Whether technical textiles, clothing, home textiles or composites – whether linen, the finest wires or carbon: reliable and adaptable weaving is becoming increasingly important in the face of volatile market requirements. “At a time when markets and customer requirements are changing ever more rapidly, weaving technology must be both reliable and flexible,” says Yvonne Schuberth, Head of the Product Line Weaving Machines at DORNIER. At the leading international exhibition for technical textiles and nonwovens, DORNIER is addressing these challenges with the latest developments in its air and rapier weaving machines and systems for composite production. The focus is on modular machine concepts from the DORNIER system family, efficient retrofit solutions for existing machines, smart automation concepts (“simplified usability”) and data-sovereign networking of the weaving machine park.

European premiere: Precise pic-à-pic with PIRO

At Techtextil, DORNIER is presenting the PIRO system for the P2 rapier weaving machine for the first time at a European exhibition. With PIRO (Pic-à-Pic Rapier Opener), the operating personnel can individually set the timing of the rapier release on the right-hand side of the machine for each weft channel, depending on the pattern. “This is a great advantage for weft yarns with different fineness or elasticity and significantly reduces weft waste,” explains Schuberth. All PIRO settings can be stored digitally for each article. This shortens article changeover times, increases reproducibility and avoids incorrect settings. The basic settings in the inching mode and fine tuning while the machine is running can be made via the DORNIER ErgoWeave® panel or by hand wheel. PIRO can be retrofitted to all DORNIER rapier weaving machines.

Innovative evaluation algorithm for efficient winding

One of the most popular retrofit solutions in recent times is the Electronic Cloth Winder (ECW) for the P2 rapier weaving machine. It enables precise and reproducible winding of fabrics – thanks to a servo motor and gearbox that are maintenance- and wear-free. “Our customers particularly appreciate the ECW because it is optimally integrated into the weaving machine control system,” says product line manager Schuberth. “This means that it does not require any additional sensors, as its own evaluation algorithm analyses all relevant data directly.” To quickly achieve optimum winding quality, the ECW allows the values for the winding torque to be assigned specifically to each article. In the extended version ECW+, the fabric tension can also be varied specifically over the length of the fabric.

TRITOS® FLEX: The flexible entry into 3D weaving

New products from the Composite Systems (CS) product line will also be presented at Techtextil. These include TRITOS® FLEX, a further development of the DORNIER 3D weaving machine TRITOS® (Textile Roving Into Three-dimensionally Oriented Structure). Dr. Josef Klingele, Head of Product Line Composite Systems: “With TRITOS® FLEX, we want to offer companies a simple and cost-effective entry into the production of complex 3D fabrics with excellent impact behaviour.” To make it easier for users to move into composite series production, DORNIER recently expanded its in-house technical centre. There, all CS systems can be tested and process parameters validated prior to system specification. In addition to the PROTOS® (Polymer and Roving to Sheet) production system, which includes the PROTOS® TP tape production system and the PROTOS® TW tape weaving machine, a 3D weaving line and a P2 roving weaving machine are available for testing.

In its Composite Systems product line, DORNIER combines its decades of experience in the construction of weaving machines and film systems with the expertise gained from close cooperation with leading international manufacturers of high-performance composites. The result is tailor-made system solutions for the economical series production of composites.

Digital duo for networked fabric production: DoXWeave & DoXNet

With a focus on user-friendliness, time savings and data security, DORNIER is also addressing networked fabric production at Techtextil. To this end, the medium-sized company is presenting the latest developments in its DoXWeave and DoXNet software solutions. DoXWeave allows data from DORNIER weaving machines to be centrally managed and compared; DoXNet is a server programme that enables the data carrier-free exchange of pattern and article data – including remote access to networked weaving machines. Since DoXNet runs on the customer's own IT infrastructure and does not require the internet, the user retains full control over sensitive production data at all times.