1.

Cotton

No one knows exactly how old cotton is. Scientists searching caves in Mexico found bits of cotton bolls and pieces of cotton
cloth that proved to be at least 7,000 years old.
They also found that the cotton itself was much like that grown in America today.
In the Indus River Valley in Pakistan, cotton was being grown, spun and woven into cloth 3,000 years BC. At about the
same time, natives of Egypt’s Nile valley were making and wearing cotton clothing.
Arab merchants brought cotton cloth to Europe about 800 A.D. When Columbus discovered America in 1492, he
found cotton growing in the Bahamas Islands. By 1500, cotton was known generally throughout the world.
Cotton seed are believed to have been planted in Florida in 1556and in Virginia in 1607. By 1616, colonists were growing
cotton along the James River in Virginia.
Cotton was first spun by machinery in Englandin1730. The industrial revolution in England and the invention of the cotton
gin in the U.S. paved the way forth important place cotton holds in the world today.
Eli Whitney, a native of
Massachusetts, secured a patent on the cotton gin in 1793, though patent office records indicate that the first cotton gin may
have been built by a machinist named Noah Homes two years before Whitney’s patent was filed. The gin, short for engine,
could do the work 10 times faster than by hand.
The gin made it possible to supply large quantities
Of cotton first the fast-growing textile industry. Within 10 years, the value of the U.S. cotton crop rose from $150,000
to more than $8million.

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Cotton Production &Harvesting

After cotton has been harvested, producers who are conventional till age practices cut down and chop the cotton stalks.
The next step is to turn the remaining residue underneath the soil surface. Producers who practice a style of farming called
conservation till age often choose to leave their stalks standing and leave the plant residue on the surface of the soil.
In the spring, farmers prepare for planting in several ways. Producers who plant using no-till or conservation
tillage methods, use special equipment designed to plant the seed through the litter that covers the soil surface.
Producers, who employ conventional tillage practices, plow or “list” the land into rows forming firm seed-beds for
planting. Producers in south Texas plant cotton as early as February. In Missouri and other northern parts of the Cotton
Belt, they plant as late as June.
Seeding is done with mechanical planters which cover as many as 10 to 24 rows at
atime. The planter opens a small trenchor furrow in each row, drops in the right amount of seed, covers them and packs
the earth on top of them. The seed is planted at uniform intervals in either smallclumps or singularly. Machines called
cultivators are used to uproot weeds and grass, which compete with the cotton plant for soil nutrients, sunlight and
water.
About two months after planting, flower buds called squares appear on the cotton plants. In another three weeks, the
blossoms open. Their petals change from creamy white to yellow, then pink and finally, dark red. After threedays, they
wither and fall, leaving green pods which are called cotton bolls. Inside the boll, which is shaped like a tiny football, moist
fibres grow and push out from the newly formed seeds. As the boll ripens, it turns brown. The fibres continue to expand
under the warm sun.
Finally, they split the boll apart and the fluffy cotton bursts forth. It looks like white cotton candy.
Since hand labouris no longer used in the harvest cotton, the crop is harvested by machines, either a picker or a
stripper. Cotton picking machines have spindles that pick (twist) the seed cotton from the burrs that are attached to
plants’ stems. Doffers then remove the seed cotton from the spindles and knock the seed cotton into the conveying
system.
Conventional cotton stripping machines use rollers equipped with alternating bats and brushes to knock the open
bolls from the plants into a conveyor.
A second kind of stripper harvester uses a broadcast attachment that looks similar to a grain header on a combine. All
harvesting systems use air to convey and elevate the seed cotton into a storage bin referred to as a basket. Once the
basket is full, the stored seed cotton is dumped into a boll buggy, trailer or module builder.

SeedCotton Storage

Once harvested, seed cotton must be removed from the harvester and stored before it is delivered to the gin. Seed cotton is
removed from the harvester and placed in modules, relatively compact units of seed cotton. A cotton module, shaped
like a giant bread loaf, can weigh up to 25,000pounds.

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Ginning

From the field, seed cotton moves to nearby gins for separation of lint and seed. The cotton first goes through dryers to
reduce moisture content and then through cleaning equipment to remove foreign matter. These operations facilitate
processing and improve fiber quality. The cotton is then air conveyed to gin stands where revolving circular saws pull the
lint through closely spaced ribs that prevent the seed from passing through. The lint is removed from the saw teeth by
air blasts or rotating brushes, and then compressed into bales weighing approximately 500 pounds. Cotton is then
moved to a warehouse for storage until it is shipped to a textile mill for use.

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A typical gin will process about 12 bales per hour, while some of today’s more modern gins may process as many
as 60 bales an hour.

1. Module Feeder 11. Conveyor Distributor

2. Suction Telescopes 12. 9000Feeder
3. Big-J Feed Control 13. 161 Gin Stand
4. Vertical Flow Drier 14. Centrifugal Cleaner
5. Incline Cleaner 15. 24-D Tandem Lint Cleaners
6. Stripper Cleaner 16. Battery Condenser
7. Stick Machine 17. Covered Lint Slide
8. Tower Drier 18. Belt Feeder
9. Incline Cleaner 19. 9300 Up-Packing Universal Density Bale Press
10. Impact Cleaner 20. Bale Tying
21. Bale Bagging And Conveying

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2. Cotton Yarn Manufacturing Process

Yarn manufacturing is a sequence of processes that convert raw cotton fibres into yarn suitable for use in various end-
products. A number of processes are required to obtain the clean, strong, uniform yarns required in modern textile
markets. Beginning with a dense package of tangled fibres(cotton bale) containing varying amounts of non-lint
materials and unusable fibre(foreign matter, plant trash, motes and so on), continuous operations of opening, blending,
mixing, cleaning, carding, drawing, roving and spinning are performed to transform the cotton fibres into yarn.
Even though the current manufacturing processes are highly developed, competitive pressure continues to spur
industry groups and individuals to seek new, more efficient methods and machines for processing cotton which, one day,
may supplant today’s systems.
However, for the foreseeable future, the current conventional systems of blending, carding, drawing, roving and
spinning will continue to be used. Only the cotton picking process seems clearly destined for elimination in the near
future.
Yarn manufacturing produces yarns for various woven or knitted end-products (e.g., apparel or industrial fabrics) and for
sewing thread and cordage. Yarns are produced with different diameters and different weights per unit length. While the
basic yarn manufacturing process has remained unchanged for a number of years, processing speeds, control technology
and package sizes have increased. Yarn properties and processing efficiency are related to the properties of the cotton
fibers processed. End-use properties of the yarn are also a function of processing conditions.

What is spinning?
A Yarn is usually of substantial length & of small cross section. In the cross section of a yarn there are usually a multiple
number of Staple fibers (short fibers) or Filaments (long fibers) of unlimited length.

Yarn made out of Staple fiber is known as Spun Yarn, because the staple fibers should undergo number of process stages so
that a yarn can be made out of them. This procedure or process stages in correct sequence is called “Spinning”. Fiber extrusion
or conversion of filaments from Polymers was also considered as “Spinning”.

Textile Yarn Manufacturing

If you want to make a yarn you will have two methods to follow.
One is Carded yarn manufacturing method and another is Combed yarn manufacturing method.

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Carded yarn manufacturing flowchart

Combed yarn is most precious, finer and thinner than the carded yarn. Because the Carded Yarn is produced by
following some less manufacturing steps than the Combed Yarn

Input Material Processing Machines Output Materials

Step 1

Raw Fiber Blow Room Lap

Step 2

Lap Carding CardedSliver

Step 3

Carded Sliver Draw Frame Draw Frame Sliver

Step 4

Draw Frame Sliver Fly/Speed Frame Roving

Step 5
Roving Ring Spinning Yarn (Spinning Bobbin)

Step
6 Spinning Bobbin Winding Cone

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Combed yarn manufacturing flowchart
Combed yarn is more precise than card yarn. Here is the process flowchart of Combed Yarn. The main purpose of
Combed yarn manufacturing is to create a yarn which is
highly finer and highly qualified.
InputMaterial ProcessingMachines OutputMaterials

Step 1

Raw Fibre Blow Room Lap

Step 2

Lap Carding Carded Sliver

Step 3

Carded Sliver DrawFrame1 Draw Frame Sliver

Step 4

Draw Frame Sliver Sliver Lap Lap

Step 5

Lap Ribbon Lap Ribbon Lap Sliver

Step 6

Ribbon Lap Sliver Comber Combed Sliver

Step 7

Combed Sliver DrewFrame2 Draw Frame Sliver

Step 8

Draw Frame Sliver Fly/Speed Frame Roving

Step 9

Roving Ring Spinning Yarn

(Spinning Bobbin)

Step 10
Winding Cone
Spinning Bobbin
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Blow room

The section where the supplied compressed cotton bale turns into a uniform lap of particular length by opening, cleaning,
blending or, mixing is called blow room section. It is the first step of spinning. The section consist a number of different
machines used in succession to open and clean the fibers.
Basic operations involved in the blow room:

● Opening- Opening is the first operation in the blow room carried out to the stage of flocks in the blow room and to
the stage of individual fibers in the cards.
● Cleaning- To remove the impurities, foreign materials and the raw materials as clean as possible.
● Dust removal- To remove the dusts which are completely enclosed in the flocks.
● Blending- To achieve the required quality of yarn by blending different kinds of cotton into a particular ratio.
● Even feed of the material- To produce a lap of uniform weight per unit length or, to process the maximum quality
which is suitable for carding

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2.4.2 Objects of blow room:

● Opening- Opening of compressed cotton bales and cotton bales are made into small tufts.
● Cleaning- To eliminate dust, dirt, broken leaf, seed particles, grass and other foreign impurities from thefibre.
● Blending/mixing- To produce a comparatively good quality cotton fibre by mixing different types of cotton
together.
● Lap forming-
(a) To convert the opened and cleaned fiber into a sheet of particular width and uniform weight/unit length is called
lap.
(b) To give a cylindrical shape to the predetermined lap by winding it in the lap pin and to make it suitable for the
next process carding.

Actions of blow room:

(a) Action of opposite spike(Opening)

(b) Action of air current(Transport Cleaning)
(c) Action of beater and grid bar(Cleaning and opening)
(d) Action of regulating motion(Uniform output)

Carding

Carding is the second stage of cotton spinning. It is defined as the reduction of entangled mass of fibres to
filmy web by working them between two closely spaced relatively moving surfaces closed with sharp points
i.e. wires.
The process of using a card (a thistle or teasel) for combing textile fibers. This consists of combing or brushing fibers
until they are straightened and placed parallel. For this, the imperfect fibers and other impurities have to be removed.
James Hargreaves and Louis Paul were two of the persons concerned with this invention and improvements to
carding. Since then, innumerable attempts have been made to improve these machines, but in spite of this and also the
latest improvements made, carding remains essentially the same as established nearly 200 years ago.
Since the functions of the card are to place the fibers parallel and remove other impurities so that perfect fibers can be
drawn in sliver, the rollers of carding machine have to be so arranged, as would perform these functions perfectly.

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Carding machine consists of 3 cylinders, covered with cards. (1) Taker-in is smallest, (2) Main cylinder is the largest
and (3) The doffer. The outer contact cylinder lap feeds cotton to roller C, which rotates on a smooth iron table D.
Here all the dirt is removed, and the fibers are straightened by combing. The cotton then passes along these cylinders
as shown by arrows. The flats further flatten the fibers and also place them loose but parallel. When these are
ultimately fed to doffer, its teeth draw these in light fleece and these are then further drawn into slivers, and deposited
into coiler can.
Objects of carding
 Opening and cleaning: To open and clean the fibers at single stage.
 To make the fiber straight and parallel (Parallelization of fibers)
 To remove the small trash particles which have not been taken out from the blow room line
 To remove the naps and motes.
 Individualization of fibres;i,e. separation of fibers from each others.
 Elimination of the remaining impurities.
 Attenuation; draft.
 To produce thick rope form of fibers called slivers which is suitable for subsequent processing.

Tasks of carding
 Opening of individual fibers.
 Elimination impurities.
 Elimination of dust.
 Disentangling of naps.
 Elimination of short fibers.
 Fiber blending.
 Fiber orientation.
 Sliver formation.
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Two actions are there to which happen during carding. They are;

1. Carding Action
2. Stripping Action
1. Carding Action
When two close surfaces have opposite wire direction and their speed direction or relative motion is also opposite.
Then the action between two surfaces is called carding action.

Functions:

 It is occurred between flats and cylinder.

 Maximum individualization of fibers is achieved in this region.
 Naps short fibers dirt and dust are removed by this action.
 There always should be point against point action.

Carding Action

2. Stripping Action
When two close surfaces have same wire direction and their speed direction or relative motion is opposite then the
action between two surfaces is called stripping action.

Functions:

1. It is occurred between licker in and cylinder.

2. There are should be point against back action.
3. Individualization of Fiber is also by this action.

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Draw Frame.

Draw frame is a machine for combining and drawing slivers of a textile fiber(as of hemp for rope manufacture or
cotton for spinning). Drawing is the operation by which slivers are blended, doubled and leveled. In short staple
spinning the term is only applied to the process at a draw frame.
In drawing slivers are elongated when passing through a group of pair rollers, each pair is moving faster
than previous one.
Actions Involved in Draw Frame
Drafting
It is the process of increasing length per unit weight of sliver. It is mainly due to peripheral speed of the rollers.
Doubling
The process of combing two or more carded sliver into a single form is called doubling. In draw frame m/c
generally six slivers are fed to convert into one i.e. six doubling.
Drawing
In the cotton industry the term is applied exclusively to processing on the draw frame, where the operation is one
of doubling and drafting. Drawing= Drafting+ Doubling.

Diagram of draw frame

Tasks of Draw frame

i. Equalizing
ii. Parallelizing

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iii. Blending
iv. Dust removal

i. Equalizing
One of the main tasks of draw frame is improving evenness over short, medium and especially long terms. Carded
slivers are fed to the draw frame have degree on unevenness that cannot be tolerated in practice and slivers from the
comber contain the “infamous” piecing. It is obscured by draw frame.
Equalizing is always performed by a first process, namely doubling and can optionally also be performed by a
second process, namely auto leveling. The draft and the doubling have the same value and lie in the range of 6 to8.

ii. Parallelizing
To obtain an optional value for strength in the yarn characteristics, the fibers must be arranged parallel in the fibre
strand. The draw frame has the tasks of creating this parallel arrangement. It fulfills the task by way of the draft,
since every drafting step leads to straightening the fibres.

iii. Blending
In addition to the equalizing effect, doubling also provides a degree of compensation of raw material variation
by blending. Their results are exploited in particular way in the production of blended yarns comprising cotton or
synthetic blends. At the draw frame metering of the individual components can be carried out very simply be
selection of the number of slivers entering the machines.

iv. Dust Removal

Dust is steadily becoming a greater problem both in processing and for the personnel involved. It is therefore
important to remove dust to the greatest practical extent at every possible point within the overall process.

Combing
Definition of Combing
Removing short fibres, neps and impurities by using combs is called combing. It is the process of separation of long
desirable fibers of same length from the short fibres, neps and all remaining foreign materials of the fibres tuck. The
fibers also become straight and parallel.

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Working principle of cotton combing
All the combers operate intermittently, both ends of the fibers are combed separately by needles and the
continuity of the strand is maintained by an ingenious method of piecing up the separated combed tufts,
shortly, the process is operated as follows –

 The lap prepared for combing is fed into the machine between the feed roller and the bottom nipper. At the front
of the nipper, the top nipper is positioned to gripe the lap as it passes to be combed at the front end of a fringe.
 The protruding fibres beyond the nipping point are combed by the passage of raws of needles fastened of a
cylinder and situated below the lap. The cylinder with the needles revolves and carries away the short fibres, neps, and
impurities from the front part of the fringe. The wastage are removed from the cylinder needles by a brush and
collected around an aspirator.
 When the cylinder comb completes its action, the top comb then comes down to perform its action at the back
part of the fibre fringe. Meanwhile, the partly combed fibres are withdrawn through the top comb by detaching
rollers.
 When all the combed fibres have been withdrawn by the detaching roller, the top comb is withdrawn and the
cylinder comb operates on new sets of fibres as before.
 The top comb operates again but before the rollers draw away the newly combed
fibres, then turn backwards a little so that, the new fibres can be over lapped with those withdrawn in the previous
combing and in this way the continuity of the combed web of fibres is maintained.
 The combed web delivered by the rollers is passed through a trumpet to consolidate the fibres and to make a
sliver which is pulled along a table alongside other slivers from the other combers delivered by the same machine. 6
or 8 slivers are drawn into a single sliver by a drafting mechanism at the end of the sliver table and passes into a sliver
can.

Objectives of Combing

 To remove naps in the carded sliver.

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 To make the fibre more parallel and straight.

 To produce a uniform sliver of required per unit length.

 To remove the fibre shorter than a predetermined length.

 To remove remaining impurities in the comber lap.

Basic Principle of a Comber (Combing sequence/Cycle):

One article has written about basic principle of a comber. So here only title of comber principle is given below.

1. Lap feeding by feed roller

2. Lap nipping by the nipper
3. Combing by the cylinder
4. Nipper opening and forwarding
5. Detaching roller backward movement
6. Piecing
7. Combing by the top comb
8. Detaching roller forward movement
9. Starting a new cycle
10. Cleaning of cylinder comb

Combing machine diagram

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Speed Frame(Roving Frame)

Simplex is an intermediate process in which fibres are converted into low twist lea called roving. The sliver which is
taken from draw frame is thicker so it is not suitable for manufacturing of yarn. Its purpose is to prepare input package
for next process. These packages to prepare on a small compact package called bobbins. Roving machine is complicated,
liable to fault, causes defect adds to the production costs and deliver the product. In this winding operation that makes us
roving frame complex. There are two main basic reasons for using roving frame.
Necessity of Speed Frame:
1. The first reason is related to the required draft. Sliver is a thick, untwisted strand that tends to be hairy and to
create fly. The draft needed to convert this to a yarn is in the region of 300-500. The drafting arrangements of ring
spinning machines, in their current forms, are not capable of processing this strand in a single drafting operation to
create a yarn of short-staple fibers that meets all the normal demands on such yarns. The fine, twisted roving is
significantly better suited to this purpose.

2. The second reason is that draw frame cans represent the worst conceivable mode of transport and
presentation of feed material to the ring spinning frame.

Objects/ Functions of Speed Frame:

 Attenuation of drawn sliver to form roving of required count by drafting.
 Insert small amount of twist to give required strength of roving.
 Wind the twisted roving on to the bobbin.
 Build the roving in bobbin such a form which will facilitate handling, withdrawing &transfer to
the next process.

Operations Involved in Simplex Machine:

1. Creeling2.Drafting
3.Twisting 4.Winding 5.Building
6.Doffing
Creeling
To feed the sliver by the help of several rows of driver rollers to the machine.

 Creel draft
 Creel Stop motion
 Block creeling

Drafting

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To reduce the wt/unit length of sliver to make it suitable for ring spinning system.
Twisting
To insert small amount of twist to give required strength of roving.
Winding
To wind the twisted roving on to bobbin.
Building
To build the roving in bobbin such a form which will facilitate handling, withdrawing & transfer to the next
process.
Doffing
To replace an empty bobbin at the place of full roving bobbin.

Speed Frame

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Ring Spinning

The Ring Spinning is the most widely used form of spinning machine due to significant advantages in comparison
with the new spinning processes. The ring spinning machine is used in the textile industry to simultaneously twist
staple fibres into yarn and then wind it onto bobbins for storage. The yarn loop rotating rapidly about a fixed axis
generates a surface referred to as "balloon". Ring frame settings are chosen to reduce yarn hairiness and the risk of
glazing or melting the fibre

What is Ring Spinning?

Ring Spinning is the oldest of the present day spinning processes. Fiber material is supplied to the ring-spinning
machine in the form of roving. The fiber mass of the roving is reduced by a drafting unit. The twist inserted moves
backwards and reaches the fibers leaving the drafting unit. The fibers lay around one another in concentric helical paths.
The normal forces encountered by the fibers enhance the adhesive forces between the
fibers and prevent fibers from flying or slipping past each other under the tensile strain.
It is the process of further drawing out roving to the final yarn count needed, inserting twist to the fibres by means
of a rotating spindle and winding the yarn on a bobbin. These three stages take place simultaneously and
continuously.

A mechanically driven spindle, on which the yarn package firmly sits, is responsible for twist. A stationary ring is
around the spindle, which holds the traveler.Yarn fromthe drafting unit is drawn under the traveler, and then led
to the yarn package.In order to wind the twisted yarn on a bobbin tube carried by the spindle, the traveler is required
to cooperate with the spindle. The traveler moves on the ring without any physical drive, but is carried along by
the yarn it is threaded with. The rotation rate of traveler is lower than the spindle, and this difference in the

18
speeds of traveler and the spindle enables the winding of the yarn on the tube. A controlled up and down movement
of the ring determines the shape of the yarn package, called Cop or Bobbin. Ring spinning technology provides the
widest range in terms of the yarn counts it can produce.

Ring spinning is a comparatively expensive process because of its slower production speeds and the additional
processes (roving and winding) required for producing ring spun yarns. Ring spun yarns produce high quality and
are mainly produced in the fine (60 Ne, 10 tex) to medium count (30 Ne, 20 tex) range, with a small amount
produced in the coarse count (10 Ne, 60 tex) range. End uses include high quality underwear, shirting, towels.
The fibers in the ring yarn are highly parallel and helical in nature, and the fiber arrangement is uniform along
the thickness of the yarn. The yarn has a compact structure, with essentially no wrapper or hooked fibers. The self-
locked structure is the result of intensive fiber migration, which in turn is influenced by the triangular
geometry of the spinning zone and the high spinning tensions. The highaxial strength of the yarn is the result of
unique self-locked structure.

Objectives of RingSpinning
 To draft the roving fed to the ring spinning frame i,e to convert roving into very fine strand called yarn.
 To impart strength to the yarn by inserting the necessary amount of twist.
 To collect twisted strand called yarn onto handy and transportable package by winding the twisted thread on
a cylindrical bobbin or tube.
Operations involved in ring frame:

1. Creeling
2. Drafting
3. Twisting
4. Winding
5. Building
6. Doffing

Some other modern spinning systems:

1. Open end rotor spinning
2. Air Jet spinning system
3. Friction spinning system
4. Wrap spinning system
Advantage of Ring Spinning System:
1. Any type of material (Fiber) can be spun
2. Wide range of count can be processed
3. It delivers a yarn with optimum characteristics.
4. Idealized twisting system

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5. It is uncomplicated and easy to operate
6. Higher yarn strength can be achieved

Disadvantages of Ring Spinning System:

1. Low production
2. Machine generates more heat
3. In ring spinning machine twisting and winding are done simultaneously. That’s why the power consumption is
higher.

Winding

In spinning process; winding are the last steps. After winding yarn package are used for making woven or knitted
fabrics. Winding process can be defined as the transfer of spinning yarn from one package to another large
package (cone, spool, cheese, pirn etc).one the other hand it can be defined as the transfer the yarn from
bobbin, hanks etc into a convenient from of package containing considerable long length of yarn. A process of
accumulating yarn on a package to facilitate the next process is called as winding.
A basic diagram of winding m/c:

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Following are the tasks of winding process
 Extraction of all disturbing yarn faults such as the short, long thick ,long thin, spinners doubles,etc
 Manufacture of cones having good drawing - off properties and with as long a length of yarn as possible
 paraffin waxing of the yarn during the winding process
 introduction into the yarn of a minimum number of knots
 achievement of a high machine efficiency i.e high production level

The winding process therefore has the basic function of obtaining a larger package fromseveral small ring bobbins.
This conversion process provides one with the possibility of cutting out unwanted and problematic
objectionable faults. The process of removing such objectionable faults is called as yarn ‘ clearing’.

Practical experience has proven that winding alters the yarn structure. This phenomenon does not affect yarn
evenness, but affect the following yarn properties
 thick places
 thin places
 neps
 hairiness
 standard deviation of hairiness

If winding tension is selected properly, the following tensile properties are not affected
 tenacity
 elongation
 work- to-break

But excessive tension in winding will deteriorate the above said tensile properties.

Changes in the yarn surface structure due to winding cannot be avoided. Since the yarn is accelerated from zero speed

21
to 1200 or 1350 meters per min in a few milliseconds while being pulled off the bobbin, dragged across several
deflection bars and eyelets, forced into a traverse motion at speed that make it invisible, and finally rolled up into a
firm construction called package or cone.

3. Yarns
Definition of Yarn
A yarn is a constructed assemblage of textile fibers which acts as a unit in fabric formation.
Yarn Classification

1. Staple Fiber Yarns or Spun Yarns(single yarn):

Spun yarns are made by mechanical assembly and twisting together (spinning) of staple fibers. Ring spinning,
spinning, Wrap spinning, Air-jet spinning etc. machines are used to produced this spun or single yarns.

2. Ply Yarn:
Single yarns are used in the majority of fabrics for normal textile and clothing applications, but in order to
obtain special yarn features, particularly high strength and
modulus for technical and industrial applications, ply yarns are often needed. A folded or ply yarn is produced by
twisting two or more single yarns together in one operation, and a cabled yarn is formed by twisting together two or
more folded yarns or a combination of folded and single yarns. The twisting together of several single yarns.
Increases the tenacity of the yarn by improving the binding- in of the fibers on the outer layers of the component
single yarns. Ply yarns are also more regular, smoother and more hard wearing. The direction of twisting is
designated as S or Z, just as in single yarns. Normally the folding twist is in the opposite direction to that of the
single yarns.

3. Cord or Cable:
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Many plied yarns twisted into a course structure.

4. Filament Yarns:
A filament yarn is made from one or more continuous strands called filaments where each component filament
runs the whole length of the yarn. Those yarns composed of one filament are called monofilament yarns, and those
containing more filaments are known as multifilament yarns. For apparel applications, multifilament yarn may
contain as few as two or three filaments or as many as 50 filaments. In carpeting, for example, a filament yarn could
consist of hundreds of filaments; Most manufactured fibers have been produced in the form of a filament yarn. Silk
is the only major natural filament yarn.
Types of cotton yarn

There are two types of cotton yarn according to their manufacturing process,
1. Carded yarn.
2. Combed yarn.

Differences between card yarn and combed yarn.

Carded yarn
 The yarn is more hairy.
 The yarn is more irregular.
 The yarn is cheaper.
 The yarn is less shiny.
 Some trash may be present in the yarn.
 Neaps can be present in the yarn.
 Possibility of irregular twist distribution in the yarn.

Combed yarn
23
 The yarn is less hairy.
 The yarn is more regular.
 The yarn is more costly.
 The yarn is shinier.
 No trash can be present in the yarn.
 Neaps are not available in the yarn.

Bundling & Bailing

Bundling is a process of making a yarn bundle having a weight of 2.27 kg or 4.4 kg. A machine used for this
purpose is called Bundling Machine or Bundling Press.
Baling is a processing in which a bale is made from yarn bundles. The bale weight is 90 kg. A machine used for this
purpose is called Baling Press.

Yarn Numbering System and Conversions

What is yarn count?

Since yarn is the compressible textile material it is not possible to measure its fineness by any of the testing
instrument so it is usually expressed in terms of the linear density or count. In short the count of yarn is a
numerical expression which defines its fineness or size of the yarn. It also expresses weather the yarn is thick or
thin. According to the textile institute yarn count is a number of indicating the length per unit weight of the yarn or
weight per unit length.

Importance of yarn count:

The main purpose of manufacturing of the yarn is to convert it in to the fabric form. Usually 90% of the yarn is
converted into the fabric form for making its use and the remaining is used as it is in the yarn form. If the yarn is
used as it is then there is no so much need of measuring its dimensions, but if it is to be converted in to the fabric
form then in order to manufacture the required fabric, the yarn parameters plays vital role. The fabric parameters are
decided from the use of that fabric for which it is to be used, and those fabric parameters are inculcated from the
yarn parameters.

The fabric construction is varied with respect to its end use. The main important fabric factors deciding its
construction are, yarn spacing and yarn thickness. Out of this the yarn spacing can be measured by counting the
number of yarns per inch with use of magnifying glass. The yarn thickness i.e. yarn diameter (assuming that the
yarn is almost circular in cross section) is not an easy process even by any of the means due to the following
problems.

24
Yarn count testing method
1. Wrap reel method
2. Skein gauge method
3. Drying oven method
4. Analytic balance method
What is yarn numbering?
Yarn numbers is measures of the coarseness or fineness of a yarn indicating the length per unit mass or mass per
unit length and the method of calculation of count number is called as yarn numbering system.

Importance of yarn numbering system

The fineness of yarn cannot be expressed easily in terms of diameter as in the case of wires and cords we measure
its diameter by using instrument such as micrometer or calipers. But in case of yarn we cannot measure its diameter
by using micrometer and caliper because most of the yarns are relatively soft and compressible, also the cross
section of the spun yarn is not fully circular and it contains variations in thickness because presence of thick and
thin places in the yarn and the continuous filament yarns also suffer from this drawback. Therefore yarn numbering
systems like special methods are used to measure the fineness and coarseness of yarn.

Types of yarn numbering system

1. Direct yarn numbering system
2. Indirect yarn numbering system

1. DIRECT YARN NUMBERING SYSTEM [MASS/UNIT LENGTH]:

Direct yarn numbering system also known as mass per unit length of yarn, hence in this system higher the yarn
number or count indicates the coarser or thicker the yarn size and smaller the yarn number or count indicates the
finer or lighter the yarn size. This system is generally used for Tex and Denier. In direct yarn numbering system the
count directly express the size of the yarn and a coarser yarn will have a higher number while a finer yarn will have
a lower number. The resultant count of the folded yarn can be easy to calculate even component threads are of
different counts. Cloth setting are comparative difficult in this system. And we cannot easily calculate the weight of
the fabric and Calculation of the amount of twist in the yarn.
The following formula is used to calculate the direct yarn count:

       W x l
N = --------
          L

Where,

N = Yarn count or number system

W = Weight of the sample at the official regain in the units of the system
L = Length of the sample
L = Units of length of sample

25
 Fig: Different yarn number system

1. Tex (Universal yarn numbering system):

Tex system of yarn numbering system is called as universal yarn numbering system. This system comes under
direct yarn numbering system and it is introduced by International standard organization (ISO) and textile scientists
of various organization, manufactures and technologists. This system is applicable to yarn made from both natural
fibers as well as synthetic fibers. Hence this system is useful for replacing the several different systems which are
being used in the various sectors of the textile industry all over the world. Tex system can be used from fiber to yarn
process. For fineness of cord, wire, ropes and sliver etc. are expressed in terms of kilotex that is the weight of the
material in kg in one km length but for the fineness of fiber it can be expressed in terms of millitex that is weight of
fiber in mg (milligrams) in one km (kilometer) length. The advantages and drawbacks of direct system of yarn
numbering are also applicable to universal system.

In shortly,
Tex is defined as the weight of yarn in grams per 1000 meter of yarns or 1 km length.

i.e., wt. in grams per 1000 meters of yarn.

          1000 x Weight in gram’s

Tex = -------------------------------
               Length in meter’s

Example: 30 Tex indicates that 1000 meters of yarn weight 30 grams.

Questions:
A) Calculate the tex-count of nylon yarn, if the length of yarn is 20000 yards & its weight is 400 gram’s.

Answer:

1 yard = 0.9144 meter

          1000 x Weight in gram’s

Tex = -------------------------------
              Length in meter’s

               1000 x 400

Tex = --------------------------
           20000 x 0.9144

Tex = 21.87

2. Denier:
In the direct denier system, the yarn count number indicates the weight in grams of 9000 meters of yarn.

                9000 x Weight in grams

Denier = ------------------------------------
                     Length in meter

Example: 30 Denier indicates that 9000 meters of yarn weight 30 grams.

Questions:
A) The yarn of polyester filament weighing 50 grams in 6000 meter length calculate the Denier of the yarn.
Answer:
                9000 x Weight in grams

26
Denier = --------------------------------------
                    Length in meter

                9000 x 50
Denier = ----------------------
                   6000

Denier = 75

3. Spyndle Count:
This system is generally used for jute, hemp or dry spun-linen yarn. Spyndle count is defined as weight in pounds
per one spindle of 14400 yards.

                  Weight in pound x 14400

Spyndle = ---------------------------------
                      Length in yards

4. Grex Count:
It is defined as weight in grams of 10000 meters of yarn.

                       Weight in gram’s x 10000

Grex count = ----------------------------------------
                           Length in meter’s

INDIRECT YARN NUMBERING SYSTEM [LENGTH/UNIT MASS]:

Indirect yarn numbering system also known as length per unit mass of yarn, Hence in this system higher the yarn
number or count indicates the finer or lighter the yarn size and smaller the yarn number or count indicates the
coarser or thicker the yarn size. This system is generally used for English cotton count, Worsted count, Linen count,
Woolen count, French cotton count and metric count. As compared to direct yarn numbering system this system is
very easy to calculate weight of the fabric, when the count of warp and weft are expressed in this system. The
amount of twist in the yarn and cloth setting (threads per inch) are directly proportionally to the square root of yarn
count and very difficult to calculate. The count does not express the size of the yarn directly. And a coarser or bulky
yarn will have a small count number than a finer or less bulky yarn. And it is very difficult to calculate the resultant
count of the folded yarn in this system, when the component threads are different counts.

The following formula is used to calculate the indirect yarn count:

N = (L × w)/ W ×l

Where,
N = Yarn count or number system
W = Weight of the sample at the official regain in the units of the system
L = Length of the sample
L = Units of length of sample
W = Units of weight of sample

Numbering system Units of length(l) Units of weight(W)

English cotton count (Ne) 840 yards 1 pound (lb.)
Metric count (Nm) 1000 meters / 1km 1 kg
Woolen count  (YSM) 256 yards 1 pound (lb.)
Worsted count (Nek) 560 yards 1 pound (lb.)
Linen count (NeL) 300 yards 1 pound (lb.)
French cotton count 1000 meters 500 grams
1. English cotton count (Ne):
This also known as British count or English count. This defined as the number of hanks each of 840 yards weighing
in one pound of the yarn.
27
                                                   Length in yards
English cotton count (Ne) = ---------------------------------
                                                840 x Weight in lbs

Example:

A. 30/1 cotton (1 means single yarn) indices that 30 x 840 yards of yarn weight 1 pound.

B. 40/2 cotton (2 means ply yarn) indicates that 20(Resultant count) x 840 yards of yarn weight 1 pound.

Questions:
A). A yarn having length of 90,000 yards and its weight in 2 pounds calculate its English count.

Answer:

                                                   Length in yards

English cotton count (Ne) = -----------------------------------
                                                840 x Weight in lbs

          90,000
Ne = -------------------
         840 x 2

English cotton count (Ne) = 53.57

2. Worsted count (Nm):

It is defined as the no. of hanks each of 560 yards weighing in one pound of the yarn.

                                          Length in yards

Worsted count (Nm) = ---------------------------------
                                       560 x Weight in lbs

Example:
A. 1/20 worsted cotton indicates that 20 × 560 yards of yarn 1 pound.
B. 3/40 worsted cotton indicates that 13.33(Resultant count) × 560 yards of yarn.

28
Questions:
A) If 80 yards worsted yarn weighing 50 grains what is count of yarns.
Answer:
                                         Length in yards
Worsted count (Nm) = ---------------------------------
                                       560 x Weight in lbs
                   80
Nm = ------------------------
          560 x (50/7000)

Nm = 20.0s
3. Linen count (Wet – spun):
Linen count is the number denoting numbers of hank’s each of 300 yards weighing in pound.

                            Length in yards

Linen count = -----------------------------
                         300 x Weight in lbs

Questions:

A) If 240 yards of linen yarn weight 1 oz., what is the count of the yarn.

Answer:

1 lbs. = 16 oz.

                           Length in yards

Linen count = -------------------------------
                         300 x Weight in lbs

                               240
Linen count = ----------------------
                         300 x (1/16)

Linen count = 12.8

4. Woolen Count (Yorkshire count):

Woolen count (Yorkshire count) is the number denoting number of hanks each of 256 yards weighing in one pound

29
(lbs.).

                            No. of hanks of 256 yards

Woolen count = ---------------------------------------
                               Weight in pound (lbs)

                              Length in yards

Woolen count = ----------------------------------
                            256 x Weight in lbs

Questions:
A) The weight of 786 yards of woolen yarn is ¼ lb., what is the count of yarn.
Answer:
                               Length in yards
Woolen count = ----------------------------------
                            256 x Weight in lbs

                                 768
Woolen count = ------------------
                            256 x (1/4)
Woolen count = 12s

5. French Cotton Count:

It is defined as number of hanks each of 1000 meters weighing in ½ kg.

                                      Length in meter x 2

French count (NF) = --------------------------------------
                                     1000 x Weight in kg

6. Metric count (Nm):

It is defined as number of hank’s each of 1000 m weighing in 1 kg.

                                       Length in meters

Metric count (Nm) = -----------------------------------
                                    1000 x Weight in kg

Example:
A. 30 Nm indicates that 30 Kilometers or 30,000 meters of yarn weight 1 kilogram.

30
Questions:
A) Calculate Metric cotton count of 60000 yards weighing 1.2 pound (lbs.)
Answer:
1 yard = 0.9144 meter
1 kg = 2.202 pounds
                                        Length in meters
Metric count (Nm) = -----------------------------------
                                     1000 x Weight in kg
                                      60000 x 0.9144
Metric count (Nm) = -----------------------------------
                                     1000 x (1.2/2.202)

                                          54864
Metric count (Nm) = -----------------------------------
                                    1000 x 0.5449

Metric count (Nm) = 100.68YarnCount

Conversion Table

31
4. Yarn Fault

Slubs
An abnormally thick place or lump in yarn showing less twist at that place.

EFFECT
 More end breaks in the next process.

32
 Damaged fabric appearance.
 Shade variation in dyed fabrics.
CAUSES
 Accumulation of fly and fluff on the machine parts.

 Poor carding.

 Defective ring frame drafting and bad piecing

 Improperly clothed top roller clearers.

RECTIFICATION
 Machine surfaces to be maintained clean.

 Proper functioning of pnemafil/roller clearers to be ensured.

 Broken teeth gear wheel to be avoided and proper meshing to be ensured.

 Better fiber individualization at cards to be achieved.

 Optimum top roller pressure &backbone

 Setting at ring frame to be maintained.

Neps
Yarn containing rolled fibre mass, which can be clearly seen on black board at close distance; measurable
on Uster imperfection Indicator.

EFFECT
Damaged fabric appearance
 Shade variation in the dyed fabrics

 An abnormally thick place or lump in yarn showing less twist at that place is called slubs

CAUSES
 Accumulation of fly and fluff on the machine parts

 Poor carding.

 Defective ring frame drafting and bad piecing

 Improperly clothed top roller clearers.

33
RECTIFICATION
 Machine surfaces to be maintained clean.

 Proper functioning of pnemafil/roller clearers to be ensured.

 Broken teeth gear wheel to be avoided and proper meshing to be ensured.

 Better fiber individualization cards to be achieved.

Thick and Thin Places

Measurable by Uster Imperfection Indicator and observable on appearance

EFFECT
Eccentric top and bottom rollers
 Insufficient pressure on top rollers

 Worn and old aprons and improper apron spacing

 Improper meshing of gearwheels

 Mixing of cottons varying widely in fiber lengths and use of immature cottons

CAUSES
 Eccentric top and bottom rollers

 Insufficient pressure on top rollers

 Worn and old aprons and improper apron spacing

 Improper meshing of gearwheels

 Mixing of cottons varying widely in fiber lengths and use of immature cottons
RECTIFICATION
 Eccentric top and bottom rollers to be avoided

 Top arm pressure checking schedules to be Maintained strictly

 Wide variation in the properties of cottons used in the mixing to be avoided

 Better fiber individualization at cards to be achieved.

34
 Correct spacers to be utilized

SoftYarn
Yarn which is weak indicating lesser twist

EFFECT:
 More end breaks in subsequent process
 Shade variation in dyed fabric
CAUSES:
 Slack tapes dirty jockey pulleys

 Improper bobbin feed on the spools

 Less twist in the yarn

 Bad clearing at the travellar

RECTIFICATION:
Vibration of bobbins on the spindles to be avoided
 Proper yarn clearing to be ensured

 Periodic replacement of worn rings and travellars to be effected

Oil Stained Yarn Yarn stained with

oil

35
EFFECT
 Damaged fabric appearance

 Occurrence of black spot in fabric

CAUSES
 Careless oil in the moving parts, over head pulleys etc

 Piecing made with oily or dirty fingers

 Careless material handlings

RECTIFICATION
 Appropriate material handling procedures to be followed
 Oilers to trained in proper method of lubrication
 Clean containers to be utilized for material transportation

Bad Piecing
Unduly thick piecing in yarn caused by over End piecing

EFFECT
 More end breaks in subsequent process
 Increase in hard waste

CAUSES
 Wrong method of piecing and over end piecing
 Twisting the ends instead of knotting

36
RECTIFICATION
 Tenters to be trained in proper methods of piecing
 Separators to be provided
 Excessive end breaks in spinning to be avoided

Hairiness
Protrusion of fibre ends from the main yarn structure

EFFECT
 More end breaks in winding
 Uneven fabric surface
 Beads formation in the fabric in the case of polyester/cotton blends

CAUSES
 Use of cottons differing widely in the properties in the same mixing
 Use of worn rings and lighter travellars
 Maintaining low relative humidity, closer roller settings and very high spindle speeds

RECTIFICATION
 Use of travellars of correct size and shape and rings in good condition to be ensured
 Periodic replacement of travellars and suitable
 Roller settings to be maintained
 Optimum relative humidity to be maintained in the spinning room

 Wide variation in the properties of cottons used in the mixing to be avoided

Foreign Matters

37
Metallic parts, jute flannel and other similar foreign matters spun along with yarn

EFFECT
 Breaks during winding
 Formation of holes and stains in cloth
 Damaged fabric appearance
CAUSES
 Improper handling of travelers
 Improper preparation of mixings
RECTIFICATION
Removal of foreign matters (such as jute fibres,colour cloth bits) to be ensured during preparation of
mixing
 Installation of permanent magnets at proper

 Places in blow room lines to be ensured

Spun InFly
Fly or fluff either spun along with the yarn or loosely embedded on the yarn

38
EFFECT
More breaks in winding

CAUSES
 Accumulation of fluff over machine parts
 Fanning by workers
 Failure of over head cleaners
 Malfunctioning of humidification plant

RECTIFICATION
 Machinery surfaces to be kept clean by using roller pickers

 Fanning by workers to be avoided

 Performance of over head cleaners and humidification plants to be closely monitored

Open-End Spinning
The twist insertion mechanism which requires one full rotation of the yarn bobbin to introduce
one turn of twist into the yarn is one of the main reasons for limiting the productivity of ring
spinning. Increasing the spindle speed, and thereby the bobbin speed, increases productivity but
the increase in spindle speed is itself limited owing to the heat transfer and wear problems of the
traveler situated on the ring. The upper limit of the traveler speed in mill conditions is 35
meters/sec. Open end spinning methods overcome these problems of ring spinning by separating
twisting and winding. Open end spinning enables substantial increases in productivity and the
possibility of full automation of the spinning process.
Principle of Open-End Spinning:
In all other spinning processes, an uninterrupted stream of fibers proceeds continuously, but
with gradual attenuation, from the feedstock to the take-up package. In open-end spinning,
this flow of fibers is interrupted, the fiber strand being opened into individual fibers at a
predetermined position, usually by means of an opening roller, followed by airborne fiber
transport. This interruption or break in the fiber flow is physically achieved by increasing
fiber speed locally to very high levels (up to 100 m/s), so that – according to the equation of
continuity – the number of fibers in the cross-section drops to such low values that the fibers
lose contact with each other.
This enables twist to be imparted merely by rotation of the yarn end, which in turn leads to a
significantly higher potential rotation speed. However, the break in fiber flow also leads
directly to one of the most important and difficult tasks in open-end spinning, namely to
control the configuration of the individual fibers, airborne at high speed, and the need to re-
collect these fibers without losing their elongated configuration, which is essential to the
formation of a new fiber strand. This very tricky problem of open-end spinning can be dealt
with schematically as shown in Figure 1.
39
Figure 1 : Formation of an open-end spun yarn

A constant stream of separated, individual fibers is allowed to flow to a rotating yarn end.
The brush-like, open yarn end grasps the fibers brought into contact with it and continuously
binds them into a yarn with the aid of the continual rolling movement. The continuously
formed yarn has only to be withdrawn and taken up onto a cross-wound package. On the
basis of the device used to reassemble the separated fibers, distinctions are drawn between:

 rotor spinning;
 electrostatic spinning;
 air-jet spinning;
 friction spinning; and
 disc spinning.

Rotor spinning has meanwhile become so widespread worldwide in the market that this very
important and well-established spinning system is dealt with in a separate volume.
Sequence of Operations:
Open end spinning is also known as break spinning or free fibre spinning. In this process the
fibrous material is highly drafted to separate out the individual fibres. The individual fibres
are subsequently collected onto the open end of the yarn. This is rotated to twist the fibre into
the yarn structure to form a continuous strand of yarn. This is wound onto a bobbin to form
the yarn package. The twisting action occurs simultaneously with but separately from the
winding action, unlike ring spinning where twisting and winding actions occur
together. Figure 2 shows a flow chart of the open end spinning method.

Figure 2 : Block diagram of Process Flow in Open end spinning.

40
Essential features of the open end spinning process :

 Drafting
 Fiber Transport
 Fiber alignment
 Cleaning (if necessary)
 Fiber condensation
 Twisting
 Yarn removal, and
 Winding.

End Uses for Open End Spun Yarns:

Open end yarns produce different characteristics in the end product. These yarns may be used
to advantage in fabrics where uniformity and a smoother surface are of prime importance.
Open end yarns are used in pile fabrics, apparel, household, industrial and technical
applications. Uses include heavy weight satin and poplins, corduroy, velveteen, rain wear,
denims, drills, sheets, pillow cases, bed spreads, printed fabrics, curtains, window blinds,
upholstery, cleaning cloths, dress goods, underwear, rugs, carpet, blankets, terry towel and
diapers.
Rotor Spinning
Rotor Spinning is a more recent method of yarn formation compared to Ring Spinning. The first
functioning of rotor spinning, machine was presented at the ITMA in 1967. Yarn spinning
according to the rotor spinning principle predominates for all non conventional spinning
methods. It omits the step of forming a roving. After drafting, the sliver is fed into a rotary
beater. This device ensures that the fibers are beaten into a thin supply which enters a duct and
gets deposited on the sides of the disc (rotor).The transportation of the fibers is achieved through
air currents.
This is a form of open-end spinning where twist is introduced into the yarn
without the need for package rotation allowing for higher twisting speeds with a relatively low
power cost. In rotor spinning a continuous supply of fibers is delivered from delivery rollers off
a drafting system or from an opening unit.

41
Characteristics

 Higher Productivity
 Large Sliver Can
 Large Final Package
 Less Power Consumption
 Automation
 Flexibility of spinning component
 Handling count range

Flow Chart of Conventional Rotor Yarn

Input Material Process Output Material

Raw Cotton Blow Room Lap / Chute

Lap / Chute Carding Card Sliver

Card Sliver Breaker Drawing Drawn Sliver

Drawn Sliver Finisher Drawing Drawing Sliver

Rotor Yarn
42
Drawn Sliver Rotor

Important part of a Rotor spinning machine

Tasks of the Rotor Spinning Machine:

The basic tasks of the rotor spinning machine are

  Opening (& attenuating) almost to individual fibers (fiber separation).
  Cleaning.
  Homogenizing through back doubling.
  Combining i.e. forming a coherent linear strand from individual fibers.
  Ordering (the fibers in the strand must have an orientation as far as possible in the longitudinal direction).
  Improving evenness through back-doubling.
  Imparting strength by twisting
  Winding.

Principle of Rotor Spinning:

The general principle of rotor spinning is shown in Figure. The input fiber strand is a drawn sliver. A
sliver may have more than 20,000 fibers in its cross-section. This means that a yarn of 100 fibers per
cross-section will require a total draft of 200. This amount of draft is substantially higher than that of
ring spinning. Drafting in rotor spinning is accomplished using a comber roll (mechanical draft)
which opens the input sliver followed by an air stream (air draft). These two operations produce an
amount of draft that is high enough to reduce the 20,000 fibers entering the comber roll down to few
fibers (5-10 fibers). In order to produce a yarn of about 100 fibers per cross-section, the groups of few

43
fibers emerging from the air duct are deposited on the internal wall of the rotor and a fiber ring is
formed inside the rotor.

The total draft in rotor spinning is, therefore a combination of true draft from the feed roll to the rotor
(in the order of thousands) and a condensation to accumulate the fiber groups into a fiber ring inside
the rotor. The total draft ratio is the ratio between the delivery or the take-up speed and the feed roll
speed. This should approximately amount to the ratio between the number of fibers in the sliver
cross-section and the number of fibers in the yarn cross-section. 
 

Diagram-Rotor Spinning process

Consolidation in rotor spinning is achieved by mechanical twisting. The torque generating the twist in the
yarn is applied by the rotation of the rotor with respect to the point of the yarn contacting the rotor navel.
The amount of twist (turns per inch) is determined by the ratio between the rotor speed (rpm) and the take up
speed (inch/min). Every turn of the rotor produces a turn of twist, and a removal of a length of yarn of 1/tpi
inches.

The winding operation in rotor spinning is completely separate from the drafting and the twisting
operations. The only condition here is that the yarn is taken up at a constant rate. This separation between
winding and twisting allows the formation of larger yarn packages than those in ring spinning.

Ring Spinning vs Rotor Spinning

44
 Ring Sp Ring Spinning
Bobbin rotates constantly for insertion of
twist
Cannot handle spools of bigger size
Can spin finer yarns (up to 20m/min)
Uniform and strong yarn
Combed yarns (finer)
Yarns for varied applications
Stronger
Suitable for all staple fibres
Rotor Spin Rotor Spinning
Spool does not need to be rotated to insert twist
Much larger spools can be wound
3-5 times faster than ring spinning(200m/min)
Uniform but flexible yarn with better dye ability
Carded yarns (coarser)
Yarns for heavier fabrics such as denims, towels
and poplins
20% more twisted but 15-20% weaker as the yarn
is coarser
Not suitable for man-made staple fibre spinning
except rayon as the fibre finish clogs the rotor

Advantages over ring spun yarn

 Better CV% of strength
 Higher elongation at break
 Better mass irregularity ( over short lengths)
 Lower imperfection index
 Greater volume
 Higher abrasion resistance
 Higher stiffness
 Harder Handle
 Less power consumption
 Lower energy consumption with productivity

Disadvantages over ring spun yarn

 Breaking strength lower than ring spun Yarn
 Less yarn count range
 Possible yarn counts rotor Ne 3 – 60 and Ring Ne 6 – 200

Friction Spinning System

Introduction

45
Friction (DREF) spinning system is an Open-end spinning system. Along with the frictional forces in the
spinning zone the yarn formation takes place. The DREF system is used to produce yarns with high delivery
rate about 300mpm. It produces a highly uniform yarn from diverse stock including short or difficult to
handle at high production rates and low labor and energy expenses.

ABSTRACT
 Friction Spinning or Dref Spinning is a textile technology that suitable for spinning coarse counts of yarns
and technical core- wrapped yarns.
 Dref yarns are bulky, with low tensile strength making them suitable for blankets and mop yarns, they can
be spunfrom asbestos, carbon fibres and make filters was water systems.
 Yarns such as Rayon and Kevlar can be spun using this method.
 The technology was developed around 1975 by Dr. Ernst Fehrer.

Features of Friction Spinning

 Yarn properties: low tensile strength

 Good uniformity, high production rates
 Application: yarns for knitting; terry yarns; weft yarns
 Advantages: low manufacturing cost; possibility for automation; no fast-moving parts
 Features: up now no limited application possibilities; delivery speed is independent from yarn count
 Low energy expenses and low labor

Principal of Friction Spinning System

The friction spinning system consists of
1. Opening & individualization of fibers from slivers,
2. Reassembling of individualized fibers ( collecting
3. Twisting (imparting the strength by twisting),
4. Withdrawing newly yarn formation,
5. Winding of yarn. ( a cross-wound package)

Types of DREF Friction Spinning

1. DREF-1
2. DREF-2
3. DREF-3
4. DREF-5
5. DREF-2000
6. DREF-3000

SCHEMATIC VIEW OF FRICTION SPINNING SYSTEM

Collected drums

4
46

1
 2
Fig.1-SchematicView of Friction Spinning
3

DREF-2
 DREF-2 was exhibited in the year 1975 at ITMA exhibition.
 It operates on the basis of mechanical/aerodynamic spinning system with an internal suction and same
direction of drums rotation.
 Drafted slivers are opened into individual fibers by a rotating combing drum covered with saw tooth
type wire clothing.
 The individualized fibers are stripped off from the combing drum by centrifugal force supported by
an air stream from the blower.
 Fibers are transported into the nip of two perforated friction drums where they are held by suction
helping in the removal of dust and dirt thereby contributing to production of cleaner yarn.
 The fibers are sub-sequentially twisted by mechanical friction on the surface of the drums.
 The low yarn strength and the requirement of more number of fibers in yarn cross-section (minimum
80-100 fibers) were restricted the DREF-2 spinning with coarser counts (0.3-6s Ne). 

DREF-2 friction spinning system

47
 Advantages of the core yarns produced using DREF-2 method
 Uniform breaking strength along the entire length and excellent running properties for further
processing (weaving and raschel knitting process).
 Excellent yarn regularity.
 Good adhesion of the sheath fibers to the core.
 No rewinding required due to the direct provision of the cylindrical bobbins to the weaving process in
a weight range of 8 - 10 kg.
 Long, knot-free lengths.
 High weaving effectiveness, due to the eradication of thread breaks.
 High levels of area stability in the finished weave.
 Retention of a textile surface character.
DREF-2 Application and Fields

 Blankets for the home application range, hotels and military uses etc.
 Interior decoration, wall coverings, draperies and filler yarn.
 Shoes, ropes and industrial cable manufacturing.
 Filler cartridge for liquid filtration
 For upholstery, table cloths, wall coverings, curtains, hand-made carpets, bed coverings and other
decorative fabrics.
 Heavy flame-retardant fabrics, conveyor belts, clutches and brake linings, friction linings for
automobile industry, packets and gaskets.

DREF-3

 The DREF-3 machine is the next version of DREF-2 for improving the yarn quality came to the
market in the year 1981.
 Yarns up to 18s Ne. can be spun through this system.
 This is a core-sheath type spinning arrangement.
 The sheath fibers are attached to the core fibers by the false twist generated by the rotating action of
drums.
 Two drafting units are used in this system, one for the core fibers and other for the sheath fibers.
 This system produces a variety of core-sheath type structures and multi-component yarns, through
selective combination and placement of different materials in core and sheath.
 Delivery rate is about 300 m/min. 

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 DREF-3 friction spinning system

DREF-3 Application and Fields

 Backing fabrics for printing, belt inserts, electrical insulation, hoses, filter fabrics
 Hot air filtration and wet filtration in food and sugar industries.
 Clutch lining and brake lining for automotive industries.

DREF-2000
 It is the latest development in friction spinning demonstrated in ITMA 99.
 DREF-2000 employs a rotating carding drum for opening the slivers into single fibers and a specially
designed system being used for sliver retention.
 The fibers stripped off from front the carding drum by centrifugal force and carried into the nip of the
two perforated spinning drums.
 The fibers are subsequently twisted by mechanical friction on the surface of the drums.
 Drums are rotates in the same direction. 

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 DREF-2000 friction spinning system
Advantages of DREF-2000
 Insertion of twist in ‘S’ and ‘Z’ direction is possible without mechanical alterations to the machine.
 Yarns up to 14.5s Ne can be produced at speeds of 250 m/min.
 Reduced yarn preparation costs due to high sliver weights (card slivers).
 Dust extraction for secondary fibers.
 Low energy costs due to the use of only 1 fan for 12 spinning heads.
 Feeding of all types of filaments, yarns and components as yarn cores, in order to attain high yarn
strength and production speeds, voluminous yarns and specific product characteristics.

DREF-2000 Application and Fields

 Blankets for the homes, hotels, hospitals, camping, military uses, plaids etc.
 Cleaning rags and mops from cotton waster and various waste-blends
 Deco- and upholstery fabrics
 Outerwear and leisure-wear
 Filter cartridges for liquid filtration
 Secondary carpet backing for tufting carpets
 Canvas and tarpaulins for the military and civil sectors
 High-tenacity core yarn for ropes, transport and conveyor belts
 Asbestos substitutes for heavy protective clothing (protective gloves, aprons etc) packing, gaskets,
clutch and brake-linings, flame retardant fabrics etc.
 Filter Yarns for the cable, shoe and carpet industries
 Carpet Yarns (Berber carpets, hand-woven and hand-knotted carpets) and filler weft yarns for carpets

Yarn Formation in Friction Spinning System

The mechanism of yarn formation is quite complex. It consists of three distinct operations.

1. Feeding of fibers
2. Fibers integration
3. Twist insertion.
Feeding of Fibers
The individualized fibers are transported by air currents and deposited in the spinning zone.

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There are two methods of fiber feed
1) Direct feed
Fibers are fed directly onto the rotating fiber mass that outer part of the yarn tail.

Direct feed
2) Indirect feed
Fibers are first accumulated on the in-going roll and then transferred to the yarn tail.

Indirect feed
Fibers Integration

 The fibers through feed tube assembles onto a yarn core/tail within the shear field, is provided by two
rotating spinning drums and the yarn core is in between them.
 The shear causes sheath fibers to wrap around the yarn core.
 The fiber orientation is highly dependent on the decelerating fibers arriving at the assembly point
through the turbulent flow.
 The fibers in the friction drum have two probable methods for integration of incoming fibers to the
sheath.
Twist insertion

 The fibers are applied twist with more or less one at a time without cyclic differentials in tension in
the twisting zone.
 Therefore, fiber migration may not take place in friction spun yarns.
 The mechanism of twist insertion for core type friction spinning and open end friction spinning are
different.
Twist insertion in core-type friction spinning

 Core is made of a filament or a bundle of staple fibers is false twisted by the spinning drum.
 The sheath fibers are deposited on the false twisted core surface and are wrapped helically over the
core with varying helix angles.
 It is believed that the false twist in the core gets removed once the yarn is emerged from the spinning
drums, so that this yarn has virtually twist less core.
 However, it is quite possible for some amount of false twist to remain in the fact that the sheath
entraps it during yarn formation in the spinning zone.

Properties of Friction Spun Yarns

 Friction spun yarns (DREF) yarns have bulky appearance (100-140% bulkier than the ring spun
yarns)
 The twist is not uniform and found with loopy yarn surface.
 Usually weak as compared to other yarns.

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  The yarns possess only 60% of the tenacity of ring-spun yarns and about 90% of rotor spun-yarns.
 The breaking elongation of ring, rotor and friction spun yarns is equal.
 Depending on the type of fiber, the differences in strength of these yarns differ in magnitude.
 100% polyester yarns-strength deficiency is 32%
 100% viscose yarns-it ranges from 0-25%
 In polyester-cotton blend, DREF yarns perform better than their ring-spun counterparts.
 70/30% blend yarn-superior in strength by 25%
 DREF yarns are inferior in terms of unevenness, imperfections, strength variability and hairiness.
 The friction spun yarns are more hairy than the ring spun yarns
 DREF yarns are most irregular in terms of twist and linear density while ring spun yarns are most
even.
Advantages of Friction spinning system

1. It can spin yarn at very high twist insertion rates (ie.3,00,000 twist/min).
2. The yarn tension is practically independent of speed and hence very high production rates (up to 300
m/min) can be attainable.
3. Improved dirt particle retention and up to twice the filter service life.
4. Considerable reduced yarn production costs (up to 50%) due to lower yarn mass requirement, lower
preparation costs, lower spinning costs and lower personnel expenses.
Limitations of Friction spinning system

1. Low yarn strength and extremely poor fiber orientation made the friction spun yarns very weak.
2. The extent of disorientation and buckling of fibers are predominant with longer and finer fibers.
3. Friction spun yarns have higher snarling tendency.
4. High air consumption leads to high power consumption.
5. The twist variation from surface to core is quite high; this is another reason for the low yarn strength.
6. It is difficult to hold spinning conditions as constant.
7. The spinning system is limited by drafting and fiber transportation speeds. 

Air Jet Spinning System- Modern Yarn Production

Yarn manufacture using the air jet primarily produces fascinated yarns using the false twist principle.
Hence, we discuss about the principle of false twisting before going into actual air jet spinning.
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False Twisting
Figure 1 demonstrates the principle of operation of false twisting. If a fiber strand A is held firmly at
two spaced points by clamps K1 and K2 and is twisted somewhere between them, this strand always
takes up the same number of turns of twist before and after the twist element (T). However, these turns
have opposing directions of twist, which are represented in the example in Figure 1A as Z-twist on the
right and S-twist on the left. If the clamps are replaced by rotating cylinders (Z1 and Z2 in Figure 1B)
and the yarn is allowed to pass through the cylinders while twist is being imparted, the result is
governed by the false-twist law and is different from the case of the stationary yarns, as previously
assumed. A moving yarn entering the section (b) already has turns of twist imparted in section (a). In
the example illustrated (B), there are turns of Z twist.
As the twist element is generating turns of S twist in the left hand section, this simply means that each
turn of the Z twist imparted in the first section (a) is canceled by a turn of S twist imparted in the
second section (b). The fiber strand thus never has any twist between the twisting element and the
delivery cylinder. In a false-twist assembly, turns of twist are present only between the feed cylinders
and the twisting element. This principle is exploited, for instance, in false-twist texturing.

Figure 1 & 1 B: Principle of False Twisting

Fasciated Yarn through False Twisting:

The idealized structure of the fascinated yarn, as shown in Figure 2 consists of parallel fibres held
together by wrapper fibres. The wrapper and core fibres are composed of same staple fibre material.
Since there is no real twist in the core, this type of yarn structures facilitate high production rates.

Figure 2 : Idealized Structure of Fasciated Yarn

Figure 3 demonstrates the principle involved in the production of fascinated yarn using the false
twisting method.

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As already explained, the fibres upstream of the false twister have twist which gets cancelled with
opposite twist once it passes the false twister leading to no twist downstream of the false twister. If
there are enough edge fibres in the feed fibrous assembly, then these edge fibres do not get twisted
with the core fibres upstream of the false twister. Hence, as the core fibres get untwisted after the false
twister, these wrappers which had no twist earlier, get wrapped around the core fibres. This produces
fascinated yarn structure. These types of yarn structures were first promoted by DuPont. Figure
4 shows the schematic of the DuPont system which did not get commercial success.

Figure 4 : DuPont System of Air Jet Spinning

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 Flowchart of Air Jet Spinning

Air Jet Spinning

Operation Principle of Rieter Two- Nozzel Air-Jet Spinning(Murata MJS):

 As shown in a draw frame sliver fed from a can is passed to a drafting arrangement, where it is

attenuated by a draft in the range of 100 - 200. The fiber strand delivered then proceeds to two
air jets arranged directly after the drafting arrangement. The second jet is the actual false-twist
element. 

Diagram of Air Jet Spinning

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 The air vortex generated in this jet, with an angular velocity of more than 2 million rpm, twists
the strand as it passes through so that the strand rotates along a screw-thread path in the jet,
achieving rotation speeds of about 250 000 rpm. The compressed air reaches the speed of sound
when entering the central canal of the false-twist element. Since the axial forces are very low
during this rotation, only low tensions arise in the yarn. 

Twist direction of Air Jet Spinning

 The ability of the vortex to impart torque is so high that the turns of twist in the yarn run back to
the drafting arrangement. The fiber strand is therefore accelerated practically to full rotation
speed as soon as it leaves the front roller. 
 The edge fibers which ultimately bind the yarn together by becoming wrapping fibers are in a
minority. 
 For process reasons, they do not exceed about 5% of the total yarn mass. These edge fibers
exhibit relatively few turns of twist in the same direction as the falsetwisted core fibers or can
even be slightly twisted in the opposite direction. This is partly ensured by causing the strand to
emerge from the nip line in a broadly spread form, but mainly by generating in the first jet a
vortex with an opposite direction of rotation to the vortex in the second jet. 
 This first vortex is in fact weaker in intensity than the second and cannot really affect the core
fibers, but can grasp the edge fibers projecting from the strand at one end. Since the first vortex
acts against the twist direction generated by the second jet, it prevents the edge fibers from being
twisted into the core or even twists them in the opposite direction around the core fibers. As the
strand runs through the second jet, the following occurs.
 The turns of twist generated by the jet are canceled in accordance with the falsetwist law. The
core fibers, i.e. the vast majority, no longer exhibit any twist; these fibers are arranged in
parallel. On the other hand, the edge fibers (which previously exhibited no twist, relatively little
twist, or even twist in the opposite direction) receive twist in the direction imparted by the jet, as
determined by the law of false twist; they are therefore wound around the parallel fiber strand.
They bind the body of fibers together and ensure coherence. A twist diagram prepared by Dr. H.
Stalder demonstrates this twisting procedure .
 The resulting bundled staple-fiber yarn passes from the take-off rollers through a yarn-suction
device and an electronic yarn clearer before being wound onto a cross-wound package. The two

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 nozzle air-jet spinning system represents a very interesting process, which has already been
introduced into practical operation with some success.

SPECIFICATION OF THE MJS MACHINE:

 Spinning positions per machine .......up to 72 (SINGLE -sided machine)
 Delivery speed ..........150 - 300 m/min
 Raw material ............synthetic fibers and blends (combed cotton)
 Count range .............7.5 - 30 tex; Ne 20 - 80
 Feedstock type ........drawframe sliver
 Type of yarn ............bundled single yarns
 Yarn characteristics .......reasonable strength, low hairiness, rough outer surface
 Field of use ........ladies‘ outerwear, shirting, material, sheets
 Remarks ...........low production costs, low personnel demand, no rapidly rotating parts, three
drawframe passages necessary

YARN CHARACTERISTICS OF AIR-JET SPIN YARN
The yarn character is slightly different from that of ring spun yarn. It is somewhat:
 weaker,
 stiffer, and
 harder.
The hardness can be reduced by using finer fibers and by treatment of the finished product with a
softener (e.g. with a silicone).

Additional points of comparison with ring-spun yarn are:

Positive:
 Good evenness (like ring-spun yarn);
 Good abrasion resistance;
 Low tendency to pilling;
 Low snarling tendency;
 Shrinkage similar to that of ring-spun yarn;
Negative:
 Higher resistance to bending;
 Slightly lower covering power;
 Wrapping fibers not uniformly distributed over the length; sometimes there are slightly more
on the surface, sometimes slightly fewer.
 A large number of wrapping turns impart more strength but at the same time
greater hardness. Synthetic fiber yarns and blends of synthetic fibers and cotton with
a proportion of synthetic fibers of at least 50% achieve strength levels of about 80% or more
relative to ring-spun yarn. 

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