Simultaneous or traversing distortion detection in textile production: a tough decision. Or is it?

With the invention of the first automatic weft straightener, Mahlo GmbH + Co. KG set a milestone in the textile industry. Continuous further development and a high level of innovation, incorporating many years of experience in application technology, resulted in the straightening technology that still defines the standard in the industry today. No other system on the market can detect distortions as precisely as the scanning system of the machine manufacturer from Bavaria, Germany. Even the most complicated weaves, surface structures and patterns are detected fully automatically and reliably. The appropriate measuring principle for the interested customer's product mix can be selected from a broad portfolio of different scanning technologies and sensors. Mahlo sales manager Thomas Höpfl explains what is behind this.

What are the requirements for distortion detection according to today's standards?

Thomas Höpfl: Modern distortion detection must function fully automatically at today's high fabric speeds without errors, regardless of weave and surface effects, pile, loops or hairs. To ensure this, we at Mahlo have developed a wide variety of specialized sensors. This allows us to select the system according to the customer's product mix, and not necessarily have to use a specific process, even if it is not the best fit.

Which measuring principles does Mahlo use?

The optoelectronic measuring principle developed by Mahlo with an oscillating cylindrical lens is capable of scanning all textile structures for weft thread and stitch course distortion, with a few exceptions. It is the most universally applicable measuring principle. For the few exceptions that cannot be scanned with the optoelectronic sensor, we also offer an imaging, i.e. camera-based, measuring principle as a supplement.

For highest demands both systems can be combined.

If the distortion of a repeating pattern is to be detected, the previously mentioned measuring principles are often not suitable. Therefore, we have developed a system with which we can specifically detect the pattern distortion. For this purpose, we capture the entire fabric width with a line scan camera. The image thus generated is evaluated with specially developed evaluation algorithms. The pattern distortion is determined and simultaneously eliminated with the straightening mechanism.