Menzel: OPTICOLOUR padder

Menzel from Germany has been producing textile machinery since 1925 and specializes in finishing machinery.

The important step within the textile chain is dyeing. In this context, dyeing of open width cotton fabric can be done by a discontinuously running cold pad-batch or continuously operating pad-steam processes.

Menzel supplies appropriate ranges for both processes and at ITMA Barcelona, Menzel showcased the dyeing padder OPTICOLOUR. This machine is the result of a long-lasting developments and the  new version shown at ITMA can be used in different processes like cold pad batch ranges, pad-steam ranges as well as different types of impregnation ranges. 

This innovative machine consists of the perfect combination of well-known components. Some of them have been patented formerly. The combination of special rolls, the pressure system for the rolls and the movable troughs guarantees  extremely high efficiency.

The OPTICOLOUR enable an increase in production achieved by high precision of the interacting components. The OPTICOLOUR dye padder itself is completed by the dosing station as well as the integrated process control system. Thus the unit guarantees an high reproducibility of the system, which eliminates second choice fabric to a minimum. All above mentioned elements result in reduced down times of the range and thus an increase in productivity.

Mustafa Ashraf, Mustex Corporation explains, “a substantial advantage of OPTICOLOUR is use of the special roll technology, which imparts a quality improvement to the dyed fabric and furthermore, this machine can be adapted to the fabric requirements in a very broad range. In addition to above, the integrated process control system provides an excellent reproducibility of the technological parameters.

The short delivery times and small batch sizes are forcing companies to prefer new machines, which offer increase flexibility. The flexibility of this range is achieved by reducing the down times and the fact that the machine is ready for a re-start after a very short time. This allows frequent fabric changes within a short period of time. By using Menzel’s quick-cleaning-system with movable trough as well as process control system flexibility is increased. For instance adjusting parameters according to process number, automatic regulation of dosing stations as well as the finished lot reduce the downtime periods. Thus the proper parameters of the adjustment of the range can be found in a short period of time.

With the rising energy prices, this  energy efficient remains competitive, as the electric drives comply with highest demands of the energy efficiency Class 1. The cooling devices for liquor cooling also meet the up-to-date requirements of energy savings.

Energy is one main cost driver, another is material, in case of textile dyeing mainly the grey fabric and the dye liquor are important inputs. In order to reduce the consumption of both, new trough shapes for the dye liquor are more compact, thus the liquor content is reduced, the liquor balance is reached within a short time and consequently causes less start-up losses. Due to the optimized machine conditions, the consumption of grey fabric and dye liquor is minimized considerably.

The OPTICOLOUR padder is operator friendly and Menzel offer a better interface between man and machine. The interfaces are graphically highlighted which allow an easy selection of the process parameters. The automatic control system for temperature, fabric tension and intermediate rinsing processes reduces the manual operation of the user to start-up and control function.