Drawing a crowd – Sophia Krinner and the functional warp-knitted textile innovation Smart Shirt at IDTechEx Show! 2019. © Karl Mayer

As an expert partner for the manufacturing of e-textiles, Karl Mayer exhibited at IDTechEx Show! 2019 and gave a presentation on its field of expertise. This was the innovative textile machine manufacturer’s second time at the event, and its staff said they were very pleased with their positive showing.

“The upgrades we’ve made to our 2018 solution allowed us to establish ourselves as a trend-setter when it comes to the direct integration of wires into textiles. This technology just keeps unlocking more and more potential, and there’s a lot of interest in it for practical applications,” said Michael Kieren, Product Manager for New Textile Technologies. Mr Kieren went on to explain that this is a particular important moment to ensure that the company has a presence in the sector, as the textiles industry is providing stiff competition with procedures such as printed electronics.

Red-letter day

IDTechEx Show! is a red-letter day for anyone with an interest in new technology. The latest edition of the conference and exhibition even was held in Santa Clara, last week, and attracted around 3,500 visitors from 60 different countries.

Over 270 exhibitors and star speakers from industrial and research backgrounds competed for the guests’ attention on the programme, which included around 270 speeches. The presentations covered all the latest content and issues: energy storage, printed electronics, sensors, the Internet of Things, electro-mobility and wearables.

Integrated conductivity

At IDTechEx Show! 2018, Karl Mayer presented a textile remote control under the name Textile-Circuit. At this year’s event, the manufacturer turned up with a smart shirt for measuring vital bodily functions in its suitcase – and much more besides. The sensor monitoring technology for the item of clothing is incorporated directly into the made-to-measure textile during production.

The warp knitting machine’s string bar technology allow the manufacturer to adapt the expansion, shape and position of the sensitive areas to suit the requirements of the application at hand. As such, the Textile-Circuit technology is said to offer “unrivalled efficiency”. Michael Kieren, Product Developer for Textile Technology Sophia Krinner, and Tony Hooimeijer, President of Karl Mayer North America, enjoyed a thrilling discussion on the innovation, and were delighted to answer questions on the projects that can be jointly developed in the Maker Space at Karl Mayer’s headquarters.

Those who came to talk about Textile-Circuit included both big textile companies and customers from the knitwear sector, many of whom were looking to add another string to their bow by setting up an e-textiles segment. “We’ve thrown our hat in the ring and will keep working hard to evolve our Textile-Circuit developments even further,” explained Ms Krinner.

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