The further developed intensive needling method “MicroPunch” was the highlight of the whole exhibition and led to a very many visitors who wanted to get more information about this brand new Dilo technology. MicroPunch is a web forming and consolidation process which- after many years of research work-can lead to a breakthrough in the market for hygiene and medical felts as well as technical felts, as now finally an alternative has been found to the dominating water entangling technology. Advantages of “MicroPunch” which is based on classical needling technology are a greatly reduced energy consumption for the drive of the production line. Furthermore, the water consumption of ca. 15,000 litres/h can be eliminated as well the need for heating gas to dry the nonwoven. All in all about 70 to 80 % of the installed electrical power and gas capacity are saved and thus a new approach has been taken to a sustainable production process. In addition, the space needed for installing a Dilo “MicroPunch” production line is about half the space required by a water entangling line. Another advantage is a reduced fibre consumption. The overall cost reduction is about 25 to 50 % for a kilogram of nonwoven in favour of “MicroPunch” for the production of lightweight nonwovens in an area weight of ca. 40 – 100 g/m². Of course, these calculations take into account the currently high electrical power, gas and water costs which favour the mechanical Dilo needling principle. This technological progress was only possible by the use of an extremely high number of needles in the production line. In view of the economic use of this technology a so called “needle module” was created which dramatically reduces the time for inserting needles into the needle boards. For the insertion of a total of more than 1 million needles in a 2.5 m wide line working time can be reduced to a few hours.
Environmental and Cost Considerations
“MicroPunch” products are similar to water entangled products in regard to abrasion characteristics and density; their volume and elasticity are higher which makes the intensively needled material very attractive for medical and hygiene applications. Also some technical applications, such as automotive parts or apparel can be considered, too. The “MicroPunch” procedure, overall, can be considered as groundbreaking, if both the economic advantages and ecological issues are considered.
In the weeks and months preceding the ITMA show, the dedication of Dilo employees in many departments, especially research and development, acquisition, production and assembly, was necessary to construct the production line under high time pressure and to reassemble and restart-up at the exhibition site within the shortest possible time of 2 ½ weeks. Now the production line has been re-installed in our Technology Centre in Eberbach to start textile product development with interested parties using their fibre material. This new division of lightweight nonwovens is characterized as a “green” alternative especially when biodegradable fibres are used. The high commitment and motivation of the employees is recognized by the management of the family owned company, Johann Philipp Dilo and his daughters Rebecca and Riccarda, and a cause for great appreciation of the work undertaken.
