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The seamless screen belts have a clear advantage over woven mesh belts in applications where a seam is prone to breakdowns.

Innovation in Textiles  |  Heslington

GKD – Gebr. Kufferath AG, a leading technical weaver, has expanded its process belt portfolio to include spiral fabric belts and has created a complete manufacturing environment specifically for this belt type in Dueren, Germany.

“This means that customers for spiral fabric belts can now also benefit from GKD's all-round expertise – proven over decades in numerous key sectors by this reputable solutions provider – in all stages of production, from application-specific configuration and manufacture through filling, linking and fixing to final assembly,” the company explains.

According to the manufacturer, the seamless screen belts have a clear advantage over woven mesh belts in applications where a seam is prone to breakdowns due to mechanical strain or where it may create markings in the product.

“This is why seamless spiral fabric belts are used widely in dewatering processes with fibrous products like coir. Spiral fabric belts are also frequently deployed in a range of thermal applications like veneer drying, the production of plasterboards or in multiple storey dryers in the food-processing industry,” the company reports.

In response to customers’ demands, the company decided to create a completely new manufacturing environment compliant with the latest standards. Now, GKD also produces and fixes the individual spirals application-specifically at its facility. Depending on the intended use, the spirals of round or flat wire can be equipped with antistatic properties or improved abrasion resistance.

In the course of the production process, the spirals are linked into each other and joined using a pin wire into spiral fabric belts measuring up to six metres in width. The linking and the connector give the screen belts stability and track accuracy. To increase the cross-stability even more or to equip the screen for deployment in a double-belt dryer with a magnetic support system, an additional pin wire made of magnetised steel is also an available option.

Thanks to the specially formed filler wires worked into the spirals, GKD says it can specifically configure the air permeability of the screens to match the individual deployment scenario. For example, the aperture for sludge dewatering is equivalent to that of the tried-and-tested mesh type 1003. In contrast, for use in dryers the aperture is correspondingly larger.

After the linking stage, GKD gives the unfinished screen its final properties, such as a spiral fabric belt through precision thermal treatment, cutting and edge sealing on both sides – all tailored to the individual case.

“Spiral fabric belts are available from GKD as filter or dryer belts and also as transport belts. Up to six metres wide, produced seamlessly and cut to size, they excel through their consistently robust construction, their high degree of cross-stability and their resistance to mechanical strain,” the company reports.

Application-specifically configured air permeability, track accuracy, high throughput performance and good product discharging properties are said to make the new GKD spiral fabric belts – filled or unfilled – the premium choice for a wide range of applications where conventional woven mesh belts reach their limits.

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