From the Sector

Freudenberg Performance Materials – the Freudenberg Group’s nonwovens specialist – was hosting a meeting of the German National Hydrogen Council at the Freudenberg headquarters in Weinheim, Germany, on September 16. As a leading global supplier of technical textiles, Freudenberg Performance Materials provides fuel cell components for mobility applications and for electrolyzers used to produce CO₂-free hydrogen.

The German National Hydrogen Council was appointed by the German government and acts as an independent, non-partisan advisory board. The council board currently consists of 25 high-ranking experts in the fields of economy, science and civil society. The objective is to assist and advise the State Secretaries’ Committee on Hydrogen in the further development and implementation of Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy. Council meetings are hosted by one of the board members to enable the council to deepen its knowledge of the relevant technologies, value chain roles and challenges. Dr. Silke Wagener is a member of the council board, and represents the Freudenberg technology group, giving input on suppliers’ know-how as well as contributing her decades-long expertise in technological solutions for the hydrogen industry.

During a tour of the factory organized for the council board members, Freudenberg Performance Materials explained the development and production of performance-critical gas diffusion layers manufactured from carbon fiber-based nonwovens for fuel cells and porous transport layers for electrolyzers. The tour highlighted the potential for improvements from a supplier’s perspective, such as the need for very timely exchange and collaboration along the value chain. Functioning, unbroken and scalable value chains, in parallel with the development and scaling of hydrogen infrastructure, are key prerequisites for the hydrogen industry to fulfill its vital role in the transformation to climate neutrality.

Gas diffusion layers are one of the main components at the heart of the fuel cell. Their function is to transport gases and liquids in the cells. They have a significant impact on system performance and costs, and are indispensable for the functioning of fuel cells. The same applies for porous transport layers that are the key component of electrolyzers for the CO₂-free production of what is called green hydrogen.

Fuel cells in combination with green hydrogen are an important technology for CO₂-free mobility, in particular with reference to buses, heavy-duty trucks and trains. Other uses include stationary applications such as stationary power generation or heat generation in buildings or industry.
Apart from mobility, green hydrogen also plays a key role in climate-neutral energy supplies in the industrial sector, particularly in the chemical and steel industries.

Japanese flat knitting machine manufacturer SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. will exhibit at the Brazilian Textile Industry Fair (FEBRATEX 2022) this month. On display will be the cutting edge in computerized flat knitting technology, represented by the latest WHOLEGARMENT® machines and design system.

The flagship MACH2XS series features the company’s original SlideNeedle™ on four needle beds and spring-type sinker system supporting a wide range of high-quality WHOLEGARMENT® knitting in all needles. The versatile MACH2S is capable of both WHOLEGARMENT® knitting and shaping on a conventional V-bed. SVR123SP features a special loop presser bed and is capable of producing unique woven-like hybrid fabrics as well as technical textiles. At FEBRATEX it will demonstrate its capability by knitting shoe uppers. The SVR and N.SSR workhorse machines set the industry benchmark for shaping machines, with SVR202 featuring tandem knitting capability for flexible operation. The SFG and SFG-I glove knitting machines rounds out the comprehensive lineup.

Demonstrations will also be performed on SHIMA SEIKI’s SDS-ONE APEX4 3D design system that is at the core of the company’s “Total Knitting System” concept. With comprehensive support of all aspects throughout the knit supply chain, SDS-ONE APEX4 integrates knit production into one efficient workflow from yarn development, product planning and design to machine programming, production and even sales promotion. Especially effective is SDS-ONE APEX4’s capability to improve on the planning process with virtual sampling. Photo-realistic simulation capability minimizes the need for sample-making, effectively reducing time, material and cost from the prototyping process.

The recent Techtextil show in Frankfurt emphasised the diversity of applications for nonwovens and technical textiles, according to finishing technology specialist Monforts.

“We fielded enquiries at top management level from an extremely wide range of companies, all with very different ideas for new product applications during the show,” said Alexander Fitz, who joined the company a year ago as engineer for textile technologies and co-ordinator of the Monforts Advanced Technology Centre (ATC). Fitz brings a background in both technical textile technology and processes to the role, having previously worked for a nonwovens machinery builder and a roll-goods manufacturer.

Trials
“We are now looking forward to interesting new trials and pilot production runs, as well as the commissioning of new orders for machines resulting from the extremely busy exhibition,” he says. “Obviously, everyone at the moment is looking to make energy savings, and we have developed a range of options for helping companies increase their resource efficiency, both on new lines and as retrofitted systems, but this is not stifling innovation at the new material level.

“There was a lot of interest in what is possible with the Montex®Coat coating system and the range of different techniques it enables, and at our ATC in Mönchengladbach, a Montex®Coat unit is integrated into the full technical textiles pilot line, on which it is possible to run new fabrics in widths of up to 1.8 metres.”

Explosion proof
The technical textiles line at the ATC incorporates a Montex four-chamber stenter and is fitted with an explosion-proof coating application chamber in order to allow treatment to be carried out with organic solvents and other volatile materials.

Every single component within the chamber has to meet the standards of the European Union’s ATEX directives for working in a potentially explosive atmosphere. A range of sensors linked to alarms operate at various levels within the chamber to ensure the specified lower explosion limit (LOL) is never exceeded and the ventilation adapts accordingly.

Advanced functions
Special features on the finishing line relate to further advanced functions such as the ability to treat materials not only at temperatures of up to 320°C, but also to be able to treat the top and bottom faces of certain materials at different temperatures within a single pass through the machine.

To achieve this, the first two chambers of the stenter are fitted with special, heavy duty TwinAir ventilation motors and separate burners for individual top/bottom temperature. A temperature differential of up to 60°C can be achieved between the upper and lower nozzles within the chamber, depending on the treatment paramenters.

Another key feature of the technical textiles line at the ATC is the special stretching device which is capable of pulling ten tons in length and ten tons in width – a huge amount per square metre of fabric and necessary in the production of materials such as woven or 3D knits for high temperature filter media.

• BTT’s woven geotextiles can reduce CO2-emissions in infrastructure projects by a factor of 10 compared to more conventional methods
• Product specific Environmental Product Declarations for woven geotextiles transparently communicate their sustainability
• EPDs an essential tool to communicate sustainability performance
• Helps carbon-conscious customers in their purchasing and decision making

Beaulieu Technical Textiles (BTT) has unveiled the next step in its mission to deliver sustainable solutions to customers - product specific Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), an essential tool for communicating sustainability performance - to fully support green certified construction projects by providing accurate information in readily available formats.

The carbon footprint of BTT’s woven geotextiles is amongst the lowest in the industry, making them one of the most sustainable solutions for civil engineering projects. An EPD shows a manufacturer's commitment to measure and reduce the environmental impact of its products and report these impacts in a very transparent way.

Construction products, like geotextiles, follow the very comprehensive European standard, EN 15804+A2. The third-party verification and approval by the international EPD® System officially demonstrates the low environmental impact of BTT’s geotextile products.

SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, along with its Italian subsidiary SHIMA SEIKI ITALIA S.p.A., will be participating in the Techtextil exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany from the 21st till the 24th of June 2022.

On display will be SHIMA SEIKI’s latest innovation in flat knitting technology as applied to the field of technical textiles—a prototype weft knitting machine capable of multi-axial yarn insertion. Fabrics produced on this machine use inlay technique for the production of hybrid textiles that combine the stretch characteristics of knitted fabrics with the stability of woven textiles, suited to various technical applications. To this, warp yarn is inserted to further expand its capability to produce 3D-shaped carbon fiber and composite preforms directly on the machine. This is made possible by taking advantage of the fact that flat knitting as a textile production method is capable of producing end products that are shaped-to-form and with added thickness. Compared to current methods of preform production, savings in post-processing time, material, labor and associated costs are immense, realizing efficient and sustainable production. SHIMA SEIKI’s own yarn unwinding technology is also used for optimum yarn feed and tension for use with technical yarns that are otherwise difficult to knit. Industrial textile samples knit on the multi-axial machine will also be available for examination on-site.

SHIMA SEIKI's SDS®-ONE APEX4 3D design system will be available for demonstrations as well. Of particular interest should be its ultra-realistic simulation capability that realizes Virtual Sampling. When countless variations must be evaluated before arriving at a final design, virtual product samples can be used to streamline the decision-making process by minimizing the enormous amount of time, cost and material normally associated with producing actual samples for each variation. When approved, the same data can be converted to machine data for immediate knitting, significantly reducing lead times.

• Svegea, a member of TMAS, the Swedish textile machine association, is marking a company milestone this year at Texprocess in Frankfurt from June 21-24  – the 70th anniversary of its automatic collarette cutter.

 On its introduction back in 1952, this machine – used by garment manufacturers around the world for the production of tubular apparel components such as cuff and neck tapes and other seam reinforcements – caused a sensation with its then-unprecedented output of 300 metres per hour.

Time doesn’t stand still, however, and the latest EC 300 machine Svegea will demonstrate at Texprocess 2022 has a slightly improved output – of around 20,000 metres per hour.

“Advances in automation are only making the specialised, bespoke machines we engineer even more efficient and we are expecting a very busy show in Frankfurt and a busy year,” says Svegea Managing Director Håkan Steene. “The garment components our collarette cutters produce make it logical for them to be integrated into the operations of making-up operations wherever they are, and at the moment we’re seeing a lot of interest in the reshoring of operations by our customers, to bring final-stage manufacturing closer to the key European and US markets.”

E-Drive 2
The EC 300 collarette cutter on show in Frankfurt is equipped with the latest E-Drive 2 system providing the operator with a very user-friendly touchscreen, providing full control of the cutting process.

The integrated, fully automatic FA500 roll slitter accommodates diameters up to 400mm and is equipped with three separately adjustable settings enabling three different band widths to be cut within the same cutting cycle. Automatic tube sewing units are provided for sewn tubes in optional rolled or flat folded forms, depending on customer preference.

Niche applications
Svegea supplies many other bespoke machines for applications in the production of both garment components and technical textiles, including rewinding, measuring, inspection and band knife machines.

The ability to produce tubular fabric which is cut on the bias allows customers to provide textiles which not only have improved drape and elasticity properties for complex and intricate shapes, but also offer ways to reduce production costs by eliminating unnecessary wastage from the manufacturing process. Pre-cutting the fabric to a specific bias reduces extra handling of the fabric in further processes, saving customers both valuable production time and costs.

Gebr. Otto is exhibiting at this year’s Techtextil from 21 to 24 June in Frankfurt. The Dietenheim-based textile company manufactures a selected range of functional high-tech yarns made, for example, of conductive, high-strength and flame-retardant fibres. Gebr. Otto’s aim at the trade fair is to make personal contacts and to expand regional technology chains. The textile solution provider is to be found, as in past years, at the BW-I joint stand in Hall 12.1 at Booth No. C80.

Growing demand for technical yarns
“In the industry Gebr. Otto is mostly known for its cotton yarns and twines,” says Robin Hefter, who is in charge of technical textiles at Gebr. Otto. Cotton is the fibre that is mainly spun in the company’s spinning mill. It has been Gebr. Otto’s main line of business for over 100 years. The technical yarns that have been in the company’s product range for a good five years are, by contrast, still relative newcomers. They account for around 10 per cent of the company’s output, their share of which is on the increase. “Technical textiles have proved to be a growth sector in recent years,” Hefter explains, “and due to current political events demand for them has increased even further.”

Portfolio with a protective character
That is a reference to personal protective equipment – clothing and gloves. Gebr. Otto’s highperformance functional yarns, many of which are based on high-tech fibres, are specially designed for use in this area. In addition to flame-retardant yarns made of meta-aramid Gebr. Otto processes antistatic or conductive fibres.

As a rule many chemical fibres are easily electrically chargeable without being able to discharge by themselves due to their low moisture absorption. That is why undesired discharges occur,
maybe even the next time you shake hands. In some situations, they can be life-threatening. “Imagine the team at a pit stop in a Formula 1 race,” Robin Hefter says. “refuelling a racing car
under pressure of time. There must not be a single spark, no matter how small.” That is why Gebr. Otto adds antistatic fibres to its technical yarns. They prevent electrostatic charging and
offer safety not only to pit stop teams but also to filling station attendants. If electric conductivity is required, conductive fibres are added. And high-strength fibres are used if high or ultra-high tensile strength is required.

Colour fastness rather than safety is required when it comes to spun-dyed yarns. The fibres take up the pigments more homogeneously than if they are dyed as yarn. They are much more colourfast and fade markedly less in sunlight because the pigment particles are better enclosed in the fibre.

The ITA Group, consisting of the Institute for Textile Technology of RWTH Aachen University (ITA) and their research and development service provider ITA Technologietransfer GmbH (ITA GmbH) are proud to announce their new partnership with METYX Composites, Turkey today at JEC World in Paris. METYX is a globally leading manufacturer of high-performance technical textiles for applications in the transportation, wind energy, construction, sports and leisure industries.

Ugur Ustunel, CEO METYX Composites: “The access to ITA´s competences along the entire textile composite value chain and to the impressive machine parks with over 250 machines from lab scale to industrial scale and the exchange with other partners will be very welcome for our future pre-competitive developments.” Dr. Christoph Greb, Scientific Director of ITA: “We are very happy to welcome METYX to our
network and to collaborate in many joint projects and studies on topics like recycling and sustainability, tapes and hybrid yarns or natural fibres just to name a few.”

Dr. Michael Effing, Managing Director of AMAC GmbH: „I am very happy to support ITA in developing and growing their network. ITA is located in the centre of the RWTH Aachen University Campus in close proximity to numerous other institutes for lightweight developments.”

• Innovation packages from STOLL - a company of the KARL MAYER Group

Optimizations, further developments and innovations are an integral part of STOLL's activities. The industry leader in flat knitting technology has recently launched a new offering in the form of defined innovation packages. The aim here is to make STOLL's high innovative strength even clearer and enable customers to benefit from it more quickly. "The demands made on flat knitting technology are changing all the time, whether in the case of technical textiles for transportation and furniture fabrics or medical solutions well as in the fashion sector, where new yarns - such as recycled yarns or innovative technologies, such as smart textiles - have to be taken into account all the time," knows Erhard Vöhringer, Sales Manager of the STOLL Business Unit in the KARL MAYER Group "Our customers always have to keep abreast of the latest developments. We are therefore continuously developing appropriate improvements, and with our innovation packages we are now offering even more detailed demand-oriented solutions."

Detail optimisations for more overall performance
The innovation packages have the benefits for customers in focus and were tailored to the respective target groups. Every optimization contained therein leads to a decisive improvement in production. All of the solutions developed can be easily integrated into existing STOLL machines.  

Innovation package Number One
Innovation package Number One will be launched on the market in a few weeks' time and is aimed explicitly at knitters who focus on technical textiles. The focus is on convenience and process acceleration. Simple network configuration, expansion of the number of NP values, extended functionality when loading and saving the pattern and also improvement of handling in connection with Production Management from PPS are just some of the features of the package. "The corresponding updates for the machine control system are available to our customers for download free of charge on Customer_Net. In the future, there will also be a cloud-based offering," explains Erhard Vöhringer.

Innovation package Number Two
Still in the pipeline, included in the Number Two innovation package, are improvements for the maintenance area – regarding the use of lubricants and the maintenance intervals (predictive maintenance) – as well as optimizations in terms of sustainability, for example when it comes to reducing consumption of oil and increasing reliability. These solutions will be suitable for all machine types and applications.
The focus here is on improvements in belt take-down, the import and export of data and support for additional storage feeders.
A physical improvement in handling is promised by the new lighting including mirror directly on the machine.
In addition, the development teams are currently working on optimizing various knitting qualities and increasing user-friendliness. So you can already be curious!

Concentrated innovative power
The STOLL development team, with several hundred engineers and technicians in the fields of electronics, software, patterning, and design, never runs out of topics. Questions like "What is the market looking for? What do customers want?  Which changes do the machines have to meet and which ones do the software control and design program have to meet?" are first discussed, evaluated and debated together as a team and then go into the development phase. "Our customers can be absolutely sure that all our innovations are meticulously tested before we go to market with them" emphasizes Erhard Vöhringer. This also applies to the solutions in the innovation packages.

Small solutions, big impact
STOLL flat knitting machines impress with their great application and production potential. Almost 150 years of extensive practical experience in flat knitting technology - the STOLL company was founded in 1873 - is unique in the industry. As a Business Unit of the KARL MAYER Group, STOLL continues to do everything in its power to inspire its customers with innovative strength. Productive, flexible and reliable - simply STOLL! This slogan has not lost any of its meaning today. Quite the contrary: With the new innovation packages, customers benefit not only from the latest high-tech flat knitting machines, but also from an always up-to-date performance upgrade of their existing machine park.
With its innovation packages, STOLL has found a flexible and very fast way directly to the customer. Anyone who wants to know more about this is cordially invited to this year's trade fairs. STOLL looks forward to seeing you at the KARL MAYER Group stand at ITM (Istanbul), Techtextil (Frankfurt), Techtextil India (Mumbai) and ITMA ASIA. (Shanghai).

Monforts will highlight its advanced finishing and coating technologies for the production of technical textiles at Techtextil North America, which takes place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta from May 17-19.

The company and its US representative PSP Marketing, of Charlotte, North Carolina, will be part of the centrepiece VDMA German Pavilion at the show.

Energy prices
With energy prices continuing to go through the roof, an emphasis at Techtextil North America will be on the energy and heat recovery that can be achieved with Montex stenters, through features such as the MonforClean system, in which waste heat from the drying process is used to pre-heat the drying air. This results in a radical reduction in the conventional heat supply required. A range of further resource-saving and energy recovery options can be specified per individual line installation.

Advanced machine operation
With the highly intuitive Qualitex 800 visualization software, all article-specific settings can be stored and the formulations for thousands of treatment processes called up again at any time. Individual operators can also personalise their dashboards with the most important machine functions and process parameters.

The Qualitex 800 system is available for the automatic and continuous operation of the company’s Montex stenters, as well as its Thermex continuous dyeing ranges, Monfortex shrinking systems and Montex®Coat coating units.

Versatility is the key
Monforts Montex®Coat coating units serve an equally diverse number of markets, including tents, tarpaulins and awnings, black-out roller blinds and sail cloth, automotive interior fabrics and medical disposables. Full PVC coatings, pigment dyeing or minimal application surface and low penetration treatments and solvent coatings (in explosion-proof conditions) with knife coating, roller coating or screen printing can all be accommodated with this system.