Monforts at Techtextil India

Monforts will be providing information on its extensive range of coating and finishing technologies for the production of nonwovens and technical textiles at the forthcoming Techtextil India exhibition.

“India has one of the largest working-age populations in the world and a complete textile value chain for both natural and synthetic fibres.” says Monforts Head of Denim Hans Wroblowski. In addition, he adds, India’s government, through its Ministry of Textiles, has been actively promoting the growth of technical textiles through various programmes based on investment promotion, subsidies, the creation of infrastructure and the stimulation of consumption.

As a result, India’s Ministry of Textiles is forecasting that the growth of technical textiles in the country will be over 18% annually in the next few years, from a value of US$16.6 billion in 2018 to US$28.7 billion in 2021.

Value Addition

High value-added technical products such as wide-width digital printing substrates, carbon fabrics for high-performance composites, filter media, flame retardant barrier fabrics and heavy-duty membranes are now being coated on Monforts texCoat ranges and finished with the company’s industry-leading Montex stenters.

“Since we acquired the technology that our coating units are based on in 2015, we have made a lot of refinements,” says Hans. “All of these developments are reflected in higher coating accuracy and the resulting quality of the treated fabrics. At the same time, our latest multi-functional coating heads offer an unprecedented range of options, with a wide range of modules available.”

The texCoat user interface is now equipped with the unique Monforts visualisation system and the magnetic doctor blade has greater power reserves. Options include a carbon fibre-reinforced composite coating drum with a more scratch-resistant surface and maximum rigidity and remote control which simplifies exact adjustment for the operator.

Montex stenters in special executions are meanwhile ideal for the drying and finishing of both technical woven fabrics and nonwovens and characterised by high stretching devices in both length and width.

“The European-built Montex range of stenters has earned its leading position in the technical textiles market due to the overall robustness, reliability and economy of these machines,” Hans concludes. “Whatever the intended end-product – and we continue to discover potentially new areas in which technical textiles can be utilised all the time – we have the machine specification and know-how to turn ideas into reality.”

Monforst Will Present Digital Control Systems in China

Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG has introduced a range of new Industry 4.0 technologies aimed at simplifying machine operation while providing easy access to all data and instant or remote assistance. At the forthcoming Shanghaitex 2019 textile machinery exhibition, which takes place from November 25-28 in Shanghai, Monforts specialists forward to discussing the company’s latest developments in this area with valued Chinese customers.

Comprehensive Monforts Smart Sensor

They include the latest Qualitex full touch panel control system, with its digital twinning capability and Smart Check and Smart Support apps, reinforced by the comprehensive Monforts Smart Sensor machine monitoring programme.

“On the very latest Monforts machines, our Smart Sensor technologies are controlling selected processing parameter and component, making it possible to access comprehensive technical machine data from any location using the Smart Support and Smart Check apps,” explains Monforts Vice-President Klaus Heinrichs. “The data is virtually mapped in the cloud in real time and provides an instant status overview of a machine’s performance.” This, he adds, allows for vastly simplified and targeted analysis for both controlled planning and production, and insights harnessed from the data can subsequently be used to further optimise the production process.

“At the same time, potential sources of error can be remotely anticipated and eliminated to considerably minimise downtime while the digital twin capability provides information on the individual wear parts of a system,” says Mr Heinrichs. “As a result, operators can now see how long a part will last and when maintenance or replacement is necessary. Direct access to the integrated Monforts webshop then allows users to order spares at the press of the button whenever they are required.”

This full digital control package is being made available for all Monforts machine ranges and makes operation smarter, and at the same time, considerably simpler.

CYD System

Monforts will also be providing full details of its new CYD continuous yarn dyeing system which is based on the Econtrol® technique – the most effective and established dyeing process for denim fabrics that is now being applied for yarn dyeing. *

Econtrol® is a pad-dry process employed in Monforts continuous dyeing in which the reactive dyestuff is fixed to the cellulose fibres during drying.

The fixing medium is a controlled by a steam/air mixture within the Monforts Thermex unit. With sulphur and reactive dyes in particular, the improvement in both quality and fixation is considerable, and with significant savings in energy and time due to the combined bleaching and padder fixation. The use of the Econtrol T-CA technique also allows the dyeing of cotton/polyester and other yarn blends.

Weaving Preparation

The CYD system also integrates new functions and processes into the weaving preparation processes – spinning, direct beaming, warping and assembly beaming, followed by sizing and dyeing – in order to increase quality, flexibility, economic viability and productivity.

Further new concepts include the unique Eco Bleach process. This is the first bleaching system for yarn treatment available on the market and is combined with the washing units, after which the fabric is then dyed immediately, resulting in considerable savings in wastewater and chemicals.

By comparing the usual processing sequences within the denim industry with the new CYD system, the advantages become immediately clear. “We are expecting keen interest in our new CYD continuous yarn dyeing system from valued customers in China who did not have the opportunity to visit ITMA 2019,” says Monforts Head of Denim Hans Wroblowski, “especially from the country’s denim manufacturers. We know from the feedback we’ve already received that the CYD system is something the market has been waiting for.” Trials are currently being carried out with customers on the new CYD yarn dyeing pilot line at the Monforts Advanced Technology Centre in Mönchengladbach, Germany.