2022 – BLUEBACKER: Maximum energy efficiency for corrugated board production

GKD introduces the BLUEBACKER corrugator belt, offering clear advantages for corrugated board manufacturers: lower heating and energy costs, reduced maintenance expenses, and improved performance. The belt utilizes proven CONDUCTO® technology for constant electrostatic dissipation, preventing corrugated board adhesion. The innovative BLUEBACKER mesh features a unique multilayer combination. The monofilament base mesh ensures high cross stability, no elongation, and easy assembly. The transport/traction level, made from special staple fiber yarn and aramid, securely grips and transports the corrugated board with minimal wear. The inner bronze wire provides constant electrostatic discharge, reducing adhesion and fire risks. The uncoated lower belt suits all corrugated board production systems, press systems, and operating speeds. The silicone-coated version offers increased paper grip for heavy corrugated boards and smooth-surfaced papers, with high-temperature and abrasion resistance for consistent quality at maximum production speed.

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2019 – Glass hybrid belt 2.0: optimized for use in wide double-belt ovens

With extreme transverse stability and high tensile strength, the enhancement of the GKD glass hybrid belt sets new standards while retaining the same excellent air permeability. Even at large belt widths of more than 5 meters, the conveyor belt reliably displays all of its advantages. Web bonding in wide double-belt ovens is now more efficient. The new glass hybrid belt and its special mesh in detail: The combination of fiberglass and metal unites the advantages of both materials in one belt. Flexible, light fiberglass in the warp direction prevents the mesh from expanding with the heat. The dimensions of the conveyor belt remain stable across the entire temperature range. Metallic weft wires woven in the weft direction ensure the necessary transverse stability in applications with large weaving widths and where strong product shrinking forces are at play. Thanks to the innovative GKD anti-stick coating of the belt, it is also possible to process highly adhesive products – without soiling the belt mesh. The improved glass hybrid belt offers ideal prerequisites for the efficient production of voluminous fiber felts, for which the magnetic double-belt design is suspended magnetically in a double-belt oven. The low weight of the belt per unit area combined with a large magnetic portion is a considerable advantage.

2019 – Microfilter crucible for more efficient and precise thermogravimetric analyses

Research into improving microplastics analysis originated from the innovative microfilter crucible for thermogravimetric analysis. The result: For the first time, the sample filter, made of optimized dutch weave, and sample holder are combined. The innovative filter crucible arose from joint research and development work by the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), the German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), and GKD in the research project RUSEKU (Representative investigation strategies for an integrative system understanding of specific release of plastics into the environment). The project examined the advantages of the crucible for ultrafine filtration and analysis of liquids over the course of a year based on microplastics analytics. Increased analytical accuracy and a significant time saving for lab work were confirmed. Thanks to its design and architecture, the TGA crucible can be used directly, sample preparation is simplified, recovery rates are increased, and particle loss and contamination are reduced. The filter crucible can be used for many different applications. It ensures efficient filtration and analysis of liquids with low particulate loads – not only when it comes to microplastics. You can find more information and details here: TGA microfilter crucible.

2017 – New filtration mesh for a higher flow rate at low pore velocities

The new high-tech Porometric filtration mesh for highly efficient filtration of water, oil, gas, and polymers has been the recipient of the AFS Award, one of the most highly regarded innovation awards for filter media. The inspiration for the design of the novel filtration mesh came from a comprehensive experimental study on the erosion behavior of filter media in pipelines, to which GKD contributed its CFD simulations. This made clear the relationship between inflow velocity and pore velocity distribution. Armed with the knowledge that the local velocity in the pores can be reduced through higher volume porosity of the filtration mesh, GKD began development on Porometric. The high-tech filtration mesh in detail: very open, three-dimensional weave; high permeability; reduction of the local pore velocity by up to 40 % with constant volumetric flow, simultaneous increase of the flow rate; very good backwashability and low energy consumption/lower pump power required. The Porometric filtration mesh possesses the highest permeability in the world in combination with a high dirt-holding capacity. Its properties offer decisive advantages in transporting oil and gas as well as in water processing – whether in municipal and industrial water treatment plants for filtering out microorganisms, preparing service and process water, and producing fresh water, in shipping for ballast water filtration, or in plastic-free water filtration, for example.

2016 – New filtration mesh design for high throughput and optimum backwashability

Leading manufacturers of filter equipment were looking for a filter medium that represents a genuine alternative to existing sand filter systems for mechanical preparation of surface water, wastewater, and sea water. GKD therefore faced a tough challenge: to develop a fine filter medium for hydrostatic filtration that reliably separates 99 percent of all particles > 6 µm and also offers a high throughput. As a proven supplier that had been delivering sophisticated filter media for many years, GKD then presented the flow-optimized 6 µm ODW 6 dutch weave solution. This increases the flow rate by up to 25 percent, while maintaining the same overall aperture. The innovative filtration mesh design, produced from stainless steel, combines consistently precise selectivity in the micro-filtration range with high permeability, stability, and backwashability.

2016 – Breakthrough in filter mesh development

With regard to filter meshes, the bubble point test has been the standard for many years for quality control and quality assurance. It is used to determine the diameter of the largest pore in a filter medium. This is done by translating the pressure value measured in a laboratory test into a pore diameter value using a predefined capillary pressure constant. To get an absolute value for the diameter of the largest pore, time-consuming screenings were always necessary. Now, through the simulation of the bubble point test and the application of capillary pressure constants determined from the simulation, GKD has found a method with which the maximum pore size for all standard woven filter meshes can be precisely established in no time at all. As international technology leader for woven filter media we use these “Computational Fluid Dynamics” (CFD) tools for more than just quality control. The method is also uniquely suitable for purposeful development of new precision filter meshes or for application-specific adjustment of existing woven filter mesh types to meet customer-specified bubble point values.

2013 – Silentmesh CMP fabric: adopted from nature

Silentmesh CMP fabrics are made of flexible metal mesh fabric, which is mounted to aluminum honeycombs.

This composite material (CMP) can be used to produce extremely stable yet also very lightweight mesh panels. The Silentmesh version of these panels ensures a high degree of room-based acoustic comfort.

SILENTMESH CMP BENEFITS:

• CMP mesh panels from the Silentmesh range are ideally suited to large-area wall cladding and suspended ceiling applications.
• The composite mesh is predestined for grid-free and sag-free solutions.
• The mesh panels can be cut into virtually any shape.
• Silentmesh CMP meshes boast outstanding sound-absorbing properties.
• Sound absorption values between 0.85 and 1.00 αw.

2011 – Filtering particles of various sizes with volumetric mesh

In the field of exhaust gas filtration there has long been a requirement for meshes that filter particles of different sizes while at the same time minimizing pressure loss. The volumetric mesh is the answer to this challenge. This is a further development of the TELA® mesh or 5-heddle weave developed by GKD back in the 1930s. The special weave of the volumetric mesh enables three-dimensional structures that perform this task. Moreover, the efficiency of the volumetric mesh is further enhanced by modern material combinations.

2008 – Camera inspection of products

Filters without fault tolerances are required for many demanding applications. Thanks to our automated camera inspection system, which is integrated inline in various positions throughout the manufacturing process, we have been able to measure 100% of apertures of a filtration mesh for a number of years. This checks and documents every single aperture in the mesh. As such, we offer our customers far more than just a filtration product – we deliver a solution they can totally rely on.

2005 – Architectural mesh for energy optimization

For years, GKD has also been working highly successfully on optimizing architectural mesh as a solution for effective solar protection. As a result, our meshes remain transparent when looking from the inside to the outside. When the sun is high in the sky during summer, however, the mesh reflects the sunlight, thus reducing solar input and thereby also the need for air conditioning. In practical tests, this solution enables wall temperatures to be reduced by up to 19%. When the sun is low in winter, the transparency of the mesh permits solar irradiation, thus reducing heating costs.

2000 – Colors make all the difference

TAfter virtually all GKD architectural meshes were made from stainless steel for many years, architects increasingly began to look for colored solutions for façade mesh, ceiling suspensions or wall cladding. Aluminum seemed the ideal solution. However, the challenge here was that the existing dip tanks for batch anodization used in industry were too small for the mesh panels from GKD. Together with an industry partner, GKD developed a new continuous anodization process in which the aluminum wire is anodized before weaving and not, as was previously the case, the finished product. Thanks to this continuous process, large volumes of wire are available at a constantly high quality.

1990 – The invention of metal architectural fabric

At the start of the 1990s, French architect Dominique Perrault harnessed the architectural design potential offered by metal fabrics during construction of the new National Library of France (BNF) in Paris. In collaboration with the GKD Group, he created twelve different exterior and interior applications for the same number of metal fabrics. Metal fabric is today globally established in high-end construction projects.

1960 – Polyester filter belts

At the beginning of the 1960s, GKD combined two industrial innovations in a single new product: GKD wove the “Type 1003” filter belt from a monofilament polyester wire for the newly developed belt press. As neither looms nor weave patterns existed for the new material, GKD built the machine itself. And so TELA® mesh made of monofilament polyester was specially developed for use with belt presses. Its smooth upper surface ensures reliable cake discharge even today, while the coarse underside offers good belt-cleaning properties. Our filter belt 1003 remains a highly successful solution to this day.

1930 – TELA® weave combating blocked pores

Until the 1930s, metal meshes were mainly woven with square weaves. The problem, however, was that especially in coal slurry dewatering applications in the mining industry, these quickly became blocked and were difficult to clean. Josef Kufferath, the grandfather of today’s owners, developed a mesh with oblong weave and a smooth top surface: the TELA® or 5-heddle atlas weave, which was later patented, was born. Even today, the smooth upper surface enables more reliable filter cake discharge than other weave types. The oblong mesh ensures good filter cake dewatering, while the underside prevents the pores from becoming blocked. The original idea for the TELA® weave, however, came from elsewhere. Together with a friend of his, a dentist, Josef Kufferath was trying to create a mesh that was friendly to the palate and at the same time smooth to the tongue to be used as a stabilizing material for dentures. Its use in filtration applications, however, proved to be considerably more sustainable …