PFÄFFIKON, Switzerland — November 2015 — With the new WinFors reversing winder, Switzerland-based Oerlikon Barmag is expanding its family of winders to include a further member. The specialist for especially delicate yarns reveals its potential in particular when winding materials such as micro-filaments, mother yarn, airbag yarns and seat belt yarns. Deployable in the POY, FDY, industrial yarn and BCF processes, WinFors can be used as standard for polyamide, polyester and polypropylene polymers, while other polymers — such as PVA, for example — are also not a problem.

In concrete terms, the WinFors offers a considerably larger process window for seatbelt yarn applications than alternative winders. For manufacturers of airbag yarns, the longer chuck — measuring 1200 mm in length — is a more efficient solution for producing yarn. And the new development from the R&D departments in Chemnitz and Remscheid promises a more stable process for the manufacture of mother yarn. Successful endurance tests for all processes — POY, FDY, IDY and BCF — have confirmed that the WinFors is ready for the market. “With this, WinFors is more versatile than any other winder on the market”, states Peter Steinke, Head of Development at the Chemnitz site.

Reversing Shaft Ensures Gentle Yarn Treatment

The winder — which will be exhibited at the ITMA in Milan — is based on the WINGS and ACW platform, but relies on the reversing shaft in terms of its traverse system. With this, the yarn is laid in a particularly gentle manner, albeit not at the speeds common in birotor traverse systems. Nevertheless, speeds of between 2500 and 4000 m/min are possible depending on the process.

Flexible And Versatile

A further benefit of the new WinFors winder is its flexibility: to this end, it can be converted from a 4- end to an 8-end winder without much effort by simply exchanging the traverse system. “This is particularly relevant for spinning polypropylene. Here, the systems are usually smaller with mostly just four spinning positions. To nevertheless be able to flexibly react to customer requirements, manufacturers must be able to cover the broadest-possible titer range with their system. However, to ensure that the package size is nonetheless the right fit for downstream processes, easy conversion from 8 packages for fine titers to 4 packages for coarser titers makes the system considerably more cost-efficient”, explains Peter Steinke.

But its flexibility not only makes the WinFors interesting to investors in new systems and equipment: this all-rounder is also perfect as a retrofit solution. 4-, 6- and 8-end and equipped with a 1200-mm chuck, WinFors can be fitted under virtually every older spinning system. Its huge process window and its versatility with regards to polymer processing and spinning processes make it the prudent solution for system modernization. As in the case of all Oerlikon Barmag winders, the WinFors is controlled by the multiply tried-and-tested Guide system as well as the current Siemens electrical system for the required ribbon breaking methods.

Posted January 18, 2016

Source: Oerlikon

USTER, Switzerland — November 24, 2015 — The new USTER® TESTER 6 has quality at its heart and soul — and now it also drives spinning mill productivity and profitability. It is the pulse of a new generation in testing, with the brainpower to deliver precise quality across the entire yarn manufacturing process. At ITMA 2015, USTER® TESTER 6 will set new standards, signaling the future of mill management.

The new USTER® TESTER 6 represents everything USTER customers would expect – and much more besides. It is the latest advance in a technology family that has always been a key driver of quality in the textile laboratories of the world. The USTER® TESTER 6 simply takes every single quality aspect to a new level.

Today, all previous standards are surpassed. The latest sensor technology, highest accuracy and new measurement options create the ultimate yarn testing system and the gateway to Total Testing. The USTER® TESTER 6 covers all spinning mill processes, and is the essential step forward in guiding customers towards ‘managing a spinning mill with quality in mind’. It has become a unique business tool, transforming data into practical choices for quality yarns and profitable production.

The Total Testing Center

USTER® TESTER 6 incorporates the USTER® QUALITY EXPERT, an essential tool for quality management, creating the brand-new Total Testing Center. Accurate laboratory test results from the USTER® TESTER 6 are the starting point for Total Testing. This data is combined with real-time information from yarn clearers monitoring 100% of mill production.

Practical analysis and interpretation of this combined data is the specialty of USTER® QUALITY EXPERT. It goes beyond mere data collection, guiding spinners towards targeted improvements in each aspect of yarn production, throughout the mill. Vital parameters are automatically presented from lab tests and yarn clearer data. Quality and processing options are then compared, allowing mill managements to make the crucial decisions on the basis of all the relevant facts. Forecasts for customer satisfaction are even provided. This includes predicting weaving performance and giving vital previews of fabric quality. Numerous additional benefits are possible as further USTER® instruments are connected to the system.

To make the management tasks even easier and faster, the Total Testing Center comes with its own knowledgeable support at hand: Assistant Q – a clever support which may be likened to acquiring a new staff member with 65 years’ USTER know-how. Assistant Q provides guidance to complex questions, freeing managers from repetitive tasks, so they can focus on the wider goals.

Sensor innovations

Pure innovation is at the core of the USTER® TESTER 6: the new digital CS capacitive sensor measures with more accuracy and reliability than ever, and is ready for even greater future requirements. All data – including the famous `USTER value´, CVm – is presented in easy-reference graphs. Quality issues with periodic faults are highlighted, avoiding customer complaints and claims. The new Product Consistency Alert flags up potential problems in advance when indicating any apparent abnormalities. Spinners are alerted to potential issues caused by significant changes in raw material, yarn structure or yarn count.

USTER® TESTER 6 also features the new Sensor HL, for hairiness length classification. Complete evaluation of the vital hairiness parameter is now possible at a speed of 800 m/min. In combination with the established hairiness Sensor OH, users now have the total picture of hairiness, for the first time. The USTER® TESTER 6 now provides the definitive hairiness solution, giving mills full confidence in controlling this key quality issue.

People-friendly, throughout the mill

Laboratory staff especially will appreciate novel features of the USTER® TESTER 6. For example, its designed-in ergonomics and superb touchscreen interface make it intuitive and user-friendly. Managers will also welcome the powerful quality package for fiber-to-yarn engineering, backed by built-in USTER knowledge for better and faster identification of issues. With the USTER® TESTER 6, the laboratory staff and management benefit from its defenses against potentially costly claims and damaged reputation.

Quality testing will never be same again, as USTER® TESTER 6 sets the pulse of the future today – bringing predictable profits and long-term business sustainability.

Posted January 18, 2016

Source: Uster Technologies

ALBSTADT, Germany — November 2015 —  From 12 to 19 November 2015 the 17th International Exhibition of Textile Machinery (ITMA) took place in Milan, Italy. It is still the world’s most important textile machinery exhibition where about 123,000 visitors from 147 countries were welcomed. Groz-Beckert had more than 10,000 guests from 85 countries on its booth. Most of the visitors on the booth came from Italy (11.5%), India (10.2%), Turkey (10.1%) and Germany (9.5%).
The ITMA 2015 set its focus on innovative solutions that enable sustainable development. Groz-Beckert presented itself under the motto “Living in a Textile World” and took the visitors on a journey through the textile worlds of the company. Groz-Beckert demonstrated with exhibits and video clips, that it is possible to save resources and to have an improvement in productivity at the same time by choosing and using intelligent products. The focus was on the customer benefits.
Alongside video clips Groz-Beckert chose realistic seeming textile machinery made of acrylic glass for product presentation for the fields of Knitting, Weaving, Felting, Tufting, Carding and Sewing. For each product area acrylic glass machines and exhibits were prepared and equipped with the company’s products. This made the area of application visible, for example the knitting machine needles and system parts and their perfectly matched interaction.

In this context, the first presentation of the knitting needle LightSpeed® Plus was one of the highlights. By using this needle type it is possible to reduce the energy consumption up to 20% compared to conventional needles. Another novelty was the presentation of the new product range Carding, who was first represented on a booth of Groz-Beckert.

Weaving presented their comprehensive offer for the weaving industry. The area of Felting focused in its presentation on product solutions for filtration and the Tufting sector showed the enhanced Gauge Part System, consisting of tufting needle, grippers, reed fingers and cutter.

In addition to numerous product innovations and new developments Groz-Beckert presented at ITMA 2015, a completely new booth concept and a new corporate design.

Posted January 18, 2016

Source: Groz-Beckert 

At ITMA 2015 in Milan, Singapore-based DyStar introduced eliot™ their newly developed, internet based tool for product selection and process optimization in the dyeing process. The tool was developed during the last year by consolidating different expert systems and information databases into one comprehensive function for DyStar’s customers.

With a well-structured user interface, eliot is very intuitive and can easily be used. The responsive design offers the flexibility to use eliot on any computer or tablet and with various browsers. eliot currently consists of four modules and will be extended in the near future. Currently, eliot offers the following modules:

• Green Selection
• Product Finder
• Optidye®
• Information

The Green Selection module contains the DyStar ‘Positive Lists’ for some leading Brands & Retailers or eco standards. The ‘Positive Lists’ are a selection of recommended DyStar products that are compliant to the Brands & Retailers’ Restricted Substances Lists or the selected eco standard. eliot allows the user to filter or sort products and save product selections as favorites. These favorites can also be used in the other modules.

All modules offer a link to directly open the technical data sheets of the individual products, which contain product details such as suitability for certain dyeing and printing processes, dye characteristics, appearance under different light sources, build-up, etc.

The Product Finder module allows the user to search for technical properties of DyStar products by fastness criteria and dyeing or application performance. The selection can be a combination of both fastness and dyeing properties and the result can be exported to Excel.

Optidye programs offer recipe or process optimization that help to shorten the dyeing cycle and reduce the effluent load. Optidye programs increase the reliability of the dyeing process for better right-first-time processing and improved quality of finished products.

GRASSOBBIO, Italy — November 2015 — ERCA S.p.A. has been an active part of the successful ITMA 2015 in Milan that registered well over 100,000 visitors, introducing the most innovative, performing, efficient and sustainable Made in Italy solutions, through the development & manufacturing of its chemical specialties and intermediates for the textile industry.

During the fair, ERCA has been able to share its unique innovations to quite a wide and interested international audience who is now having direct development conversation with Erca expert staff.

LEINFELDEN-ECHTERDINGEN, Germany — November 2015 —  based WEKO Weitmann & Konrad GmbH & Co. KG convinced the denim manufacturers at the ITMA Show in Milan of a new finishing process. The process is based on the proven non-contact minimum application system WFA (WEKO-Fluid-Application-System), which — in addition to an important process speed-up — offers optimal quality results also standing up to the critical look and the hand feel analysis for softness of the international denim manufacturers. Particularly the benefits of WFA can be combined to the “WEKO-Triple-C-Effect”: contact-free, chemical savings, cost reduction.

Jointly with Lilienweiß GmbH and Textilchemie Dr. Petry GmbH, WEKO has been tinkering with a new denim finishing process over the past months with which to replace the padding methods, often requiring much energy, time and thereby cost, by a new process. They have now succeeded! Marcel Konrad, Managing Director of Sales and Marketing at WEKO reveals: “The feedback has exceeded our expectations. Queues sometimes lined up at our booth because the interested and curious parties were willing to wait for detailed consultation. We are very happy that saving chemicals (up to 60%) and energy (up to 70%) has been met with large interest also on the international level. After all, this is what drives us in the end to invest into new methods. And in addition, our sustainable approach provides our customers with cost effective and high-performance solutions to meet the challenges of their unique markets. Our trade fair team was engaged in technical discussions with interested parties from India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, China and – amazing to us – even from Brazil.”

The non-contact application system WFA offers the same bandwidth of denim finishing like padding, regardless whether resin or flat finish, fixation of indigo and sulphur dyes, tinting and over-dyeing, softness, lustre or brilliance. Even base coating for leather and glossy finishes is not only possible with the WEKO system but can be achieved more efficiently in term of economics.

Posted January 18,2016

Source: WEKO/Weitmann & Konrad GmbH & Co. KG

HORGEN, Switzerland — November 2015 — SSM reports that ITMA Milan yielded a total of almost 123,000 visitors from 147 economies joined this year’s edition of the ITMA. SSM and SSM GIUDICI showed eight new product launches and a total of fourteen applications on their booth. The new XENO-platform attracted an extraordinary number of visitors.

The Swiss based SSM Schärer Schweiter Mettler AG, the inventor of the electronic yarn traverse system, continued their tradition of trend-setting with the presentation of breakthrough technologies. SSM showed new solutions for cost effective winding and yarn processing. Thanks to the new introduced DIGICONE® 2 winding algorithm, an increase of up to 20% on dye package density with unchanged dye-recipes is possible. Six new product launches in the Winding & Doubling segments and two in False-Twist & Air-Texturing were showed for the first time.

Machines for the following applications were on display:

• Dye Package Winding/Rewinding *
• Assembly Winding (doubling)*
• Air Texturing*
• False Twist Texturing*
• Sewing Thread Finish Winding
• Conventional Covering

(* New Introductions )

SSM was overwhelmed by the number of high quality visitors. Many interesting discussions concerning open projects or about the latest SSM-equipment were reported. In the end, several orders had been concluded during ITMA. Once more the excellent reputation of SSM, as the market leader in the above mentioned fields, was acknowledged and with their worldwide service network, SSM is able to provide the maximum return on customer’s investments.

The machines and the booth layout at the show were adapted to the event and a good choice; overall, the impression of the booth was well received by the customers. Extremely strong interest was recorded for the new XENO-platform (XENO-YW, -BW & -FW for winding and XENO-YD, -BD & -FD for assembly winding) as well as for the SSM GIUDICI TG2-AT & -FT with individual automatic frontal doffer. The DURO-TW & -TD for technical yarns as well as the TK2-20 CT & KTE for sewing thread inspired the crowd as well. With the NOVA-CS, SSM GIUDICI took the advantage of the disappearance, respectively difficulties of European CCY machine producers to become niche leaders in the high-end segment.

Besides of the presented applications, SSM introduced the new X-Series (PSX-W/D, PWX-W and TWX-W/D which will be shown at ITMA Asia 2016) for Dye Package Winding/Rewinding and Assembly Winding as well as the well-known machines for Air Covering, Draw Winding and Yarn Singeing.

Thanks To All Visitors

Furthermore, SSM would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody that visited their booth, whether it was for discussions concerning imminent projects or just for checking out the latest equipment.

Posted January 18,2016

Source: Schärer Schweiter Mettler AG

WATWILL, Switzerland — November 2015 — Saurer Group reports Saurer Schlafhorst’s Rotor Spinning product line is highly satisfied with how ITMA 2015 in Milan went. The new Autocoro 9 and the innovations on the BD 6 met with a good response from the industry, which currently attaches a high priority to maximum energy efficiency. The new E³ strategy with triple added value in the spheres of energy, economics and ergonomics proved convincing straight away.

With energy savings of up to 25 percent, the Autocoro 9 set a new standard for economic efficiency. The new Autocoro 9 proved that the individual spinning position drive is currently the only future-ready rotor spinning technology. The machine’s extraordinarily high energy efficiency, demonstrated by the integral Energy Monitoring, is now acknowledged even by third parties. DigiWinding FX, the new benchmark for winding, also met with great interest, as did the wider range of possibilities in automation opened up by SynchroPiecing 24, for example. Even on long machines, this shortens run-up times to less than 15 minutes and makes the processing of raw materials with added recycled materials much more efficient.

The BD 6 in a new machine design was the focus of attention on all the show days. Thanks to DigiPiecing it achieves a piecing quality hitherto unachievable in the semi-automatic sector. The BD 6 produces packages in Autocoro format and quality at delivery speeds of up to 230 m/min and is thus in a class of its own.

Full Order Books

The exhibition teams have returned with full order books. As early as the second day of ITMA, the Autocoro 9 was ordered by an Indian customer. The Indian textile company T. C. Spinners Private Limited from Chandigarh has been familiar with the advantages of the Autocoro 8 for years. With the new Autocoro 9, the family firm can position itself even more successfully in relation to its competitors.

The 1000th Autocoro with individual spinning position drive is being supplied to Turkey. This milestone comes only four years after the market introduction of the innovative rotor spinning technology and marks a sensational success. The 1000th machine, a brand new Autocoro 9, will ensure high-performance productivity beyond the bounds of conventional rotor spinning machines at the Turkish textile company Emateks in future. Yarn production is a relatively recent business field for Emateks. The company backs innovation and is thus opting for the Autocoro 9, a guarantee of success.

The recycling specialist PT Mitra Saruta Indonesia is also producing on two BD 6 rotor spinning machines. At ITMA, Mitra ordered a further 13 BD 6 rotor spinning machines of the latest generation. The company was won over in extensive testing by the incomparable quality of the yarns and the superb running properties of the packages.

Other agreements are set to be concluded, as many visitors signaled a firm interest in purchasing. The German textile machinery manufacturer goes into next year with a highly optimistic outlook, therefore.

Posted January 18, 2016

Source: Saurer Group

USTER, Switzerland — November 2015 — Uster Technologies AG reports that for spinners, it’s the dream scenario: better quality yarn for their customers, produced at lower cost. The continuing demand for top quality, all along the textile chain, puts enormous pressure on spinning mills today. They have the challenge of meeting precise yarn specifications – while also reducing their operating costs to protect business profitability. The new USTER® JOSSI VISION SHIELD 2 can deliver the dream, with its advanced technology for ‘clean’ cotton with minimum loss of valuable good fiber.

Contamination-free yarn is a key quality objective, but effective cleaning of cotton fiber has often meant wasting too much good cotton at the same time. Among the various solutions considered for this problem, the detection and removal of contamination in the blowroom appears to be the ideal approach. The challenge is to detect every contaminant – even down to the size of a single hair – and then eject only the unwanted material, leaving the pure cotton fiber untouched.

With USTER® JOSSI VISION SHIELD 2, fiber cleaning and yarn quality assurance has taken a major leap forward in terms of both detecting power and efficiency. It is the result of joint development work after the acquisition of Jossi Systems AG by Uster Technologies AG in 2013. Since then, the advanced sensor know-how and software expertise of USTER has been allied to Jossi’s detailed experience in fiber cleaning, to create a value-adding innovation.

Sensors see it all

The unrivaled detection capabilities of the USTER® JOSSI VISION SHIELD 2 come from new sensors and the Powerful Imaging Recognition Technology (PIRT). This is a sophisticated image analysis technique perfected by USTER. The smallest particle of contaminant will be picked out, helped by sophisticated image recognition. The greater sensitivity of the system has already proven its effectiveness in trials, recording significantly improved detection of polypropylene, a common contaminant in raw cotton.

The effectiveness of the USTER® JOSSI VISION SHIELD 2 is further enhanced by its positioning in the blowroom line, directly after the fine opener. Thanks to its compact dimensions – requiring less than one meter of width – it fits perfectly where other fiber cleaning models can’t, regardless of the blowroom equipment brand. This location is a major advantage: the cotton tufts are in their most open state, right after the fine opener, so contaminants cannot escape detection by the PIRT sensors.

Better quality, less waste

Achieving better quality in yarns usually means higher costs – but not with the USTER® JOSSI VISION SHIELD 2. The new Efficiency Booster feature manages fiber cleaning to deliver better quality, with lower waste. Sivakumar Narayanan, Head of Marketing for Uster Technologies says: “We know that spinners want to be on the safe side when it comes to contamination control. At the same time, they don’t want to waste good cotton when applying tight fiber cleaning settings. The new USTER® JOSSI VISION SHIELD 2 exactly solves this problem.”

In fiber cleaning, different tuft densities can lead to false ejections and wasted cotton. The new Efficiency Booster counters this by providing an accurate view of the whole tuft, so that denser tufts are ejected only when they contain real contamination. The system creates a ‘fingerprint’ of a clean cotton tuft, as the basis for matching and retaining ‘good’ tufts.

Spinners at every market level can gain major benefits through the Efficiency Booster. In the highest quality segment, fiber cleaning settings could be set to even tighter tolerances, without increasing waste. For less critical applications, spinners could retain existing quality settings and see waste greatly reduced, with fewer ejections. In all cases, mills can expect significant improvements in the balance between quality and efficiency.

Efficiency savings: the figures

The USTER® JOSSI VISION SHIELD 2 has an improved speed measurement feature, which provides a further notable reduction in waste. By continuously measuring the velocity of the passing cotton tufts, the system can adapt the duration of each ejection, so that a minimum of material is removed with the contaminant. Mill trials have proved that optimizing ejection times in this way results in significantly less waste per ejection – an enormous long-term economic benefit.

Trials have demonstrated that raw material savings of more than 25,000 kilograms per production line per year can be achieved with the USTER® system including the Efficiency Booster. Spinning mills in Turkey, Pakistan and China have reported significant overall savings in production costs, with the Efficiency Booster, with a consequent benefit in shortened investment payback time.

Long-term advantages of contamination control

The USTER® JOSSI VISION SHIELD 2 provides a much higher removal rate for all types of contamination than any previous system, with the technology to minimize waste at the same time. For spinners, this delivers immediate advantages of higher yarn quality and reduced production cost. Longer-term benefits of enhanced quality reputation and improved profit margins confirm the USTER® JOSSI VISION SHIELD 2 as an excellent investment for the whole spinning business.

Posted January 18,2016

Source: Uster Technologies AG

MEISTERSCHWANDEN, Switzerland — November 2015 — Retech AG reports a very successful ITMA 2015. The show in Milano from 12- 18 November 2015 attracted around 123’000 visitors from 147 countries, whereas attendance increased by about 20 per cent in comparison to the previous show in 2011. There was a fantastic atmosphere at the fair, the visitor standard was exceptional and there was even a lot of business made during this show.

For Retech AG from Switzerland  this ITMA was an extremely encouraging exhibition where its complete product range was presented in operation in a very nice showcase.

Our customer could not only be aware of the blue yarn running, but also see very special details of all our products:

On the heated godets we were able to  explain exactly why  our heating is optimized due to a perfect temperature profile and also show in situ the new temperature transmitter in the form of the famous Swiss biscuit: the Willisauringli. Customers learned also that the motor capacity of our godets is optimizable to the individual needs of every application and implementation.

We were able to demonstrate our newly developed surface temperature measurement device and we are satisfied with the very positive feedback from our visitors: This is the device they missed in their quality control. We are happy to close this gap and can now offer this new device to a lot of companies.

The blue yarn also passed through our ABSR, the air bearing separator rollers. Our visitors could see the quality, the low maintenance and most important the smooth running.

The tension sensors and the corresponding software of this online yarn tension measurement were visible on the display of the show case and disclosed a practical and clearly arranged program.

Over all we can proudly say that our blue thread definitely moves on and inspired our customers to new possibilities.

During the show, we could meet and discuss with many existing customers and also very important, new, potential customers showed interest in our products. So we would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who visited our booth and we are looking forward to future partnerships and collaborations with you.

Posted January 18, 2016

Source: RETECH AG