TEXCARE 2024 NEWS
Texcare 2024 to showcase developments in automated textile care INTERNATIONAL
Automation is advancing apace in the textile-care sector. RFID systems, robotics and artificial intelligence are introducing greater transparency into the flow of goods, carrying out high-risk, heavy or monotonous work and improving quality control processes. In this way, these clever mechanisms are alleviating one of the most acute problems in the industry: staff shortage.
The degree of automation in the textile-care sector has already reached a high. Nevertheless, more tasks that are currently still carried out manually could be taken over by machines and robots in the future. The latest innovations in laundry automation will be on show at Texcare International in Frankfurt am Main from 6 to 9 November 2024.
Laundry traceability Although there are alternatives, RFID technology is an important tool for textile-care companies when it comes to laundry management. Tags, i.e., transponders or chips embedded in textiles, contain all relevant information about each individual item. Wireless systems are therefore set to become increasingly important for machine-supported, efficient laundry processing, as shown by a variety of automation developments.
Automatic soiled laundry inspection and sorting
In future, sorting dirty laundry could be one of the processes that can be carried out by machines. In the systems developed by Denmark’s Inwatec, intelligent technology separates, recognises and classifies the goods delivered: robots pick up the individual
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items of laundry from conveyor belts, while RFID chip readers or cameras and artificial intelligence identify and register each item, be it workwear, towels or even bed linen. Immediately afterwards, an X-ray scanner automatically detects unwanted, hidden items in the bags and removes these articles. Only approved laundry items are forwarded and sorted by the system in accordance with the designated washing or cleaning process. The system, which can operate around the clock, is reliable and fast. In hospital laundries, it also minimises contact with harmful germs and the risk of injury from sharp or pointed objects. Nevertheless, such a system still cannot work fully automatically because, on the one hand, the incoming laundry has to be loaded manually from the trolleys into the sorting system and, on the other hand, the employees must handle the rejected garments, identify valuable items and return them to the wearers if the labelling makes this possible.
Scanners monitor the quality of flat linen The handling of dry laundry is also characterised by fewer personnel and more
automated technology. Thanks to developments by several companies, the continuous scanning of textiles for holes, stains, deformations or colours has long been used for ironing laundry of identical dimensions. At this point, imperfect items are removed from the process, after which the flawless items are automatically folded and stacked.
Robots do the folding without a break Other automated processes now include the folding and stacking of terrycloth products. Companies such as Hebetec Wäschereitechnik, Kannegiesser and Sewts are set to present corresponding solutions at Texcare 2024.
Automatically sorted to the packing station To date, processing automation has usually concluded with the laundry items grouped together in stacks, which are then manually sorted, picked, assigned to tours or stored. This gap between the folding machine and the packaging area can now also be closed, too, thanks to a storage and replenishing system for stacked flat linen developed by the Jensen Group. The
stacks of clean laundry are placed on a storage belt and automatically fed to the staff who fulfil the orders. An additional storage system that can also be integrated into the system provides further space for the laundry stacks. They are temporarily stored there, retrieved as required and transported to the packing station using cranes and conveyor belts, where laundry staff complete the deliveries for the customers.
Human skills remain in demand Thanks to the rapid development of sensors, artificial intelligence and robotics, textile care 4.0 is taking on ever more tangible forms. These clever systems give companies the chance to automate similar tasks and thereby improve their performance, laundry quality and hygiene. Shortages of skilled and unskilled labour can be better covered, while employees benefit from a higher quality of work and new opportunities for development. Nevertheless, despite the rapid advances in automation, the textile service industry is inconceivable without human beings. Their cognitive skills are required, in particular, for coding, individualisation (applying name badges or patches), length adjustment and repair, as well as for cleaning private laundry. In many cases, a trained eye is often faster than cameras and artificial intelligence when it comes to quality control and assessment. However, as such activities quickly lead to fatigue, it is likely that the next wave of automation will be in this area of textile care. See more on AI in our cover
DRY RUN: The automated production line from Kannegiesser,
story, pages 8-9 and our special AI feature on pages 22-25
May 2024 | LCNi 7
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