2025-09
10The Development History of Steaming Machines
As a key equipment in the textile printing and dyeing industry, the steaming machine has witnessed the transformation of the industry from traditional processes to modern and intelligent production. Its emergence has improved the quality and production efficiency of printed and dyed fabrics, occupying an irreplaceable position in the printing and dyeing process.
The early steaming machine technology originated from abroad. At that time, the domestic textile printing and dyeing industry had an urgent demand for advanced equipment, and enterprises mainly met production needs by introducing foreign steaming machines. These early devices had relatively simple structures and mainly relied on the basic function of steam to steam and fix the color of printed fabrics. The operation process is mostly manually controlled, with limited precision in controlling temperature, humidity, and steaming time, which results in poor product quality stability and low production efficiency. However, even so, they laid the foundation for industrial production in the domestic printing and dyeing industry, giving enterprises a basic understanding of steaming technology.
With the deepening of research on textile printing and dyeing technology and the improvement of manufacturing capabilities in China, we have entered the stage of digesting and absorbing the introduction of steamer technology. Domestic enterprises and research institutions work closely together to dismantle and study the structure and principles of foreign equipment, gradually master core technologies and manufacturing processes, and carry out domestic production on this basis. During this period, steamers were similar in appearance and basic performance to imported equipment from abroad, but at a more affordable price. They also had advantages in localized after-sales service, providing strong support for domestic printing and dyeing enterprises to expand their production scale. At the same time, enterprises continuously summarize their experience in production practice and make small-scale improvements to equipment, such as optimizing steam pipeline layout to improve steam transportation efficiency.
The accumulation of technology and the growth of market demand have prompted domestic enterprises to embark on the path of independent research and innovation. In terms of mechanical structure design, various new ring forming devices have been developed, such as the initial steam blowing ring type and the more widely used mechanical ring forming type. Among them, the ring forming knife method of early mechanical ring forming has been continuously optimized. Nowadays, the hanging roller can rotate automatically, making the fabric fully relaxed and tension-free during the steaming process, avoiding hanging rod marks and ensuring uniform and consistent steaming. In the field of automation control, from the initial simple monitoring of temperature and pressure gauges, it has developed into the use of PLC programmable controllers and touch screen control to achieve precise control of multiple parameters such as temperature, humidity, time, and cycle length during the steaming process, greatly improving product quality stability and production efficiency. The new ring forming device can achieve a maximum speed of 60m/min, which is a qualitative leap compared to early equipment.
In recent years, against the backdrop of global advocacy for environmental protection and sustainable development, steamers have been developing towards energy conservation, emission reduction, and green direction. The specially designed saturated steam generator can generate saturated steam without external steam, significantly reducing steam consumption. Compared with similar steamers, it reduces steam consumption by 30% and reduces the amount of printing dyes and other additives by 30-40%. Some enterprises also introduce waste gas and wastewater treatment technologies to purify the pollutants generated during the steaming process, reducing the harm to the environment. At the same time, intelligent and digital technologies are further integrated into the steaming machine, and the equipment can be connected to the overall information management system of the factory to achieve real-time monitoring and analysis of production data, providing data support for enterprises to optimize production processes and reduce costs.
The early steaming machine technology originated from abroad. At that time, the domestic textile printing and dyeing industry had an urgent demand for advanced equipment, and enterprises mainly met production needs by introducing foreign steaming machines. These early devices had relatively simple structures and mainly relied on the basic function of steam to steam and fix the color of printed fabrics. The operation process is mostly manually controlled, with limited precision in controlling temperature, humidity, and steaming time, which results in poor product quality stability and low production efficiency. However, even so, they laid the foundation for industrial production in the domestic printing and dyeing industry, giving enterprises a basic understanding of steaming technology.
With the deepening of research on textile printing and dyeing technology and the improvement of manufacturing capabilities in China, we have entered the stage of digesting and absorbing the introduction of steamer technology. Domestic enterprises and research institutions work closely together to dismantle and study the structure and principles of foreign equipment, gradually master core technologies and manufacturing processes, and carry out domestic production on this basis. During this period, steamers were similar in appearance and basic performance to imported equipment from abroad, but at a more affordable price. They also had advantages in localized after-sales service, providing strong support for domestic printing and dyeing enterprises to expand their production scale. At the same time, enterprises continuously summarize their experience in production practice and make small-scale improvements to equipment, such as optimizing steam pipeline layout to improve steam transportation efficiency.
The accumulation of technology and the growth of market demand have prompted domestic enterprises to embark on the path of independent research and innovation. In terms of mechanical structure design, various new ring forming devices have been developed, such as the initial steam blowing ring type and the more widely used mechanical ring forming type. Among them, the ring forming knife method of early mechanical ring forming has been continuously optimized. Nowadays, the hanging roller can rotate automatically, making the fabric fully relaxed and tension-free during the steaming process, avoiding hanging rod marks and ensuring uniform and consistent steaming. In the field of automation control, from the initial simple monitoring of temperature and pressure gauges, it has developed into the use of PLC programmable controllers and touch screen control to achieve precise control of multiple parameters such as temperature, humidity, time, and cycle length during the steaming process, greatly improving product quality stability and production efficiency. The new ring forming device can achieve a maximum speed of 60m/min, which is a qualitative leap compared to early equipment.
In recent years, against the backdrop of global advocacy for environmental protection and sustainable development, steamers have been developing towards energy conservation, emission reduction, and green direction. The specially designed saturated steam generator can generate saturated steam without external steam, significantly reducing steam consumption. Compared with similar steamers, it reduces steam consumption by 30% and reduces the amount of printing dyes and other additives by 30-40%. Some enterprises also introduce waste gas and wastewater treatment technologies to purify the pollutants generated during the steaming process, reducing the harm to the environment. At the same time, intelligent and digital technologies are further integrated into the steaming machine, and the equipment can be connected to the overall information management system of the factory to achieve real-time monitoring and analysis of production data, providing data support for enterprises to optimize production processes and reduce costs.

