The interiors of virtually all automobiles would be unimaginable without technical textiles, which are used for floor mats, seat covers, headlining, door panels, safety devices like airbags and seat belts, most sound insulation materials, and even entire body parts. Technical textiles enable progress, the use of better materials, weight and cost reduction, and higher performance. In order for these textiles to meet stringent automotive requirements, weaving as a manufacturing process is often found to be the optimal solution – and the production equipment must meet the highest criteria for quality and productivity.

Producing automotive interior with Jacquard and frame weaving

With the introduction of additional airbags e.g. in wingback seats, body pillars, or headlining, safety standards have been further elevated. Depending on the complexity and design, these airbags are either made from pieces of flat fabric cut out and sewn together or woven in one piece as a complex airbag. One-piece woven (OPW) airbags are produced on modern high-performance weaving machines. The high flexibility in the design and creation of these airbags requires a high number of hooks at high warp tensions in order to be able to control each warp thread individually. The yarn material used, the complex weaving patterns, and the importance of precise structures demand the use of a reliable, robust Jacquard machine like the Stäubli LXL PRO. Its lifting mechanism ensures precise shed geometry and guarantees vibration- and fault-free operation even at the highest speeds.

Besides Jacquard weaving, Stäubli also offers proven systems for frame weaving: rotary dobbies and eccentric machines with maintenance-free harness motion. These machines are used worldwide to produce seat covers, headliners, trunk lining, sheathing for cable harnesses, and many other applications. Thanks to their robust and durable design and high weaving speeds, Stäubli Jacquard machines meet the demands of challenging production conditions.

Weaving mills producing heavy preforming fabrics several centimeters thick used in making lightweight composite parts for car bodies face particular challenges. For this special field, Stäubli offers the modular TF weaving system, which provides maximum flexibility in terms of weave variety to produce flat, spacer, and complex multilayer fabrics.

Automated weaving preparation for high quality standards

Warp preparation is a crucial process for efficiency and quality in the mill. Stäubli weaving preparation solutions like the various warp-tying machines and the SAFIR warp drawing-in systems provide consistently high quality, reduce weaving machine downtime, and deliver decisive added value. A good example is the SAFIR S32 drawing-in machine for processing filaments with maximum productivity. With a mobile machine base, the SAFIR S32 is placed in the weaving mill where it is needed: directly at the warp beam – from which it draws directly into all common O-type healds. It is also used in other technical areas like drawing in delicate glass yarns.