Methods and a device for the continuous manufacturing of artificial muscle actuator device fibers are disclosed. The method includes: threading an untwisted fiber along the axis of a tube and inside the tube that includes a heating means to raise the localized temperature of a cross-section of the tube to a predetermined temperature; providing a tension on the untwisted fiber; and twisting the untwisted fiber while the fiber is within the tube.

An oxidation furnace for the oxidative treatment of fibers having a housing which is gas-tight, apart from passage areas for the fibers, and a process chamber located in the interior of the housing. A hot working atmosphere can be generated by an atmosphere-generating device, can be blown into the process chamber and flows through the process chamber in processing conditions in a main direction of flow. Deflecting rollers guide the fibers through the process chamber in a serpentine manner in such a way that the fibers lie next to one another as a fiber carpet (22a), wherein the fiber carpet spans a plane between opposite deflecting rollers. A flow measuring system is provided, by means of which a flow profile of the working atmosphere in processing conditions can be generated, and which comprises at least one sensor system for determining the speed of flow, the sensor system being arranged in a sensor region between two adjacent fiber carpets.

A method manufactures a flame-retardant fiber bundle by flame retarding treatment of a polyacrylonitrile-based precursor fiber at 200-300° C. in an oxidizing atmosphere, wherein a fiber bundle is caused to travel so as to sequentially pass between an nth roller and an (n+1)th roller (n being an integer of at least 1 and no more than [m−1]) in a roller group formed from m (m being an integer of 3 or greater) contiguously set rollers, the roller axes of the m continuously set rollers being parallel to each other and perpendicular to the direction of travel of the fiber bundle, the roller diameter being 5-30 mm, and the specific gravity of the fiber bundle being 1.20-1.50.

A torsional actuator formed of a yarn of twisted shape memory material. The yarn has multiple strands of homogeneous shape memory material that have been homochirally twisted. For torsional actuation, a fractional portion of the yarn is heated such as by Joule heating. Various Joule heating mechanisms include passing an electrical current through an unwound segment of the yarn, or by coating a fractional portion of the length of each homogeneous strand with a coating material of higher electrical conductivity than the electrical conductivity of the shape memory material an passing current through the length of the yarn. The shape memory material may be a shape memory alloy such as a NiTi alloy.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for efficiently manufacturing a protein crimped staple from protein filaments at a low cost. A manufacturing method for a protein crimped staple according to the present invention includes: a) preparing an artificial fibroin filament containing a modified fibroin; b) cutting the artificial fibroin filament to obtain an artificial fibroin staple; and c) performing crimping by bringing the artificial fibroin filament into contact with an aqueous medium to crimp the artificial fibroin filament before the cutting or bringing the artificial fibroin staple into contact with an aqueous medium to crimp the artificial fibroin staple after the cutting.

An oxidation furnace for the oxidative treatment of fibers, in particular for producing carbon fibers, the furnace having a housing with an inner space which is gas-tight apart from areas for the passage of the fibers. A process chamber is located in the inner space of the housing. Guide rollers guide the fibers arranged adjacently as a fiber carpet in a serpentine manner through the process chamber, the fiber carpet spanning respective planes between opposite guide rollers, a partial area of the inner space being defined both above and below said planes. The process chamber extends between a primary blowing device arranged on a blowing end of the housing and a primary suction device, where a primary gas is blown into a partial area by the primary blowing device in such a way that the process gas flows through the process area in a process flow direction. A secondary gas can be blown into the partial area by a secondary blowing device, on the side of the primary blowing device located at a distance from the process chamber, using a flow sealing device.

A method of manufacturing an acrylonitrile fiber bundle includes drawing a fiber bundle with pressurized steam under a pressurized steam atmosphere using a pressurized steam drawing device, wherein the fiber bundle includes a yarn spun from a spinning solution containing an acrylonitrile copolymer, the pressurized steam drawing device has at least two zones of a preheating zone provided on a fiber bundle introduction side and a heating/drawing zone provided on a fiber bundle extraction side, and a sealing zone has a sealing member and separates the two zones.

The invention relates to an oven for the thermal treatment of filaments, which comprises: an oven body (1) having a height greater than its width, with a first end (1.1) and a second end (1.2); conduction means (2) for conducting the filaments, comprising first rotary supports (2.1) and second rotary supports (2.2) between which the filaments are threaded; a platform (3) on which the conduction means (2) for conducting the filaments are arranged and which is pivotably arranged at the first end (1.1) of the oven body (1); and attachment means (4) attaching the platform (3) to the second end (1.2) of the oven body (1), transferring the movements of the second end (1.2) of the oven body (1) to the platform (3), such that it assures that the filaments remain parallel to one another, preventing them from becoming deformed or from coming into contact with one another.

A multi-step process is disclosed for heat setting twisted, bulk continuous filament (BCF) yarn comprising the steps of developing crimp in the yarn under hot atmospheric air and heat setting the yarn by saturated steam treatment.

A stretching apparatus of fibre tows in a pressurized steam environment comprises a plurality of stretching chests (1) and associated supporting structures (3, 4, 6) arranged side by side, at the same level, on a holding frame. The stretching chests (1) are each formed by two opposed metallic half-chests (1b, 1t), delimiting a stretching chamber (2). The stretching chamber (2) has a generally rectangular section of a low height and opens outwards in correspondence of the two transversal edges of the stretching chest (1) through tow entry and exit openings. Inside the stretching chambers (2) the tows are treated with saturated or overheated steam at high temperature and pressure and simultaneously undergo a mechanical stretching operation.