From The Editor: Textiles On The Move

By Jim Borneman, Editor In Chief

Last March, Textile World featured an article titled “U.S. Textiles: Investments Abound,” which received a great deal of positive feedback from TW readers.

It’s not that the challenges facing U.S. textiles have evaporated, but the article picked up on a trend that appeared to begin during the third quarter of 2013.

In general, TW was receiving a greater than usual volume of press releases concerning investments in new plant and equipment, expansions and mergers, and acquisitions. The releases featured a strong mix of U.S. companies, as well as foreign direct investment in U.S. plant and equipment.

It was an anecdotal study at best, but having written about plant closings and layoffs for some time, it was refreshing to acknowledge the positive trend and counter all the naysayers that often say, “There is no textile industry left in the U.S.”

This issue of TW features a follow-up article titled, “U.S. Textiles: Investment Continues”— and it would appear the trend does in fact continue. Virtually every sector of the industry has some positive news to offer — from apparel and technical textiles to weaving and nonwovens — textile leaders are upgrading facilities, strengthening their companies with acquisitions and putting new technologies to work.

Certainly the industry has changed. Some say it is smaller, more nimble and focused on higher dollar products — and that is probably a fair assessment in some sectors. But the companies featured in the article, in many cases, have been industry players for years. There is some new blood, but the majority have long histories and have managed to keep their technologies fresh and find successful markets for their products.

There also is good news about collaboration and innovation. How about Cone Denim’s recent partnerships with two companies —  DSM Dyneema and Westex by Milliken — to develop innovative performance denim products?

The consolidations also draw some attention; one of the boldest being Archroma. With the “… heritage from Hoechst, Sandoz, Clariant” and a 49-percent stake in M. Dohmen, Archroma announced plans to acquire BASF’s textile chemicals business.

That is a significant roll-up, which is supported by New York City-based SK Capital Partners. Gildan Activewear also is on the move, building new production facilities in Honduras and purchasing one of its best customers, Comfort Colors, for $100 million. The company wants to expand in the “growing fashion basics segment,” and Comfort Colors will take it there.

It is great to observe an active business environment in an ITMA year. With machinery and technology suppliers preparing for the unveiling of technological improvements and innovations, one hopes that after an ITMA year, next March’s issue will feature even more investment by U.S. manufacturers.

To the naysayers: Yes, there is a U.S. textile industry!

March/April 2015

Woven Fabric Formation: Shedding Systems

Weaving machine manufacturers have introduced numerous significant advances in weaving and weaving preparation. Advances include individual spindle drives in winding; faster sample warpers permitting a range of colors; a high level of automation in indirect warping; faster and smarter drawing-in and tying-in; quick style changes; automatic pattern changes; powerful weaving machine drives; variable pick density; variable loom speed; adaptive control systems for management of main and auxiliary air nozzles timing to reduce energy in air-jet weaving; on-loom monitoring of woven fabric quality; and individual control of harnesses and warp yarns in dobby and jacquard weaving, among countless other innovations. These developments permit high-speed fabric formation with improved fabric quality and versatility.

Innovations In Dobby Shedding Systems
Dobby shedding motion controls the movement of large number of harnesses. As the number of harnesses increases, so does the load on the motor that drives all moving parts connected to the weaving essential motions — shedding, weft insertion, beat up, and warp and fabric controls — and the weaving secondary motions — warp stop, weft stop, weft selection, leno and tuck-in. When the weaving process is stopped for any reason —warp break, weft break, or other stop — the potential for start-mark defects exists. When weaving is resumed, the motor initially has to overcome the inertia of the machine’s heavy moving parts, and the machine’s set speed is not reached immediately. Consequently, the beat-up force is weaker and the new pick is not forced far enough and stays slightly further from the cloth fell creating a start-mark defect. Innovations developed by weaving machine manufacturers and shedding systems producers offer solutions for start-mark defects as well as other benefits.


Figure 1: The commercial version of Grosse’s Unished 2 mounted directly on a weaving machine frame

Using a single drive for the entire weaving machine, Germany-based Lindauer Dornier was the first to pursue a system that can eliminate start-mark defects. The company exhibited its SyncroDrive system for the first time at ITMA 2007 in Munich, Germany. The drive focuses on the stability of motor rotational speed. SyncroDrive separates the large dobby mass from the drive at the starting moment, and then engages the dobby shedding system after the inertia of other moving parts has been overcome. This permits the weaving machine to reach the set weaving speed during the first weaving cycle after the start and before beat-up, thus eliminating start marks.

Switzerland-based Stäubli was the first company to pursue the development of a dobby system with individual control of each harness. The UNIVAL 500 — which uses powerful actuators, one for each harness, to control harness movement — was an expansion of the company’s Unival 100 concept. The actuator’s direction of rotation determines which harnesses are raised or lowered to form the shed according to the weave design.

At ITMA 2011 in Barcelona, Spain, Toyota Industries Corp., Japan, joined the competition for individual harness control of dobby shedding systems. The company named its system “E-She” for electronic shedding system. Germany-based Mageba Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG also exhibited its narrow-shuttle weaving machine SL-MT 1/180 combined with a dobby shedding system. In this shedding system, a separate motor drives each harness. Thus, each harness can be raised or lowered at different levels to form multi-sheds and allow for multi-weft insertion.


Figure 2: Illustration showing Unished’s shed formation principle

Benefits Of Individual Harness Control
The individual harness drive allows easy shed timing and independency of shed timing from other events, while synchronizing all events to work in harmony during a given weaving cycle. The shed timing in a traditional shedding motion is rigid and fixed for each weaving cycle. The individual control of harnesses makes it possible to time the shed differently for each weaving cycle if desired. For instance, in weaving fabrics with a mixture of weft yarns — some containing spandex and others without — the shed timing for the former requires early shed to bind these yarns before the beat-up event so they are secured and bound to prevent the spandex yarn from retracting back and causing major fabric defects. With such innovation, high-stretch spandex yarns easily can be woven. In general, early shed is not desired because of the dragging force of the weft in crossed warp yarns, which causes abrasion and weakening of the warp and weft yarns. Yarns without spandex can be timed in a normal shed whereby warp yarns are leveled at the beat-up event. The combination of early shed and normal time shed is useful when weaving variable pick density where one or more of the pick densities are set to a maximum and the other densities are at lower values than the maximum. Early shed is required for the maximum pick density stripes.

In traditional dobby systems, there is an electromagnet and several links for each harness. In dobby shedding with individual harness control, the electromagnets and links are eliminated. Also, the load on the main motor that drives the other weaving mechanisms is reduced. This combination allows significant noise and vibration reduction as well as increases in weaving speed.

One of the reasons for limiting the number of harnesses in traditional dobby was concern for significant load on the motor, which would limit design capability. This is not an issue with individual harness control. Stäubli offers its Unival 500 in more than 50 harnesses. With such high number of harnesses, intricate dobby designs, which were not possible before, can be created. Because each harness can be raised or lowered at different heights for each pick if needed, formation of weaves with longer floats before the next intersection can be produced. The height of a harness can be controlled to absorb the slackness of the floated yarn or yarns until the weave intersection takes the extra length of floated yarns. Again, this is a plus in terms of design intricacy.

In terry weaving, the shed configuration requires setting the harnesses that control the pile yarns differently than standard fabric settings. The pile harnesses must be raised higher than the upper shed of the ground yarns and lower than the bottom shed of the ground yarns. Such settings require mechanical adjustment of the pile harnesses in traditional dobby shedding. In the case of individual harness control, this can be done automatically via the controller, typically a touch-screen interface, of the pile harnesses.

Innovations In Jacquard Shedding Systems
Until the 1980s, the mechanical jacquard systems were most commonly found in industrial settings and they still exist today in developing countries. These systems have too many parts: cylinder, pattern cards, needles, needle springs, hooks, neck cords, harness cords, heddle wires, and returning springs for each harness cord. The parts work in harmony for selection of hooks, and hence warp yarns, to be raised or lowered for each shed according to the weave design that is registered on the punch pattern cards. The jacquard head parts get their movement from a drive connected to the main weaving machine motor, which adds more complications because each weaving machine has a different main drive configuration requiring different connection configuration to the jacquard head. The high number of mechanical parts for jacquard machines along with their heavy mass and complicated motions limited weaving speed to a degree that jacquard was not compatible with shuttleless high-speed weaving.

Traditional jacquard capacity, whether mechanical or electronic, was limited, which requires harness tie and weaving several small to medium design repeats across the fabric width. This posed challenges for design innovation and flexibility. The standard size or capacity of jacquard machines ranges from 448 to 1,792 hooks. A given harness tie type — straight, center, border, or mixed harness tie — has remained unchanged for a long time because their construction takes a fairly long time. For this reason, a jacquard designer has to fit patterns to existing harness ties. Jacquard machine manufacturers responded to the design capability challenge by introducing individual control of harness cords (or warp yarns), and mega capacity. In mega-sized jacquard machines offered by Stäubli, the number of hooks may reach up to 18,432. The individual warp yarn control and mega-sized jacquard machines permit the creation of extremely intricate large-sized patterns, one large pattern across the entire fabric width, or several small- to medium-sized patterns across the fabric width may be created.

Grosse’s UNISHED
The earliest version of Germany-based Grosse’s UNISHED was exhibited at ITMA 1999 in Paris as a prototype. The machine, known as Unished 1, was shown again at ITMA 2003 in Birmingham, England, with little improvement. At ITMA 2007, the much improved Unished 2 was exhibited, and approximately two years later the machine was available commercially. Figure 1 shows the commercial version of the Unished 2 mounted directly on the weaving machine frame weaving one large pattern across the entire fabric width. Figure 2 illustrates the shed formation principle of the Unished. The configuration of the Unished led to the elimination of harness cords, magnets, hooks, pulleys, springs, and the gantry. At ITMA 2011, the Unished 2 was shown on the Tsudakoma booth installed on a water-jet weaving machine, the ZW8100. This was the first time a water-jet weft-insertion weaving machine was combined with a jacquard shedding system at ITMA.


Figure 3 (right): The commercially available version of Stäubli’s Unival 100.

Stäubli’s UNIVAL 100
At ITMA 2003, Stäubli introduced the Unival 100 in its commercial configuration (See Figure 3). Figure 4 illustrates how the shed is formed. In the figure on the left, an actuator — an extremely small stepping motor Stäubli named JACTUATOR — is shown while selecting its harness cord, the warp yarn, for the upper shed. The image on the right shows a jactuator with its warp yarn selected for the bottom shed. In this system, magnets, hooks, knives, and pulleys are eliminated. At ITMA 2003, a Unival 100 with capacity of 7,920 was mounted on a Picanol OMNIplus-6-J 250 weaving machine and demonstrated weaving mattress ticking and table cloth fabrics where the pattern was changed on the fly at 1,025 picks per minute and a filling insertion rate 2,460. This rate of filling insertion is the highest in the history of jacquard weaving. With this technology, weavers can manufacture intricate jacquard designs at the speed of commodity fabrics. The configuration of the Unival 100 is modular, which allows the capacity to vary from an extremely small number of cords for narrow fabrics and label weaving, to extremely large numbers for broad weaving. The Unival 100 is available in a variable capacity of up to 20,480 jactuators.


Figure 4:  Top shows Stäubli’s Jactuator — a feature on the Unival 100 — while selecting a warp yarn for upper shed; below shows the Jactuator while selecting a warp yarn for bottom shed.

With the Unival 100, the shed can be optimized for each filling insertion, depending on the quality and type of yarn used.

Because there are no knives that raise the yarns at the same shed height, warp yarns may be raised to different heights. The Unival offers true individual warp yarn control. This feature provides major opportunities for weavers. With such a system, several sheds can be formed allowing the weaving of face-to-face pile fabrics and 3-D structures including 3-D orthogonal preforms for composite applications. More details on 3-D weaving and other opportunities will be discussed in part two of the article.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Abdel-Fattah M. Seyam is a professor at Raleigh, N.C.-based North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles, Department of Textile and Apparel Management. This article is based on Seyam’s presentation given at the 2014 Textile World Innovation Forum. For additional reading and detailed technical information about shedding systems, please see the article online at TextileWorld.com for a list of resources.

March/April 2015

BASF Develops Acrodur® Binder For Composites

Germany-based BASF has introduced Acrodur® Power 2750 X, a binder for natural fiber composites to be used in lightweight automotive applications including car door panels or shelves. According to the company, the binder imparts high mechanical stability, offers thermoplastic processability and allows up to 75-percent natural fibers to be used in a lightweight component.

“Due to the use of Acrodur Power 2750 X, natural fiber components are up to 40-percent lighter than conventional plastic products,” said Claus Dallner, head of marketing for dispersions for fiber bonding, BASF. “This results in cars that consume less fuel and have fewer carbon emissions.”

March/April 2015

Madeira Introduces Cotton Blend Embroidery Thread

Laconia, N.H.-based Madeira USA Ltd. has introduced BurmilanaCo, a 50-percent cotton/50-percent acrylic embroidery thread. The 12-weight thread is available in 72 colors and offers a more hand-embroidered look than other machine embroidery threads. According to the company, the thread has a natural, soft hand, and works well for chenille embroidery, chain stitch, fringing, decorative seams and other special effects. The thread received a Class 1 rating from the Switzerland-based Oeko-Tex Association, which means it may be used on baby clothing.

March/April 2015

Bulletin Board

Mira Loma, Calif.-based Enduratex™ has introduced the Coastal Ranch collection upholstery fabrics. Available in 20 colors, the collection features Forbid srt, a treatment that prevents denim dyes used in blue jeans from transferring to the upholstery fabric.
 


The Coastal Ranch upholstery fabrics collection from Enduratex™

The Washington-based International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) is taking applications for the ICAC Researcher of the Year Award. The closing date for applications is March 31. Go to icac.org/tech/ICAC-Researcher-of-the-Year-Award for more details.

The Brussels-based CIRFS: European Man-made Fibres Association has published the 50th edition of its “Information on Man-made Fibres,” its statistical report on man-made fiber developments.

China-based GCiS China Strategic Research has published results of a market study on flame retardant (FR) chemicals, which shows the phosphorous-based FR market in China is poised for growth. Contact research@gcis.com.cn for more information about the report.

Chicago-based Cintas Corp. recently published its 2015 Cintas Uniform Book and issued its 2015 Workplace Fashion Trends Forecast.

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio-based Americhem Inc. has launched a company blog entitled “Inspired Color. Defined Performance.” Located at blog.americhem.com, the blog functions as a forum between the company, its customers, the press and business community.

White Plains, N.Y.-based Surtex® has announced a series of preshow webinars to help exhibitors prepare for the event and maximize their return on investment. Webinars are free for exhibitors and can be accessed by contacting Michelle Daniels, michelle. daniels@emeraldexpo.com.

Federation of European Screen Printers Associations (FESPA) will launch Printeriors alongside FESPA 2015, to be held May 18-22, 2015. The new event and conference is designed to illustrate the capabilities of printed products for interior applications.

March/April 2015

Quality Fabric Of The Month: IR Performance In A Softer Hand

By Janet Bealer Rodie, Contributing Editor

Hologenix LLC, Santa Monica, Calif., has been developing and manufacturing what it calls “bio-responsive” textile materials since the early 2000s — first offering its mineral-infused products under the Holofiber® brand and more recently under the Celliant® brand. The technology involves a blend of thermo-reactive minerals ground to a size of less than 1 micron and embedded in a man-made fiber or filament. The minerals capture the body’s radiant heat and convert it into infrared (IR) energy that is directed back into the tissue. Celliant materials have been proven in clinical testing to promote blood circulation and oxygenation and offer regenerative healing in activewear, bedding, veterinary and medical applications.

Celliant fiber can be used alone or blended with other natural or man-made fibers. Originally, the minerals were embedded in polyester, but Hologenix now has succeeded in embedding the minerals in nylon as well, and is introducing the technology, which it calls Celliant 6.6, into new markets in which softer-hand nylon is the fiber of choice.


Project Clothing’s new Arctic line of technical jackets and pants features Celliant 6.6 inner sleeves (below) and hood linings as well as ThermaDown™.

According to Trenton Horinek, director of business development at Hologenix, the company worked for several years to develop Celliant 6.6 nylon, noting that it was necessary to fine-tune the size of the mineral particles to make them work with nylon. “We partnered with Far Eastern New Century Toung Loong [Textile Mfg. Co. Ltd.], yarn manufacturers in Taiwan, to achieve the blend, and they will be the sole providers of the yarn for now,” he said.

“Celliant 6.6, available in 70- and 40-denier drawn-textured or air-textured yarn, has allowed us to increase our product range within the activewear market, including yoga wear, rash guards and compression wear,” Horinek continued. “It has been difficult to introduce polyester into the yoga market, where consumers are used to the soft hand of nylon. Celliant 6.6 enables us to effectively broaden our customer base, while also increasing sales to current customers.”

Celliant 6.6 launched earlier this year at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market (ORWM) in Salt Lake City, where Hologenix shared a booth with Australia-based Project Clothing, a newcomer to the U.S. market. Project debuted its Arctic line of technical jackets and pants featuring Celliant 6.6 inner sleeves and hood linings, and ThermaDown™ — a Celliant-coated high-performance down insulation codeveloped by Hologenix and Allied Feather & Down Corp., Montebello, Calif. Horinek said Project is also developing a running tight using Celliant 6.6.

At ORWM, Hologenix also showed two new blends — Celliant/Pima Cotton, codeveloped with Portland, Ore.-based The S Group and manufactured by Peru-based Cofaco Industries SAC, and Celliant/ Merino wool. Horinek noted that the Pima and Merino blends could be made using either Celliant Polyester or Celliant 6.6.

March/April 2015

HanesBrands To Acquire Knights Apparel

Winston-Salem, N.C.-based HanesBrands has entered into an agreement to buy Spartanburg-based Knights Apparel Inc. from affiliates of Merit Capital Partners, Chicago. Knights Apparel sells licensed collegiate T-shirts, sweatshirts and other sports apparel to the mass retail channel.

The all cash transaction value for Knights Apparel is approximately $200 million on an enterprise-value basis. The purchase is expected to close early in the second quarter 2015.

“Knights Apparel has a tremendous business model and a highly talented team of employees,” said John T. Marsh, HanesBrands group president, Global Activewear. “With Knights Apparel added to our existing Gear for Sports collegiate bookstore business, we are building a powerful licensed college apparel business that we can leverage with our substantial capabilities in apparel production, graphic design and graphic printing.”

March/April 2015

The Wide World Of Knits

Several hundred years ago, someone had the foresight to take a couple of pointed sticks and use them to manipulate a length of yarn into a series of interconnected loops in succession to create a fabric. Somewhere along the way, this activity came to be known as knitting, which has become a popular hobby for people of all ages today though in the past it was more associated with grandmas. Ironically, the same simple process used to make favorite homemade hats, sweaters and scarves has evolved into one of the most flexible and versatile fabric-forming technologies known to man. Consumers love knit fabrics and consequently, their breadth and diversity of applications only continues to grow. It’s virtually impossible to proceed through one’s day without directly using, wearing, encountering, or benefiting somehow from knit fabrics in some form or another.


Germany-based Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik will launch two new double-bar raschel machines for warp-knit spacer fabrics this spring. These types of 3-D fabrics are finding applications in shoes and other technical applications.

Knits are most commonly known for their natural softness, bulk, stretch, recovery and conformability. However, knit fabrics also offer excellent engineering opportunities because of the knitting process’s inherent ability to manipulate, control and secure individual yarn placement. This unique capability enables a designer to enhance the fabric’s look and feel, affect color placement, alter depth and surface texture, and generate a whole host of other fabric characteristics. An engineer can impart physical properties, create openings of various sizes and shapes, and control porosity and fiber placement. Several knitting techniques also allow for the creation of individual “whole garments,” seamless tubes and complex-shaped products.
 
Knit Structures: Weft
Virtually every knit structure falls into one of two primary categories commonly referred to as either a weft knit or a warp knit. As a general rule, weft knits are formed by a yarn or multiple yarns fed as one to all selected needles, including grandma’s, which is then manipulated into a series of interconnecting loops. On weft-knitting machines, the yarn is directed to the needles across the machine’s flow direction. For this reason, weft-knit stripes generally run across the width of the fabric. Because knit fabrics are composed of a series of interconnected loops, which are not necessarily locked in place, weft knits can be deknit, unravel or “run.” Weft knits lend themselves better to fashion and apparel related applications, and are more compatible with spun yarns and natural fibers, though filament yarns also can be used. Given the continuing blurring of lines between sports and yoga wear, and casual, business and everyday apparel, its not surprising to learn that roughly 90 to 95 percent of all weft-knitting machines in production today are used for apparel-related applications.


Italy-based Santoni S.p.A. specializes in seamless knitting machinery such as the Santoni SM8 Top2 single- jersey, electronic circular knitting machine.

Knit Structures: Warp
Warp-knit fabrics almost always are machine made and can be manufactured at much wider widths than weft knits. Contrary to weft knits, warp knits are formed as numerous individual strands of yarn — the warp — are guided to select needles in the machine’s flow direction. Warp knit stripes typically run the length of the fabric. Subsequent machine cycles reposition the guided yarn over a different needle to create the warp knit fabric. This interaction of the guided yarn to select needles creates a stable construction that, unlike weft knits, is difficult to unravel. Warp knitting, generally better suited to filament yarns, tends to be more oriented towards applications where engineering, physical properties and high production speeds are most beneficial. This includes some areas of fashion, but the structures also are well suited to industrial, specialty and technical fabric applications.

Weft and warp knits each have a variety of distinct types or sub-categories. As technology advances and evolves however, some of these distinctions are becoming more blurry.


A diagram showing a 3-D variable section of a warp-knit tubular fabric

Weft-Knit Types
Hand knits: As the name implies, hand knitting involves using knitting needles, crochet hooks, human-powered hand knitting machines, or some combination thereof to create knit fabrics. Hobbyists are the mainstay in this category making hats, scarfs, sweaters and other items for personal use. However, there are consumer oriented high-end, handmade applications as well. Because the process is performed by hand, the types of fibers, yarns and constructions used for hand knits are left entirely up to the knitter’s imagination.

Flatbed knits: Flat knitting can be done on a single needle bed — single row of knitting needles — machine or a “V” bed machine where two or more needle beds are set at opposing angles allowing the selected needles to create a “V” for the yarn to be fed into. Heavier, coarser and bulkier yarns, spun or filament, natural or man-made, work well on this type of machine producing fabrics with soft, supple, bulky and relatively open constructions. Applications mostly are geared towards the fashion and apparel industries, though fabrics for gloves, socks, medical and technical end-uses easily can be created.

The advent of 3-D knitting or shaping technology and multi-gauge weft knitting technology allows designers and manufacturers to create even more unique designs, fully-fashioned garments, 3-D shaped fabrics, and for some applications, seamless garments.

Circular knits: Like with flat knitting, a single needle bed or “V” bed configuration can be used to make circular knit fabrics, the difference being that circular knits, as the name implies, are constructed in tubular form. Circular knits typically use finer yarns, and exhibit soft, supple, conformable and elastic characteristics. Again, applications mostly are fashion- and apparel-related. These include T-shirts, dresses, hosiery, socks, underwear and leggings.

Warp-Knit Types
Tricot knits: Tricot-knit fabrics are formed perpendicular to the movement of the needles, which allows for high machine speeds and fabric throughput. Tricot knits are often characterized by their light weight; elasticity; and thin, smooth, silky feel. They are commonly found in a variety of apparel, swimsuits, intimate wear, print cloth, automotive and industrial applications.

Raschel knits: In raschel knitting, the fabric is formed in line with the movement of the needles. There are two categories of raschel knitting machine commonly available: single needle bar — where the needle bar is a row of needles — or double needle bar. The double needle bar machine, as the name implies, has two opposing rows of needles that can be set with a specific gap between them to produce different styles and thicknesses of fabric. This allows the knit loops or stitches to be effectively held in place during machine movements, which provides the ability to make a broad range of very intricate and complex fabric designs.

Single needle bar raschel knits are used in a wide array of applications ranging from lace and lingerie to various netting, medical, industrial and technical configurations. Double needle bar machines are able to make very complex knit structures that can include two different face fabrics interconnected by cross stitches. Applications include seamless garments, smart fabrics and wearable electronics, tubular and compression fabrics, and pile and plush fabrics for a variety of applications.

Weft-inserted warp knits: Weft inserted warp knits effectively use the stitching characteristics of warp-knitting machines to “stitch” together several layers of yarn. The yarn stitched together is flat and has zero crimp to it, which results in minimal unwanted stretch in the fabric. Also, if the ability to insert the non-crimp layers at different angles is incorporated, stitched fabrics with near isotropic strength can be produced. This attribute is highly desired in numerous composite applications. Weft-inserted warp knits also are used extensively as coating and laminating substrates.

Knitting design software, such as Shima Seiki’s SDS-ONE APEX3 design system and its complete 3-D virtual sample imaging component, offer designers the ability create complex knit designs.

Advanced Applications
Obviously, weft and warp knitting can, and does, get much more complicated depending on the application and its end-use requirements. Knitting technology continues to evolve and improve. Developments are led by closer and stronger collaborations between the machine and component manufacturers along with contributions from the end product’s supply chain. Improvements in graphic design software systems give designers and engineers even more flexibility in patterns and strategic yarn placement. These advances allow knit fabric manufacturers to target more technical, non-fashion-related and traditionally woven applications for technical textiles and composites products.

The rapidly evolving technological advances in knitting design, engineering and equipment afford knits virtually unsurpassed versatility with boundless design and engineering opportunities. There are lots of opportunities looking for the right knit.

Knit: A very generic term that covers a wide, wide range of products for an even wider array of applications. A world without knits would be a very dull and less comfortable world indeed.
 

Editor’s Note: Jim Kaufmann is senior engineer at T.E.A.M. Inc., Woonsocket, R.I.; and owner of NovaComp Inc., Willow Grove, Pa. The article is based on Kaufmann’s presentation given at the 2014 Textile World Innovation Forum.

March/April 2015
 

Utah State Opens Bio-products Scale-Up Facility

Utah State University (USU) has opened a Bioproducts Scale-Up Facility on its Innovation Campus. Funding for the facility came from the Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative.

“Within this new, state-of-the-art facility, Utah State will begin the process of producing synthetic spider silk and other biosynthetic materials in quantities that have not yet been achieved, which will enable commercial partners to take advantage of years of USU faculty research on new biomaterials that can be used for a variety of applications,” said H. Scott Hinton, director, USTAR Synthetic Biomanufacturing Institute at Utah State.
 


Utah State University recently opened a Bioproducts Scale-Up Facility on its Innovation Campus.

 

March/April 2015

Business & Financial: Costs And Prices

By Robert S. Reichard, Economics Editor

Wondering how the industry’s prices are likely to fare over the next year or two? Cost trends may well provide the answer. History reveals a strong correlation between these two variables — quotes generally rising when production costs increase and falling when they begin to slip. One clear confirmation of this relationship comes from the recent sharp decline in gasoline prices when crude oil tumbled. The textile and apparel industries also provide a recent example. According to a study by Cary, N.C.-based Cotton Incorporated, the last three times cotton fiber dropped by more than 20 cents per pound over a six month period — during the 2009 business recession; the correction following the 2010-2012 price spike; and the recent 2014 falloff — the average price of cotton-containing products edged lower. There’s not that much of a time lag between these cost declines and their textile and apparel end products. According to the study, the full impact was felt in only seven months. More importantly, Cotton Incorporated analysts feel this downward industry cost-price drift will continue into late spring and summer, and even well beyond that time. This forecast is based on the likelihood of a continuing cotton glut — a glut being exacerbated by two other developments: the increasing availability of Chinese cotton, reflecting recent reforms in that nation’s stock reserve program; and large global cotton plantings because farmer returns on crops like corn and soybeans look even bleaker. Upshot: Factor in all the above, and cotton input costs are likely to remain low for quite some time, with fabric and garment prices likely to follow suit.

Other Costs Ease
There still are other cost slippages that could help put a lid on prices. Man-made fiber markets currently are far from firm, with Uncle Sam’s overall producer price index for these items now running fractionally under year-ago levels. All indications point to additional man-made-fiber market softness stemming from both today’s lower energy-influenced feedstock costs and continuing industry overcapacity. One thing for sure, overall fiber weakness — cotton plus man-mades — can’t be ignored, if only because this input factor accounts for 60 percent of the average base textile mill revenue dollar and about 45 percent of a typical garment. Also worth noting: Labor costs are following a similar non-threatening pattern, thanks to a combination of relatively small pay increases that are being offset or even more than offset by impressive productivity gains. Result: Average unit labor costs for the average mill or apparel manufacturer are flat or even down a bit. And this trend, too, should continue through the current year and into 2016. Finally, some relief in the transportation sector should also become apparent, with today’s significantly lower energy tabs expected to put some downward pressure on shipping bills.

Special Import Factors
The above cost-price discussion is equally applicable to textile and apparel imports. But when it comes to shipments from abroad, there are two other factors that are playing a role. First, the lower shipping costs just alluded to are a lot more important in the case of imports because of the long distances between our major overseas sources and the U.S. mainland. But equally important are international currency changes that currently are taking place. Specifically, today’s strong U.S. dollar, and conversely weak foreign currencies, are beginning to affect the cost of American purchases making them less likely to rise in price. This is especially true of China, by far our biggest overseas source. Note that the Chinese yuan, after advancing 25 percent vis-á-vis the dollar over the extended 2006-2013 period, has recently started to weaken falling about 3.5 percent since early 2014. Not surprisingly, this Chinese currency, shift as well as similar ones noted for some other big foreign suppliers, are beginning to have an effect on import quotes, with Uncle Sam’s import price index now topping out after the slow advance of recent years. This could well improve overseas suppliers’ competitive positions. As such, TW’s earlier projections calling for a slight drop in imports this year now seems less likely. A better bet: A relatively unchanged level of incoming textiles and apparel shipments.

March/April 2015

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