Obertshausen - The latest double -sided, warp knitted terry fabrics from Karl Mayer are said to demonstrate the superior productivity and flexibility of the company's TM 4-TS EL machine when compared to terry fabrics produced on weaving technology.
The textile in this image was produced on a TM 4-TS EL with double-sided fabric to ensure that the finished product is not only a must-have bathing accessory, but also a real eye-catcher.
One side features a dense layer of cotton loops. It quickly absorbs moisture from the skin after bathing and nestles gently against the body. The other side consists of sheared polyester. Its soft texture also has a smooth finish making it both easier to print on and quicker to dry.
The imaginative design was created at Zimmer Austria using a digital printing process with Karl Mayer’s textile developer, Melanie Bergmann, delighted with the results: “The colours are extremely vibrant and vivid while the contours are sharp. Even the finest lines are clearly defined,” the textile engineer said.
Warp knitting technology with a firmly integrated terry loop ensures the longevity of toweling fabrics with the fluffy fibre layer said to be extremely resistant to thread pullers.
The long service life and ecological advantages in production are also said to distinguish warp knitted terry articles from their weaving counterparts. The TM 4-TS EL does not require compressed air like conventional airjet rapier looms and therefore consumes around 87 per cent less energy per kilogram of fabric produced. The sizing process is also eliminated in warp knitting. This saves textile chemicals, wastewater and energy to the tune of approx. 0.20 USD/kg.
This corresponds to about 30 per cent of the manufacturing costs – excluding yarn – for the production of the raw material. Apart from saving costs, the terry warp knitting machine is extremely efficient. With a width of 186 ins and a speed of 800 rpm, the TM 4-TS EL produces around 1,800 kg of terry cloth weighing 400 g/m2 every day in 24-hour operation. This is around 250 per cent more than on an airjet rapier loom.
