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60th anniversary of Eltex of Sweden AB (c) Eltex of Sweden
21.02.2024

60th anniversary of Eltex of Sweden AB

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.

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.

Source:

Eltex of Sweden

20.09.2023

TMAS Members at ITMA Asia + CITME 2023

Members of TMAS – the Swedish Textile Machinery Association – will be taking part in the forthcoming ITMA Asia + CITME exhibition, taking place from November 19-23 2023 at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai, China.

Weaving
In the area of weaving, 93% of the 114,000 new looms delivered in 2022 went to Asia, according to the latest figures from the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), with China the top destination, followed by India.
As a result, TMAS members like Vandewiele Sweden AB and Eltex have a huge market to address that has been established over many decades.

Vandewiele Sweden AB benefits from all of the synergies and accumulated know-how of the market-leading Vandewiele Group, supplying weft yarn feeding and tension control units for weaving looms to the majority of weaving machine manufacturers. It also retrofits its latest technologies to working mills to enable instant benefits in terms of productivity and control.

Members of TMAS – the Swedish Textile Machinery Association – will be taking part in the forthcoming ITMA Asia + CITME exhibition, taking place from November 19-23 2023 at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai, China.

Weaving
In the area of weaving, 93% of the 114,000 new looms delivered in 2022 went to Asia, according to the latest figures from the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), with China the top destination, followed by India.
As a result, TMAS members like Vandewiele Sweden AB and Eltex have a huge market to address that has been established over many decades.

Vandewiele Sweden AB benefits from all of the synergies and accumulated know-how of the market-leading Vandewiele Group, supplying weft yarn feeding and tension control units for weaving looms to the majority of weaving machine manufacturers. It also retrofits its latest technologies to working mills to enable instant benefits in terms of productivity and control.

Yarn and sewing thread monitoring
With nearly 70 years of expertise in yarn sensor technology, Eltex of Sweden AB has been at the forefront of new product development. Its EYE and EyETM systems are capable of accurately and efficiently monitoring the movement and tension of more than 1,000 yarns simultaneously. These systems are suitable for various applications and fibre types, including warping, winding, multiaxial weaving and new material applications.

Eltex sewing tension monitors, such as the ETM422, have been well-received by customers. This device can monitor the tension of sewing threads in real time, effectively improving the quality and safety of sewn products. Particularly in China's rapidly growing automotive manufacturing sector, the ETM422 has seen widespread use to meet the industry’s escalating demands for product safety and quality.

Dyeing and finishing
“Digitalisation, automation and AI have become the key enablers for sustainable gains across the entire textile industry and so much has been achieved in the past few years, especially in terms of automation,” says TMAS secretary general Therese Premler-Andersson. “One area in which TMAS members are really making a difference right now, is in replacing water and energy-intensive technologies for the dyeing and finishing processes with new digital technologies.”

The TexCoat G4 non-contact spray technology for textile finishing and remoistening, for example, will be showcased in Shanghai by Baldwin. It not only reduces water, chemicals and energy consumption, but also provides the flexibility to adapt to a customer’s requirements in terms of single and double-sided finishing applications. The TexCoat G4 can reduce water consumption by as much as 50% compared to traditional padding application processes.

Compact II (c) Owl Media
Compact II
03.03.2020

Eltex of Sweden AB reports success with its Eye Compact II yarn

A close eye on quality with the Eye Compact II

Eltex of Sweden AB, a member of TMAS, the Swedish textile machinery association, reports solid success with its Eye Compact II yarn monitoring system for carpet tufting machines, since its launch at ITMA 2019 in Barcelona last June.

The sensor units of the Eye Compact II,Brian Hicks, Eltex CEO explains, have been successfully miniaturised to approximately a third of the size of those with the established Compact system, allowing them to be mounted on the very latest high speed tufting machines that are graphics driven, with limited space at the puller rollers.

Early stage prevention
Unlike the sensor systems that are employed at later positions on tufting machines – in order to detect faults in the formed fabric – Eye Compact II technology is about prevention at an earlier stage, through the detection of missing yarns.

A close eye on quality with the Eye Compact II

Eltex of Sweden AB, a member of TMAS, the Swedish textile machinery association, reports solid success with its Eye Compact II yarn monitoring system for carpet tufting machines, since its launch at ITMA 2019 in Barcelona last June.

The sensor units of the Eye Compact II,Brian Hicks, Eltex CEO explains, have been successfully miniaturised to approximately a third of the size of those with the established Compact system, allowing them to be mounted on the very latest high speed tufting machines that are graphics driven, with limited space at the puller rollers.

Early stage prevention
Unlike the sensor systems that are employed at later positions on tufting machines – in order to detect faults in the formed fabric – Eye Compact II technology is about prevention at an earlier stage, through the detection of missing yarns.

Critically, the sensors need to be installed after the last puller roller and before the tufting needles, because otherwise the roller could still be feeding yarns that will not been successfully taken by the needles. This is only possible with the extremely slim Eye Compact II units, which can also be positioned either above or below the rollers.

Guarantee
Another benefit is that the sensors can be arranged more closely together, with each of them monitoring 16 yarn positions, and their robustness ensures that once fitted, there is little the technicians or operators need to do.

Automatic
The Eye Compact II system easily learns pattern changes and displays the number of yarns involved to the operator for confirmation, and different parameters for different yarns groups can also even be set if required. With its research and development work primarily carried out at its headquarters in Osby, Sweden, and North American sales and service operated from its subsidiary in South Carolina, the manufacturing plant of Eltex has been located at Templemore in Ireland since 1976, providing significant advantages in terms of high flexibility and logistical services to customers on both sides of the Atlantic.

 

More information:
Eltex of Sweden AB TMAS
Source:

Owl Media