Von der Idee zum Transfer
Center of Excellence in
Nonwovens
Competence brochure
Nonwovens
Nonwovens are generally regarded as helpers in secret because of their often concealed installation and functionality. However, since at least the Covid-19 pandemic, they have become more present and visible to everyone. In particular, extrusion nonwovens offer excellent and adjustable filter properties, which make them destined for the production of mouth-nose protective masks. There was no question that the available systems engineering at STFI’s center of excellence in nonwovens was transferred from experimental to production mode in short term in order to meet the soaring demand with albeit small production volume. After all, around 4.2 tons of SMS nonwovens were delivered to converting every week by mid-2020. A quantity sufficient for the production of at least 750,000 masks. With this challenge our employees have gained valuable experience in terms of process optimization. Additional knowledge and new ideas for future research topics were generated.
Developments far away from the pandemic have also had and still have their permanent place in our activity profile. The current transformation in the automotive industry is not directly felt by falling order numbers, but by demanding hype of development requests. The driving force for this transformation is surely the change to e-mobility. We continue to deal with sustainable topics in the areas of lightweight construction, recycling and use of renewable resources. Changing social conditions place new demands on filtration or acoustics, for which we work on intelligent solutions. Our team has strengthened with a number of young scientists and technicians. We look forward to intensive thematic discussions and exciting professional cooperation with you.
Any questions?
Your contact
Patrick Engel, M. Sc.
Manager Center of Excellence in Nonwovens
Phone: +49 371 5274-204
- Web formation
- Nonwoven bonding
- Fibre-, spunbond- & meltblown nonwovens
- Preparation of natural and man-made fibres
- Sliver, yarn and twine production
- Quality assessment
- Networked Production & Robotics
- Simulation & Modeling
- Data Analytics
- Cutting and cut-grinding
- Tearing
- Smart Textiles
- Surface functionalisation
- Textile composite structures
- Chemical analytics
Fibrous materials
Staple fibers from natural polymers
Viscose, alginates, acetate
Staple fibers from synthetic polymers
PP, PES, PLA, PBS, PA, special fibersSpecial fibers from non-polymers
metal, glass fibers, basalt fibers
Organic animal natural fibers
Sheep wool, alpaca woolOrganic natural plant fibers
cotton, kapok, flax, hemp, leaf fibersReclaimed fibers from textile production waste and old clothes
Granules for extrusion
- Petrochemical polymers (PP, PES, PA, PEEK, PU)
- Polymers from renewable raw materials (PLA, PBS)
Fields of application
Research News
Voluminous filter media with high dimensional stability
09/2017-08/2019
The main task in a research project was to increase the dimensional stability of the filter material/pile fibre nonwoven fabric and to reduce the unbalanced strength and elongation behaviour towards MD:CD=1:1. This could be realised on the one hand by the additional spunlace layer applied to the mesh side of the Kunit nonwoven fabric, and on the other hand by the use of the Maliknit process, in which a crosswise laid fibre nonwoven is feeded into the Kunit machine (see Fig.). The testing of the filter materials in incineration plants on an industrial scale was carried out together with the project partners Institut für Luft- und Kältetechnik gGmbH, Dresden, and the company Endress Holzfeuerungsanlagen GmbH, Burgbernheim.
Completed projects
Title | Duration | Editor |
---|---|---|
Multifunktionale Verbundvliesstoffe für technische Anwendungen | 10/2017-07/2019 | A. Nestler |
01/2018-06/2019 | P. Engel | |
02/2017-06/2019 | U. Heye | |
03/2017-03/2019 | P. Engel |