Wind energy promises to become a staple of a green economy, and innovative strategies to make wind turbines more durable can give companies a competitive edge. Technical textiles developed with carbon, glass and aramid reinforcements bonded by thermosetting or thermoplastic agents give rotor blades the strength to hold up to wind, wear and weather. Karl Mayer Malimo Textilmaschinenfabrik GmbH, Obertshausen, Germany, recently exhibited multiaxial knitting machines that create these reinforcing textiles at Asia Wind Power 2009 in Shanghai, China, in December.

Multiaxial textiles are knit together to form composites that are strong, reliable and economical for engineering challenges that require forms that are strong, shaped and lightweight. The Karl Mayer Malitronic® Multiaxial machine is its newest version, a warp knitting machine with adjustable weft insertion systems. Other applications for reinforcing textiles include strengthening elements for cars, tanks, pressure vessels and machine parts that undergo extensive stress or wear.

For more, see www.karlmayer.com/internet/en/textilmaschinen/22.jsp.