Development of Webbing Technology

This process involves the interlacing of warp and weft yarns. After twisting and plying, warp yarns are wound onto beams, while weft yarns are wound onto pirns for weaving on a loom. In the 1930s, webbing was produced using hand-operated wooden looms or iron-wood hybrid looms. In the early 1960s, the Model 1511 loom was modified into a webbing loom-a type still widely used today. Due to the narrow width of the webbing and varying weaving methods, production can range from a single strip to dozens of strips simultaneously, in either single-layer or double-layer configurations.

In 1967, a worker-led research group within the industry successfully designed and manufactured a high-speed, single-strip shuttleless webbing loom. This innovation eliminated the need for a shuttle, shortened production processes, reduced the required floor space, and increased labor productivity-marking a pioneering achievement in the history of Chinese webbing technology.

In the 1970s, the introduction of continuous dyeing and finishing machines transformed the processing of colored webbing. The industry shifted from the traditional "dye-then-weave" method to "weave-then-dye" or "weave-then-bleach" processes, integrating weaving with continuous finishing (dyeing, bleaching, and heat-setting). This marked the entry of webbing technology into the era of large-scale mechanized production. In the early 1980s, the industry imported high-speed shuttleless webbing looms, combined finishing machines, yarn covering machines, and warping machines from Switzerland, Italy, and West Germany, propelling webbing technology into a new stage of development.

Advancements in webbing technology drove product upgrades. In 1979, the successful trial production of the domestic first-generation SD9-9 rubber spindle tape ended the reliance on imports for this product. In 1980, the SD-81A and SD-81B models were developed; these featured softness, lightness, thinness, durability, low elongation, low impact force, and short, smooth joints. In early 1990, automotive seatbelts designed for the Santana sedan were successfully trial-produced. Following more than two years of market research and organized trial production, the product quality met the QC49-92 and TL-VW470 standards.