3.

Ring Spinning Machine

3.1 Introduction toRing Spinning Frame
Introduction
The ring spinning machine was invented in the year 1828 by the American Thorp. In 1830, another
American, Jenk, contributed the traveller rotating on the ring. In more than 150 years that have
passed since that time, the machine has experienced considerable modification in detail, but the
basic concept has remained unchanged. Fig. 1 shows a typical ring frame.

Fig.1 : Typical view of a Ring Frame

The long central section of the machine, on which production is actually carried out, consists
primarily of longitudinal members in the form of spindle rails and drafting rollers extending over the
complete machine length.
These longitudinal members are secured to intermediate sections arranged at short intervals along
the machine length. The sections also serve as supports for the creel .
The ring spinning machine has been the most widely used form of spinning and it will continue for
some more time, because it has unique advantage over new spinning technologies:
It is universally applicable, most of the textile fibres can be spun to required fineness.
The yarn spun from this machine demonstrate excellent quality features like uniform structure and
good strength.
It is easy to operate as compared to other spinning machines.
The “know-how” for operation of the machine is well established.
It is flexible as regard to quantities in terms of blend and lot sizes.
For these reasons, new spinning processes (with the exception of rotor spinning) have difficulty in
gaining wide spread acceptance.
Disadvantages associated with ring spinning are:
More process stages. Roving stage exists as an extra process compared to the other systems.
Yarn breakages are more frequent as a result of ring traveller friction and yarn to air drag forces.
Interruptions, broken ends and piecing up problems exist because of the yarn breakages.
 The high speed of the traveller damages the fibers.
The capacity of the cops is limited.
Energy cost is very high.
Low production rate.
In long term, the ring frame can survive in longer term only if further success is achieved in
automation of the ring spinning process. Also, spinning costs must be markedly reduced since this
machine carries significant cost factor in spinning mill.
Operation of the Ring frame
Task of the ring spinning
Attenuate the roving until the required fineness is achieved
To impart strength to fiber strand by twisting it
To wind up the resulting yarn in a form suitable for storage, transportation and further processing
Principles of operation
Fig. 2 shows the operating parts of the ring frame and the principle of operation is explained below:
Fig.2 : Operating Parts of Ring Frame
The roving bobbins (1) are creeled (A) in appropriate holders (3). Guide rails (4) lead the rovings
(2) into the drafting arrangement (5) which attenuates them to the final required count.
The drafting arrangement (B) is inclined at an angle of about 45 – 60 0. It is one of the most
important assemblies on the machine since it has considerable influence on irregularities present in
the yarn.
After the drafting arrangement, the machine have twisting and winding zone (C).
Upon leaving the front rollers, the emerging fine fiber strand (6) receives the twist needed to give
it strength. This twist is generated by the spindle, which rotates at high speed. Each revolution of
the spindle imparts one turn of twist to the fiber strand. Spinning of the yarn is thus complete.
 In order to wind up the twisted yarn to bobbin mounted on Spindle( 8) , a traveller (9) is required
to cooperate with the spindle. The traveller moves on guide provided on the ring (10) encircling
the spindle.
The traveller has no direct drive; instead, it is carried along by the yarn it is threaded with. The
speed of the traveller is lower than that of the spindle owing to significant friction generated
between the traveller and ring.
This difference in speed enables winding of the yarn to bobbin.
Winding of the yarn on to the bobbin is done by raising and lowering the ring rail. The traverse
stroke of the ring rail is less than that of the bobbin height. The ring rail must therefore be raised
by small amount after each layer of coils.
Cross-section of the machine
Fig. 3 shows the cross-section of a typical ring spinning machine. The ring frames are two sided
machines with the spinning positions located on both sides of the machine. Each spindle is a
spinning position. The spindle rail houses the spindles. The creel housing the feed roving bobbins
are arranged in two rows on each side of the machine. The drafting arrangement is carried on the
roller beams. Each intermediate section stands on two feet adjustable in height by means of screws,
thereby permitting easy leveling of the machine.
Fig.3 : Cross-section through the machine
In modern machines, an auto-doffer is also provided. Including the auto-doffer, the width of the
machine varies from 800 to 1000 mm (up to 1400 mm when the doffer arm is swung out). Today,
the machine length can reach 50 m. Spindle gauges usually lie between 70 and 90 mm.
Sources :
W. Klein, “Technology of Short Staple Spinning”, The Textile Institute, Manual of Textile Technology, All
volumes.
Carl A. Lawrence , “ Fundamentals of Spun Yarn Technology”, CRC Publications, 2003.
P.R. Lord, Hand Book of Yarn Production : Science, Technology and Economics, Tailor and Francis,
2003.
Eric Oxtoby, “Spun Yarn Technology”, Butterworths, 1987.
NCUTE publications on Yarn Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Copyright IIT Delhi © 2009-2011. All rights reserved.
3. Ring Spinning Machine
3.2 Ring frame machine parts-I
The creel
In design terms, the creel is a simple device. It can nevertheless, influence
the performance of the machine as well as the yarn quality by introducing
number of faults. In particular, if the roving bobbin does not unwind perfectly,
then false draft can arise, or in worst case it may lead to end breakage

Fig.1 : Bobbin suspension Holder

To avoid this problem, the bobbin suspension holders are provided in the
machine which is shown in Fig.1. This is provided for each spindle. Each
holder has in its lower portion the actual retainer device for the bobbin tube.
When the ring is pushed up as far as it will go by the upper end of a tube
inserted into the holder, the bobbin retainer swings out; when the ring is
pushed up for second time, the retainer is retracted and the bobbin can be
withdrawn, for example when it is empty.
The holders are suspended on ball bearings. A light brake arm presses gently
against the bobbin to prevent it rotating quickly. Modern creels take up a lot of
space in breadth since very large bobbins are used now.
The drafting arrangement
Influence on quality and economics
If the quality is taken as the sole criterion, then the drafting arrangement is
the most important part of the machine. It influences mainly evenness and
strength. The following aspects are therefore of great significance:
The type of drafting arrangement like the roller configuration
Design of the drafting elements
Precision of roller settings
Selection of correct individual elements
Choice of appropriate draft
Service and maintenance
However, the drafting arrangement also exerts an influence on the economics
of the machine – directly through the end breakage rate, and indirectly
through the draft level.
If higher drafts can be set in the drafting setup, then coarser roving can be
used as feed stock. This implies a higher production rate at the roving frame
and thus a saving in roving spindles, i.e. a reduction in the total no. of
machines, space, personnel, and so on. On the other hand, increase in draft
usually adversely affect the yarn quality.
Draft limits in ring frame
S. No Material Draft level
1 Carded Cotton Up to 35
2 Carded Blend Up to 40

(Combed cotton and blended

yarns)
3 Medium fineness Up to 40
4 Fine yarns Up to 45
5 Synthetic fibers Up to 45 (~50)
The break draft must be adapted to the total draft in each case since the main
draft should not exceed 25 to 30. Accordingly, normal break drafts are:
Total draft up to 40 : 1.1 – 1.4 (often 1.14 – 1.25)
Strongly twisted roving : 1.3 – 1.5
Where the total draft exceeds
1.4 – 2.0
40 :
Design concepts in the structure of the drafting
arrangement
The ring spinning machines are fitted with 3 line double apron drafting
arrangements. They comprise of three lower fluted steel rollers to which the
drive is applied. Top rollers carried in a pivoted weighting arm, are arranged
above the fluted rollers and are pressed against them.
The strand contains only few fibers when it reaches the main drafting field;
accordingly, this is provided with a guide device consisting of an upper and a
lower revolving apron.
Fig.2 : Position of top rollers in drafting arrangement
Normally, the top rollers are arranged as shown in Fig.2(a). The front top
roller is set slightly forward by a distance relative to the front bottom roller.
While the middle top roller is arranged a short distance behind the middle
bottom roller. In each case the distance is about 2 – 4 mm. This position gives
smooth running of the top rollers; furthermore, the overhang of the front
roller shortens the spinning triangle. This has a favorable influence on the end
breakage rate.
An alternative roller arrangement is offered by the INA Company in the so-
called V-draft drafting arrangement as shown in Fig 2(b). Here, the back pair
of rollers are shifted upwards and the back top roller is shifted rearward
relative to the bottom roller. The large encircling curve produces an additional
fiber guidance zone.
The Top Rollers
Classification
Spinning mills operates with two types of top rollers (weighted rollers):
 Those supported at both ends (in the draw frame and comber); and
 Double-boss roller in the roving frame and ring spinning machine.

The second ones are supported in their centre sections by the weighting arm.
They can swing slightly relative to the axis of the bottom rollers. They are
available in two versions:
 fixed rollers, with the two pressure bodies (Fig. 3) at left and right
forming a rigid unit which can only be rotated together and
 loose rollers, with the two pressure bodies separately mounted and
able to rotate independently of each other.

A distinction is also made according to whether the roller bodies can be

removed from the shaft (removable shell), or are permanently attached to the
shaft (non-removable shell). The roller bodies are mounted on single-row or
double-row ball bearings.

Fig.3 : Top roller assembly

Coverings on the top rollers are made of synthetic rubber. The covering is
drawn on to the boss in the form of a short tube under tension, and is glued in
place. This operation should be carried out with the utmost care. Covering
hardness can be classified into Soft, Medium and Hard roller covers with the
following shore hardness values:
Soft 60o to 70o shore
Medium 70o to 90o shore
Hard above 90o shore
Covering with hardness less than 60 o shore are normally unsuitable because
they cannot recover from the deformation caused by squeezing out on each
revolution of the roller.
Soft coverings have a great area of contact, enclose the fiber strand more
completely and therefore provide better guidance for the fibers. However, they
also wear out significantly faster and tend to form more laps. Where possible,
therefore, harder coverings are used, for example at the entrance to the
drafting arrangement. At that point, a compact, self-sufficient strand, with a
slight twist, is fed in and does not require any additional guidance.
At the delivery, on the other hand, only few fibers remain in the strand and
these exhibits tendencies to slide apart. Additional fiber guidance is therefore
advantageous. Accordingly, coverings with hardness levels of the order 80 o to
85o shore are mostly used at the back roller, and 63o to 65o at the front roller.
In the case of coarse and synthetic fibers, roller covers with high degree of
shore hardness are normally used to avoid of increased wear of roller cover
and lapping tendency.
Since the covering wear out, they must be buffed from time to time (after
about 3000 to 4500 operating hours). This operation is carried out by special
grinding machines. The amount to be removed from the diameter lies in the
region of 0.2 mm, but the total covering thickness should never be reduced
below 3.5 mm.
Guidelines in selecting the cots
 For processing combed cotton, soft cots (60 to 65 degree
shorehardness) will result in lower U%, thin and thick places

 There are different types of cores (inner fixing part of a rubber

cot)available from different manaufacturers. Aluminimum core,PVC
core,etc. It is always better to use softer cots with aluminium core.

 When softer cots are used, buffing frequency should be reduced to 45

to 90 days depending upon the quality of the rubber cots, if the mill is
aiming at very high consistent quality in cotton counts.

 If the lapping tendency is very high when processing synthetic fibres

for non critical end uses, It is better to use 90 degree shore harness
cots, to avoid cots damages. This will improve the working and the
yarn quality compared to working with 83 degree shore hardness.

 If rubber cots damages are more due to lapping, frequent buffings as

high as once in 30 days will be of great help to improve the working
and quality. Of course,one should try to work the ringframe without
lapping.

Top roller Weighting

Methods of applying pressure
Three kinds of top roller weighting are presently in use:
Spring weighting (most manufacturers)
Pneumatic Weighting
Magnetic Weighting (available from Saco Lowel)
Load – applying support arms are needed to carry the top rollers in the first
two groups. These support arms are mounted on shafts or tubes extending
over the length of the machine behind the rollers. They can be swung away
from the bottom rollers to release pressure, and towards the bottom rollers to
apply it. This pendulum action is carried out with levers.
Pendulum arms with spring Weighting
The double-boss rollers are seated in respective guide arms (14/13, 17/13,
19/13), which are continuously adjustable to each other. For each top roller
there is respective spring – for the front roller sometimes two – which presses
the top roller against the bottom roller. In the SKF arm (Fig.4), weighting
pressure can be simply adjusted in three steps with aid of a key. Color coded
makings indicate the setting.
Fig.4 : Top roller loading
Pendulum arms with pneumatic weighting
Fig.5 shows pneumatic weighting used in ring frame. The load applying top
arm is stamped from sheet steel and is mounted on a hexagonal tube
extending over the length of the machine behind the rollers. The tube contains
a pressure hose connected to a central compressor installation. There are
three top roller holders in the top arm itself, mounted on two bearing slides.
Three holes are provided at to receive a pin acting as a fulcrum.
Depending upon the hole selected, the total weighting pressure, originating at
the pressure air hose and acting through a cam on the whole weighting arm,
is applied more strongly to the back roller or to the two front rollers. A second
hole –and – pin system acting on the bearing slide for the two front rollers
enables distribution of the pressure applied to these two rollers also.
Variation in the total pressure applied to all top rollers is obtained through by
simple adjustment of the pressure in the hose using a pressure reducing valve
at the end of the machine.
Fig.5 : Pneumatic loading
The main advantages of pneumatic loading are:
 Simple and very rapid central pressure variation;
 Simple and rapid pressure reduction to minimum when the machine is
stopped, so that the roller coverings are not deformed during long
interruptions in operation.

Additional expense in relation to the compressed air system represents a

disadvantage in comparison with spring weighting.
Fiber Guiding Devices
Double apron drafting arrangements with longer lower aprons
In double-apron drafting arrangements, two revolving aprons driven by the
middle rollers form a fiber guiding assembly. In order to be able to guide the
fibers, the upper apron must be pressed with controlled force against the
lower apron. For this purpose, a controlled spacing (exit opening), precisely
adapted to the fiber volume, is needed between the two aprons at the
delivery.
Upper aprons, often made up of synthetic material, are always short; lower
aprons may be of the same length as the upper aprons or may be significantly
longer. They are then guided correspondingly around rolls. Long bottom
aprons have the advantage in comparison with short ones, that they can be
easily replaced in the event of damage. Also, there is less danger of them
choking with fly.
Sources :
 W. Klein, “Technology of Short Staple Spinning”, The Textile Institute, Manual of Textile
Technology, All volumes.
 Carl A. Lawrence , “ Fundamentals of Spun Yarn Technology”, CRC Publications, 2003.
  P.R. Lord, Hand Book of Yarn Production : Science, Technology and Economics, Tailor and
Francis, 2003.
 Eric Oxtoby, “Spun Yarn Technology”, Butterworths, 1987.
 NCUTE publications on Yarn Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Copyright IIT Delhi © 2009-2011. All rights reserved.