As well as being flexible, the DS Opto-EC also offers top quality in both warping modes, and enables warp knitting to be carried out at maximum efficiency.
Karl Mayer has produced the first warp preparation machine for the warp knitting sector that can offer both: direct and sectional warping. The DS Opto-EC is an efficient machine with a broad portfolio.
A targeted look at different technologies with similar objectives often reveals synergistic effects that can be used to great advantage – as the example of the DS Opto-EC developed by KARL MAYER shows. This innovative warp preparation machine combines sectional warping in weaving preparation with direct warping in warp knitting preparation on the basis of a universal hybrid principle. The result of this clever combination is maximum flexibility and economic viability when producing warp beams for warp knitting.
Direct & sectional warping on one machine
The DS Opto-EC processes non-stretch filament yarns to produce warp beams having a wide band width. Conventional sectional warp beams with long running lengths, having a width of 21†and a diameter of 30", can be produced efficiently by the direct warping process.
If short warps are needed for product development, or if small runs have to be worked, the DS Opto-EC offers easy handling and low costs in the sectional warping mode. Furthermore, the warp-for-warp technique enables processing tests to be carried out on expensive yarns economically. Expensive yarns can also be used efficiently when producing high-quality sectional warp beams for the current production operation. These advantages are the result of the small number of packages needed.
In addition to the financial advantages, the small number of packages required also saves space. The DS Opto-EC also offers advantages for cone warping when producing patterned sectional warp beams. This innovative machine places yarn sections of different colours next to each other accurately, and operates at high speed, thus producing precision warp beams efficiently. This is opening up new possibilities in the warp knitting sector, especially in terms of the range of patterns that can be produced. The HKS 4-M EL was illustrating these possibilities impressively at ITMA 2015 in Milan.
The HKS 4-M EL and the DS Opto-EC
The HKS 4-M EL was processing patterned sectional warp beams produced by the DS Opto-EC when it was being demonstrated at ITMA 2015. During the machine show, this high-speed tricot machine was producing a fabric having six different, attractive designs seamlessly one after the other – without stopping and at top speed. The HKS 4-M EL was operating at an average speed of 2,100 min-1. The EL pattern drive on this innovative machine enables the pattern to be changed quickly, and virtually unlimited repeat lengths can be worked. The combined performance of the HKS 4-M EL and the DS Opto-EC enables new products to be developed economically, if required. The high-speed tricot machine also enables short runs to be produced economically, thanks to its high operating speed.
As well as being flexible, the DS Opto-EC also offers top quality in both warping modes, and enables warp knitting to be carried out at maximum efficiency.
The sectional warp beams have absolutely identical circumferences, and the package build is completely uniform. This unique level of precision owes its success to the improvements that have been made and to technology transfer. For example, the master successive band or master successive beam principle, which is a feature of weaving preparation, has been transferred to the DS Opto-EC, and the conventional sectional warping process has been optimised. The creel system, yarn feed and braking synchronisation are all perfectly coordinated during cone warping. A warping carriage, which moves parallel to and across the drum axis, guarantees exact positioning of the yarn sheet on the warping drum, and the band build-up is monitored by a laser and computer. During beaming, dancer rollers control the yarn tension and thus ensure that beams having the same circumference are produced. The DS Opto-EC also operates extremely quickly – the maximum speed during direct warping is 1,000 m/min and during sectional warping is 600 m/min.
The feedback from the market is justifying the hybrid concept of the new machine. The operating principles and advantages of the DS Opto-EC were presented to the public for the first time at ITMA 2015. By watching a video presentation and by talking to Krishna Adhikari, the visitors were able to gather information and develop new business ideas. The product developers specialising in textile technology at KARL MAYER were delighted at the extremely positive feedback they received on this innovative new machine.
All the possibilities offered by this warp preparation machine for universal use are already being exploited in practice. “We have sold a DS Opto-EC to a highly innovative customer in Asia. The machine was delivered to the manufacturer in March of this year, and the client is currently testing the new machine,†said Oliver Mathews, the Sales Director of KARL MAYER’s Warp Knitting Business Unit. The next opportunity to see the DS Opto-EC in operation and also to find out more about this innovative technology will be at ITMA ASIA.