Sudbury Silk Mills Sustainability Brochure double page - Flipbook - Page 12
Dornier Looms
To optimise weaving efficiency we have replaced some of our existing looms and invested in
12 new jacquard Dornier looms over the last year.
We have already seen some great benefits that result in the reduction of waste: - Improved quality which results in far less wasted fabric; the machine is designed to
handle weft yarn with care, which has improved our ability to weave fabrics perfectly first
time.
- Ability to control the loom speed for each design, so the optimum weaving speed is set
prior to weaving each order.
- We have been able to reduce our turnover of spare parts that were ordered and shipped
from Europe.
All of these changes have contributed to reducing our carbon footprint. Our specialist
technicians actively undertake preventative maintenance on all our looms. Regular servicing,
meaning improved reliability and efficiency, helps to reduce spare parts consumption and
downgraded fabric.
Our weaving floor is also maintained at 65% relative humidity and 22°C. This helps to
condition the yarn for efficiency gains and quality improvement, which leads to fewer
breakages of warp and weft due to increased yarn elasticity and strength.
The temperature and humidity are controlled by an air-handling unit, which also extracts,
cleans and replaces the entire volume of air in the weaving floor every 5 minutes, filtering
out any fine particles of fibre of dust. It is a crucial piece of equipment as it provides a
comfortable working environment for our production teams, helps to reduce static
electricity in yarn and machinery, improves the fabric quality and has a dramatic effect on
how certain designs perform in weaving.
