Vandewiele Tufting: HST Platform

A new benchmark in Tufting

Vandewiele Sets a New Benchmark in Tufting with it’s HST Platform
The tufting industry is evolving rapidly, and Vandewiele is leading the transformation with its latest innovation, the High Speed Tuft (HST) machine platform. Introduced at ITMA 2023 in Milan, the HST has quickly established itself as the fastest and most advanced tufting machine on the market.
Designed from the ground up, the HST delivers unrivalled production speeds, up to 2500 RPM for (multi-) level loop pile and 2000 RPM for level cut pile carpets. But speed is only part of the story.
What truly sets the HST apart is its digitally controlled motion system. Every major function, from the bedplate and presser foot to the loopers or hooks, is servo-driven and fully programmable. This allows manufacturers to define and store machine settings as design parameters for each carpet pattern. When a design is loaded, the machine automatically adjusts itself to the correct configuration, dramatically reducing changeover time and ensuring consistent quality.
Vandewiele’s Individual Looper Drive, or Individual Hook Drive for cut pile, replaces traditional mechanical linkages with independent servo motors, enabling electrical setting of looper or hook timing. The result is smoother operation and greater patterning flexibility, even at top speeds. Optional sliding needlebars, available in single or double configurations, further expand creative possibilities.
To enhance productivity and quality assurance, Vandewiele has also developed the Vandewiele Tufting Sensor (VTS), a next-generation broken end detection system built entirely in-house. VTS uses piezoelectric technology to detect yarn breaks with high accuracy. Its modular design offers full flexibility, while auto-calibration per yarn hole allows the use of different yarn types within the same detection module, no manual adjustments required.
Crucially, on Vandewiele tufting machines, the VTS system is fully integrated into the machine’s HMI, allowing operators to manage detection parameters and monitor yarn breakage directly from the central control screen. This seamless integration eliminates the need for additional hardware or interfaces, simplifying both operation and maintenance.
With groundbreaking technologies like the HST and VTS, Vandewiele isn’t just pushing the limits of tufting speed, it’s reshaping how carpets are made, faster, smarter, and more connected than ever before.