Robot can coat textiles with silicone

摘要

A project that aimed to reduce the cost of manufacturing hold-up stockings has led to the development of a robot capable of making silicone-coated textiles for medical products, and sports-, fashion- and everyday-wear. A global manufacturer of elasticated textiles, Stretchline Holdings, which has its headquarters in Walgama Malwana, Sri Lanka, and its coating and bonding division in Long Eaton, UK, selected Kawasaki Robotics UK Ltd of Warrington, the robotics division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Kobe and Tokyo, Japan, to help it find ways to reduce the costs associated with its manufacturing, which conventionally involves an expensive, multi-step process including separately making elasticated bands, and dying and sewing them to the garments.