While most spotlights at the composites exhibition focused on carbon fiber precursors and prepregs, an air-jet loom steadily weaving 2116 electronic fabric at 950 rpm became one of the most lingering exhibits for professional buyers. Behind this speed lies the rapid penetration of high-performance fiber fabrics from aerospace into civilian fields such as new energy and low-altitude economy, shifting upstream weaving machinery competition from "selling machines" to "providing process solutions."
Background
From September 1 to 3, the 29th China International Composites Industrial Technology Exhibition was held in Shanghai. As the industry's annual barometer, the event gathered global supply chain players. Zhejiang Rifa Textile Machinery Co., Ltd. showcased four composite weaving machines: two fiberglass air-jet looms, one fiberglass rapier loom, and one carbon fiber jacquard rapier loom, all in live operation.
Among them, the air-jet loom for 2116 electronic fabric ran steadily at 950 rpm, while another model achieved 900 rpm for the more demanding 1036 electronic fabric. Electronic fabric is a core reinforcement for copper-clad laminates, and weaving speed directly affects supply efficiency for the downstream PCB chain. These figures place Rifa among the leaders in domestic equipment of this class.
During the show, professional visitors from over ten countries—including Germany, Japan, South Korea, India, Turkey, and Brazil—visited Rifa's booth, focusing on equipment performance, weaving speed, product adaptability, and process solutions. Some European and Southeast Asian customers have initiated further discussions on technical exchanges and project cooperation after observing live runs.
Industry Impact
The improvement in electronic fabric weaving speed is not a simple parameter race. The 2116 and 1036 types correspond to different thicknesses and weights of glass fiber fabric; the latter imposes stricter requirements on warp tension and weft density uniformity. Stable operation at 900 rpm implies systematic breakthroughs in high-speed vibration suppression, weft insertion response, and electrical control—not just a single-point upgrade.
For weaving enterprises, speed equals capacity. In a typical electronic fabric workshop, increasing speed from 800 rpm to 950 rpm can theoretically boost output by about 18% with the same number of looms, directly lowering unit labor and energy costs. In the fiercely competitive glass fiber electronic fabric market, this efficiency advantage can reshape buyers' equipment selection decisions.
A deeper change lies in the expanding application scenarios of carbon and glass fiber fabrics—from traditional structural parts to functional and lightweight components in new energy, aerospace, low-altitude economy, and robotics. Fabric architectures are becoming more complex, demanding greater equipment versatility. Rifa's simultaneous display of rapier and jacquard rapier looms reflects this trend: different fiber materials and structures require tailored solutions, and the era of one machine for all is ending.
From a supply chain perspective, equipment upgrades will accelerate cost reduction in downstream composites. When high-performance fiber fabrics can be produced more efficiently and cheaply, large-scale adoption in end-use sectors like new energy vehicles, wind turbine blades, and drone structures becomes feasible. This also explains why international visitors showed strong interest in high-speed electronic fabric looms—in the context of global supply chain restructuring, equipment efficiency directly impacts regional manufacturing competitiveness.