Friction spinning was first developed when Fehrer produced the DREF friction spinning system in 1973.

In this machine, the pre-opened fibres were made to fall onto a perforated cylindrical drum, the rotation of which imparted twist to the fibre assembly. Due to problems in controlling the flow, slippage occured between the fibre assembly and the perforated roller, which reduced the twist efficiency.
DREF-II friction spinning

Later the DREF-II friction spinning machine was developed to overcome this problem. This machine incorporates a specially designed inlet system which provides the required draft. These drafted slivers are opened into individual fibres by a rotating carding drum (opening roller) covered with saw-tooth wires. The individual fibres are stripped from the carding drum by centrifugal force supported by an air stream from a blower. The fibres are then transported by additional rollers to two perforated friction drums. The mechanical friction on the surface of the drums twists the fibres. Suction through the perforation of the drum assists the twisting process and helps in the removal of dust and dirt. Friction spinning technology works on the principle of friction twisting. Figure 1 shows the working principle of friction spinning. In this system, the pre-opened fibres are fed onto a moving, perforated collecting drum underneath which there is suction device. The fibres are fed between this and a second rotating drum. Twisting occurs due to the frictional forces between the drums and the fibre assembly. The process is also known as mechanical-aerodynamic spinning due to the fact that the spinning effect is produced by the movement of two spinning bodies (friction drums) assisted by air suction. Due to its versatility and high output speed of up to 300 m/min, the friction spinning system is considered suitable for producing yarns in the coarse count range, i.e. greater than 20sNe.

Figure 1. Principle of Friction Spinning

The main operations in friction spinning are: sliver feed fibre opening fibre transportation fibre accumulation twisting and winding DREF-III friction spinning The DREF-III friction spinning machine was introduced into the market in 1981. This machine was developed to improve yarn quality, extend the yarn count up to 18s Ne and produce multicomponent yarns. The DREF-III uses a core-sheath type friction arrangement as shown in Figure 2. In this machine an attempt is made to improve the quality of yarn by aligning the majority of fibres in the direction of yarn axis. The remaining fibres are wrapped round the core fibres to form a sheath. The sheath fibres are wrapped round the core fibres by the false twist generated by the rotating action of drums. Two drafting units are used in this system, one for the core fibres and other for the sheath fibres. This system produces a variety of core-sheath type structures and multi-component yarns using different core and sheath fibres in the count range of 1-18sNe with delivery speeds as high as 300 m/min.

Figure 2 : DREF-III friction spinning system

DREF-2000 DREF-2000 employs a rotating carding drum which opens the slivers into single fibres. The fibres are stripped from the carding drum by centrifugal force and carried to two perforated spinning drums. As with previous designs, the fibres are subsequently twisted by mechanical friction on the surface of the drums which rotate in the same direction. The process is assisted by air suction through the drum perforations. The machine can produce S and Z twisting yarn without having to reconfigure the machine.