fabric of safety is straight knit
Innovative Developments at STRÄHLE + HESS / Partner of Choice for a Range of Industries.
Althengstett (k-w). Safety for drivers and passengers thanks to textiles? This may sound surprising at first. But developers at STRÄHLE + HESS are attracting attention in automobile and airplane manufacturing. Their textile stripping withstands even the most extreme crash tests.
The key is in knowing exactly how to weave a fabric belt so that it can withstand the force of a moving load without ripping. This protects passengers in vehicles and airplanes from serious injury. With this development, the inventive team from the Black Forest has positioned itself as partner sought after in a wide range of industries. What goes on, for example, just above the heads of airline passengers? In the differing climatic conditions at varying altitudes, the hinges on overhead racks often fall short when it comes guaranteeing the necessary combination of mobility and stability. STRÄHLE + HESS has developed a belt that ensures extra safety when hinges open at the wrong moment. Hand baggage is still secured in the compartment.
Or in an automobile during an emergency break maneuver: objects in the cabin slide forward with great momentum. For a prominent customer, a fire-resistant polyester safety strip was created to absorb the thrust of flying objects in extreme situations and thus protect the back and spine of persons in the car – an absolute first in the automotive industry. This sector is confronted with increasingly high consumer safety expectations. One manufacturer has taken the lead and implemented the new safety system, which can easily handle five tons, into its vehicles. Back panels in the seat rests would have been more expensive.
Partners coming to Althengstett in need of such sophisticated applications encounter a creative team that draws on more than 80 years of experience in the production of knitted and woven fabrics. The development department and labs at STRÄHLE + HESS address new challenges on a daily basis. Their innovative suggestions are carefully thought through and practicable, and always oriented toward production economy.
Solutions based on textiles regularly involve lower development costs. Textiles can be used flexibly, can absorb more energy and thus prevent it from causing serious damage. Weight also plays a significant role in customers’ preference for textile solutions. To save energy, vehicles need to reduce overall weight. Textile applications help considerably, since they are ultra-light.
In cooperation with one customer, an entirely new technology was developed for releasing airbags. Tests have demonstrated that the high-strength fabric stripping, already in use by a renowned automaker, triggers the side airbags much more rapidly than conventional material. It ensures that the side seam of a seat cover will split immediately in a crash, allowing the airbag to inflate much more quickly. And production with the textile system used by STRÄHLE + HESS is also less expensive.
Another advantage of textile solutions is that they can be realized in a very short time span. Usually it only takes a matter of weeks or months to present a well-engineered solution. The suggestions proposed by the creative team from the Black Forest are often strikingly simple – literally: straight knit – when various components need to be connected or international standards fulfilled.