The Knit Concern Group, specialist in high-quality warp-knitted and knitted fabric, has invested in a relaxation fabric dryer designed for the finishing of open-width fabric by Brückner, developer of machines for coating and finishing of apparel fabric.
The Brückner relaxation dryer line can also be used for tubular fabric. Mainly articles made of natural fibres, for example, cotton or viscose are dryed, relaxed, and shrunk on this 2.60 m wide dryer. Within the dryer, the fabric first passes an air-through zone where it is pre-heated. In the following two passages, the drying and shrinking process as such begins which takes place by means of a tumble-like fabric movement.
Pre-heating the fabric in the air-through zone has several benefits. On one hand, this zone is heated up exclusively by the exhaust air of the two drying passages arranged below, which means no additional energy is required. On the other hand the fabric heats faster and requires thus less dwell time in the subsequent drying process. The fabric can pass this dryer faster than other dryers. Another benefit is the reduced exhaust air temperature. This air-through principle developed by Brückner allows energy savings of up to 15 per cent with a simultaneous increase of production of up to 20 per cent, depending on the type of fabric and the machine configuration.
This highly sophisticated Brückner relaxation dryer can be very easily integrated into an existing line concept. This line also saves space. At Knit Concern facilities, about 12 tonnes of knitted fabrics are finished on this line every day.