Oerlikon is showing solutions for HMLS yarn at Techtextil

May 05, 2015 - Germany

The manmade fibres section of the Swiss firm, Oerlikon Group, is showing its solutions for safety and quality for HMLS polyester yarn (high-modulus low-shrinkage), to be used in tire cord, at the ongoing international trade fair for technical textiles, TechTextil, in Frankfurt.

Oerlikon Barmag is one of two companies worldwide that deliver machine solutions for the production of HMLS yarn. The material is extremely tear-resistant, but elastic and temperature as well as dimensionally stable. It is used in high-speed tires, which – as a result of the high speeds achieved – are subjected to particularly high loads.

As a result of contact with the road, tires are subjected to a constant friction, which heats up the tires and consequently increases the internal air pressure. Tires made from HMLS yarn remain dimensionally stable even under loads and at high temperatures, the company informs in a press release.

The HMLS yarn acquires its unique properties in the spinning process. High speeds in the production process guarantee a stable arrangement of the molecules within the polymer, which forms the actual filament. The internal structure of the molecule chain is in turn decisive for the dimensional stability of the subsequent yarn.

Oerlikon Barmag HMLS systems work with the EvoQuench quenching system, which has already proven itself in the textile processes. Filament bundles with up to 600 individual filaments are evenly spun, cooled and spin-finished and in this way allow homogenous threads of between 1000 and 2000 denier to be manufactured.

Using the EvoQuench system for manufacturing industrial yarn is also setting new standards in terms of energy savings. As in the case of textile processes, the e-save certified EvoQuench system dramatically lowers the energy consumption. Depending on the titer and the dpf, the consumption of the compressed air so decisive for the energy consumption in quenching is reduced by around 80 per cent compared to a cross-flow quenching system. For a standard system size with four positions and an assumed electricity price of US$ 0.15 per kilowatt hour, the system operator saves around US$ 40,000 per years in terms of energy costs by using EvoQuench. (GK)