Steam-rolled! At times there was not a single spot available at the Mahlo booth and that at almost 300 m2 exhibition space. The Mahlo team had their hands full managing to serve all interested parties at the ITMA. The largest textile machinery trade fair closed this year with an unexpected positive outcome for Mahlo.
“We were surprised by the large number of visitors. Both the volume and the quality of the interested parties and customers exceeded our expectations. More than 40% of the visitors came from European countries, many from South America but also a large percentage from Asia”, said Ralf Hopp, Managing Director of the company. “Although the number of visitors is somewhat comparable with the ITMA in Munich, we expect a better follow-up business after the trade fair.”
“Saving Costs – Conserving Resources” was the company’s exhibition theme. At ITMA, Mahlo once more emphasised its role as global market leader of control systems for the textile industry without being limited to it.
Of course, the visitors were primarily interested in innovations and new products and, as usual, Mahlo had something to offer here. The exhibition area was divided into three sections presenting the areas of Product Inspection, Straightening and Process Control to the visitors. The following innovations were presented to the visitors:
Automatic defect inspection WIS-12
The automatic defect detection system, already successfully employed in the textile and nonwovens area, was presented in its revised and improved design. A model of a complete unrolling station with defect detection and colour measurement, as installed at the textile refiner Bamberger Kaliko in Germany, could be seen. Especially the aspects of modularity and user-friendliness of the system were revised. All components of the Webscan WIS-12 can now be scaled according to individual demand without exception. Operation and handling was significantly simplified, especially in the area of the defect classification. Defect patterns now enable the operator to simply classify defects allowing similar defects to be found in the next pass.
Orthopac CRVMC-12
The modern straightening mechanism of the system opens up new avenues. The roller positioning drive, registered for patent approval, ensures that the straightening rollers always contact the product uniformly across the entire product width, regardless of the present position of the rollers. In addition, the product always wraps around the rollers only as far as necessary. The common idle time when the bow rollers are swinging over from “Edge forward” to “Centre forward” is completely eliminated.
Orthofact RMB-12 / RFMB-12
Mahlo included the pin straightening wheel once more in the portfolio of straightening systems. The device exhibits some new and fresh ideas compared with known technology. For example, the counterforce produced by a spring always ensures the uniform and symmetric alignment of the pin wheels. Elaborate lever constructions requiring intensive maintenance can thus be dispensed with. An infinitely variable unclipping roller minimises residual bow and edge distortions.
The intelligent drive station with special voltage control for smallest product distortion activates or deactivates automatically (e.g., in case of blockages). A bypass function is available at the push of a button for products that cannot be straightened with the pin wheel. In addition, there is a version with combined roller straightening machine (RFMB-12) for customers who need to use both system according to the articles.
Orthofact RMBC-12
An ingenious idea compared the Orthofact RMB-12 straightening system and the active pin wheel RMBC-12 in a single machine. The one half of the exhibit showed the passive straightening wheel, the other one the concept study. Mahlo thus demonstrated the modifications and new developments compared with the passive straightening wheel technology quite well.
The scanning feature known from Mahlo is thus integrated into the active pin wheel straightening machine. It scans the incoming distortions. The pin straightening wheels are actively controlled by a motor and therefore able not only to remove skews but also bows and even wavy asymmetric distortions. Lateral stretching reduces complex, wavy distortions and provides optimal prerequisites for scanning. In addition, the active control achieves a much greater straightening effect than passive pin wheels of the same size.
The new Orthofact RMBC-12 with active control basically constitutes a short, compact stentering limit. Restrictions in regard to product type, elasticity and product condition are largely obsolete; the straightening accuracy is optimal. The built-in automatic straightening feature also permits the presentation of the current distortion on a screen.
The new Orthofact RMBC-12 is therefore a universal straightening unit for all requirements. Let’s eagerly wait and see how Mahlo manages the transition from the concept study to the functional machine.
Orthopac MFZE-12
Mahlo presented another concept study in the area of straightening technology with minimum space requirements. Take the example of a printing press where a precision straightening unit is required to remove residual distortions. A centring unit and spreading system for the product are needed in addition. Some products also require width measurement, and to move the product centred into the printing press a cross-winding device is necessary to move the entire device tower.
However, most print shops do not have any space for a device tower. This is where Orthopac MFZE-12 from Mahlo comes into play as a true multitalent. The system straightens skews and bows, centres the product, spreads it, controls it to the desired width – and all that with a single roller. This can’t be done any more compact. A special “Multi-function straightening roller” is used. This is a bow roller mounted in a swivel frame, which allows it to function both as bow and skew straightener at the same time.
This arrangement allows for very fine adjustment of the straightening effect while permitting significantly reduced physical dimensions. What’s more, flexible bands are also integrated into the “multi-function straightening roller”. Because of the control of the flexible bands of the straightening rollers the system offers a centring and spreading function at the same time. All tests were satisfactory so far and quite promising. Currently the system manages only slow applications up to approx. 20 m/min, but of course, Mahlo is working intensively to improve the speed and performance of the device.
Process control segment
The Atmoset SMT-12 from Mahlo enables product-dependent control of the heating capacity of cylinder dryers. With these dryers the heating capacity is usually optimised to the heaviest product. Because the web speed or the capacity cannot be simply adjusted for lighter products, the product is dried excessively and much energy is wasted.
Mahlo has found a means of controlling the capacity of the drier in a quick, simple and reliable manner through residual moisture measurement and feedback of the condensate temperature of the drying cylinders.
The ATMOSET SMT enables a stable and effective drying process. The optimal degree of drying is always reached, regardless of the weight of the product or the web speed. Continuity of the production process and reproducibility of the product quality are ensured. The energy consumption of the dryers drops significantly due to the optimised heat output. This saves energy costs.
The development of sensors at Mahlo has not stagnated either. The following new sensors are employed either in the quality management system Qualiscan QMS-12 or in the stenter control system Optipac VMC-12 from Mahlo.
X-ray transmission sensor Gravimat FMXT
The Gravimat FMXT permits the contactless and traversing measurement of grammage/thickness of the running product webs over the entire product width. The properties of the material are determined precisely based on the X-ray absorption of the material. The X-ray tube without radioactive isotope emitter can be deactivated and does not require approval; it possesses superb resolution for precise profile control. High-quality components guarantee high measuring accuracy and service life.
The Infrascope NIR provides the spectral fingerprint of the product web. With a resolution of 256 measurements a complete spectrum is always scanned. This allows scanning the moisture, grammage, coating application and composition with a single sensor for suitable materials. So far the Infrascope can be employed in the nonwoven and plastic areas.
Airpro APM
A completely new sensor. The colour on the fliers had hardly dried and the Airpro APM was already presented at the ITMA. This measuring head was developed in cooperation with the renowned Textest AG from Switzerland. Airpro APM allows for a highly dynamic and traversing measurement of air permeability and pressure drops on the running product web across the entire product width.
Applications range from all types of surface structures, felts, dense paper and airbag fabric to extremely open nonwovens and paper sieves. In the textile and clothing sector, air permeability is important for the exchange of air between the inner layers of clothing and the environment. This will substantially influence the wearing comfort of clothes. Air permeability is also important for drying after washing. In the technical sector, it plays a role in air and gas filters – or with air bags in the automobile industry.
Aqualot AMF
Aqualot AMF permits the exact determination of the total material moisture. The measurement is contactless and non-destructive. The ascertained moisture value can be supplied to a controller as actual value to regulate the web speed, dryer output or squeezing pressure.
The Aqualot AMF sends microwaves through the moist product web. The water in the product causes damping and phase shifting of the microwaves. The material moisture can be determined by comparing the output and input signals. The applications of the sensor include, amongst others, moisture measurement of textiles, nonwovens, paper and film or the application measurement of water-soluble coatings.
Mahlo thus presented its widest range of products at ITMA, and the company team was prompt in helping the stall visitors by providing them whatever product information sought.