Sewing Machine Industry Terminology: Textile Machinery Facing Energy Efficiency Challenges

Today, the impact of automated sewing machines in reducing labor costs and improving product quality has become increasingly significant. Consequently, textile user companies have shown great interest in this technology. However, industry experts widely agree that while the textile industry pursues automation, high-speed production, and increased output, equal attention should be given to energy efficiency.

Engineer Hong Haicang from the Shanghai Textile Engineering Society points out that there has been a growing trend in Jiangsu Province, where foreign clients request export companies to specify the energy consumption per unit of their products. As such requests continue to increase, domestic textile companies may find it challenging to catch up.

When discussing energy efficiency in sewing machines, Hong Haicang believes that the key question is how to reduce energy consumption. Producing similar products using a rapier loom consumes 30% less energy than using a jet loom. Approximately 70% of a jet loom's power consumption is attributed to its air supply system operation. Given the current operating mode of air supply systems, reducing energy consumption for jet looms is a significant challenge.

Sewing machine maintenance often involves adding control systems and more motors and inverters, which can increase energy consumption. Power-driven systems are also needed for the transport of coarse and fine yarns, further increasing energy consumption. Higher equipment output requires motors with greater power, which can also contribute to increased energy consumption. However, according to Zhu Xianmin, Vice Chairman of the China Textile Machinery Equipment Association, while increased automation may appear to result in higher energy consumption, when considered on a per-unit production basis, energy consumption may not necessarily increase.

In addition to comparing energy consumption for entire production lines, researchers have also compared energy consumption for individual machines and continuous production systems. Zhang Huijuan, a researcher, explains that when comparing modern carding systems with traditional opening and carding cotton production lines, the former occupies less space and has lower air and power consumption. In energy consumption comparison tests of three different types of carding machines, modern high-production carding machines consumed 82.6 kWh per kilogram of cotton sliver, while traditional carding machines consumed 102.0 kWh and 98.6 kWh per kilogram of cotton sliver, respectively. Modern technology is more energy-efficient due to increased production speed.

Regarding the future direction of energy efficiency in textile machinery, Zhu Xianmin believes that further progress toward automation is the way forward. He sees energy efficiency as a goal in the pursuit of equipment intelligence. For instance, some equipment may need to remain in operation even when not actively producing to prevent issues when starting up, resulting in energy consumption during this process. With higher levels of automation, equipment can be shut down when not needed and preheated in advance, achieving energy savings.

Jet looms, which are known for their high energy consumption, primarily use dynamic control methods for the weft insertion process, controlling the opening and closing times of the main and auxiliary nozzle solenoid valves and the duration of weft insertion. These methods have been successful in achieving energy savings. Current energy-saving techniques for dynamic control of weft insertion include implementing closed-loop control, improving weft insertion precision; using lower air pressure weft insertion technology to reduce air consumption; enhancing nozzle structure for more concentrated airflow, reducing air consumption; using separate airbags for the main and auxiliary nozzles; utilizing airbags with different pressure levels for weaving different types of weft yarns, allowing adjustable pressure for the main nozzle and automatic two-stage pressure switching for the auxiliary nozzle; selecting highly sensitive, small-cavity solenoid valves; shortening air paths; optimizing electromagnetic valve control of the nozzle; and other methods to achieve energy efficiency.