Technical Applications
Solutions for specific industrial applications
Steiger offers solutions for specific industrial applications. The knitting machine must answer the following technical specifications:
- Very precise plating technique
- Production of pockets (intarsia process)
- Lay-in yarns
- 3D Knitting with gar p needlebeds
- Warp yarn insertion
- Various materials such as glass fibers and metallic yarns
These specific solutions allows the industrial production of 3D preforms which are then solidified by resin or by heat treatment in a mould. Our machines allow 3D knitting of the preform that can go directly into the mould. This reduces production waste, avoids manual cutting and manual
Collaboration
SolarStratos is a mission, initiated by Swiss eco-explorer Raphael Domjan. It aims to achieve the first solar-powered stratospheric flight at an altitude of more than 24,000 metres. With a wingspan of 24.8 metres and weighing in at 450kg, the tandem twin-seater will fly just like any other aircraft with an autonomy of 24h. The challenge is to gain weight everywhere. Each kg saved increases the altitude that will be reached. Steiger as official supplier of the project collaborates to knit 3D carbon fibbers preforms. The preforms are then coated with resin and solidified in a mold. The resulting parts are ultra-light and highly resistant.
The KnitCandela project leaded by the ETHZ (Swiss federal institute of technology of Zurich) is a breakthrough of the utilization of the knitted preform in the architecture. KnitCandela is a thin, sinuous concrete shell built on an ultra-lightweight knitted formwork that was carried from Switzerland to Mexico in a suitcase.
KnitCrete is a novel, material-saving, system for the casting of doubly curved geometries in concrete. KnitCrete formworks use a custom, 3D-knitted, technical textile as a lightweight, stay-in-place shuttering, coated with a special cement paste. Compared to conventional weaving, knitting minimises the need for cutting patterns to create spatial surfaces.
