Stuttgart and partner country USA will together host a congress for technical textiles in Europe – Aachen-Dresden-Denkendorf International Textile Conference (ADD) – that takes place from 30 November to 1 December.

The aim of the event is to inspire medium-sized enterprises and developers to take a look at new research results and high-tech applications. The key focus points of the congress are high-performance fibres, medical textiles and fibre composites.

Highlights

Users in the construction industry will undoubtedly be particularly interested by research and development solutions such as 3dTEX spacer fabrics for textile-based building envelopes, solar films for shading textiles or prefabricated steel-free reinforced concrete parts, the organisers report.

Medium-sized medical engineering companies might benefit significantly from textile UV sensors, new results in wireless health monitoring or filaments for chitosan resorbable OP suture material, among much else. Highlights such as these will be showcased in Stuttgart alongside exceptionally economical load-bearing carbon fibre frames or even fibre composite recycling products.

New wound dressings

At the ADD, Dr Daniela Beck, of Kelheim Fibres GmbH, will present a bandage material made from collagen-containing viscose fibres, which has been developed jointly with Resorba Medical and partners from the Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut in Chemnitz and the Hohenstein Institutes.

These bio-based multifunctional fibres are also usable for many other medical applications, and can be used in gel-forming or pH-regulating applications or as a pH indicator for example.

Silicone-based sensor systems

In Denkendorf, not far from Stuttgart, the technical staff at DITF – Europe’s largest textiles research facility – have developed a device for characterising the liquid uptake of hygiene wovens. It is expected to become invaluable wherever the liquid absorption, storage and delivery capabilities of textile structures are important for evaluating new utility functions.

This would apply most especially to medical products, bed linen and towels, but also for sport or work clothing. The many other ideas for product innovations which may benefit medium-sized enterprises especially include, for example, wireless medical monitoring systems in the form of smart textiles, efficient production methods for medical UV sensors, new interpretation capabilities for textiles and other surfaces that come into contact with blood and tissue, or a textile-based bio-battery for medical purposes.

In search of innovations

“Smart textiles or textile composites are extremely diversified material classes which medium-sized enterprises can integrate in their smart or ultra-lightweight product innovations tomorrow,” said Prof Dr-Ing Götz Gresser, member of the board of German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research Denkendorf (DITF) and host of the textile congress.

As a nexus for dialogue between research and industry the ADD serves as a venue for presentations on new trends, technologies and application-ready solution concepts and stands at the threshold of their practical implementation.

www.aachen-dresden-denkendorf.de/itc