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Photo: Optima 3D
09.08.2023

Optima 3D delivers weaving technology to ASCC

UK’s Optima 3D is delivering its weaving technology to the USA, for installation at the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC).

The 3D weaving system consists of an Optima 3D Series 600 shuttle weaving machine with an integrated 2,688-hook Stäubli SX jacquard and harness. It is also complemented by Optima’s compact warp delivery creel and an associated pirn winder for shuttle bobbins and a spool winder for creel spools.

Optima’s looms offer many advanced features over conventional weaving machines, particularly in terms of versatility, as a result of the comprehensive use of digital control systems allowing rapid parameter and sequence changes, coupled with an innovative shuttle system.

UK’s Optima 3D is delivering its weaving technology to the USA, for installation at the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC).

The 3D weaving system consists of an Optima 3D Series 600 shuttle weaving machine with an integrated 2,688-hook Stäubli SX jacquard and harness. It is also complemented by Optima’s compact warp delivery creel and an associated pirn winder for shuttle bobbins and a spool winder for creel spools.

Optima’s looms offer many advanced features over conventional weaving machines, particularly in terms of versatility, as a result of the comprehensive use of digital control systems allowing rapid parameter and sequence changes, coupled with an innovative shuttle system.

The ASCC is certainly no stranger to advanced technology, or indeed ambitious composite projects – in 2019 it received no less than three Guinness World Records, for the world’s largest prototype polymer 3D printer, the largest solid 3D-printed object, and the largest 3D-printed boat. In its latest project it has further introduced BioHome3D – the first 3D-printed house made entirely with bio-based materials developed in a partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The 182-square-metre prototype features 3D-printed floors, walls and roof which are fully recyclable and highly insulated with 100% wood insulation and customisable R-values. Construction waste was nearly eliminated due to the precision of the printing process.

Source:

British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA)

Tatham: ‘Field to Fibre’ service for industrial hemp fibre production Photo: BTMA / Tatham
Tatham director Tim Porritt
07.07.2023

Tatham: ‘Field to Fibre’ service for industrial hemp fibre production

BTMA member Tatham has just delivered an advanced industrial hemp processing line to a major customer in Turkey and had many fruitful discussions about its machinery for the processing of natural staple fibres at the recent ITMA 2023 held in Milan from June 8-14.

The Bradford, UK-based company continues to equip mills around the world with staple fibre spinning and nonwoven technologies for manufacturing a wide range of products, while its TS system for drives and controls is suitable for retrofitting to all OEM textile machines, to provide user-friendly control systems with complete synchronisation and significant energy savings.

“We are currently fielding a lot of enquiries for technologies for the decortication, fibre opening and fabric forming of hemp,” said Tatham director Tim Porritt. “This is being driven by the sustainability of the fibre and concerns over climate change as brands seek solutions to meet their sustainability goals. As a result, there has been an explosion in the interest in hemp production, from farmers through to fibre production, and a wide range of new potential end-uses are being explored.”

BTMA member Tatham has just delivered an advanced industrial hemp processing line to a major customer in Turkey and had many fruitful discussions about its machinery for the processing of natural staple fibres at the recent ITMA 2023 held in Milan from June 8-14.

The Bradford, UK-based company continues to equip mills around the world with staple fibre spinning and nonwoven technologies for manufacturing a wide range of products, while its TS system for drives and controls is suitable for retrofitting to all OEM textile machines, to provide user-friendly control systems with complete synchronisation and significant energy savings.

“We are currently fielding a lot of enquiries for technologies for the decortication, fibre opening and fabric forming of hemp,” said Tatham director Tim Porritt. “This is being driven by the sustainability of the fibre and concerns over climate change as brands seek solutions to meet their sustainability goals. As a result, there has been an explosion in the interest in hemp production, from farmers through to fibre production, and a wide range of new potential end-uses are being explored.”

Tatham offers a complete ‘Field to Fibre’ service for industrial hemp fibre production and its decortication and cleaning process has a gentle opening action to maintain the fibre length, to make it suitable for subsequent processing.

(c) VeriVide
31.05.2023

BTMA: VeriVide’s new UltraView booth

At ITMA 2023 in Milan from June 8-14, BTMA member VeriVide will introduce UltraView – its first all-LED light booth for achieving a new level of consistent and standardised colour assessment.

The company’s light booths and lighting cabinets are specified by major global retailers around the world, who rely on them for establishing and maintaining visual quality standards across their supply chains.

This is no easy feat, given the textile industry’s complex structure and the many process stages each individual garment undertakes from the designer’s desk to the finished garment on the retail shelf – often criss-crossing several continents during the journey.

Benefits
UltraView brings a range of sustainable new benefits to designers, mills and brands, and combined with VeriVide’s successful DigiEye system for non-contact colour measurement and digital imaging, can have a positive impact on a company’s bottom line, bringing savings in time, money and CO2 emissions.

At ITMA 2023 in Milan from June 8-14, BTMA member VeriVide will introduce UltraView – its first all-LED light booth for achieving a new level of consistent and standardised colour assessment.

The company’s light booths and lighting cabinets are specified by major global retailers around the world, who rely on them for establishing and maintaining visual quality standards across their supply chains.

This is no easy feat, given the textile industry’s complex structure and the many process stages each individual garment undertakes from the designer’s desk to the finished garment on the retail shelf – often criss-crossing several continents during the journey.

Benefits
UltraView brings a range of sustainable new benefits to designers, mills and brands, and combined with VeriVide’s successful DigiEye system for non-contact colour measurement and digital imaging, can have a positive impact on a company’s bottom line, bringing savings in time, money and CO2 emissions.

The new all-LED light booth meets all relevant international lighting and colour assessment standards. The UltraView incorporates the company’s A rated CIE D65 and CIE D50 artificial daylight light sources and includes multiple pre-set point of sale light sources while being fully tuneable for recalibration to the individual requirements of each customer. In the past, individual light booths have had to be dedicated to the stipulated settings of each specific customer’s switch sets. The rapid flexibility of UltraView, however, makes the need for multiple light booths a thing of the past.

It also eliminates the need for the regular bulb changes that were necessary with fluorescents, to provide significant energy savings.

As supply chains continue to move towards digitisation away from time-consuming and expensive physical sampling, a version of the UltraView, VisionView, is available with an internal monitor to enable physical samples to be compared with their digital versions, if required.

DigiEye
For non-contact colour measurement and digital imaging, VeriVide’s DigiEye collects and processes data that can be communicated and shared instantly, enabling manufacturers, producers and processors to speed up quality control, sustain product integrity and reduce waste.

DigiEye also overcomes the limitations of spectrophotometers, which are limited to products with a solid colour appearance and can only measure ‘average’ colour, assessing the limited area of the product exposed in the instrument’s aperture.

These limitations are further compounded if the product has any form of multi-coloured characteristics or appearance, an uneven or inconsistent surface, a colour area too small to be captured by the instrument or any sort of surface effect, such as carpet pile and the sheen of satin and silk.

(c) BTMA
22.03.2023

BTMA welcomes digital dyeing and finishing company Alchemie

Alchemie Technology is the latest company to join the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA), as all of the organisation’s members gear up to showcase an array of new innovations at ITMA 2023 in Milan from June 8-14 this year.

Cambridge-headquartered Alchemie is the inventor of two technologies – EndeavourTM and NovaraTM.

The Endeavour digital dyeing system produces no wastewater and reduces water consumption by up to 95% compared to traditional dyeing. The virtually waterless process delivers dyed fabric with high colour consistency and colour fastness and does not require post dyeing washing steps which leads to an energy reduction up to 85%. It can deliver any colour shade required and enables on-demand digital colour changeovers in any run length, from a few metres to several kilometres.

Alchemie Technology is the latest company to join the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA), as all of the organisation’s members gear up to showcase an array of new innovations at ITMA 2023 in Milan from June 8-14 this year.

Cambridge-headquartered Alchemie is the inventor of two technologies – EndeavourTM and NovaraTM.

The Endeavour digital dyeing system produces no wastewater and reduces water consumption by up to 95% compared to traditional dyeing. The virtually waterless process delivers dyed fabric with high colour consistency and colour fastness and does not require post dyeing washing steps which leads to an energy reduction up to 85%. It can deliver any colour shade required and enables on-demand digital colour changeovers in any run length, from a few metres to several kilometres.

Similar energy savings can be achieved with the Novara precision finishing system which utilises a nozzle array to deliver finishing chemistry with millimetre resolution. Finishing chemistries penetrate deeply into the fabric due to the combination of high velocity liquid jetting and precisely-controlled vacuum and textile finishes are applied only where needed, reducing chemistry usage and enabling multi-functionality.

In the past year, Alchemie, backed by Swedish fashion giant H&M, has established a first demonstration hub at customer JSRTEX in Taiwan. It is now progressing plans to set up further centres at customer sites around the world.

Source:

BTMA / AWOL Media

09.01.2023

Shelton Vision AI: Tailored machine learning solutions for the textiles industry

Over the past three years, a dedicated AI development team at BTMA member Shelton Vision has been developing tailored machine learning solutions for the textiles industry.

The aim has been to elevate the detection process and the accuracy of naming and grading subtle defects in textiles, in real time within production environments.

“Big Data ‘off-the-shelf’ systems such as those behind technolgies like facial recognition and Google Maps involve reading many thousands of single images each second and simply take too long to accumulate sufficient data for what’s required in this specific case,” says Shelton Vision CEO and Managing Director Mark Shelton. “A feature of the textile industry is that in many sectors, the product range changes several times within a year and it is not uncommon to have to inspect hundreds, if not thousands of different styles in a year based on precise settings.”

In terms of defect types, he adds, there may typically be over 100 that need to be accurately detected, classified (named) and graded in real time.

Over the past three years, a dedicated AI development team at BTMA member Shelton Vision has been developing tailored machine learning solutions for the textiles industry.

The aim has been to elevate the detection process and the accuracy of naming and grading subtle defects in textiles, in real time within production environments.

“Big Data ‘off-the-shelf’ systems such as those behind technolgies like facial recognition and Google Maps involve reading many thousands of single images each second and simply take too long to accumulate sufficient data for what’s required in this specific case,” says Shelton Vision CEO and Managing Director Mark Shelton. “A feature of the textile industry is that in many sectors, the product range changes several times within a year and it is not uncommon to have to inspect hundreds, if not thousands of different styles in a year based on precise settings.”

In terms of defect types, he adds, there may typically be over 100 that need to be accurately detected, classified (named) and graded in real time.

“Added to this is the need to ‘filter out’ the random occurrence of ‘non defects’, such as loose threads, lint and dust on the surface – the number of which can be higher than actual defects – and it is clear that a bespoke system is required.”
The development team has consequently established metadata for identifying defect properties, enabling the successful identification of faults from a much smaller number of images.

“The system employs a unique combination of machine learning for automated style training and novel algorithms for defect detection, to provide high quality images for the AI real time defect classification and grading software,” Shelton explains. “Due to the inherent variation in fabric features – raw materials, construction, texture, colour and finishes, as well as the differing product quality standards in value chains and the regional variations in what defects are called – our AI engine uses models built for each individual company or group of companies, or product value chain.”

The AI models are constructed so that the user operatives can populate them with their own data produced by the vision system or by obtaining defect images from another imaging source (eg a mobile phone camera).  

The occurrence of defects is sporadic and many defect types occur infrequently, although when they do, they can have severe consequences. These scenarios re-enforce the need for the AI engine to be quickly set up and able to operate accurately with limited data sets of typically between 30 and 50 good quality images per defect type.

A further feature is a tool enabling the user to periodically ‘clean up’ the AI data during the set up phase. This is used to resolve conflicting data and to correct mis-named images.

Generally, the highest cost component of fabric production is the raw material and in addition to finished product inspection, a cost effective use for vision systems is in process operation.

Generally, the highest cost component of fabric production is the raw material and in addition to finished product inspection, a cost effective use for vision systems is in process operation.

“There is a need for the real time detection of defects that are being created in separate processes, such as printing or coating and for real time automated systems that can accurately determine the defects and their severity and provide a reliable signal for an operative to rectify the issue, This can result in considerable savings.

Prior to Shelton introducing powerful customised machine vision and real time defect classification, the only systems available were those that required manual sifting through vast numbers of images, which included both real defects and ‘non defect’ images. The task was very often overwhelming and did not provide much benefit beyond manual fabric inspection.

More information:
Shelton Vision fabric inspection
Source:

AWOL for British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA)

(c) Dent Instrumentation
30.12.2022

BTMA: Sensor specialist becomes employee owned

BTMA member Dent Instrumentation – a specialist in contactless yarn sensors – has become an employee-owned business following the formation of a new Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

The company, based in Colne, Lancashire, has been family owned since its founder Geoffrey Dent secured a patent for the very first contactless yarn sensor in the 1960s. It has been successfully run by his son Andrew and the family for many years.
“This deal ensures a smooth succession as well as the preservation of the company’s core family values and the Dent Instrumentation name,” said Managing Director Colin Hull. “The EOT structure will maintain the integrity of the business for years to come.”

The liability of Dent sensors makes them integral to the yarn spinning and winding processes and they have become a standard throughout the textile industry, recognised for their quality, performance and value. They are used by major manufacturers of textiles and textile machinery under either Dent or OEM machine builder brands.

BTMA member Dent Instrumentation – a specialist in contactless yarn sensors – has become an employee-owned business following the formation of a new Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

The company, based in Colne, Lancashire, has been family owned since its founder Geoffrey Dent secured a patent for the very first contactless yarn sensor in the 1960s. It has been successfully run by his son Andrew and the family for many years.
“This deal ensures a smooth succession as well as the preservation of the company’s core family values and the Dent Instrumentation name,” said Managing Director Colin Hull. “The EOT structure will maintain the integrity of the business for years to come.”

The liability of Dent sensors makes them integral to the yarn spinning and winding processes and they have become a standard throughout the textile industry, recognised for their quality, performance and value. They are used by major manufacturers of textiles and textile machinery under either Dent or OEM machine builder brands.

(c) BTMA
The James Heal AirPro air permeability tester
11.10.2022

BTMA: Testing equipment manufacturer James Heal celebrates 150th anniversary

Long-standing BTMA member James Heal is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, the company’s formation dating back to 1872, when it was listed as an oil and tallow merchant and mill furnisher in Yorkshire, UK.

Today, as a testing equipment manufacturer for textiles and nonwovens, James Heal continues to expand its range, with a focus on making testing simple – most notably with the introduction of its Performance Testing collection of instruments, most recently the AirPro and HydroView systems.

AirPro
The new James Heal AirPro air permeability tester is used to test the resistance of the flow of air through woven, knitted and nonwoven textiles. Its software offers flexibility with standards and  comprehensive reporting options and different test head sizes are available, making it suitable for a range of applications and standards

Long-standing BTMA member James Heal is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, the company’s formation dating back to 1872, when it was listed as an oil and tallow merchant and mill furnisher in Yorkshire, UK.

Today, as a testing equipment manufacturer for textiles and nonwovens, James Heal continues to expand its range, with a focus on making testing simple – most notably with the introduction of its Performance Testing collection of instruments, most recently the AirPro and HydroView systems.

AirPro
The new James Heal AirPro air permeability tester is used to test the resistance of the flow of air through woven, knitted and nonwoven textiles. Its software offers flexibility with standards and  comprehensive reporting options and different test head sizes are available, making it suitable for a range of applications and standards

HydroView
The HydroView hydrostatic head tester is meanwhile designed to measure the penetration of water in materials which have an end use that requires water resistance, such as those in the medical, geotextiles and nonwovens sectors. It is also proving essential in the testing of end-use applications for technical textiles, such as in protective gloves, diving dry suits and winter sports apparel, to fishing waders, roofing, tenting, ground sheets and more.

(c) BTMA by AWOL Media
08.09.2022

Shelton Vision presents new fabric inspection technique

A new fabric inspection technique for accurately detecting the most subtle of defects on patterned fabrics during high speed production has been developed by BTMA member Shelton Vision, of Leicester, UK.

The patent-pending system has been integrated into the company’s WebSpector platform and validated through factory trials on a purpose-built full scale in-house demonstration system with sophisticated fabric transport capabilities. As a result, a first system has already been ordered by a manufacturer of both plain and patterned fabrics, including camouflage, in Colombia. This follows the successful conclusion of a 21-month Innovate UK project in which techniques for the resolution of complex pattern deformations were developed by machine vision and computer scientists in the company, backed up by the machine vision and robotics department at Loughborough University.

A new fabric inspection technique for accurately detecting the most subtle of defects on patterned fabrics during high speed production has been developed by BTMA member Shelton Vision, of Leicester, UK.

The patent-pending system has been integrated into the company’s WebSpector platform and validated through factory trials on a purpose-built full scale in-house demonstration system with sophisticated fabric transport capabilities. As a result, a first system has already been ordered by a manufacturer of both plain and patterned fabrics, including camouflage, in Colombia. This follows the successful conclusion of a 21-month Innovate UK project in which techniques for the resolution of complex pattern deformations were developed by machine vision and computer scientists in the company, backed up by the machine vision and robotics department at Loughborough University.

Restrictions
Traditional methods for defect detection rely on human inspection which is ineffective, with detection rates under 65%, while the Shelton WebSpector machine vision system offers a sophisticated platform for automated defect detection of over 97%, but until now has been restricted to plain textiles.

While pattern matching and neural network approaches have previously been tried for patterned textiles, they have failed to provide a practical solution due to the extreme complexity associated with pattern matching on deformable substrates like textiles, as well as the time required to train a neural network for each pattern type.

Challenges
The challenge is that fabrics are not rigid and can be creased or stretched and are also subject to local distortion,” says Shelton Vision Managing Director and CEO Mark Shelton. “As a result, inspection without the technique we have developed, would lead to thousands of false positives. Our sophisticated pattern inspection software techniques ensure a clean image, allowing the detection of faults on fabrics running at speeds of up to a hundred metres a minute.”

The full system consists of:

  • A camera and lighting system for optimum image capture at high speed and associated image processing hardware.
  • Self-training software utilising statistical analysis to automate the system configuration for new textile products.
  • An advanced suite of defect detection algorithms for the detection of all textile defect types.
  • An AI-driven defect classification system which learns and automates defect naming in real time, as well as a real time defect grading capability based on client decision rules.
  • A system for recording and retrieving complete roll map images for subsequent review and quality control.

The generation of textile roll maps with complete defect data allows for an optimised textile cut plan, improved downstream processing and quality assurance.

Source:

BTMA by AWOL Media