At the upcoming ITMA 2023, to be held in Milan, Italy, from June 8 – 14, DiloGroup will present on a floor space of 750 m² “MicroPunch”, a complete production line for intensive needling. This will be the first time worldwide that an industrial MicroPunch installation will run with fibre to show the industrial exploitation of Dilo MicroPunch technology for needling fine and lightweight fleeces to be used in hygiene, medicine, apparel, and other applications.
The good abrasion resistance of the intensely needled material suggests further application fields apart from medicine and hygiene, such as apparel, artificial leather, battery separators, and filter media.
The production of personal care, single-use wipes with a weight range between 30 and ca. 60 g/m² made of fine fibres, often with blends of polyester and viscose, has been up to now a domain of hydroentangling technology. As this product is a typical disposable, it is in focus of sustainability and recyclability. For this reason, biologically degradable fibres are a goal for more environmental sustainability.
Furthermore, the evaluation of the consolidation technology with regard to a low carbon footprint and minimum use of energy for production is another decisive factor.
The classical needle punching technology and its use for the production of lightweight fleeces at low cost per kilogram of nonwoven has been proven technologically and economically over many years of research and development work. This has been made possible by a high density of needles in the board, and by very fine barbs on specialty needles which allow economic loading and a fast exchange based on the new module technique.
Compared to hydroentangling, the “MicroPunch” needling line allows a reduction of the energy consumption (electricity and gas) of about 75 % based on the complete installation.
Given recent increases in electricity and gas costs, this reduced consumption has a great impact on the total costs per kilogram of finished material in some countries, even at the lower production speeds of needling technology.
A MicroPunch line consists of DiloTemafa components for fibre preparation, a DiloSpinnbau universal or random card, and three MicroPunch specialty needle looms for pre- and finish needling as well as a winding unit. At ITMA in June, the presentation of a complete production line in 2.5 m working width is planned. After the show, this line will be installed in the Dilo Technical Research Centre for trials, product development, and presentation.
DiloGroup invites you to become acquainted with the details of this innovation during ITMA and looks forward to the visit of customers and interested parties from around the world.
