How manmade fibers are transformed into textile yarns...

Manmade fibers, spun as smooth, synthetic threads, are textured

This means that they are given a natural fiber-like character, a textile touch. Only once texturing has been carried out can the fibers be used to make textiles, whose wearing properties frequently exceed those of natural fibers.

Schematic cross-section of a texturing machine from the AFK series. On the outside are the creels with the supply packages, next to them the take-up unit with the automated package transfers, in the middle at the top are the texturing units, and at the very top are the high-temperature heaters.

Texturing with false-twist crimping

The polyester or nylon thread is heated in the texturing machine until it becomes just malleable. In this state, it is drawn and is twisted, using a friction unit, 2.5 to 8 million times comparable with a skipping rope that has been knotted at the end. Subsequently, the thread is cooled and the twist reversed, which creates the crimping. At the end of this continual process, the textured yarn is wound at between 700 and 1,500 m/min. depending on the material and thread thickness. Oerlikon Barmag has been building the FK series of machines for this process since 1954; FK stands for false-twist crimping.

Oerlikon Barmag AFK the world’s most successful texturing machine

The Oerlikon Barmag AFK is the most successful texturing machine in the world. In the case of the AFK, each individual take-up position is automated. None of the winders are touched by hand. Furthermore, all packages have the same running length, which makes further processing of the yarn more efficient. The Barmag high-temperature heaters, which enable excellent yarn qualities even at high production speeds, are also new.

The AFK is a decisive step towards the fully-automatic texturing plant. The objective is to avoid all manual contact with the packages (no-touch principle). With the AFK-2 Oerlikon Barmag has set a new milestone in competitive and economic texturing.

FK6-1000 series

With the FK6-1000 series, Oerlikon Barmag has created a second line of texturing machines. These are modern and, at the same time, inexpensive machines for conventional texturing. As in the case of the AFK, this series is also modular in design.

From granulate to prêt à porter

Today, manmade fibers are not only irreplaceable, they are also omnipresent: from the finest of ladies’ tights to sturdy truck tarpaulins, from exciting lingerie to comforting airbags, from breathable sportswear to car seats, from fashionable blouses to safety belts that are strapped across them, from colorful travel bags to high-performance tires, from anti-static carpeting to sterile cloths in operating rooms. There is no end to the manifold development in sight.

The starting point for all these products is a machine that spins a thread with all the required properties: as quickly, as cost-effectively and reliably as possible. However, the spun thread does not acquire its textile wearing properties until it has been finished on an Oerlikon Barmag texturing machine.