In Machinery innovations show the future of textile manufacturing, Adrian Wilson takes one last look at ITMA (held in Barcelona, Spain, on the 20–26 June). It would be a mistake, however, to see this as a retrospective article, because the trends revealed will help to shape our industry for years to come.

One such trend is the increasing reliance of machinery builders on sensors, which they are deploying to make manufacturing machinery run more efficiently, produce better-quality textiles, and be easy to set-up and operate. These developments can also be seen as the first practical steps towards the implementation of automation and data exchange between textile manufacturing technologies (frequently referred to as “Industry 4.0”). Indeed, many exhibitors at the show presented developments involving machine–machine interactions and, in more advanced programmes, the means for such networks of equipment to adapt autonomously (so-called “machine learning”) for the benefit of the manufacturing process.

Workers in highly automated factories, such as found in the automotive industry for instance, are used to the ubiquitous presence of robotics. The show floors in Barcelona and at Techtextil/Texprocess (held on 14–17 May, in Frankfurt, Germany) made it clear that this is also the future for textile mills, now that the difficulties of such systems having to manipulate soft materials are being overcome.

A third trend was a notable increase in the number of exhibitors demonstrating technologies dedicated to the needs of the booming composites industry. Machines to make textiles for reinforcements, and to handle and coat composites have now been developed specifically for these tasks, rather than adapted from existing products. Equally, it was clear exhibitors are beginning to use composites to make some machine parts. Could the next ITMA (in Milan, Italy, in June 2023) see the first textile machine to be built exclusively or largely from composites?

One specific need of the composites industry is to reduce its manufacturing waste, because the matrix materials and textile reinforcements it uses are expensive. More generally, ITMA exhibitors showed they are heavily committed to helping to reduce and recycle manufacturing waste, as well as to recycling post-use materials, for a range of industries. Manufacturers who face the prospect of legislation that will make them responsible for the collection of colossal numbers of garments and textile-based products after use will have been reassured to see several commercial technologies demonstrated that can take textile waste, including some comprising mixed materials, and use it to make new products. Only partially reassured, though, because future such developments will need to be profound and rapid if the industry is to meet the huge expectations currently expressed by regulators and consumers.

No need to wait until 2023 to find-out if machinery builders can provide the answers, however, as Technical Textiles International and technical-textiles.net will be here to keep readers informed of any progress as and when it happens.

See also:

• Innovations for weaving and knitting technical fabrics
• Sustainable solutions for finishing, and coating and laminating
• Automated, sustainable and cost-effective solutions for spinners
• Machine builders target manufacturers of performance nonwovens
• Innovations in digital printing continue at a rapid pace
• ITMA 2019 promotes equipment to satisfy every manufacturer’s need