Automobile designers are a strange breed. True, they get their inspiration from the
not-so-surprising places like fashion runways and home furnishings shows. But then, sometimes the
muse comes from a rusty manhole cover, Grandmas two-tone antique brooch or childrens playthings. In
fact, Nissans top automotive designer, Jerry Hirshberg, admits to harvesting successful automotive
design themes from a grasshopper and even the movie, Silence of the Lambs.

Watch for renewed interest in gray interiors, exemplified by this Guilford Mills body cloth
currently seen in a domestic production truck (Photo courtesy of Guilford Mills Inc.) Think
about the challenge facing automotive textile suppliers who must find ways to translate their auto
maker customers design themes into color, texture, pattern and performance.Nevertheless, the
opportunity for automotive textiles has never been better than it is right now. The automotive
interior has become not only the new design frontier for automotive companies, but also the
strongest selling point for consumers. People are spending increasingly more time in their
vehicles.Jose de la Vega, interior designer of the award-winning 1999 Volvo S80, puts it best: When
I see a beautiful woman, it is her outside appearance that first attracts me and gets my heart
racing. Its only after I get to know her on the inside that I can determine whether shes someone I
want to commit to and spend a lot of time with.With auto-mobiles, its the same way. People are
first drawn onto the dealership lot by a vehicles exterior design. But its only after getting into
the car and experiencing its interior environment that the potential buyer knows if thats the car
he wants to spend the next several years with.And herein lies the opportunity for textiles. Fabrics
play a leading role in so many of our creature comforts from bed linens to sofas to sweatshirts
that introducing better designed, top-performing textiles into vehicle interiors is a win-win
situation for car maker and consumer alike.Most textile and fiber producers agree that three main
factors contributing to success in the automotive market today are cost, design and long-lasting
performance. CostLets face it, contributing to the creation and success of a new automobile
has a certain dramatic allure, a heart-pumping high simply put, cars are cool. But, getting into
the automotive supply chain and remaining a player is no easy task, unless you master costs.Yearly
improvements in cost structure are the minimum entry into the automotive industry, said Steven
Graves, manager of Freudenberg-Vitechs automotive business, in addressing the INSIDE DESIGN 99
Conference last April in Long Beach, Calif. Not only are cost reductions expected, but the cost
gains must be shared, if not given completely, to the automotive manufacturer.The obvious challenge
is balancing the demand for more cost-competitive materials with the expectations for more
creativity and design flexibility. Such pressures have forced successful material suppliers to look
for more radical solutions to meet the needs of the automotive market and still manage an
acceptable return, Graves says. And this means developing cost competitive materials that meet
stringent requirements for, among other things: processability; UV stability; abrasion resistance;
cleanability; aesthetic appeal; and a wide range of colors, patterns and textures.Another challenge
is the need to address global supply, says Graves. Due to the tremendous emphasis on cost,
suppliers need to be selective about their developments, as well as their capital investments, he
says. Essentially, this forces suppliers to develop a single-technology or base material, but this
material needs to be easily modified to meet the various trends of the markets around the world.No
doubt, a big part of the cost of doing business in this market is being global. The world has
become a much smaller playground, says John Pierce, director of design, Guilford Mills Inc.
Automotive Business Unit. It helps to be global so you can chart global trends. And, if a customer
wants a European flat woven in the U.S., you have to be able to provide it. Its no longer: Whats
hot in North America Its: Whats hot globally DesignA broad topic within the automotive
spectrum, but one that can be made relevant to textiles quite simply: To win business, you must
have on-target designs and be able to translate an idea to product more quickly than your
competition, says Pierce.If you want to know whats going to be hot in automotive, Pierce says look
no farther than pop culture, fashion and surface finish trends. The metallic look is in right now,
he says, as well as the use of matte and gloss sheens in tandem. Other trends at work in
automotive include: textiles that take their design cue from brushed metals for mid-size and luxury
cars and the incorporation of extreme sports into textiles, techno fabrics the rip-stop look from
parachuting, the coarse knitted look from tennis shoes, for example.Our perceptions today are
multi-sensing, points out Larry Cole, executive product planning manager, DuPont Automotive, Troy,
Mich.

Auto makers are turning to companies such as DuPont for “residential-like” carpets for
high-end luxury vehicles. DuPont fiber technology helps auto makers achieve the durability and
aesthetics needed for this market. (Photo courtesy of DuPont.) One of the senses getting a lot
of attention in automotive interiors is touch. An increasing emphasis is being placed on softness
of hand, and this is most critical on the surfaces we contact the most seating fabrics and floor
coverings, Cole said.In fact, Cole thinks there could be an untapped market for micro-denier
technology in automotive fabrics, especially high-end luxury vehicles. Although there are no
microfiber fabrics currently used in production vehicles, its a new development area for DuPont.The
challenge, of course, is in wear-resistance it would take a creative fabric construction to make it
work, but the resulting fabric would answer consumer demands for softness and comfort.Another
important part of design is color
(see Color Trends 2000, sidebar). Over the years, auto makers have been forced to decrease
coloration choices for economic reasons, said Carol Byrne, head of TransporTex, a Scottsdale,
Ariz.-based textile color and design trend consulting company. But the way accent colors are used
and what they are thats what provides newness on textiles.Byrne says the use of color, texture and
pattern in automotive fabrics can be a cost-effective way to provide the foundation for a vehicles
brand image. For example, in luxury vehicles, the trend is a textile with depth, layering and
veiled illumination. Mid-size vehicles are using accent colorations to marry the exterior and the
interiors. In SUVs, theres a cooling trend, she says, away from warmer greens. Sports cars are
dipping into high-intensity colors, defined by the textiles themselves (i.e., a yellow spot instead
of blending).Pierce sees patterned fabrics gaining ground in headliners. Designers are looking to
expand brand imaging into headliners, he says, and they are doing that with patterned fabrics.More
than ever, cars are being styled with their own design statement inside, she says, and textiles
play an important role. This places a greater demand on the textile designer. In fact, I wouldnt be
surprised if custom-ordered automotive interiors were the norm soon after 2005.Pierce agrees.
Dealerships will offer different types of materials in a variety of colors, and consumers will be
able to mix and match, he predicts.  Long-Lasting PerformancePerformance demands placed on
todays automotive textiles include crush, wear and mark-off resistance, stretch and recovery, and
moldability. Auto makers dont just expect fabrics to perform theyve got to last a long time
too. We use the 10-year car concept as the basis of nearly all our fibers, says Cole.
Developing fabric applications with interesting tactile surfaces combined with long life is a
priority.Its a strategy thats working. Currently, more than 80 percent of North American automotive
fabrics and carpets contain fibers of DuPont nylon and polyester.

Delphi Automotive Systems’ 3-D knitting process  While trilobal cross-section polyester
for fabric and bulk continuous filament T66 nylon for carpet are DuPonts workhorse products, Cole
says the company has three new technologies that answer carmakers demands for aesthetically
pleasing durability.These technologies are: Corrugated Ribbon Cross-section: Slated for commercial
application in 2000, this technology uses a Dacron® polyester fiber cross-section to improve crush
and wear resistance while retaining softness. Quatra-Channel Cross-section: A product that
optimizes aesthetics, providing a good balance of hand, softness, wear resistance and mark-off. 3GT
polyester: This technology is under development and features the benefits of both polyester and
nylon. It imparts significantly more stretch and recovery to fabrics, which helps molding and
tailoring in seating. Additional benefits include more enhanced pile resilience and resistance to
crush and finger mark-off. The most exciting part, Cole says, is that this material can be derived
using biotechnology from renewable sources such as cornstarch, rather than oil.Pierce agrees that
other than UV resistance, one of the greatest performance demands being placed on automotive
textiles is elongation and flexibility requirements.In efforts to create a distinct brand image for
their vehicles, automotive designers are incorporating more extreme, high-contour shapes and
undulating surfaces, which present a real challenge to textiles and inherently make some fabrics
more naturally suited for these new designs than other constructions, he said.If your fabric cant
trim around nicely on a high-contour seat, you might have a problem meeting the needs of todays
automotive designer, he added. These days, most seat designers want to make wrinkle-free
seats. A Nod To NonwovensAlthough new applications for nonwoven materials in automobiles have
evolved rather slowly, nonwovens should begin making more headway, because they can often meet the
car makers battle cry of more for less.For sure, nonwoven producers would like to see the same
market share in the United States that nonwovens enjoy in Europe and Japan, where about 60 percent
of all headliners use nonwoven fabric. But the efforts of a handful of nonwoven companies to gain
U.S. marketshare in automotive so far have met with limited success.Enter a new generation of
nonwoven producers who are automotive market savvy and determined to tell their story again and
again until auto makers buy into it.For example, one company attempting to make strides in
nonwovens for the automotive market is Tietex International, Spartanburg, S.C. Tietex is targeting
opportunities in headliners perhaps the one fabric in the automobile that has had no real change in
over 20 years (primarily tricot knit and PU foam laminates), even though it is the largest, single
uninterrupted expanse of surface area in the car interior.Tietex is offering a new headliner fiber
technology that overcomes the traditional nonwoven fabric pitfalls of coarseness, difficult
conform- and mold-ability, failure to meet auto makers abrasion standards, higher scrap rate due to
undesirable glossing/polishing of the fabric in tool pressure points, UV stability, etc. The
answer, says Tietex, was starting from scratch.We didnt build on an existing product, or even
knowledge of automotive textiles, says Mike Hardegree, vice president of business development. We
didnt even build on existing fiber technology, but developed a new fiber with different properties
than any that were available.Hardegree describes the new technology by what it is not. It is not a
nonwoven, nor is it a knit, he says. The process is really a hybrid technology that combines
certain nonwoven formation principles with knitting.The material, called Deepdraw Fleeceknit, is
made with staple fibers which have the pigmentation already in the fiber. This fiber is carded and
cross-lapped into a web structure similar to the web in a nonwoven fabric prior to needling.At this
point, the web is knitted needles penetrate the web structure, gathering bundles of fiber in the
throat of the needle. The fiber bundles are then knitted together, a process similar to tricot
knitting, except it knits fiber bundles instead of yarns. The result, says Hardegree, is a fabric
face which has parallel rows of knitted fiber bundles, creating the appearance of a knitted
fabric.Advantages this fabric offers for headliners include: Appearance: the knitted loops enhance
the visual character of the fabric. Moldability and formability: good performance even in severe
headliner tool conditions. Abrasion resistance: better than nonwovens without chemical binders. The
knitted loops tie down the fiber ends, reducing the likelihood that they will be disengaged from
abrasion. Another aggressive player, Freudenberg Nonwoven, recently reviewed the automotive
interior market and saw an opportunity for nonwovens. The result, says the company, is a nonwoven
technology that meets the need for a cost-competitive material with high performance and design
flexibility. This new product is highly suitable for interior facing in headliners, door panels and
package trays and is marketed by Freudenberg-Vitech the joint venture between Freudenberg Nonwovens
and Japan Vilene Company.

An automotive display at BASF’s corporate headquarters in Mt. Olive, N.J., showcases the
dozens of critical car components that BASF produces.
(Photo courtesy of BASF.) Freudenberg-Vitech produces needlepunched fabrics that can
be supplied in mono color and color blends, and can be printed and/or embossed for texturing. The
nonwoven facings are moldable, process very well and are easy to handle. The fabrics are also
100-percent PET and fully recyclable, the company says. Key To New GrowthThe steady erosion in
price coupled by a request for increasing quality is no news to automotive fabric suppliers, but it
still remains a challenge. You cant meet the auto makers cost and quality demands as easily
with a known technology, says Byrne. You have to think outside the box. That way, your customers
demand becomes a challenge not something to moan about.Are there no applications for textiles
inside vehicles that might bring about some growth, at least Not really, says Pierce. In recent
years, weve seen a regression of fabric in automobiles due to cost pressures, he says. Thats why
needled nonwoven carpet and vinyl have made such headway.

Recaro North America’s proprietary technology provides a combination of knitting and weaving
to help auto makers customize interiors. However, weve sacrificed about as much fabric from
inside the vehicle as the consumer will allow, he says. I think well see fabric start to gain back
some of those applications in the near future.Pierce says the key to growth in automotive fabrics
is design and development. When business is open for bidding, if you have the best, on-target
design youll win, he says. In the customers eyes, engineering and cost are a given its a level
playing field for everyone there. Design is what wins the business.Safety Opens Doors For
High-Performance Textiles

AlliedSignal Inc. has developed a new automotive seatbelt fiber called Securus that increases
automobile occupant safety and reduces safety belt system costs.AlliedSignal says seatbelt fabric
(or webbing) made with Securus fiber slows and lessens a passengers impact with an airbag during a
collision. The fiber works in conjunction with the airbag. Woven as a seatbelt strap, it limits the
movement of an occupants upper body so that it moves more slowly into the airbag. It works this way
for a broad range of body types.Securus is the first in a new family of synthetic fibers called
PELCO, based on a patented polyester-caprolactone block copolymer. The product is the outcome of a
decade-long search for seatbelts that would better correspond to the deceleration action of airbags
in a vehicle crash, says Fred Festa, vice president and general manager of AlliedSignal Performance
Fibers.One big attraction: Festa projects seatbelts made with Securus fiber will lower a cars
safety-belt system cost by 25 percent for each seating position.So, how does it work Seatbelts made
with Securus fiber deliver a three-step restraint reaction during a crash. First, they hold
occupants in position at impact. Then, the fibers relax or stretch as needed to limit the force
imposed on the occupant, complementing the deflating action of the airbag and allowing the
occupants bodies to decelerate. Finally, their high-strength comes back into play, helping to
prevent impact with dashboard, steering wheel or windshield.Commercial shipping of Securus fiber
began in July. The company projects sales of $10 million next year, rising to $100 million annually
in five years.Festa said the company is exploring the use of Securus fiber technology for other
applications requiring high-load strength and excellent energy absorption.Color Trends 2000: The
Social Context for ColorAutomotive textile designers spend a great deal of time tracking color
trends and predicting which might have an impact on future fabrics. This is no easy trick these
days, as exposure to color is globally instantaneous via TV, magazines and the Internet. Still,
distinct market segments for color are identified based on cultural, economical, geographic,
historical and other identifiers, says Christine D. Dickey, color and trim manager, Toyota Motor
Sales USA.Key social trends that will influence product and color design include: more balanced
lives; making things simple, down-shifting the pace of life; merging opposites; blending cultures;
and more reflecting, e.g., finding a sacred balance between outer stimulation and inner peace.Now,
how will these trends specifically impact automotive interiors and therefore, automotive fabrics
Dickey predicts: Pattern: Europeans will lead a trend in new grain patterns, particularly distinct
pebble grains in BMW, Volvo and Audi. Two-tone interiors: Black or Dark Gray plastics combined with
other fabric colors on seats and door panels red, blue, green, teal. Increasing importance on
texture: There will be an increased use of metal in vehicle interiors, and consequently, metal-look
materials with pearlized or metallic painted finishes. Mix n match: Grains and textures in
plastics, textiles and vinyl. Colors: Silver and blue are the colors of the new millenium. Beige
continues to lead over white – still, watch for renewed interest in gray interiors (consumers are
tired of too much beige and ivory). Blue interiors will be revived.

September 1999

Deep in rural Duplin County, N.C., lies the heart of Guilford Mills Inc.s Worldwide Automotive
Business Unit. The Kenansville plant is both a major manufacturing site and division headquarters.
It houses manufacturing, design, research and development and product development functions.

Warp knitting machines at Kenansville produce flat and pile fabrics. Dyed yarns also give
pattern flexibility. The automotive division also has a marketing and sales office in Detroit;
a headliner and bodycloth lamination plant in Greensboro, N.C.; and a newly opened weaving
operation in Wallace, N.C., about 25 miles from Kenansville.To service the needs of multinational
auto makers, the division also has major manufacturing operations in England, Mexico and
Brazil.Since the Kenansville plant is both a headquarters location and a manufacturing site,
ATI had a unique opportunity to discuss the vital forces shaping the automotive fabrics
business with Guilford executives and then immediately see the results on the plant floor.The three
major challenges facing this segment today include reducing cost, shrinking development time and
developing global resources. Leaving Cost BehindLike most textile market segments, automotive
fabric makers are working to reduce costs, while meeting increasing customer demands. Guilford has
discovered a way to use screen printing to gain styling flexibility and reduce product development
costs.Prints reduce costs by allowing proven fabrics to be touched up with new designs without
having to go to all of the trouble to develop and test a completely new fabric.There is a lot of
cost in proving out prototypes, said Robert Nolan, executive vice president, Automotive Business
Unit, Guilford Mills Inc. Once you get a prototype base fabric in that works, you can reuse the
core fabric and change the print. You eliminate all the engineering and prototype costs.The company
has been working with prints in automotive applications for about five years, with their first
placement in the 1996 Ford Taurus. General Motors launches its first prints this year in the
Camaro, Monte Carlo and Impala vehicles using Guilfords print technology. Automotive designers work
three years out, so Guilford is just now seeing its new printing technology take off in the
automotive marketplace. The design team is currently working on fabrics for the 2002 and 2003 model
years.This three-year time cycle is beginning to be trimmed. There has been a tremendous change in
timelines, Nolan said. We are taking the development time for cars down from 36 months to 30 months
to 24 months. There is a constant drive to shrink the timelines. Moving Toward World CarsA
trend toward producing world cars the same model built and sold on a worldwide basis by auto makers
like Ford and Fiat, has pushed companies like Guilford to develop global resources. The most recent
example is the Ford Focus, said Alan Mackinnon, vice president and Ford Global Sales Director,
Worldwide Automotive, Guilford Mills Inc.One of our fabrics is in the worldwide bolster
application. We manufacture in the United Kingdom for European production, in the United States for
U.S. production and were looking at how we are going to service the cars that will be built in
Argentina.You have to be able to manufacture and support Ford in each of the areas that it is
producing the cars. Now, youve got the logistics problem of satisfying that market place at the
same price. Grand TouringThe Kenansville plant is a multi-technology vertical operation. Its
manufacturing processes include warp knitting, circular knitting, weaving, dyeing, finishing and
printing. It has 800 associates and occupies 650,000 square feet.We are a multi-technology
operation all within the same facility, which is unique, Nolan said. Youve got all of your
technical forces working as a team. Thats a plus. The only negative is the complexity it can raise.
Its more positive than negative, if youve got the facilities to manage the flow.ATIs tour began
with the design department. Here product placement boards showcase Guilfords many automotive
successes. These include current and future automotive fabrics.The plant has a large, well-staffed
and well-equipped design area. Design is critical in this market because the point of sale is
designer to designer. This is a very targeted design process. Auto makers have a kick-off meeting
with the Guilford staff before serious design work can begin.The days of making a thousand samples
and having them in a new line is gone in automotive fabrics, said John Pierce, director of design,
Worldwide Automotive, Guilford Mills Inc. Fabric ProductionFrom the design area, the tour
moved to the warp knitting area. The plant has 2-, 3- and 4-bar tricot machines, which gives it
good styling capability. Solution-dyed yarns expand patterning possibilities in this process.
Kenansville does not have warping equipment, so warps are shipped in from other Guilford plants.
Pattern changes here are steady, giving a diverse mix of styles.

Jacquard circular knitting machines give Guilford style flexibility. The next process
was velvet weaving. Here two pile fabrics are made simultaneously on each weaving machine. Some of
the styles in this area run for a considerable period of time. Others come and go in a few
weeks.Just a few yards from the weaving machines, Jacquard circular knitting machines are producing
fabric. It is truly unique to see three entirely different fabric forming processes at one
production facility. DyeingandFinishingThe first finishing area
ATI visited was headliner napping. A typical production sequence for knit headliner
fabrics would be something like knitting, dyeing, drying, napping, heatsetting, splitting and
inspection. This is a good example of the level of complexity that each of the plants products
require. There are four napping lines two for polyester and two for nylon.The plant is heavy in
surface finishing including napping, shearing and tigering. The dyeing operation uses both
jet-dyeing machines and beam-dyeing machines. All dye processes are controlled from a central
control room. An automatic dye and chemical system provides good dyeing consistency.The newest
section of the plant is the screen printing area. Here a five-head rotary screen printing machine
is used to print patterns on dyed fabrics. Guilfords investment in screen printing is beginning to
pay off. Pierce estimates that prints are about 10 percent of Guilfords automotive offerings.Inline
with the printing machine is a new four-chamber washing machine. The washer simplifies the process
greatly. Before it was installed, the plant used a jet dye machine to wash the screen-printed
fabrics.The final stop in the tour was the shade room. Lot-to-lot shade changes are checked to make
sure each lot stays within tolerances. Shade control is vital in automotive applications.

September 1999

Mount Vernon Mills Inc., Greenville, S.C., and Nisshinbo California Inc. recently announced that
they have signed a definitive agreement for Mount Vernon to purchase Nisshinbos textile
manufacturing facility and related assets in Fresno, Calif. The Fresno operation employs more than
150 people and is a leading producer of greige cotton fabric for apparel.This acquisition will
enable our Apparel Fabrics Division to significantly broaden its ring-spun offerings, particularly
those fabrics that require additional strength and superior surface treatments, said Roger W.
Chastain, president of Mount Vernon. We also will achieve greater capacity utilization in our
dyeing and finishing operations as a result.

September 1999

Italian manufacturers from the finishing sector were among the leading lights at the ITMA 99
fair in Paris.In order to achieve the important results shown at ITMA, as well as hefty investments
in research and development, a number of companies have called in expert partners from allied
sectors: fiber producers or manufacturers of dyestuffs and auxiliaries.This kind of synergy was, in
fact, one of the biggest developments apparent at the ITMA show. Other successful partnerships,
already tried and tested, still include those that are established with specialists operating in
the fields of electronics, pneumatics, robotics and automation. This is the continuation of a trend
which first emerged in October 95 at the last ITMA fair held in Milan. Brazzoli and Cimi, in
collaboration with Clariant, have developed a new class of sulfur dyes (for dyeing processes in
inert atmosphere) and auxiliaries for the Lavableach process (combined, continuous, for desizing,
preparation and bleaching).Meanwhile, Sperotto Rimar, in close collaboration with Australian
technologists from CSIRO, has developed a revolutionary application for the continuous decatisting
of quality wool fabrics. (DECOFAST).Others, in a number of application sectors, have worked with
DuPont specialists to resolve the any problems associated with the processing of stretch fabrics
containing Lycra®.The Prato-based company Tecnorama has been able to supply manufacturers like
DyStar, Ciba and Bayer with new, fully automated laboratory systems. Meanwhile, Biancalani has with
the second generation of the famous AIRO machine, managed to solve a number of problems relating to
the finishing of Tencel. Brazzoli’s Nitro ProcessWith the Saturno Vacuum machine, the
Lombardy-based company has launched the revolutionary Nitro Process for dyeing, which is carried
out in an inert nitrogen atmosphere using a new class of sulfur dyes (the Diresul dyes) recently
developed in the United States and marketed in Europe by Clariant.These dyes are characterized by
minimum contamination levels as well as high technical fastness properties. Furthermore, their
application cycle operates on low energy and water consumption levels and process times are
considerably reduced, thus making this process extremely cost-effective even in comparison with
well-known dye classes such as reactive dyes.The vacuum dyeing process developed by Brazzoli is
based on the creation of an inert atmosphere inside the machine, obtained by creating a vacuum and
then introducing nitrogen. Sperotto Rimar’s DecofastIn the final stage of the treatment of
quality wool fabrics, finishers carry out a setting treatment aimed at getting a suitable hand and
make-up properties, together with obtaining the desired fastness characteristics before the
making-up stage.These processes, characterized by different intensities and carried out using hot
water or steam, naturally lead to variations in the physical and mechanical properties of the
fabric. This affects fabrics reaction to tensile, cutting, flexing and bending stress.At ITMA 99
Sperotto Rimar presented its Decofast model, a continuous decatising machine that works with
pressurized steam to guarantee appropriate fabric dimensional stability and ensure performance
levels roughly between those reached by the classic discontinuous atmospheric decatising process
and those reached by the kier treatment.Decofast also improves the appearance of materials, giving
it the so-called finish decatising effect which improves surface appearance and make-up
performance.  Cimi/Clariant ParntershipCimi has made its relations with customers and (more
recently) with a supplier like Clariant, the basis for its further development and success. Already
a well-known and established brand thanks to its continuous washing system for open-width woolen
fabrics (the Lavanova range, which even outperformed its famous German rivals), Cima exhibited the
Lavableach model for the treatment of cellulose fabrics at ITMA. Lavableach is also the name of the
processing technology incorporated into the machine.As far as Clariant is concerned, the
application has allowed the Swiss company to obtain all the necessary expertise (and obviously
develop the whole range of specific auxiliaries) for tuning the process chemistry.  MAIBO’s
TMB/SV/trOn the exhibition space shared with OBEM in Hall 3, the Biella-based firm rolled out one
of the most striking novelties of ITMA 99. It is the first time that automation in yarn dyeing has
been extended to skeins. This revolutionary technology has been applied to the star-frame dyeing
machine, mainly used for very fine and luxury materials, such as silk, viscose, acetate, superfine
wools and mohair.The new model, TMB/SV/tr, is equipped with triangular rotating arms and runs with
a very harmonious rotation movement which ensures a delicate shift of the textile substrate. In
comparison with previous versions, it offers significant operational and qualitative advantages.The
most important technical advances are the following: smaller overall space occupied by the machine,
lower liquor ratio, greater loading capability, possibility of coupling two machines and full
automation with shuttle.According to MAIBO, an automatic plant of this kind has been purchased by
Botto Poala of Lessona. PMT’s UniversalPMT, a subsidiary of Cubotex, exhibited its Universal
model, developed by PMT for dyeing delicate garments. It is a fully automatic machine, fitted with
an on-board industrial PC with PLC programmable logics. It features advanced ancillary technologies
including color kitchen adjustable to specific needs and a patented sampling device with revolving
cylinder, which allows the user to withdraw samples without the need of stopping and opening the
machine.Also the final hydroextraction is very efficient. According to the company, it has an
internal material basket is divided into three parts with or without staves for material shaking.
Upon request, the Universal can be supplied without internal divisions. Dye liquor can be
circulated outside of the basket and/or through the central sector to increase the dye penetration.
The Universal can also be connected to a centralized PC and with the software for production
management in line with machines equipped with the same automation, according to the
company. Comet’s PolaraComet showed the Polara, an electronic combined raising/shearing
machine. The Polaras major features include: an operator control panel with touch-screen PC; an
industrial PC for machine control; programmed maintenance control; recipe storage; drum with 14
pile raising rulers; two contact areas of the drum, adjustable by touch-screen; shearing cylinder
with spiral blades; variable fabric speed from 9 to 30 meters per minute by three-phased motor and
inverter; seam detection by electronic sensor for the displacement of shearing table and velveting
comb; velveting unit consisting of a brush and its rest for the pile preparation to shearing; and
shearing height and velveting brush depth adjusted by a PC. CROSTA’s MC-10/24 XXLOne of the
most significant novelties that Crosta showed at ITMA was the raising machine model MC-10/24 XXL.
The machine is a single drum raising machine with 24 raising rollers for processing special
fabrics. It has a working width of 4,500 mm. Its main technical features include: raising rollers
driven by synchronous belts, electronic control of the cleaning brushes, remote assistance via
modem and a control panel with touch-screen color display. Loris Bellini Shows RobodyeThe
company showed its Robodye 2000 integrated robotised installation for dyeing hydroextraction and
drying of yarn in bobbins.According to Loris Bellini, the Robodye 2000 has been designed for fully
automatic functioning. The idea in studying the system has been to realize a line receiving the
yarn bobbins in modular columns in which the bobbins number can be varied in function of the actual
needs, which permits to process automatically in order to obtain at its exit the same columns of
bobbins dyed and dry, the company says.With Robodye 2000 the only intervention consists in filling
the columns with the greige yarn bobbins, and in unloading the dyed and dry material from the same
columns at the end of the process. This phase can also be fully automatic. Loris Bellini has been
producing for years the largely tested Hydrocolumn system, which allows the handling of the yarn
bobbins from dyeing carriers to centrifuge and from centrifuge to drying carriers.The dyeing
machine, based on the well known RBNV system, has been optimized in its shape and volume so to
obtain the ideal liquor ration. Termoelettronica’s U.R.The U.R. is the latest innovation in
the field of powder dyes transfer and dissolving units, developed by Termoelettronica.According to
the company, a patented vacuum process applied to the system allows the direct transfer of powders
from the weighing bucket to the mixing tank.No robots or automated handling systems are needed on
this purpose. The transfer phase does not involve any powder floating or fumes emission, so much so
that no hoods or exhausters are mounted on the equipment, which yet meets all safety and
environmental requirements. Powder transfer speed ranges from 150 to 300 g/s, depending on product
chemical-physical characteristics. The complete absence of mechanical movements and the units
operational simplicity guarantee total reliability and a user-friendly approach. Lawer’s Color
KitchenLawer was at ITMA for the seventh time, celebrating at the same time 29 years of activity
and experience in the field of textile automation, mainly oriented in the field of color kitchen
equipment.Lawer production is based on a wide range of plants and systems, manufactured in a
customized way, according to the specific customers needs, in order to achieve a total automation
in the metering and dispensing of all the products used in textile dyeing and finishing cycles.At
ITMA 99, Lawer was showing a modern automatic color kitchen for dyeing and finishing departments,
equipped with the latest Lawer Systems. It had an automatic weighing system for powder dyestuff.A
dissolving and dispensing system for powder dyestuff was also shown at the ITMA show.In addition
Lawer exhibited new systems, especially designed for small-medium size companies. These include
semi-automatic weighing system for powder dyestuff. This system is capable of the measuring liquid
products, and the dissolving and dispensing of powder dyestuff. New Dispensing
SystemColorService showed an entire automatic production system for the dosing, disolving and
delivery of all the products used in the dyehouse. The system handles the dosing and dissolving of
powder auxiliaries and chemicals.It has storage up to 35 cubic meters, dosing, dissolving and
delivery to the dyeing machine for 300 kilograms of salt in eight minutes.The evolution of the
powder dyes dissolving system has doubled productivity and less water consumption. Dosing and
dissolving of dark powder dyes can be done easily. The unit has been purposely studied to dose,
dissolve and deliver big amounts of dyes.An innovative system for laboratories with a powder dye
dosing machine called SuperLab is also available.

September 1999