

Mit seiner PrecisionCore Micro TFP-Druckkopftechnologie in Verbindung mit der NV-Technologie (Nozzle Verification) erzielt der SC-F1000 zuverlässig eine gute Druckqualität bei hoher Farbstabilität und Farbwiederholbarkeit. Der SC-F1000 erlaubt den direkten Bedruck von dunklen Kleidungsstücken sowie Folien.

Die Bedienung des SC-F1000 erfolgt mittels eines Touchscreens mit intuitiv aufgebauten Menüs. Der Drucker ist standardmäßig mit Gigabit Ethernet, USB- sowie WLAN-Schnittstellen ausgestattet. Des Weiteren verfügt er über eine Reihe von Funktionen wie beispielsweise ein automatisches Reinigungssystem, die den Wartungsaufwand minimieren und die Produktivität steigern. Die großvolumigen Tintenbeutel reichen lange und sind schnell und einfach ausgetauscht.

Die Flexibilität und Produktivität des SC-F1000 wird durch die mitgelieferte Software Epson „GarmentCreator2“ weiter verbessert. Die Software enthält dabei Voreinstellungen für den schnellen und einfachen Druck für DTG und DTFilm.