Egelsbach, June 20, 2007

ITMA 2007 September 13-20, 2007 Munich / Germany Hall: A3, Stand: 107/302
Fleissner Machinery for the Textile Industry

In the field of textiles, Fleissner supplies continuous processing lines and finishing systems for loose-stock fibers, tops and fiber tows, woven and knit goods, continuous processing lines for printing and dyeing of tufted carpets, and impregnation lines for tufted and needle felt carpets.

Since the invention of the perforated drum technology, Fleissner has developed time and again new innovative products and thus opened up new applications throughout the entire range of textile industries. This includes, for example, continuous dyeing and printing lines for floor coverings, raw wool scouring lines, thermosol dyeing lines, the anti-felt finishing line "Total Easy Care", the TWIN dye liquor application system for carpet dyeing and the HT-SteamSet heatsetting line for tubular goods.

These continuous processing lines and individual machines will be presented by Fleissner at ITMA 2007.

Continuous Processing Lines and Finishing Systems for
Loose-Stock Fibers, Tops and Tows

1. Raw Wool Scouring Line
The wool passes through the bowls without any relative movement with respect to transport elements as, for example, in conventional lines. It is transported instead on suction drums and penetrated uniformly by washing liquor. This treatment is extremely gentle and effective: Entanglement and felting of wool is prevented, and fiber breakage is avoided. As a result, top yields are increased by about 3.5% and staple lengths are up to 8 mm higher.

2. Drying Line for Bleached and Dyed Fibers (see Fig. 1)
Fiber cakes of natural and synthetic fibers are opened and dried after bleaching or dyeing. The perforated drum dryer guarantees high outputs and efficient drying. Depending on the type of material and feeding to the dryer, either hopper feeders or a combination of cake opener, hopper feeder and wet opener are used before the perforated drum dryer. Owing to their modular design, the lines can be extended any time to achieve the desired line capacities. Together with Erbatech-Obermaier, Fleissner supplies complete bleaching and dyeing systems.

Fig. 1

3. Washing and Drying Line for Tops and Tows
After discontinuous dyeing or Vigoureux printing, wool tops and synthetic fiber tows are treated on a backwasher in order to remove unfixed dyestuff and auxiliary agents. Backwashers are also used in our continuous dyeing lines for tops and tows, in anti-felt finishing lines and space-dye lines for carpet yarns.

4. Anti-felt Finishing Line for Wool Tops (see Fig. 2)
Anti-felt finishing of wool allows production of knit goods and apparel that can be washed in household washing machines without felting. Fleissner supplies equipment for various anti-felt systems such as the chlorine-resin process (e.g., Hercosett®), Dylan, Basolan and newly developed Total Easy Care System-2™.

Fig. 2

Finishing Lines for Woven and Knit Goods

HT-SteamSet Heatsetting Line for Tubular Goods
More and more Spundex fibers (e.g., Lycra®) are used in the knitwear industry to achieve higher elasticity. Preliminary heatsetting of the raw material offers advantages such as: better evenness and reduced pilling tendency during dyeing, reduced dyestuff consumption, reduced crease formation during bleaching and dyeing, the "twisting effect" of elasthan-containing fabric due to immanent curling is eliminated.

Continuous Printing and Dyeing Lines for Tufted Carpets (see Fig. 3)
Since the early seventies, Fleissner has been supplying continuous processing lines for printing and dyeing of tufted floor coverings.

Fig. 3

Major Line Components:

Dye Liquor Applicator
The application system operates on the pouring principle and pours the dye liquor onto the carpet as an even film without pile contact. Pouring quantities range from 60-750 liters/hr. The TWIN system uses two computer-controlled application heads operated alternately so that the color change can be reduced to a few centimeters.

Carpet Steamer
Dyestuff fixation during dyeing or printing is done in a continuous steamer at atmospheric pressure. Loop-type and horizontal steamers or combinations of modular design are available for all kinds of printing methods such as screen printing or jet printing.

High-Performance Washing Machine
Residual dyestuff and chemicals or thickener from drying or printing are washed out after dyestuff fixation. Depending on requirements and capacities, 2 or 3-stage counter-flow washing towers are used.

Circular Stenter (see Fig. 4)
Based on perforated drum technology, the circular stenter has been the drying unit with the highest drying rates in the carpet industry for the last 30 years. The newly developed "circular stenter 3000" offers new drive technology and increased drying rates.


Fig. 4

Impregnation Lines for Tufted and Needle Felt Carpets
The required strength and dimensional stability is obtained by impregnation of needled carpet back or full-depth impregnation with binder.
Impregnation is done in the Fleissner foam padder, where impregnation of carpet back and stain-release finishing of carpet face can be applied at the same time. A short infrared heating section after impregnation is used for superficial drying. Afterwards the carpet is dried and the binder is cured in a high-performance perforated drum dryer.