VDMA: BLUecoMPETENCE kick-off in Barcelona
At ITMA 2011 VDMA will present its sustainability initiative BLUecoMPETENCE to the textile world.
BLUecoMPETENCE explains and positions the machinery manufacturers as the technical problem-solvers regarding the requirements of the society of today and of the future: saving energy, material and resources. For the campaign’s kick-off in Barcelona the focus is on energy efficiency. The Technology and Research Advisory Board of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association has compiled the guide “Conserving resources – secure savings-potential”. For textile machinery it describes parameters influencing its energy efficiency and prerequisites for a comparable assessment.
New guide available
The guide is obtainable at the VDMA-booth (H5-5UL5 – under Linkway). “The guide on energy efficiency shall help to make the discussion about efficiency criteria, CO2 footprint and comparability more objective”, describes Thomas Waldmann, Managing Director of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association the target of the new publication. In a nut-shell, some VDMA positions, based on in-depth engineering knowledge and well-founded analyses are as follows:
Textile machinery is not a consumer good
A textile machine is not a consumer product that is designed for standard applications and comparable user requirements. Even textile machines of a particular product type are usually designed for the different demand profiles of the textile manufacturer.
A large number of influencing parameters determine consumption
There is a large number of parameters that determine the energy efficiency of a textile machine or a textile process. The textile manufacturer, the demands on the textile product, the material, the fibre supplier and the manufacturer of the machines all have an influence on setting those parameters and therefore on the energy efficiency.
Defining balance envelopes and work processes
Nobody wants to compare apples with oranges: The energy consumption of a machine category can only be determined on the basis of an agreed work process or operating point. Statements on energy consumption are therefore only valid for each process under consideration and the defined parameters.
CO2 footprint – also the responsibility of the textile manufacturer
A statement about energy consumption is only significant in relation to the amount of product manufactured (kWh/kg product). This applies equally to the equivalent of the CO2 footprint (CO2/kg product). A reliable CO2 footprint for the operating phase must take into consideration detailed data about generation of power and thermal energy…Read More
Santaspread TS by Santex AG
Finishing of tubular knitted fabrics on the SANTASPREAD sets new standards. It surpasses existing quality levels and secures the results of preceding shrinking and relaxing treatments as a basis for minimal residual shrinkage values in the final goods.
Uses
SANTASPREAD TS is used for equalizing final width, steaming, smoothing, compressive compacting and precision plaiting or rolling of tubular knitted fabrics.
Main features:
- Width control by means of new, continuously adjustable special tube spreader, driven via controllable individual drive for distortion-free fabric transport
- Condensate-free, operator friendly steam box in completely corrosion-resistant version
- Specially designed felt belt with separately controllable belt speed (overfeed function) for compacting
- Heatable smoothing and shrinking rollers for smoothing the fabric
- Newly developed plaiting unit with automatic table height adjustment for precision plaiting
Advantages
- No increase in residual shrinkage as with conventional steam calanders
- Additional compacting and shrinking facility through precision-adjustment overfeed drives, separately controllable
- Mesh compression through specially structured multilayer felt belt
- Possibility of running setting processes within broad limits using the heatable smoothing and shrinking unit
- Compact machine layout for operator friendly operation
- Automation of compacting process with maximum reproducibility
Texprocess shows trends in textile assembly technology
Machinery is being developed to be more environment and operator friendly, to conserve energy, reduce noise levels, heat, vibration and the amount of lubrication oil required, whilst being more flexible, efficient and produce improved quality.
With industrial sewing machines, the noise, for example, generated by one or two units is not so significant, but when 1,000 or 2,000 machines are used together, a small reduction in the noise level of each machine will have a significant effect on the health and long term hearing of the sewing operators.
The new trends in textile assembly technologies are shown at Texprocess, the new leading trade fair for processing textile and flexible materials from May 24 to 27, 2011 in Frankfurt.
Improvements in electronic controls reduces power consumption whilst increasing productivity and flexibility and enables ever finer adjustments, whether in cutting with automatic pocket and buttonhole machines, for example, or in sewing parameters. Electronics are also used for reducing machine set up times when changing design and styling during production.
Direct drive motors are becoming common place. With fewer parts to vibrate, machines fitted with direct drive motors tend to be quieter and with less moving parts there are fewer parts prone to failure. Power is not wasted in friction from a belt chain or gearbox. High torque can be produced at a low rpm (revolutions per minute); high torque and low inertia enable faster positioning times on permanent magnet synchronous servo drives…. Read More
