KNIT-LINE
Knitwear. Open width concepts.
KNIT-LINE
Advantages of open width treatment of knitted fabric
Benninger the leading manufacturer of
roller vat washing machines is also
your best partner for the open width
treatment of knits and high elastic fabrics with synthetic fibres.
The heart of open width treatment is the
TRIKOFLEX system. It has set new standards in textile finishing for its low tension
treatment with maximum washing efficiency.
Beside the TRIKOFLEX, Benninger can
deliver the entire program for the open
width treatment of knitted fabric. Reaction
stores, pre-treatment steamers and under
liquor stores can be combined with the
TRIKOFLEX according to process requirements.
A high degree of flexibility, quality problems and high water and energy consumption are the main reasons to switch
the treatment of knitted goods to open
width form.
Typical rubbing and abrasion defects from
JET processing
The advantages of the open width
treatment of knitwear at a glance
■ No crease marks from rope treatment
■ Less hairiness and a smoother fabric
surface (no micro-pilling or pilling)
■ No enzyme treatment necessary
■ 15–30% less variable costs for
processing
■ No fabric losses due to slitting defects
when cutting wet fabric
■ Halving water and steam consumption
■ No rubbing or abrasion defects
■ Shrinking of man-made fibres can
be easily controlled with high reproducibility
■ CPB dyeing with reactive dyestuffs
possible
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BEN-WASH
TRIKOFLEX – Maximum washing efficiency at lowest tension
No curling selvedge due to
■ The use of scroll rollers and selvedge
decurlers
■ Minimal distances between the fabric
guiding elements
Minimal fabric tension and lengthening
■ Due to the water load, the fabric in
creases its weight threefold, therefore
free hanging fabric must be avoided.
■ Wave water is spray water which causes water sacks to form when landing
on a horizontally or diagonally guided
fabric run. The TRIKOFLEX washing
machine has not only larger immerse
rollers that minimise the distance to the
grooved drum, but handing over of the
fabric under the liquor surface has also
been realised. This allows the wave
water to be used to increase the washing effect without lengthening the fabric.
■ TRIKOFLEX washing compartments are
fitted with the most up-to-date AC drives. Not only are the intermediate
squeezing units frequency controlled,
but all the grooved drums are also
driven by AC motors. As an optional
extra, the immerse rollers can be fitted
with support drives. Swivelling compensator rollers control the intermediate and main squeezing units as well as
the second grooved drum. Ratio control allows differential speeds between
the grooved drums.
Excellent accessibility
Thanks to the compact design, the washing compartments are only 140 cm high
and are easily accessible which makes
service and handling extremely easy.
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BEN-WASH
Grooved drum
Drawing of the active washing
principle with grooved drum
1 Closed drum body
2 Groove profile
3 Mesh belt
4 Fabric
5 Outer liquor film
6 Spray pipe
The heart of the TRIKOFLEX washing
system is the grooved drum with a
combination of grooved profile and mesh
covering.
It serves as a supporting element for the
fabric. The large surface of the drum
ensures smooth and low tension fabric
passage over a long contact path. The
enclosed design prevents impurities from
entering the drum.
The result:
The washing liquor penetrates the fabric
and forms a liquor film on the front and
back side. In this way, impurities on both
sides are quickly removed. At the same
time a cleaning effect within the mesh is
created. The washing effect, compared to
standard mesh and screen drum systems, is considerably increased.
Further features:
■ Minimum deflection points
■ Short fabric path in the area of the
drum, trough and compensating roll
■ Large roll diameter
■ Low tension fabric transport through
controlled single motor drives
Spray pipes are arranged around the
grooved drum and integrated into the
circulating system. These ensure the
extremely high washing efficiency at
great circulating capacities.
The drum surface forms the groove profile with a mesh covering. As the fabric
passes through the spray section, it is
supported by the drum surface and is
thus unable to avoid the hydrodynamic
water pressure.
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Spray battery
The spray battery with adjustable spray
angle is decisive for the optimum washing effect in addition to the grooved
drum. The washing liquor is constantly
circulated through the spray pipes within
the compartment by means of a pump.
This pro-duces a cross-flow and a heavyflowing liquor film on both sides of the
fabric. This ensures optimum mass transfer and removal of the substances being
washed off.
The variety of compartments allows you flexibility
TRIKOFLEX LT-S
with intermediate squeezer
TRIKOFLEX LT-DS
with intermediate squeezer
TRIKOFLEX LT-V
combined retention and washing compartment
TRIKOFLEX LT-V
combined retention and washing compartment
with impregnation
High washing performance
Washing efficiency has been tremendously increased by creating a multiple chamber system with two liquor circulations
and three concentration levels with counter-flow.
The advantages at a glance
■ Universal washing compartments for
knitted and woven pile fabrics
■ Optimal shrinkage results ensured by
low tension fabric guidance and short
fabric runs
■ Variable drive techniques
■ Controllable expander settings with the
possibility of fabric specific adjustments
■ Optimal structure and volume development due to variable re-circulating
capacities
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BEN-WASH
TRIKOFLEX LT-V – Retention and relaxation
The advantages at a glance
■ Combined retention and washing
compartment
■ Critical fabrics, e.g. POT (Partial
Orientated Fibres), can also be tight
strand guided through the dwelling
compartment
■ Flexible dwelling times in the range
of 0.5–4 min
■ Separated liquor circulations between
retention and washing section
■ Counter-flow system
■ Relaxation of the fabric due to tension
free plaiting
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Flexibility in the concept
Combined retention and washing
compartment
Reaction compartments are needed for
temperature and time-depending wash
and retention processes such as,
demineralization, reductive cleaning,
oxidation, neutralization or fastness
washing.
Benninger has developed the combined
retention and washing compartment
TRIKOFLEX LT-V. The fabric is rinsed via
spray lines on to the roller bed. Depending on the process requirement the fabric
is under a constant spray of water and
chemical liquor. Subsequent to the predetermined reaction time, the fabric is
expanded and guided over a short distance to the TRIKOFLEX washing drum
for direct rinsing or washing. The
TRIKOFLEX LT-V compartment can be
selected with one or two liquor circulations. For reaction processes the entry
section can be equipped with an impregnation trough and intermediate squeezer.
Swivelling compensator and spiral expander
in front of the squeezing unit
Decurler in front of the squeezing unit
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Spiral expander with delivery plate
to squeezing unit
BEN-BLEACH
REACTA – Modular steamer and retention accumulator
Demineralization
Washing
Impregnation Steaming
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Washin
Crease free operation is a matter of course
Crucially important to any continuous
pretreatment range is the steamer. Here
especially therefore, economy and flexibility
must be combined in optimum fashion.
The building block system devised by
Benninger enables a steamer ideally suited
to industrial requirements to be assembled
for any duty from proven basic modules.
Alternatively used as a steamer, or retention
accumulator for soaping, with spray water
circulation and saturated steam atmosphere.
Fabric inlet
The cloth is let into the steamer through
a steam lock, guided over big drive rollers
and brought at once to the reaction temperature.
Steamer draw-off section
While still in the steamer, the fabric is
drawn off over a short distance to the
appropriate guiding elements, expanded
and centred fed into the steamer outlet
with water lock to secure steam tightness. Both countercurrent and high temperature generate the high washing
effect. Liquor separation is created by the
pulling device at the exit.
Chemical metering station
The chemical station consists, for each
chemical, of feed pump, inductive flowmeter and control valve. This means that
the reproducibility of the chemical metering figures is ensured.
Metering of the chemicals in ml/kg based
on the fabric throughput means that a defined quantity is added. The impregnation
system is self controlling. If more water is
brought in with the fabric then the addition
of water – controlled on level – is reduced.
The following is entered at the display:
■ Fabric weight per running meter
■ Initial filling (in liters according to total
volume)
■ Top-up recipe (in ml/kg)
g
Neutralization
Washing
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BEN-DIMENSA
DIMENSA – Technology successful in the knitted sector
The DIMENSA technology is predestinated for the treatment of knitted
goods.
The DIMENSA masters the special
structure, the load and tension
instability of knitted fabrics brilliantly.
The DIMENSA is completed with the
TRIKOFLEX drum washing machine.
Knitted goods – even single jersey – are run on
the DIMENSA opened, without gumming the
selvedges.
The combination of chain and
chainless makes the difference
The influence on the stitch and wale
counts can be attributed to the unique
combination of the chainless and chain
principles.
Precisely defined fabric tension is ensured through all stages of the process
by the ratio metered AC drive.
The stabilizing process is initiated by the
stenter section. Correction of the stitches
over the entire width takes place by constant stretching.
Simultaneously the lye concentration is
reduced. Complete neutralization takes
place in the TRIKOFLEX washing compartments.
Dimensions known before processing
is finished
The results after mercerizing on the
DIMENSA are, with regard to the dimensions, representative of the final product.
Deviations from the nominal figures can
be corrected immediately in the stenter
frame.
■ Constant number of wale counts
■ No stitch differences over the width
and length
■ Elongation to +15%, shrinkage to
–10% can be compensated
Uniform number of wales across
the whole width
Stitch thickening in the selvedge zones
can cause dark selvedges which, in turn,
lead to quality loss and even rejects. On
the DIMENSA this condition is practically
non-existent:
■ Because the lye in the selvedges is
extracted methodically
■ Because the fabric is positively guided
throughout the stabilizing zone
That is why there is no shrinkage in the
stabilizing compartment and no thickening of the wales in the selvedge zones.
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The versatility of the DIMENSA permits
every textile result concerning the
mercerizing effect. This is achieved by
objective selection of the process parameters such as:
■ Lye temperature
■ Lye concentration
■ Lye reaction time
■ Fabric lengthwise and crosswise
tension
The thus optimized process provides the
best mercerizing effect with savings in
lye, water and steam.
DIMENSA – or enhanced fabric appearance and quality
Relative swelling
Iodine Sorption mg/g
Optimum
cold
hot
Grey fabric
Time (sec)
Relative swelling of cotton vs. temperature
■
■
■
■
■
Faster caustic soda penetration,
speedier swelling
High swelling uniformity, no ring
mercerizing
Better dye penetration
Smoother cloth appearance
Softer handle
Comparison hot-cold mercerization
■
■
■
■
Shorter impregnation times
No cooling needed for mercerizing
Maximum squeezing action at
infeed squeeze
Lower investment cost through
shorter impregnation sections
The mercerization process results in high
quality knit goods characterised by
increased dimensional stability and luster.
Furthermore, colour intensification of up
to 50% can be achieved. The resulting
dyestuff savings can be between
30–40%. These factors make the DIMENSA mercer-izing process economically
and ecologically viable.
Mercerizing processes that partially or
totally allow free shrinkage in the dwelling
and stabilizing zones also lead to
improved dyeing characteristics. However, they do not exploit the full potential
with regards to dimensional stability.
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Investigations by Bechter reveal that with
an impregnation concentration of
28–30°Bé‚ or 250–300 g NaOH 100% per
litre (215–240 g NaOH 100% per kg) there
is no significant increase of iodine sorption
or dyestuff uptake. This means optimal
mercerization is accomplished with a
concentration of 220–240 g NaOH 100%
per kg cloth on the fabric.
BEN-DIMENSA
DIMENSA – Mercerizing range for knit goods
The impregnation zone of the DIMENSA
for knit goods consists of an impregnation
trough. Utilising mercerization agents
for grey fabric is essential due to the short
impregnation zone. A plate expander in
front of the squeezer uncurls the selvedges. This facilitates an even squeezing
effect, to the outermost edges, which
removes the impregnation liquor to the
correct mercerization concentration of
220–240 g of caustic soda per kg fabric.
Strong shrinkage across the width due to
the fabric distances is of no consequence
at this stage, but is in actual fact part of
the procedural concept. The mercerization process is completed in the subsequent dwelling zone. An integrated stenter section stretches the stitches across
the width, which compensates the shrinkage in the impregnation zone.
In the parallel field, the set fabric dimensions are stabilised by spraying on hot
weak lye. In order to achieve the best
possible dimensional stability and minimise residual shrinkage, the machine is
usually run with overfeed when
processing knitwear. The stretching field
also offers the unique opportunity to
Impregnation
Chainless principle
correct thickenings at the edges. Edge
thickening changes the appearance of
the stitch structure and causes variations
in colour (usually lighter). Benninger has
developed a special edge stretching section control unit which is placed on the
tensioning chain. Any thickening which
arises at the edges is corrected and then
memorized by spraying on diluted caustic soda. This particularly affects articles
with a high level of lateral elasticity, such
as Ripp and Interlook articles, but also
articles containing a mixture of Elastan.
Dwelling
The subsequent stabilizing compartment
reduces the caustic soda to a degree that
enables fabric plaiting without further
consequences.
The TRIKOFLEX drum washing compartments, which can be either attached in
continuation or operated separately,
round off the complete concept of low
tension treatment of knit goods.
Stabilizing
Chain principle
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Chainless principle
Küsters DyePad
Versatility of the Küsters S-Roll
Owing to its design and construction,
Küsters high efficiency padders meet all
practical requirements for application in
modern processing. Different feeding
systems, squeezing roll coverings, trough
shapes as well as expanders and spreaders allow a variety of woven and knitted
goods to be treated.
A uniform liquor application over the fabric width, as well as a selective liquor
application to the selvedge – center –
selvedge zone can be easily set, reproduced and program controlled if required.
This may become necessary owing to
varying absorption capacity, fabric tension, weft distortion and humidity (at the
beginning of the process) as well as faults
arising in subsequent processes, like
dyestuff migration at the selvedges during drying.
System benefits
The right concept for every kind of fabric by appropriate roll coverings, trough
design, as well as expanding and
spreading devices
■ Uniform linear liquor application by two
deflection-controlled rolls throughout
the entire batch
■ If requested, varied liquors or chemicals can be applied over the length and
width of the batch and also programmed via the PLC, by an adjustable
squeezing effect with one deflection
compensating roll
■ Reproducibility of all dyestuff and
chemical applications
■ No cambering of the squeeze rollers
■ Uniform squeezing pressure within the
fabric area including thick and narrow
webs (without selvedge pressure)
■ No side-to-center shading, due to
smooth treatment of the selveges
■ Simple operation and control due to
clear design
■
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Advantages
■ Low energy consumption
■ Short return on investment
■ Completely reliable and maintenancefree
■ Reduction of setting-up-time through
an automatic quick cleaning system
Correction diagram
Internal roller pressure (bar)
The Küsters DyePad station with its
flexible S-Roll Technology can dye
woven and knitted goods, in reproducible and premium quality. Moreover
the Küsters DyePad offers great flexibility due to the correction potential of
the two S-Rollers. This means an
attractively priced, simple to operate,
reliable and economical Padder station
able for diverse handling.
Shaft pressure (bar)
New deflection range
Conventional deflection range
New Küsters S-Roll with double correction potential
■ Greater flexibility for the dye producer
■ Enhanced reproducibility with electronic pressure control
Küsters DyePad
Küsters S-Roll Technology
Insight of the S-Roll
The S-Roll as the heart of the overall
system enables accurate reproducible
results due to its user defined capabilities, to define pressure application
possibilities to the two S-Rolls. By
means of an intelligent software support system, a uniform dyestuff application is guaranteed, this means versatile requirements in relation to quality
and material can be achieved.
Sealing concept of the S-Roll
The deflection-controlled roll for
constant results
Küsters Padders are equipped with the
well-known “Swimming Roll” (S-Roll)
Küsters Technology. With controlled linear pressure the deflection-controlled
rolls achieve a specific squeezing nip for
every fabric.
Linear pressure between two S-Rolls absolutely
even across the full width
Pressure increased at center of rolls
Pressure reduced at center of rolls
Pressure raised on one side of the rolls
Technical data
222.12
222.18
Number of S-Rolls
2
2
Working width (mm)
1600 – 2600
2400 – 3600
Diameter of S-Rolls (mm)
220
300
Max. linear pressure (N/mm)
15 – 50
12 – 50
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Küsters DyePad
Trough or nip dyeing
Modular design and construction
enables all practical requirements for
application in modern processing. All
concepts are aligned to supply economically and technologically, the best
possible solution for our customers.
The determining parameters when
padding knit goods are
■ Dye liquor temperature
■ Pressure line of the padder
(correction left, centre, right)
■ Fabric absorbency
■ Fabric tension
While the first three points pose no new
problems for knits in comparison to
woven, the issue of “fabric tension” must
be approached with care. Differences in
the fabric tension can lead to dye deviations of up to 30%.
This is the reason why the Küsters
DyePad for knits defines an accurate and
constant fabric transport, all the way from
the infeed where the fabric is guided over
a segment roller right up to batching.
diameter increases, thereby safeguarding
constant winding conditions.
A special displacement element permits
low liquor contents and accordingly fast
liquor exchange. Furthermore the low
liquor content minimises the dyestuff loss
when changing the dye bath. For specific
applications the fabric can be guided
through a horizontal nip.
A constant fabric tension is therefore
maintained during the entire treatment
process, from dye application to squeezing procedure. Low tension batching
takes place via transferring rollers after
controlled squeezing of the knit goods.
The batching trolley is moved pneumatically along the movable platform as roll
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Küsters DyePad
Contidos SF dosing station
Dissolving
station
Dye preparation
Contidos SF 3
Chemicals
Overview Contidos SF dosing station
Dye padder
The Contidos SF dosing station guarantees accurate reproduction at a premium quality as well as consistent
process management. The system efficiently controls the entire dyeing
process through automatic monitoring
and online dosing.
Modern concept for Cold Pad Batch
(CPB) reactive dyeing
The complexities of the textile challenges, require custom-made concepts
and innovative detailed solutions, regarding construction and procedure.
Mastering the CPB reactive dyeing
process goes way beyond the flexing
compensation of the rollers and their correction possibilities. The target of the dye
producer is to have an accurately reproducible process management. This is
accomplished by temperature management and innovative dosing concepts.
Single component dosing unit
Temperature management
Season and geographically independent,
constant and reproducible application
and batching temperature.
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Dosing to measure
Online dosing for CPB dyeing with
padder
■ Production of dye liquor on the basis of
dye solution and auxiliaries dispensed
separately
■ Dye solution and auxiliaries are blended homogeneously in a mixer and fed
into the padder
■ Dosing of each individual component
according to a formula in ml per liter of
dye liquor
■ Metering of liquor pick-up
■ Record of consumption
■ Automatic operation mode
■ High accuracy in dye liquor production,
with automatic control of dosing tolerances
■ Simple and rapid color changes
■ Small loss of dye liquor and short rinsing-times in the case of color changes
■ No preparation of auxiliary baths
■ Dosing capacity according to a recipe
and production capacity
■ PLC control with operator terminal
■ Link to process control system
■ Dissolving and preparation unit available
■
KNIT-LINE
STARTER KIT – Starter concept to open width treatment of knit goods
The STARTER KIT makes it possible to
begin the gradual change from the tubular to open width treatment of knit goods.
Included primarily in the “Starter package” are a DyePad and a small
TRIKOFLEX washing installation.
The TRIKOFLEX takes care of the prewash and the washing after CPB bleaching and reactive dyeing.
A cost efficient concept, designed for production of 3–5 tons per day. The process
flow and open width treatment result in
high reproducibility and low steam, water
and energy consumption. In addition,
quality is increased since rope creases,
hairiness, and pilling or micro-pilling are
avoided. Pre-washing allows trouble-free
thermosetting of delicate articles with a
high Elastane content. There is no danger
of crease fixation during thermosetting. At
the same time, smoke emissions do not
pollute the environment.
The following table shows the STARTER
KIT process of open width treatment of
knit goods containing Elastane.
Open width treatment STARTER KIT
Rope process route
Hose cutting
Hose cutting
CPB cold bleaching
Thermo-setting
Washing of cold bleaching
TRIKOFLEX
Sewing together
Stenter drying and
thermosetting
Bleaching in JET
CPB dyeing
Dyeing in JET
Washing after CPB
Hose opening/cutting
Drying on stenter
Drying on stenter
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KNIT-LINE
KNIT-LINE machine concepts
BEN-WASH Post-treatment of vat and reactive dyed or printed fabrics
BEN-BLEACH Continue Pre-treatment with demineralization and bleaching
BEN-WASH Post-treatment of reactive dyed or printed fabrics
BEN-DIMENSA MS-2 Combination of chainless system and stenter frame
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Benninger can now satisfy the ever
changing demands for flexibility of the
fashion industry and of quality conscious
customers by being able to offer suitable
machinery for the open width processing
of knitted fabrics which ensures highest
quality. In addition it must be mentioned
that apart from the improved quality, open
width finishing, as opposed to the classical rope form treatment by exhaust
methods, also promises lower variable
production costs up to 30%. The engagement of Benninger in relation to knitted
goods will generate in long terms new
standards for quality oriented textile companies and will make them competitive.
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Locations
Head ofﬁce
Uzwil, Switzerland
Subsidiaries
Mumbai, India
Shanghai, China
Zell, Germany
Zittau, Germany
Representative ofﬁce
Moscow, Russia
The Swiss company Benninger has been the textile industrys leading partner across the globe for one hundred and
fifty years with global branches and service representatives. Benninger develops and manufactures textile finishing
and cord production ranges as well as providing complete system solutions. As the market leader Benninger will
continue to rely on its comprehensive process know-how in order to be able to offer high-quality installations with
excellent customer service.
Benninger AG
9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
T +41 71 955 85 85
F +41 71 955 87 47
[email protected]
Benninger Zell GmbH
Schopfheimerstrasse 89
79669 Zell i.W., Germany
T +49 7625 131 0
F +49 7625 131 298
[email protected]
www.benningergroup.com
Benninger Zittau
Küsters Textile GmbH
Gerhart-Hauptmann-Strasse 15
02763 Zittau, Germany
T +49 3583 83 0
F +49 3583 83 303
[email protected]
Benninger AG
Moscow Office
Leningradsky pr-t 72
Bld. 4, Office 802
125315 Moscow, Russia
T +7 495 721 18 99
F +7 495 721 30 84
[email protected]
Benninger India Ltd.
415 /416 & 417
Sunshine Plaza
Dadar (East)
Mumbai 400 014, India
T +91 22 4322 7600
F +91 22 4322 7601
[email protected]
Benninger Textile Machinery Co. Ltd.
Room 904, Tower A
City Center of Shanghai
100 Zun Yi Road
Shanghai 200051, P.R. China
T +86 21 6237 1908
F +86 21 6237 1909
[email protected]
You can feel it’s Benninger