Expanded nonwoven product portfolio takes center stage
With its Oerlikon Barmag, Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven brands, the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers segment is the world market leader for manmade fiber filament spinning systems, texturing machines, BCF systems, staple fiber systems, and solutions for the production of nonwovens.
As a service provider, Oerlikon offers engineering solutions for the entire textile value chain. As a future-oriented company, the research and development program at Oerlikon is driven by energy-efficiency and sustainable technologies (e-save). With the supply of continuous polycondensation and extrusion systems and their key components, the company caters to the entire process – from the monomer all the way through to the textured yarn. Oerlikon’s product portfolio is rounded off by automation and Industry 4.0 solutions.
Oerlikon Nonwoven expands product portfolio
TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) nonwoven fabrics have many talents, but they are not easy to develop. Nonwoven fabric producers can now get help when doing so, as Oerlikon Nonwoven has broadened its knowhow and provides comprehensive support – from the choice of the right base material to its processing to setting the desired color.
TPU can also be processed very well into nonwoven fabrics using the meltblown spinning method. The application possibilities for meltblown nonwoven fabrics based on thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers are extremely diverse. This is because each of the many types of TPU elastomers has very specific properties in terms of elongation, tensile strength, wear and abrasion resistance, hardness and resistance to oils, fats, liquids, oxygen or UV radiation.
However, as varied as the possible uses of TPU nonwoven fabrics are, so too are the requirements for the processing of TPU elastomers during the production of nonwoven fabrics. Producers of meltblown nonwoven fabrics are therefore often specialized in the production of one or just a few TPU types. Oerlikon Nonwoven has acquired expert knowledge about the properties and processing of the different TPU types.
“If nonwoven fabric producers want to switch to a different type of nonwoven fabric or find a suitable TPU type with special properties, we can provide sound advice. We [can] also help to adapt processes or train employees,” says technology manager Michael Latinski.
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