Some 10 years ago DORNIER started to develop a system family of rapier and airjet weaving machines in order to offer customers an optimum solution to making the right decision. Utilizing the modular concept right from the outset makes a significant contribution to lower costs and increasing flexibility. In fact, 90% of the electronics and 40% of the mechanical parts used in the rapier and airjet weaving machines are identical to both types. In practice, it has been shown that weavers and technicians with assignments covering both types of machine do not experience any difficulties. In cases where the nominal width of both types of machine is the same, the same accessories are utilized and the same QSC System configuration can be deployed. This simplifies the entire organization.

For many years DORNIER has also followed the practice of developing new machine components in such a way that they can be retrofitted to existing machines. Using the CAN-Bus in the field of electronics has supported and enhanced this effort. Thus customers are provided with a high degree of surety at the time an investment is made and should at the moment unknown and in the future possibly decisive machine parameters be necessary, they are in fact already available. And at the time required these parameters can be utilized to quickly satisfy new demands with little difficulty. Even today new monitoring and control software can be downloaded online via modem or over the Internet.

The deployment of the system family enables weavers of exclusive high fashion fabrics on rapier weaving machines to consider today adding staple articles to their manufacturing program. Then producing exclusive high fashion fabrics side by side with staple articles is in fact an economic proposition when airjets are utilized for the latter. These considerations are also valid to some extent in the production of industrial fabrics.

Rapier weaving machine

The rapier weaving machine offers a whole series of possibilities to guarantee the quick adaption of the machine to new trends. These features are already built into the system and include the positive filling transfer in the center of the shed, open shed filling insertion and a rigid rapier, which operates without thenecessity of guide elements in the shed. The extremely low filling tension, supported by an electronic filling tension device provides a high degree of independence from the varying yarn quality or low breaking strength of the filling being inserted. The modular construction of the electronic filling tension device and the color selector enables the number of filling colors to be subsequently increased. This filling insertion system offers an incomparable security of process and thus a high degree of productivity with exceptional flexibility.

The machine offers a unique spectrum of application supported by a wide variety of configurations offering unlimited possibilities. Application ranges from exclusive pure silk upholstery fabrics with 16 filling colors and jacquard shed formation with up to 20,000 hooks to coated netting fabrics with the coarsest yarn counts n warp and filling and ensities of less tan 0.5 cm.

The DORNIER Fast Dobby Change System, FDC

Airjet weaving machine

The same considerations for exceptional flexibility were made at the time in relation to the development of the airjet weaving machine. In this case it was easier in a sense to pay attention to all the possible configurations since the basis being used was the rapier weaving machine. The airjet can be equipped with up to 8 filling colors. The security of process for the complete filling insertion cycle is guaranteed by the Permanent Insertion Control System, termed PIC, patented by DORNIER. In addition the spectrum of application could be extended with the addition of a nominal width of up to 430 cm. Here the basis is the robust machine frame with bilateral reed drive and large filling insertion window. Important for the jacquard weaver is the possibility of bilateral width adjustment.

Placing high value on security at the time of an investment also led to the quick adaption to new styles with respect to temple configurations and selvedge formation.

Fast Dobby Change, FDC

In addition, in the case of the airjet weaving machine the Fast Dobby Change system (FDC) is available. This allows the positive cam motions to be replaced with a dobby as a subsequent process incorporated with a style change. Thus the advantages of the positive cam motion in the case of styles with a low number of harness frames, such as cover factor, fabric quality, low ends down and highest weaving speed can be utilized without having to dispense with the advantages offered by the dobby with respect to meeting trends for fabrics with constructions requiring a higher number of harness frames. The calculation on the previous page illustrates the short payback utilizing this system.

Tests carried out with conventional selvedge formation devices showed that these lacked reliability and were therefore questioned by DORNIER. This led to the development of completely new systems, which decisively simplified the complexity of the machine by eliminating mechanical components and introducing electronic control. The following devices were developed for use on both types of weaving machine: 

• the 2-end full-turn leno device Disc-O-Leno®
• the modular designed double disc leno device EcoLeno®
• the MotoLeno® and EcoLeno®– a disc leno whereby the disc is at the sametime the motor
• for airjet weaving machines a pneumatic tucker PneumaTucker® was developed
• to produce a closed selvedge

Electronics

DORNIER provides the necessary security for future decisions regarding investments in new weaving machines with the addition of the DoNet Global Communication Network, which facilitates the connection between the machine, the weaver and the machine manufacturer.