In the project VISPI, we are developing a simulation software in cooperation with a network, with which a broad spectrum of spinning processes can be virtually simulated and investigated.
Spinning is one of the oldest techniques of mankind. Classical spinning mills of the textile industry, which process fibres into a yarn, can only be found sporadically in Europe. However, globalisation also affects the production of synthetic fibres considered here. According to the industry report Chemiefaserindustrie in Deutschland (2015) (Chemical Fiber Industry in Germany, 2015), two thirds of the worldwide quantity of chemical fibers was produced in China in 2013.
In order to be able to assert themselves internationally, German fiber manufacturers are relying on »new developments with high added value in order to be able to distinguish themselves from mass-produced products manufactured in Asia«. Mechanical engineering, which belongs to this industry segment, is still strongly rooted in Germany. However, industrial research on product and process innovation is reaching its limits on a purely experimental basis, so that a trend towards virtualization is increasingly being observed.