Dornier weaves its way to tap scope in composites

Dornier weaving machine helps to open up potentials of modern textile manufacturing technologies for the production of high-performance fibre composite structures.

Woven textile semi-finished products for glass, aramid, basalt and carbon fibre composites mainly help to reduce moving masses and therefore the CO2 emissions. These exceptional efficient high-precision fabrics are more and more used in aviation and aerospace but also in mechanical engineering, construction and architecture.

Lindauer DORNIER, by focussing its core competencies under the label of ?DORNIER Composite Systems®? make a valuable contribution to business. Based on the know-how of fibre handling and the application of thermoplastic materials, the company offers efficient manufacturing processes for these high-performance materials.

Weaving per se is a digital manufacturing process.

The position of the thread is clearly defined any time in the process and can be documented. Hence, this technique is a pathfinder for digital engineering. This characteristic in combination with a superb reliability and reproducibility in industrial production ambiance are prerequisites for its use in highly complex fibre composite components. Fixation or impregnation with thermoplastic matrix materials complete the required process chain.

It is not surprising that DORNIER weaving machines are the reference for the processing of carbon fibres for more than 40 years. The first commercial CFRP components were produced with fabrics made on DORNIER weaving machines.

This trend has continued since. Just one of the reasons is the multitude of further developments of the DORNIER weaving machine system family comprising rapier and air-jet weaving machines as well as special machines for processing of various technical yarns.

Thanks to the modular design system, the machine concepts are specifically tailor-made to customers? needs and requirements.

Lindauer DORNIER GmbH, technological market leader for weaving systems for technical fabrics and manufacturer of film stretching lines, operates two production sites with approximately 1,000 employees in southern Germany. In order to retain as great a lead as possible in the textile and plastics industries, approximately 8 per cent of the annual turnover is spent for research and development.

This, in addition to creative engineering work, thorough knowledge of technological context and customer proximity contributes largely to the outstanding position of the family-owned company. Three types of weaving machines are offered especially for the production of fabrics for composite technology:

The DORNIER rapier weaving machine with a positive controlled center transfer, a rapier weaving machine for 3D structures with the new, specifically developed horizontal take-off for multilayer fabrics as well as a tape weaving machine.

A tape production line for the application-specific production of thermoplastically fixed or consolidated tapes complements this range of products. The know-how gained in plant engineering facilitates the integration of all components and processes to a consistent production line.

A tailor-made DORNIER production plant or a DORNIER weaving machine?machines ?Made in Germany??helps to open up potentials of modern textile manufacturing technologies for the production of high-performance fibre composite structures.

DORNIER Technology Days

Within the framework of the DORNIER Technology Days, prolonged to March 2016, customers and interested persons have the opportunity to see different weaving machines as well as innovative processes in Lindau and to discuss customised solutions and specific applications.

In Dornier?s Technology Centre the following products have been exhibited:

• Jacquard weaving line for 3D structures with horizontal take-off
• Tape weaving machine
• A tape production line for the application-specific production of thermoplastically fixed or consolidated tapes
• Special applications of the DORNIER Open Reed Weave (ORW) technology in the technical textile sector (multiaxial fabrics with local reinforcement).