Recently, due to labor shortages and soaring labor costs at synthetic fiber production sites, there has been an increasing demand for higher productivity and manpower savings. In order to respond to these market demands, TMT Machinery released the new “ATF-1500” in 2009 taking advantage of accumulated technologies and know-how as a manufacturer specializing in synthetic fiber manufacturing machines.
By adopting a machine design that pursues improved performance, the ATF-1500 has achieved greater speed and automation as well as higher productivity at 384 spindles per unit. This machine contributes to reductions in factory construction costs and running costs due to its low-floor layout design in comparison to conventional machines. The ATF-1500 has been recognized for its superior performance in the market, and approximately 300 units have already been installed around the world.
For the take-up configuration, instead of the conventional 12 spindles/span, 16 spindles/span has been realized. The number of spans has been extended to 24 spans (a total of 348 spindles) from the conventional 20 spans (a total of 240 spindles), with a production volume 1.6 times that of the conventional machines.
In the twisting zone, in place of the conventional contact type vapor-phase heater and contact type cooling plate, the noncontact type HTH and SCP are mounted. HTH has a cassette type zigzag guide arrangement to prevent threads from vibrating with almost non-contact, achieving thread processing with low tension.
SCP employs our original suction-type cooling method. Almost non-contact thread running can be realized with only a few thread holding guides, allowing for thread processing at a tension as low as HTH. In addition, SCP employs a cooling method including an absorption mechanism for sudden thread action such as “passing the tail.”
Also, by combining HTH and SCP, a straight, low tension, and very short twisting zone (approximately 2m) can be achieved, and high-speed processing becomes possible.
Take-up which gives further consideration to package quality can be realized by the adoption of a individual driven belt traverse mechanism. The take-up can be controlled for individual spindles by various programs, and take-up that avoids ribbons or suppresses bulges is also available.
In order to increase the production efficiency of multiple spindle machines of 384 spindles/machine even more, a mechanism which automatically changes the thread at the IAD is built in. No manual change work is required to contribute to manpower savings. In addition, as two take-up packages can be stocked, this mechanism is
also available for automatic package transfers. Our record of performance speaks for itself, as does our experience in stable changeover rates.
