ITMA ASIA + CITME 2020 Exhibitor Preview: BRÜCKNER

LEONBERG, Germany — June 8, 2021 — For more than 70 years the German textile machinery manufacturer BRÜCKNER has been the world leader in the field of dry finishing of textiles, technical textiles, nonwovens, glass fabrics and floor coverings. In-house production in Germany ensures a high level of system diversity and enables fast and flexible adaptation to customer requirements. Worldwide, about 90 agencies work for BRÜCKNER, so that customers have a local contact person in almost every country of the world. China is one of the most important markets worldwide in the textile industry, therefore two agencies have been working here for BRÜCKNER for many years.

In order to be even better positioned in the future, BRÜCKNER founded its own branch office in Shanghai at the end of 2019. Besides the staff for sales, service and administration, BRÜCKNER’s own technicians are on the road all over the country to commission machines and to attend to customers personally. Depending on demand, the technicians are also on the road throughout Asia. If travel times and distances allow, service calls can be realized within 24 hours. In addition, a local spare parts stock in Shanghai offers customers rapid availability of original parts.

From June 12-16, 2021, BRÜCKNER will present its product portfolio and services at ITMA ASIA in Shanghai. In hall 6, booth no. A18 the BRÜCKNER team is looking forward to its visitors! These can look forward to new features relating to Industry 4.0 and automated production. Among them is an intelligent assistance system that gives the machine operator valuable tips on setting the individual machine parameters. For example, he is shown how he can save even more energy while maintaining the same level of productivity. A newly developed maintenance manager monitors all processes in the background and supports the operating personnel in planning maintenance and cleaning work.

The system also provides information on the timely reordering of wear parts. All current production data can be accessed at any time via the new dashboard tool, such as batch size, energy consumption and machine downtimes. If the support of a BRÜCKNER technician is necessary, many service cases can also be solved online via augmented reality. This also helps over distance and saves time for both sides.

Visitors of the trade fair can also inform themselves about further products and services of BRÜCKNER. For example, when it comes to coating technical textiles. BRÜCKNER has already supplied many lines in this field with fabric widths up to 7 meters. Here, both first-class machines and competent advice are essential. With BRÜCKNER you get everything from one source! In the field of knitted fabric finishing, BRÜCKNER has been the world leader for decades. No matter whether extremely sensitive fabrics such as lace or fabrics with a high elastane content are to be finished or whether knitted fabric is to be coated directly, BRÜCKNER offers for every application the perfect solution individually adapted to the customer.

Also in the nonwovens sector BRÜCKNER has developed a lot in the last years. The different ovens in BRÜCKNER’s product portfolio dry and consolidate nonwovens materials for the most different fields, such as e.g. hygiene and medical textiles, building and geotextiles, filter materials as well as fabrics for clothing, cleaning, care and vehicles. Various application systems such as foam impregnation units, coating machines, kiss-roll or flocking units complete the product range. BRÜCKNER offers complete lines for the finishing of carpets, PVC floor coverings or artificial turf. Of course BRÜCKNER offers for all lines also corresponding components for energy saving. Heat-recovery and pollution control systems are the most efficient, allowing customers to achieve significant energy savings depending on the type of fabric and process.

Due to the modular design, BRÜCKNER lines are also very easy to clean. In addition to reducing the consumption of valuable resources, these lines also make a significant contribution to environmental protection. In addition, the company offers comprehensive and integral energy consulting, specifically adapted to the circumstances of each individual customer.

Posted June 8, 2021

Source: BRÜCKNER

Delta Galil Strategically Merges Bare Necessities, Brayola Divisions To Create An Enhanced Women’s Intimates Marketplace

TEL AVIV, Israel — June 7, 2021 — Delta Galil Industries Ltd. — a global manufacturer and marketer of branded and private label apparel products for men, women and children, as well as leisurewear, activewear and denim — today announced that it is strategically merging its Bare Necessities and Brayola women’s intimates business units. The move strengthens Delta Galil’s position in the market segment by combining Brayola’s digital technology and social commerce expertise with Bare Necessities’ strong product offering and global brand recognition to create an enhanced intimates marketplace on BareNecessities.com that offers the best in social shopping, variety and quality of merchandise, and fit technology.

“Delta Galil is committed to investing in digital innovation in order to enhance the online shopping experience and this strategic move is the next step in our journey,” said Isaac Dabah, CEO of Delta Galil Industries. “This merger allows us to combine the merchandising strength of Bare Necessities and the digital technology and fitting expertise of Brayola to establish BareNecessities.com as the primary destination for women shopping online for intimates.”

“We’re thrilled to combine our innovative digital tools and fitting technology strengths with Bare Necessities’ extensive online offering to give even more women the opportunity to find the best-fitting, most comfortable bras and intimates,” said Orit Hashay, founder and CEO of Brayola. “Technology has been core to Brayola’s DNA since our founding and this merger fully leverages our tools and expertise to create a better e-commerce shopping experience.”

Over the last few years, Delta Galil has focused on strategically building its e-commerce presence, investing in its owned brands’ digital offerings and in strategic M&A transactions. In 2020, the company acquired both Bare Necessities, one of the most well-known intimates e-commerce marketplaces and the largest intimates platform in the United States, with more than 160 brands and 6,400 styles, and Brayola, an online bra-fitting specialist whose unique algorithm uses crowdsourced fit data to improve and personalize the customer experience. The merger of the two brands will allow Delta Galil to continue to drive growth in its digital segment.

Posted June 7, 2021

Source: Delta Galil Industries, Ltd.

Dempsey Laundry Achieves Hygiene Certification Renewal For Food Service

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — June 7, 2021 — Dempsey Uniform and Linen Supply’s Sunbury, Pa., laundry has been recertified Hygienically Clean Food Service, reflecting the facility’s commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and its capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing. This certification indicates linen, uniform and facility services’ exceptional dedication to cleanliness in supplying the restaurant industry and other food service establishments.

The Sunbury location is also Hygienically Clean certified for service to healthcare facilities, like Dempsey’s headquarters laundry in Jessup, Pa., which also has the Hygienically Clean Food Service certification as well as Food Safety (for laundering for food manufacturing and processing),

Hygienically Clean certified laundries commit to cleanliness through third-party facility inspection and quantified microbiological testing. This combination eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results. Inspectors verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs needed to serve various industries’ hygiene requirements. The Food Service designation applies to full- and limited- service restaurants, hotels, hospitals, educational institutions and other locations where food is handled and served.

Inspectors assess washing procedures (detergent formulas, temperature, disinfectant, pH, extraction), drying, garment inspection and transportation. Each certified laundry’s operational flowchart is evaluated, ensuring these procedures (as well as pickup, unloading and sorting of soiled items and sorting of clean laundry) are mapped. Employees’ use of personal protective equipment must be documented.

During inspections for Food Safety, Food Service and Hospitality certification, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) practices are examined, including the laundry’s techniques for:

  • Conducting hazard analysis;
  • Determining CCPs, monitoring their control, correcting them if not under control;
  • Validating and verifying HACCP system effectiveness; and
  • Documenting and record-keeping to show ongoing conformance.

To attain any of the Hygienically Clean certifications, the laundry must submit to a facility inspection and laundered products must pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and diminished presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. To maintain their certification, they must pass quarterly RODAC (total microbial content) and semi-annual USP 62 (absence of specified microorganisms) testing. This ensures that as laundry conditions change (such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry), laundered product quality is consistently maintained. Re-inspection occurs every two to three years.

Dempsey is also Clean Green certified, attesting to the company’s leadership in sustainability and conservation through its commitment to improving water and energy efficiency and adoption of best management practices for reusing, reclaiming and recycling resources. In 2012, Dempsey was the first company to earn this TRSA designation. Founded in Scranton, Pa. in 1959, the company expanded to serve customers in five other Mid-Atlantic states (New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia) and the District of Columbia.

Posted June 7, 2021

Source: TRSA

MagnaColours® Expands Sales Team With Brand New Appointment — Mark Taylor Named Regional Sales Manager

Mark Taylor

BARNSLEY, England — June 7, 2021 — Magna is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Taylor as regional sales manager. Bringing with him 32 years of experience in the printing inks industry, Mark has driven sales growth and expansion in a variety of roles at Sericol, Wilflex, Union Ink, and Rutland.

Mark has worked in both domestic and international sales positions, playing an instrumental role in the successful launch of silicone, plastisol, and speciality inks throughout his career, which will put him in a great position to take on a brand-new challenge at MagnaColours®.

“MagnaColours is constantly innovating, launching exciting new products, and leading the industry in sustainability and compliance,” Taylor said. “I’m delighted to be joining the innovative and dedicated team at Magna, and excited to support the growth and expansion of the business and its new product lines.”

Helen Parry, managing director at MagnaColours, said: “I’m thrilled to have Mark onboard at Magna, who brings with him a vast amount of industry experience that will be invaluable in helping to drive our business forward, expand our customer base, and explore new opportunities for our growing product range”

Taylor is the latest new appointment at MagnaColours, after the business hired its first finance director, Peter Box in September 2020, and also welcomed back Paul Arnold as marketing manager in April 2021. MagnaColours continues to develop environmentally sustainable inks for the screen-printing industry that solve real problems for printers every day whilst providing the highest quality finished garments for brands and retailers around the world.

Posted June 7, 2021

Source: MagnaColours®

ITMA ASIA + CITME 2020 Exhibitor Preview: VDMA — German Textile Machinery

FRANKFURT — June 7, 2021 — Although affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, ITMA ASIA + CITME, which takes place mid-June in Shanghai, will see a convincing participation of VDMA member companies. 56 exhibitors from Germany will exhibit at this year’s edition of Asia’s major fair for textile machinery. Due to the pandemic and travel restrictions, this is much less than in 2018, when 99 exhibitors from Germany were present. The booked space of German companies has almost halved compared to 2018. Nevertheless, Germany is still the second largest exhibitor nation after China.

At a virtual VDMA press conference early June, renowned VDMA member companies presented their highlights for the Asian market.

André Wissenberg, Oerlikon Polymer Processing Solutions Division, explained: “Oerlikon accompanies its customers and all visitors to the show with attractive offers in the field of manmade fibers production. One of the highlights will be the next generation of the DTY eAFK Evo with up to 25 percent energy saving and up to 30-percent higher production speed, easy maintenance and best yarn quality”.

“The Trützschler Group will present a selection of exciting innovations from its business units Spinning, Card Clothing, Man-Made Fibers and Nonwovens. The newly launched products will establish new benchmarks in terms of productivity, quality and efficiency,” said Harald Schoepp, Trützschler.

A focus of the company Neuenhauser at ITMA ASIA will be on Industry 4.0, as Jörg Neyer said: “Referring to the higher quality standards and the increasing personnel costs in the spinning and weaving mills, the Neuenhauser Textile Division is moving forward to Industry 4.0. At ITMA ASIA 2021 we present our famous products such as travelling cleaners, warp beams, batch winders, transport vehicles, transport automation and grinding machines as well as the latest generation of automotive guided vehicles (AGV) for round cans, square cans and batch transport.”

More and more Asian customers are interested in automation solutions. Saurer is addressing this trend in Shanghai: “Automation innovations within single machines and extending across entire textile mills: Saurer is meeting the growing demand for cost-effective automation both in spinning and twisting/cabling mills. The well-known E3 attributes of the Saurer design philosophy — energy, economy and ergonomics — are enhanced with intelligent technologies, which address pressing issues related to labor and ergonomics. From intelligent speed regulation in spinning machinery, to automated doffing, can or package transport and finally paletizing, the company offers customized solutions for intelligent automation,” stated Pia Terasa from Saurer.

Christine Wolters explained what visitors to ITMA ASIA + CITME can expect from Karl Mayer: “With its three strong brands, KARL MAYER, STOLL and KM.ON, the international KARL MAYER Group will be presenting innovative solutions from the fields of warp knitting, flat knitting, weaving, warp preparation and digital offerings. It once again presents itself as a pioneer in the development of digital solutions for all its machine segments and services, including a dashboard for remote access to data from networked machines and a product for highly flexible, simple patterning through data transfer directly from the cloud.

And under the motto “Innovating the world of textiles”, textile solutions with important product attributes of our time — smart, casual and environmentally friendly — are offered.”

Groz-Beckert stated: “During ITMA ASIA + CITME, Groz-Beckert will present new products from all six product areas both physically as exhibits and in extended form via augmented reality. This year the company will not only welcome the guests on-site at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Hall 4, Booth C 31. In addition to the face-to-face event, Groz-Beckert will invite its customers to a virtual booth — for all visitors who cannot travel to the trade fair.”

Regarding the current challenges, Sebastian Stolle, Herzog, said: “Even in these difficult times with travel restrictions and other economic challenges, HERZOG is there for you to provide you with the latest developments in the field of braiding technologies. For us, the focus is on medical technology, climbing and safety ropes as well as marine and offshore ropes. Our local sales team in China is online supported by our experienced colleagues from Germany.”

According to the company Lenze, digital engineering is the means by which machine builders in the textile industry can realize productive, flexible, customer-specific machines with high modularity and short time-to-market. Falk Vespermann explained: “Digitalization offers great potential for higher efficiency and new business models. Those who fully rely on a digital engineering process can profitably use data over the entire life cycle of a machine. We support machine builders from idea generation to concrete implementation. In doing so, we offer standardized software, open interfaces and connectivity to ensure a continuous flow of data.” At ITMA ASIA, automation specialist Lenze will be presenting integrated engineering tools and software modules, automation systems and digital services that use the digital twin to significantly accelerate development processes and, for example, support condition monitoring or asset management and thus improving OEE by reducing unplanned downtime.

Measurement and control technology solutions for the textile, coating, extrusion, film and paper industry is the product range of Mahlo. Stephan Kehry pointed out: “Equipped with the best scanner range in the market and with the experience of more than 75 years, Mahlo — the inventor of weft straightening — is also leading the way in terms of data management. Making relevant data available wherever it is needed is the overall task of the industry all around the globe. For many years, this approach has also been defining the pace of the German family business in the third generation.”

Digitization and sustainability are in the focus of textile finishing companies. Andreas Hannes, Sedo Treepoint, emphasized: “The textile finishing industry requires advanced technology to digitalize the manufacturing process. There is also a growing need and awareness for more sustainable textiles. Sedo Treepoint presents integrated systems, which will further contribute to a more sustainable production and help to improve production management and efficiency.”

Philipp Hinkerohe summarized what customers can expect from the company Thies: “The family owned, German machine manufacturer Thies GmbH & Co. KG is providing the right machinery and auxiliary supply systems for each individual application purpose. Even more, the company serves as a consultant in terms of layout, engineering and automation in order to fulfil the customer needs with regards to Industry 4.0 solutions. In the environment of modern dye houses Thies is the holistic system supplier.”

Virtual trip to Asia by VDMA

Instead of visiting the show personally, the VDMA offers a virtual trip to Asia. The established “Textile Machinery Webtalk” series via the newsroom IndustryArena (https://en.industryarena.com/vdma-textile-machinery) will focus on ITMA ASIA in the run-up to the fair: VDMA Webtalks meet ITMA ASIA.

The next three webtalks in this series will be:

June 9, 9:00 am – 9:50 am CEST, Erema — “Innovation solutions on Polymer Fiber & Composites Recycling“

June 10, 9:00 am – 9:50 am CEST, Thies — “IoT-Solutions for fully automatic weighing, provision, dispensing and dosing in modern finishing plants„

June 11, 9:00 am – 10:00 am CEST, Lenze — “Digital Engineering with acceleration of process in Textile Machinery”

Participation is free of charge.

Posted June 7, 2021

Source: VDMA

NRF: Retail Cargo Continues Setting Records As Supply Chains Struggle To Keep Up With Consumer Demand

WASHINGTON — June 7, 2021 — Imports at the nation’s largest retail container ports saw their busiest April on record and May could turn out to have set a new all-time record as vaccines allowed consumers to return to normal shopping patterns, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

“Vaccine rates are increasing, shoppers are back in stores and retail supply chains are working overtime,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “There’s no shortage of demand from consumers, but there continue to be shortages of labor, equipment and shipping capacity to meet that demand. Supply chain disruptions, port congestion and rising shipping costs could continue to be challenges through the end of the year.”

“Supply chains are finding it difficult to keep up with demand as shipping capacity struggles,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. “A number of vessels taken out of service when volumes were low remain in drydock while others are delayed in congested ports, which face a lack of manpower both because of COVID-19 illnesses and the tight labor market. Many people remain hesitant about returning to work, affecting ports, rail, trucking and distribution centers.”

U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.15 million TEU in April, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was by far the busiest April on record and an increase of 33.4 percent from a year earlier, when most stores were closed by the coronavirus pandemic. April’s results followed 2.27 million TEU in March, which set the record for the most containers imported during a single month since NRF began tracking imports in 2002. A TEU is one 20-foot container or its equivalents.

Ports haven’t reported May numbers yet, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.32 million TEU, which would be up 51.1 percent from the same time last year and would beat March’s total to set another new record for the largest number of containers in a single month.

June is forecast at 2.13 million TEU, up 32.8 percent year-over-year; July at 2.19 million TEU, up 14.2 percent; August at 2.26 million TEU, up 7.5 percent; September at 2.14 million TEU, up 1.7 percent, and October at 2.07 million TEU, down 6.5 percent for the first year-over-year decline since July 2020.

The first half of 2021 is forecast at 12.8 million TEU, up 35.3 percent over the same period in 2020. As with each month this spring, the year-over-year comparison is skewed because of the sharp decline in imports during the first half of last year. But the six-month total would put 2021 on track to easily beat 2020’s full-year total of 22 million TEU, which was up 1.9 percent over 2019 despite the pandemic.

Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast. The report is free to NRF retail members, and subscription information is available at NRF.com/PortTracker

Posted June 7, 2021

Source: The National Retail Federation (NRF)

Carbios Strengthens Its Position In Polymer Biodegradation Technologies With The Acquisition Of The SPI Fund’s Entire Stake Of Carbiolice Capital

CLERMONT-FERRAND, France — June 4, 2021 — Carbios, a company pioneering new enzymatic solutions to reinvent the lifecycle of plastic and textile polymers, announced today the acquisition of the SPI Fund’s entire stake in Carbiolice capital — 37.29 percent.

Since the creation of Carbiolice in 2016, the close collaboration between Carbios and the SPI Fund enabled the industrial development of a unique innovative solution: The creation of a new generation of PLA-based plastics that are 100-percent compostable under universal conditions (industrial and domestic composting or methanization). This breakthrough allows Carbios to address one of the key issues generated by the end-of-life of plastics: The pollution of our environment. The bioprocess developed by Carbios introduces enzymes at the heart of plastic products to make them 100-percent biodegradable. This technology, which was licensed to Carbiolice in 2016, leverages an enzyme-based additive known as Evanesto®, which is easily incorporated into conventional plastic and packaging manufacturing processes.

This acquisition demonstrates Carbios’ confidence in Carbiolice’s development capability. It also reinforces Carbios’ ambition to position itself as the world leader in biological technologies to rethink the end of life of plastics and synthetic fibers.

“I want to express my gratitude to the SPI Fund for our productive collaboration. Their guidance and support have enabled the creation of one of the most innovative industrial biotech companies in Europe in the field of biodegradable plastic packaging,” said Jean-Claude Lumaret, Carbios’ CEO. “Carbios’ purchase of the Carbiolice shares held by the SPI Fund is consistent with our desire to strengthen value creation for our shareholders. We are convinced this operation will support Evanesto’s commercialization and extend the applicability of this technology to other polymers and products worldwide,” Lumaret added.

“As a founding member of Carbiolice, we are pleased to have supported it throughout its growth and to have played our role as a strategic partner in its governance alongside Carbios and Limagrain Ingrédients. From an industrial green chemistry start-up, Carbiolice has become a full-fledged technological SME in its market, offering innovative solutions with high environmental value,” said Jean-Philippe Richard, SPI Fund’s Investment director.

“The industrial growth of Carbiolice reflects the advanced expertise of its teams and validates a technology that is unique in the world allowing the biodegradation and compostability of polymers. Carbiolice is a perfect illustration of the Bpifrance SPI Fund’s purpose: To develop industrial production sites in France with innovative partners and thus consolidate the French technological lead while anchoring in the regions highly skilled jobs,” Richard noted.

Carbios’ option to purchase the shares held by the SPI Fund was exercisable between the third and sixth anniversary of the shareholders’ pact. As mentioned in its Universal Registration Document, Carbios could exercise this purchase option before the sixth anniversary of the Pact. Carbios therefore exercised this agreement and notified SPI of its willingness to exercise the purchase option for a sale price of 17.9 million euros ($21.8 million) under the terms of the shareholders’ pact. This acquisition comes as part of the rationalization of the Company’s portfolio with a view to developing its biodegradation technologies beyond PLA, as announced during the success of its capital increase on May 10, 20213. The purchase of the SPI Fund’s shares follows the acquisition in October 2020 of Limagrain Ingredients’ entire stake in Carbiolice capital4. Following this cash-paid acquisition, Carbios has a solid financial position with cash of 114 million euros ($139 million), compared to 29 million euros ($35 million) as of December 31, 2020.

Posted June 4, 2021

Source: Carbios

Alliance Laundry Systems Closes On Purchase Of Chicago-Based Washburn Machinery, Inc.

RIPON, Wis. — June 3, 2021 — Alliance Laundry Systems, the global leader in commercial laundry equipment, closed today on its purchase of the distribution assets of Washburn Machinery Inc.

Based in Elk Grove Village, Ill., Washburn Machinery, which opened in 1948, provides industry-leading on-premises laundry solutions to a variety of businesses in Northern and Central Illinois, Northern Indiana and East Central and Southern Wisconsin markets.

The acquisition is Alliance’s latest move in a strategy to bring extraordinary service and factory support to expanding markets where there is an opportunity to partner with exceptional people.

“With the completion of this transaction, our third acquisition of 2021, combining with Washburn further illustrates our strong commitment to explore every opportunity to better serve our customers,” said Rick Pyle, president and chief commercial officer of Alliance Laundry Systems.

Jeff Fox, president of Washburn Machinery, will join Alliance in a leadership role. He will continue to oversee the business and drive growth initiatives as part of Alliance Laundry Systems.

“Joining forces with the largest manufacturer of commercial and industrial laundry equipment in the world will provide us access to an unbelievable support system to fuel our growth,” Fox said. “We are excited about the future and are always looking to add professionals in all areas of our expanding company.”

Posted June 4, 2021

Source: Alliance Laundry Systems LLC

Tukatech Releases New Products For Demand Manufacturing, Micro-Factories And Made To Order

LOS ANGELES — June 3, 2021 — Tukatech has announced the release of its 2021 line of products.

“Considering increased activity for demand manufacturing, micro factories and made-to-order businesses, the latest products are designed to give much higher productivity with less number of operators,” said Ram Sareen, Founder and CEO of Tukatech. “We are not looking to put people out of jobs, rather to arm them with the right tools so they can be more efficient and productive while adding more value to the organization and ROI.”

The 2021 Line boasts many new features and add-ons:

TUKAcad

The most powerful additions to TUKAcad are the enhancement to the development of new products based on old blocks. Now users can just import Excel or CSV files or fill in the new measurements directly in the chart by typing in the desired value and the NEW PATTERN is ready in seconds. This innovative system keeps the style lines and shape by adjusting the patterns proportionally.  If a measurement is taken across multiple pattern pieces, each piece will adjust proportionally to maintain the original shape and balance. This feature is added to TUKAcad PE (Professional Edition) to further de-skill the pattern making process.

Other quick functions improve productivity, such as the Rule Table in the MTM module (Made-to-Measure). Now users can run commands with a single click, as opposed to one by one. There are also more options for internals, such as adding double notches (most often used to distinguish back pieces), and reopening darts after they have been closed.

TUKA APM

In January of 2020, Tukatech released TUKA APM, the industry’s first fully automatic pattern making module within the TUKAcad software. As fewer and fewer apparel professionals know the fundamentals of pattern making, TUKA APM serves as the starting point for creating new styles without the need for an expert pattern maker.

In 2021, more template categories for men and women were added to the built-in block pattern library. Additionally, users can import their own block templates into TUKA APM so the generated patterns follow their own fitting conventions. This allows for better process engineering within product development, even without an advanced skillset.

SMARTmark

The 2021 version of TUKAmark and SMARTmark has an automated way to create nested bundles by size, a feature that was previously only available for SMARTmark Q and Net-Q users, or else would have to be done manually. Now it is an automated feature included for all users, which will increase productivity and cutting quality.

TUKA3D Professional Edition

TUKA3D Professional Edition is Tukatech’s suite for 3D fashion design and fitting. In 2021 Tukatech added advanced features and productivity tools to make draping complex styles in 3D easier than ever.

Advanced mirror stitching for symmetrical and “cut 2” pieces make pattern preparation more efficient. After draping, it’s easier for users to adjust the way the 3D garment sits and smooth out the layers for a higher quality look. They also have simplified options to apply specialized fabric settings, including elastic presets.

Designers will love the ability to draw in 3D and export a 2D CAD pattern from the shape. Since TUKA3D is connected to the TUKAcad system for pattern making, the drawn patterns can easily be cleaned up during the design process to reduce the amount of work done in pre-production.

TUKA3D is integrated with the Vray rendering engine, which now allows for detailed 3D fur rendering. This will make virtual outerwear and luxury goods pop off the screen.

TUKA3D Designer Edition

TUKA3D Designer Edition is a lite 3D fashion design software for surface visualization. It is a perfect tool for graphic artists to see how their work will look on a real garment, or for a fashion designer to see how a garment might look with a variety of prints.

Rather than using a full TUKA3D Professional Edition station to drape a garment for the purpose of visualization, designers can purchase ready-made 3D fashion garments in a variety of categories, such as men, women, children, and plus size. In 2021, hundreds of new garments were added to the TUKAweb marketplace, including tops, bottoms, outerwear, dresses, swimwear, and even accessories.

Designers can use these 3D garments for the purpose of visualization, then after approval they can purchase the accompanying pattern so the style can be adjusted, graded, and produced in real life.

TUKAcut

The TUKAcut automatic fabric cutting machine not only has a fresh look, but it also has a new high-powered processor. This, plus the unmatched TUKAcut software allows the calculation of millions of instructions to analyze cut path and sequencing. This optimization gives 16.8% higher productivity than almost any other cutter.

The patented vacuum system is stronger than anything else on the market. TUKAcut is the only cutting machine that cuts through 200 layers of plastic. This was extremely useful to manufacturers who made PPE products such as hospital gowns for the 2020 pandemic.

TUKAspread

The TUKAspread automatic fabric spreading machine eliminates fabric relaxation. The smart tension controller lays fabric evenly without pulling, including for very tricky fabrics like modal, which has four-way stretch.

In 2021 the capacity of the heavy duty TUKAspread machine was increased to hold up to 600 kgs. This capability makes it unparalleled in its utility for spreading denim, or even specialized industrial materials.

The addition of conveyorized tables enables the machine to continue while it moves on a track to the next table. This reduces the downtime between cuts, which allows for more cutting capacity.

Posted June 4, 2021

Source: Tukatech

Airborne Introduces Automated Preforming By Pick And Weld, Providing High Output And Full Flexibility

THE HAGUE — June 4, 2021 — Airborne has developed a fully automated and flexible manufacturing process for creating composite preforms in dry fiber and thermoplastic composite: the Automated Preforming system. For many molding processes, a tailored blank is needed and to create this preform efficiently has been a bottleneck in the industry for a long time. With the unique Airborne Preforming technology customers will have the full freedom to create any shape of preform and benefit from the high output the system offers.

The solution is based on three steps: cutting of the material on a conveyor cutter or tape feeder, picking of the material by the robot and then placing and spot-welding the plies to create a stabilized preform, ready to be molded. It can work with the existing, wide material rolls to optimize the cost and does not need new design or qualification effort, since it uses existing processes for cutting and welding. Depending on the need, different variants can be supplied, optimized for productivity, accuracy or flexibility. One of the great advantages of Airborne Preforming technology is that it can create any preform: in size, in shape (making free-form edges and 100 percent net-shape), and in thickness variation, and it can also make cut-outs in the middle of the ply.

Increasing need for all-round automated preforming solution

Typically, the process of creating a preform is quite costly. Many composite forming processes, such as press consolidation, press forming, vacuum forming, or diaphragm forming, are based on the use of tailored 2D preforms or blanks. Although the forming processes are usually efficiently automated, the blanks or preforms going into these processes are often produced manually — a repetitive process, requiring both skill and concentration from the operators. With higher production rates it becomes increasingly difficult for operators to keep up with production while maintaining quality. And if automation of the process is considered, in many cases the engineering and programming time is prohibitive, especially in factories with a wide mix of products.

Scalable and easy to use 
Airborne is now conquering these challenges with the launch of its very flexible Automated Preforming system. Automated programming allows for short start-up times with no engineering effort: no programming is needed. The design file can be loaded directly into the machine and the preform can be made without intervention. The Airborne Preforming system can handle both dry fiber and thermoplastic composite materials in many different forms (UD, fabric, core materials, surface films, adhesive films, etc.). Functionalities can be added easily (quality control, preform offloading, additional material feeds, higher volume material feeds, etc.).

Marcus Kremers, CTO Airborne, said: “The basic principle of the system is very simple: ‘Pick & Weld’. This is a pick and place action by the robot during which we spot-weld the plies. We very much like this conceptual simplicity since it makes the process very robust, flexible and versatile. Of course, the devil is in the detail to make it work consistently with the right quality. In many cases, customers handle lots of different materials and product designs. Their ideal situation is to have a single automation technology and that’s what we can provide them.”

Posted June 4, 2021

Source: Airborne

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