Specialist narrow fabrics machine builder Mageba is launching a brand new high-productivity shuttle loom for complex, multi-dimensional narrow fabrics at next month's ITMA 2011 in Barcelona.

Mageba says it's new SSL MV shuttle loom is designed for complex fabric structures, such as multi-dimensional, multi-layer fabric for profile fabric and near net-shaped fabrics made of carbon fibre and glass fibre.

The brand new development is said to increase production output significantly and make possible the creation of new woven structures.

The loom which will be on display in Barcelona has 4-shuttle weft insertion and is designed for light to medium-weight fabrics. Fabric width is up to 300mm and the weft insertion rate is up to 100 wefts per shuttle per minute.

Multishuttle simultaneous weft insertion

Shedding is carried out using a special Unival 100 type jacquard made by Stäubli, with the 1064 harness cords of the jacquard being individually controlled by mini servo motors, allowing flexible, freely-programmable warp thread-controlled shedding across the entire width of the fabric.

This level of flexibility allows for generating several sheds at the same time so that multishuttle simultaneous weft insertion is possible.

"The combination of a servo driven weft insertion system, with four shuttles, a vertically and horizontally movable batten and innovative shedding with harness cords controlled by servo motors allows simultaneous weft insertion of three shuttles, presently.

This allows tripling the fabric production which up to now has never been to be achieved, compared to conventional weft insertion systems for shuttle looms," Mageba said in a statement.

New multi-dimensional fabric structures

Mageba explains that using this machine configuration, new multi-dimensional fabric structures with up to four varying weft thread materials can be developed because each shuttle is equipped with varying weft yarn and each shuttle movement as well as the shedding is individually programmable per weft insertion.

Other features of the SSL MV shuttle loom are variable weft density, a V-reed for varying the width of the fabric and an exchangeable take-off to move profile fabric in a manner that protects the fabric.

Mageba says that using a variable gap adjustment the guide blocks of the shuttles can be adjusted to the fabric width so that the weave angle of the weft thread, which can be set, has an optimal fabric edge. The use of servo motors is said to optimally coordinate the machine movements.

"For example, that means that shedding opening times and material-dependent weft insertion parameters can be optimized," Mageba says.

Additional components for sophisticated and high quality fabric production such as bifurcation regulated beam let-off systems; weft insertion monitoring and weft spool winders can all be specified as optional equipment.

Mageba says that to efficiently manufacture complex multi-layer fabrics, user-friendly weaving and visualization software is required. Working with the company ScotWeave, fabric development software for complex shuttle fabric is being developed and offered for sale which supports the special characteristics and potential of Mageba multiple-weft and multiaxial shuttle looms.