Global belting market leader Habasit is showcasing its latest innovation and extensive range of proven solutions for the textile industry at this year’s ITMA, the world’s largest international textile and garment technology exhibition, from 20 – 26 June in Barcelona. Visitors can explore Habasit’s comprehensive portfolio of textile industry solutions, ranging from its new, patented “smart” printing blanket to belts for yarn processing and nonwoven materials manufacture.
Reinach/Switzerland, June 2017 – As textile printing moves from traditional screen printing to digital printing, Habasit remains the belting pioneer for the industry, and continues to roll out cutting-edge belting solutions. The company has been a leader in the field for over 30 years: Habasit introduced TPU printing blankets to replace rubber belts in the 1980s, launched high-performance aramid printing blankets in the 1990s, and in 2017 released the world’s first printing blanket with a stabilized neutral line construction.
Introducing Habasit’s game-changing smart printing blanket
The new digital printing technology requires extremely high printing blanket positioning accuracy. Digital machines have thousands of nozzles shooting billions of drops per second, and each drop of ink must land on the textile with a precision of plus/minus 20 microns across a printing area that often exceeds 5 meters. The challenge now is to improve on this, especially since the extremely high printing accuracy needed by high-resolution printheads on single-pass printing machines cannot be entirely achieved using traditional printing blankets.
Meet the future of digital textile printing
At ITMA 2019, Habasit will be using a “live” test/demonstrator bench to present its patented concept for the first ever printing blanket with an integrated linear encoder. According to Luca Rovacchi, Habasit Industry Segment Manager for textiles, “This leading-edge technology features a magnetic field acting like an electronic tape measure embedded in the belt. Put simply, this lets sensors read the exact measurements of the belt (with one sensor per color), and coordinate with the printheads to attain even greater printing precision by actively compensating for unavoidable mechanical imprecisions. We want visitors to come and see for themselves what the future of digital textile printing will look like.”
Very wide range of printing blankets
The new concept builds on Habasit’s proven range of printing blankets, which is optimized for every kind of digital textile printing machine, from plotter types to high-productivity and high- precision multi- or single-pass printing machines, and flat bed and rotary screen printing machines. Very wide printing blankets can also be accommodated.
An example of Habasit’s innovative digital printing solutions is its recently-launched ENU-55AXBY. This innovative printing belt, which will be on display at ITMA, features a strong aramid traction layer and a unique asymmetric 3-ply structure for low positioning of the neutral phase, enabling the highest printing accuracy on digital scanning and single pass machines.
Rolling out plastic modular belts and timing belts
For the first time at ITMA, Habasit is presenting not only its fabric belts but also its plastic modular belts and timing belts for yarn processing and non-woven applications. Given the firm’s growing portfolio of satisfied textile industry customers, it is important to highlight these high-performance belting solutions for the market.
All-round yarn processing – from bale opening to spinning
Habasit’s comprehensive range of power transmission and conveyor belts for yarn processing will also be in the spotlight. The belts support applications for short- and long staple, as well as man-made fibers, covering every stage of the process: from bale opening to carding, combing, winding and twisting. With a solution for every application, including for high machine speeds, Habasit belts offer high machine productivity and output, valuable energy savings, long lifetimes, reduced downtimes, and consistent yarn quality. Power transmission belts are available in aramide, polyester and polyamide, and feature a choice of joining methods.
Ensuring the highest quality nonwovens
Nonwoven textiles are increasingly used in areas ranging from hygiene and medicine, to automotive component manufacture, to geo-textiles. Habasit is taking a growing market share for its belts used with the crosslapper machines that produce nonwoven textiles. Information on the belts’ excellent productivity and high line speeds, fiber versatility, non-marking belt joint, and avoidance of fiber accumulation will be available at the booth.
Wrap-around worldwide service
As a true solution provider, not just a product manufacturer, Habasit’s highly experienced application engineers help customers – both OEMs and end users – select exactly the right belt to achieve the correct cost-to-performance ratios for their new printing machine or retrofit. A worldwide service network ensures ongoing technological support, upgrades and repairs.
Habasit invites delegates to ITMA to visit its booth H3-C212 and start the discussion on their needs.
About Habasit
Habasit helps customers to improve the reliability, quality and productivity of their equipment and processes, providing them with excellent conveyor and power transmission products, systems and services. Established in 1946 in Basel, Switzerland, the family-owned company now has a global presence in over 70 countries, with more than 3,800 employees in affiliated companies and service centers worldwide. Habasit’s customers receive the highest quality products and comprehensive, tailor-made solutions from our extensive range of fabric-based conveyor belts, plastic modular belts and chains, power transmission belts, and monolithic and timing belts.
For further information, please visit www.habasit.com.
