AIRO® by Biancalani is a textile finishing machine designed for the washing, drying and tumbling of any type of fabric.
The operating principle is as simple as it is effective: air as the sole medium for transporting and treating the fabric. The fabric is accelerated through ejector tubes by air only, without any mechanical transportation device, then strikes a stainless steel impact grid and falls back into the vat, where the cycle begins again. These actions, repeated for many times throughout the process, generate the AIRO® Hand: softness, volume and natural drape that no other fabric finishing technology can replicate.
The intensity of the mechanical action is controlled by inverter-driven fans: from the gentlest setting for delicate fabric such as silk, cupro, lyocell, viscose or fine knitwear, to a more intense action for bottom weights, upholstery fabrics, coated materials, or nonwovens.
THE CONFIGURATIONS
Two versions, from preparation to finishing
AIRO® is available in two configurations: besides the standard AIRO which includes a complete hydraulic system and offers washing and wet treatments followed by drying and softening, the “AIRO SL” version is focused on the drying and softening part, or treatments with application of steam (for instance, lamb-skin effect on polar fleece). Each version can be supplied with two or four processing channels, in order to match most production requirements.
THE TREATMENTS
What AIRO® does: wash, dry, tumble, soften
Softening treatments
The most common application is to dry and soften fabric which contains moisture from a previous process. Washed in AIRO® itself, or simply padded with softener in an external foulard.
However, AIRO® can also treat fabric that is completely dry, with or without heat, through pure mechanical action. No bath, no added chemicals: ideal for synthetic-heavy constructions or fabrics that would shrink excessively with water.
Steam treatments
Multipoint saturated steam injection – at the ejector tube inlet and at the exit before the grid – ensures uniform steaming throughout the load. The most requested application is the lamb-skin effect on polar fleece: the combination of steam and mechanical beating generates the characteristic pile curl, replacing conventional drum tumbling. A single AIRO® produces per day more than 15-20 drum tumblers can do, without requiring to cut the fabric in short pieces (typical limitation of traditional drum tumblers), and with minimal loading times and a fully repeatable process.
Read more: Biancalani technologies for Terry Towel: From Sustainable Preparation to Finishing
Wet treatments
Washing-capable versions are equipped with a complete hydraulic system: recirculation pump, bath filtration, direct and indirect heating, chemical dosing and pH meter. Main wet treatments:
- Softening by exhaustion. Average cycle: 60-90 minutes. Optimal on cotton, lyocell, cupro, viscose, silk and wool.
- Enzyme treatments and biopolishing: temperature and pH conditions perfectly maintained throughout the cycle deliver precise surface transformations which clean the surface and eliminate pilling, or produce a “peach-skin” effect without the need of any mechanical surface treatment, even to the point of delivering a cupro-like effect on polyester-modal. Biancalani has developed enzymatic techniques in AIRO® for over thirty years, and puts its experience at the service of every customer.
- Lyocell finishing treatment: AIRO® is the only machine that performs both processes, from fibrillation to enzyme cleaning to final mechanical treatment on light and heavy fabrics, in complete safety without any defects.
- Special treatments such as Delavé and colour reduction on pigment-dyed fabrics.
- Washing, scouring, bleaching, and light milling for wool and blends.
“The exact conditions in which fibres are able to absorb chemistry make the difference: a lyocell with the hand feel of a ripe peach, a cotton that recovers the luminosity of new yarn, a lyocell with fluid and natural drape.”
APPLICATIONS AND RESULTS
Some results from AIRO® application
Polar fleece
lamb-skin effect via saturated steam and mechanical beating.
Velvet and corduroy
fibre swelling, pile uniformity and omnidirectionality.
Jacquards
three-dimensionality and surface definition.
Upholstery finishing: chenille
structure opening and volume.
Knitwear
softening and dimensional stabilization, and elimination of pigment rigidity on high-coverage prints.
Stretch fabric with Lycra
release of internal tensions, reduced edge curling, improved elasticity.
Silk and cupro
special and unique touch and hand, opalescence.
Synthetic leather
grain enhancement, aged look and more natural appearance.
Technical and coated fabrics
softening without interference with functional treatments/coatings.
Shirting fabric
Easy care (no-iron treatment) by application, polymerization, and softening of resins.
Knitted velour
super-swelling, volume maximization after shearing.
Emerised and brushed surfaces
Enhance the surface appearance (peach skin effect).
Apparel fabric in general
Special apparel finishing effects such as wrinkled and “casual”, or delavé (colour fade) and vintage/aged look on dyed or printed materials.
EFFICIENCY
Fewer separate processes, less wasted energy, no errors
In AIRO® all cycles that are part of a process are managed by a fully automated control logic which runs them sequentially, controlling every working parameter. This means eliminating fabric transfers between multiple machines, thus eliminating errors, reducing handling time and minimizing operating costs. Inverter-controlled motors adjust energy consumption to the airflow actually required. Where water is not needed, dry and steam processes eliminate water consumption entirely.
The efficiency of AIRO®, together with the automatization of all the steps of the process allows to reach productivity levels that are as high as those of continuous machines.
PERSPECTIVE
A technical choice that becomes strategic
For a production manager: everything always under control with fewer variables to manage, improved traceability, faster set-up. For an R&D manager: the ability to develop in a very short time treatments that competitors cannot replicate. For a marketing or sales director: a finished fabric with a distinct and recognisable hand feel, always consistent, lot after lot.
The technology behind AIRO® – air, ejectors, impact grid – is physics. It does not become obsolete.
