China based Shandong Yingli, one of the first companies in China to produce Lyocell fibres, has acquired a fully-automatic UNI-FORK fibre press from Autefa to increase automatic fibre logistics productivity and quality.

Autefa Solutions Germany, a market leader in automatic fibre logistics and a manufacturer of hydraulic fibre presses, presented a new machine concept two years ago with the UNI-FORK.

The machine is designed to optimize the process of pressing a bale, increase the efficiency of the process and improve the quality of the fibre packing. So far, the process reached marketability and machines have already been installed at various locations, the manufacturer reports.

Bale packing

The company’s customer, Shandong Yingli, produces Lyocell fibres. Lyocell is an industrially produced regenerated fibre based on cellulose, produced with direct wet spinning process. Lyocell fibres are used for different applications, such as textiles in the medical area and as nonwoven product for hygienic and cosmetics products.

Using the fibre in the hygienic industry means highest requirements for the bale packing. In response to these requirements, Shandong Yingli turned to Autefa for the company’s new solution. The company was also convinced of the total concept with the extensive optimization of the process.

UNI-FORK and AD-WRAP

The UNI-FORK intelligent concept is said to save costs with a very small investment for a fully automatic process while improving quality. The central idea of the system is to use one transfer fork for one or more prepresses and to operate one or more main presses.

At Shandong Yingli, the cut Lyocell fibre of two (or more) independently working fibre lines go via a condenser to two (or more) Autefa pre-presses and are pre-compacted to a bale. These pre-compacted bales are taken out with the central working UNI-FORK on a rotating basis of the pre-presses and handed over to a central main-press. The main-press compresses the bale totally and makes the strapping around the bale. Afterwards the bales will be packed with two overlapping, elastic stretch hoods of polyethylene (AD-WRAP).

Complete protection

In this way, the packing of the fibre bale is completely protected against dirt, foreign fibres (like hair) and insects, the company reports. It is said to have protection against contamination like no other type of packing.

“For every kind of hygienic fibre, it is a significant improvement, avoiding waste, decreasing costs and improving sustainability of the supply chain. Companies who still strap and pack manually can quickly profit with the AD-WRAP. A return on investment can be recognized in approximately 1.5 years,” says the manufacturer.

Other benefits

Other advantages of the UNI-FORK include the high total capacity of up to 60 bales/h per main press, the gentle fibre transfer and the universal usability. Not only high-performance fibre lines with over 300 tons per day but also small fibre lines for aramid, polypropylene or coloured fibres can be designed individually.

UNI-FORK and AD-WRAP from Autefa Solutions are unique and are protected by a patent. Both machines together form a system designed to lead to a strong reduction of personnel costs, high availability of the machine and a short amortization period, according to the manufacturer.

www.autefa.com