#Spinning

2020-07-30

Lucrative automation for sewing thread producers

For the most part, sewing thread producers still rely on machines on which the tubes must be changed manually. This means that, in the sewing thread sector in particular, both productivity and profit can be increased by using semi-automated sewing thread finish winders from SSM. The story of an Asian sewing thread producer that switched from manual tube changing to the semi-automated SSM TK2-20-TT clearly shows how fast this innovation pays for itself and how the company is benefitting in the long term.

Until now, searching for fully automatic finish winders for sewing thread on the market has proved futile. The variety of yarns to be processed is too large and there are too many different tube dimensions and applications: This makes it impossible to produce a standardized design for a fully automatic machine, meaning that an extremely costly custom machine would be the customer’s only option. But this does not mean that machines on which the tubes are changed manually are the best solution in the sewing thread sector.

Sewing thread producers still use many older machines that require a lot of manual intervention because these machines are primarily what a large proportion of winding machine manufacturers offer. A few manufacturers do produce semi-automated machines as well, but only SSM finish winders offer reliable, efficiency-boosting functions such as length measurement, tuck-in, automatic changing of full packages, and package winding. This is crucial because with sewing thread, the decisive factors are above all its appearance, the winding, and the unwinding characteristics of the sewing thread package in the subsequent process. The machines in the SSM TK2-20 series are real profit makers in this regard. They are proven to be a reliable piece of equipment for meeting the high requirements of SSM customers in the sewing thread industry.

For these reasons, an Asian sewing thread producer decided to replace its “manual machines” with a 284-spindle SSM TK2-20-TT. This enabled the company to increase its production capacity by 100 tons per month to reach its target of 300 tons per month. And that’s not all: At the same time, it was possible to reduce the number of production spindles required by 50 spindles and reduce the number of personnel needed to operate the entire system by around 60%. The labor costs alone could be decreased by around CHF 30 000 per year thanks to the investment – which is especially impressive since the company is in a newly industrialized country.

As the machines had already paid for themselves after just 14 months, the customer is earning an extra CHF 150 000 per year thanks to the very precise length measurement and the lower power consumption of the entire TK2-20-TT system.

Temco launches a new DTY all-in-one solution

Temco introduces the DTY All-in-One Solution – a fully harmonized set of components engineered to give customers a highly stable, low maintenance and reproducible process environment. The solution reduces interruptions, extends component lifetimes and supports consistent yarn quality across all machine positions. All-in-One Solution – a fully harmonized set of components engineered to provide maintenance and reproducible process environment.

DIENES at Techtextil 2026: Flexible pilot lines for bio-based fiber development

The growing relevance of bio-based materials in technical textiles is accompanied by increasing demands for reproducibility, high-quality data, and scalable process routes. Especially when working with cellulose and its derivatives, chitosan, lignin-based approaches, or bio-based PAN as a carbon-fiber precursor, R&D teams face variable feedstock quality, tighter process windows, and the need for reliable comparability across trials. This calls for flexible, data-driven experimental setups that can be reconfigured efficiently when recipes, solvents, and raw-material batches change.

RETECH showcases high-precision godets for high-performance fiber processing at Techtextil 2026

RETECH designs and manufactures godets and draw frames for heated, ambient and cooled processes, enabling precise heat treatment and consistently high yarn quality for a wide range of polymers and applications, with process temperatures of up to 400 °C for high-performance fibers. The company’s key competence lies in exact and stable temperature and speed control, individually adapted to the specific material and process requirements.

Barmag presents the next generation of POY production – energy-efficient and partial-automated

With POY 2.0, Barmag is introducing a completely redesigned spinning concept that takes the production of partially oriented yarn (POY) to a new level in terms of technology and economy. The solution, which was presented to a selected audience of experts for the first time at ITMA Asia + CITME 2025, was met with great enthusiasm: several yarn producers worldwide immediately expressed their interest in a pilot plant.

YKK launches “YZiP® Light” aluminum alloy zipper for cotton pants

YKK Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Koichi Matsushima; hereafter, YKK) has launched YZiP® Light, a lightweight aluminum alloy zipper for cotton pants, with sales beginning in late March. The introduction of YZiP® Light expands YKK’s zipper portfolio—led by the flagship YZiP® copper alloy zipper—providing customers with greater flexibility to meet diverse garment needs.

Shima Seiki showcases WHOLEGARMENT® and 3D knitting solutions for technical textiles at Techtextil 2026

Leading textile technology solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, along with its Italian subsidiary SHIMA SEIKI ITALIA S.p.A., will be participating in the Techtextil 2026 exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany next month. On display will be WHOLEGARMENT® and other advanced three-dimensional knitting applications across a wide range of industries besides fashion apparel that are not typically associated with knitting, such as technical textiles using industrial materials and advanced three-dimensional knitting.