Perspectives for the textile future

08/12/2022

On July 12, 2022, companies and research institutions of the Textile Innovation Network met in the Freiheitshalle Hof for the Textile Trend Forum. Under the motto "Perspectives for the textile future", ideas and visions were exchanged and strategies for sustainable products, services and the application of modern technologies were discussed.

Digitalization opens up new perspectives

How cloud computing can be used to optimize the design process of functional textiles was presented by Christian Lott (ColorDigital GmbH) and Konrad Steiner (Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics, ITWM).
The Cologne-based company ColorDigital, founded in 2015, provides a platform solution for textile design with " DMIx ". Here, digital product development goes far beyond a visual representation on a screen. Customers expect comprehensive data sets that not only describe pure material data, but also, in the context of the discussion about transparent supply chains and more sustainability, parameters such as material origin or ecological footprint.

The "TexMath" software, developed by the Fraunhofer ITWM in Kaiserslautern, enables the simulation of the mechanical material properties of woven, knitted, knitted, and spacer textiles. The goal is to optimize the functional design of technical textiles by digitizing the development process from the textile machine to the product.
A cooperation between ColorDigital and Fraunhofer ITWM and the integration of TexMath into ColorDigital's cloud solution resulted in an enhanced, user-friendly platform for the optimized design of functional textiles.

Performing technical textiles open up new fields of application

Christina Eisenbarth from the Institute for Lightweight Design and Construction (ILEK) presented the "first adaptive high-rise", a demonstration project of the Collaborative Research Center 1244 at the University of Stuttgart. Newly developed structures and building facades are being tested on the slender 36-meter tower, which will open in October 2021. The large-scale project is looking for innovative concepts for the exterior building envelope that open up new technology and design options in the facade while maximizing the reduction of resource consumption. Textile structures play a major role here. >> Further information

In the "HydroSKIN" subproject, for example, a hydroactive building envelope is being developed and tested in practice. This universally applicable textile- and film-based façade system is used for rainwater retention and evaporative cooling. It enables a drastic reduction in climatic flood and heat risks in urban regions.

How textile technologies can be used to combine different materials in the best possible way and thus make perfect use of material properties was presented by Timo Piwonski, managing partner of Iprotex GmbH & Co. KG . Since its founding in 1999, the innovative company from Münchberg has a remarkable history of success and growth and now produces textiles for automotive, industry, sports and leisure with 350 employees at nine locations worldwide.

The performance of textile structures can be seen in various product examples that were presented in the lecture. For example Tex-Lock, a practical and at the same time stylish bicycle lock made of textile hybrids, which was developed together with a start-up from Leipzig. Or a textile marten guard made of high-strength polyester. Here, a dense fabric construction insulates cables and wires in vehicles while protecting them from marten bites. Or the European Spacemesh, a knitted mesh made of gold-coated Mopybdenum wire that has already proven its worth in space missions.

Bioeconomics offers approaches for a more sustainable textile industry

Native plant fibers such as flax, nettle or hemp have been source materials for textile production for centuries. However, modern, environmentally friendly cultivation, harvesting and processing methods have been lacking for industrial use.
TITK Rudolstadt and STFI Chemnitz, together with industrial partners, have taken up this challenge and developed Lyohemp® - a lyocell-type regenerated cellulose fiber obtained from hemp plants rather than wood, which can be processed into yarns and apparel textiles with excellent finishing and wearing properties. >> Further information

As Dr. Frank Meister of the Thuringian Institute for Textile and Plastics Research e.V. presented, an alliance of regional growers, preparers and pulp manufacturers will realize the technology on a pilot and commercial scale in the near future and bring Lyohemp® fibers to market on a ton scale. Lyohemp® is thus an example of how sustainable and recyclable products can be produced and marketed through regional value creation.

Still in its infancy, but also forward-looking, is a research project of Georg Chr. Wirth GmbH & Co. KG from Helmbrechts. Florian Wirth, the young managing director of the traditional family business, has the vision of developing his own product line from regionally grown fiber nettles. His goal is to optimize cultivation and processing methods and to be able to cover the entire textile production chain up to the end product regionally. Through a crowdfunding initiative earlier this year, he was able to gain a lot of attention, recognition and new partners for his project. >> More information