Modern textile testing and quality control equipment

Modern textile testing and quality control equipment:

Quality: Quality is the attribute of the products that determines its fitness for use, or according to Japanese Standard (JIS), textile (fibre, polymer, yarn, fabric) quality is all specific properties and performance of a textile product or service that can be evaluated to determine whether a product or services satisfactorily meets the purposes of its uses. The level of quality is measured by “ inherent properties and performances which is the subjects of evaluation or the characteristic related to its phsico-mechanical or chemical properties, dimension, longevity, durability utilization or any other requirement used to define the of the product or service is known as “quality characteristics”.

Standard: It is an agreed document established mainly with respect to technical matters related directly or indirectly to an article or service. So that profit or convenience may be obtained with fairness among the person concerned.

Testing:  The way to control or the way to check or verify the nature & characteristics. Or, the way to checking or verifying.

Modern Fibre or Polymer Quality Testing Equipment:

Fibre characteristics must be classified according to a certain sequence of importance with respect to the end product and the spinning process. Moreover, such quantified characteristics must also be assessed with reference to the following

• What is the ideal value?

• What amount of variation is acceptable in the bale material?

• What amount of variation is acceptable in the final blend?

Textile fibre contains some basic characteristics. 

Following are the basic characteristics of cotton fibre

• Fiber length

• Fineness

• Strength

• Maturity

• Rigidity

• Fiber friction

• Structural features

Name Of The Machine for fibre testing and quality control	Function of the Fibre/ Polymer Quality testing machine
1.HVI (High Volume Instrument)	It’s a very popular fibre characterization and quality testing machine in USA, UK, China, Korea and other countries. It is very cause sensitive and provides perfect fibre quality testing result. 50% span length, 2.5% span length, Uniformity ratio, Mic value, Color grade, Maturity ratio, gm/tex (tenacity), SFI (Short Fibre Index) etc. Suitable for knitted yarn production.
2.AFIS (Advance Fibre Information System)	It is also popular fibre testing machine and very cause sensitive and provides perfect fibre quality testing result. 50% span length, 2.5% span length, Upper half length, Trash%, Neps, Seed coat neps both in number & weight, short fibre content, Maturity ratio, fibre strength etc. Suitable for export woven fabric production.
3.Digital Fibre Graph	It is also popular fibre quality testing equipment and used to measure 50% span length, 2.5% span length, Uniformity ratio.
4.Digital Moisture meter	It is also popular fibre quality testing equipment and used to measure Directly Moisture content % is determined.
5.Trash Selection	It is also popular fibre quality testing equipment and used to measure Trash% in raw cotton is found out.
6.Sling Hygrometer	It is also popular fibre quality testing equipment and used to measure Directly RH% is measured.
7.Precision Polarizing Microscope	Ihis type of testing machine is used for Fibre identified with digital photographs, maturity ratio.
8.Stetometer with Torsion Balance	Bundle fibre strength is measured by this testing machine.
9.Instron	This type of testing machine is rear in used. Single fibre strength is measured (research based) by this testing equipment.

Modern Yarn Quality Testing Equipment:

Yarn is a main element for textile production. Good yarn contains some characteristics. The main characteristics are strength, elongation, hairiness, uniformity, diameter etc.

Name Of The Machine for yarn testing and quality control	Function of the Yarn Quality testing machine
1.Uster Evenness Tester 4&5	This yarn quality testing equipment is used to measure U%, CV%, Imperfection (Thick place /1000m, Thin place/1000m, Neps /1000m), Irregularity index, Relative count, hairiness etc. In case of UT-5 polypropylene content in yarn is also determined recently.
2.Uster Tenso Jet	This yarn quality testing equipment is used to measure  Single yarn strength & Elongation% is determined.
3.Uster Tenso Kind	This yarn quality testing equipment is used to measure Lea strength, Breaking force, Elongation% determined.
4.Uster Tenso Rapid	This yarn quality testing equipment is used to measure Single yarn strength, Lea strength & Fabric strength, Elongation% is determined.
5.Uster Classimat	This yarn quality testing equipment is used to measure Yarn fault in category wise determined (23-27 categories).
6.Auto Cone Winder	This yarn quality testing equipment is used to measure Auto splicing, Slubs removes in running m/c.
7.Uster Auto Sorter	This yarn quality testing equipment is used to measure Rapidly Yarn count, Sliver/Roving hank etc

Modern Fabric Quality Testing Equipment:

Textile fabrics are made for various purpose, each of which has different performance needs. The chemical and physical states of textile fabric identify what will the end use of this, and ultimately whether it is reasonable for a specific use. Fabric testing makes a crucial role in gauging product quality, ensuring regulatory compliance and assessing the perfection of textile materials. It provides information about the physical or structural, chemical and performance properties of the textile. As user become more aware and more demanding of products, the number of tests required for textile fabrics has grown. As a result the testing of fabrics is increasingly varied, in constant flux and full of the unprecedented challenges of globalization. With the onset of modern types of fabrics for the garments factory and of technical textiles for functional applications, and with the growing number of invention taking place in the apparel sector, fabric testing processes have undergone tremendous changes and there is required to realize all the procedures before a testing method is involved to investigate the performance of fabrics. 

Name Of The Machine for fabric testing and quality control	Function of the Fabric Quality testing machine
1.Automatic Pick Counter	Ends/inch & Picks/inch is digitally measured.
2.Universal Titan	Fabric strength, Elongation with printed form.
3.Spectro Photometer/Data    Color	Pass/fail (quality if fabric), Recipe formulation, Grey scale value, Whiteness value, Shade% etc is determined.
4.Wascator	Shrinkage% is determined by programming.
5.Martindile Abrasion &    Pilling tester	Abrasion resistance as well as pill formation on the fabric is determined.
6.Seam Slippage Tester	Seam strength & Elongation % is determined.
7.GSM Cutter with Balance	GSM of the fabric is measured.
8.Color dispenser	Automatically stock solution is prepared according to Programming.
9.Megasol	Light fastness of the dyed fabric is determined digitally.

You should read RELATED POST for more information
Wish you good luck..............................................

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Production management system in textile industry is very much important term. Proper production management system ensure the production quality, production time and production costs. A well skilled production management system ensures quality product according to byres requirements.  The presence, in factories, of highly intelligent, local control systems has favored the development of production management systems. Nearly all process controller producers also offer surveillance systems that centralize data relating to checks carried out on the machine and allow various levels of interaction in production management system. There is now a very wide range of production management software functions available, and new developments are emerging all the time in various areas as a result of greater contact between software designers and users in the textile sector.
These areas include:
- Production planning
- Planning of production start-up (availability, requirements in terms of human resources and machines, etc.)
- Production Management of dyeing and finishing cycles
- Plant and single machine surveillance, remote acquisition and saving of key physical parameters, log record of alarms
- Plant and machine synoptic alarms (sometimes interactive)
- Records of orders and work carried out of production
- Recipe and cycle sequence management
- Management of dyestuffs and auxiliaries warehouse
- Statistical analysis of production
- Quality control-based classifications
- Tracking of single batches, i.e., the keeping of records of the different dyeing and finishing stages so as to make it possible in the future, in the event of disputes or problems, to trace the history of a piece
- Link-ups with ERP systems, for the transmission of data relating to technical operations of interest to the accounts department.

The application of information technology to production in the textile sector is similar, in many regards, to its application in most other manufacturing sectors of textile or apparel factory.
In particular:
• Information technology is taken out of the IT centre, and distributed throughout the mill, making it possible to present/access data wherever they are needed or generated for production management;
• Purely administrative functions are supported, more and more, by out-and-out automation functions: management and processing of organizational-type data, but also technological data relating to production of factory;
• Batch processes (data processing operations carried out by the computer at the end of which one obtains: balance sheets, production plans, warehouse status, etc.) are replaced by real-time applications, which make it possible, through one of the terminals linked up with the computer, to access and update records immediately;
• There is a growing need to integrate the processing of information relating to areas that are distinct from, but connected with, one another: design, technological definition of processes, machine preparation, planning of resources, etc.

Textile companies want the adoption of IT systems in the production environment to generate a greater and greater rationalization of production management system, and to reduce errors and waste in textile industry. The requirements of a textile company, as regards its information system, can be broken down into three areas:
1. Company management: at this level, information systems are needed for the working out of production plans, the checking of results and the working out of sales and cost plans.

2. Function management: For function management system, they are required to respond to the need to determine the production plan and flow. In particular, they help in the processing of orders, converting them into processing instructions for individual departments, stages or machines. They make it possible to optimize batches on the basis of resources and technological parameters, even simulating the production chain so as to optimize production speeds and balance workloads among machines.

3. Process management: For process management system, they serve to tune the numerous technical regulation and programming procedures that are involved in the production process. In this stage, information systems make it possible to gather all the basic data needed for control and function planning activities.

Benefits of production management system
 -Integration of different areas (resource planning, designing, recipe preparation, machine programming, cost control)
 -Better customer service in terms of order status and delivery times (shorter)
 -Reduction of errors
 -Increased company flexibility
 -Greater control over the company’s overall activity
 -Reduction of stocks
 -Reduction of downtime
 -Process repeatability

Limitation of production management system
 -Modification of the modus operandi (which results in the need to standardize procedures and train staff)
 -Standardization problems (due to control systems that are often incompatible with one another)
 -Poor product customization

You should read RELATED POST for production management system
Wish you good luck

AUTOMATED PROCESS CONTROL IN TEXTILE AND APPAREL INDUSTRY

Textile and garments process control technology is not as specific as vision technology; process control encompasses all textile manufacturing sectors. The process controllers relevant to textile manufacturing are basic information-electronic systems that, installed on the textile and garments machine, control certain fundamental parameters relating to the production process carried out on the machine itself. Essentially, they can be broken down into 4 categories according to the technology of the controller involved, which is itself dependent upon the type of process being controlled.

AUTOMATION IN PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM
1.Cycle programmers: These process control system are present on many dyeing machines and they are based on the general principle of activating outputs according to inputs of the process. But their actual functioning is more specific. Those control system are pre-programmed to manage a sequential cycle of operations automatically. This facilitates programming, because the only thing that has to be done is determine the sequence of the steps in the cycle and the conditions required for the passage from one step to the next (the reaching of a certain temperature, the expiry of a set time, the arrival of a go-ahead signal, etc.). There exist two types of cycle programmer: one based on a microprocessor whose hardware and software remains the property of the supplier, and one based on a PC- or PLC-formatted architecture, which offers all the advantages of standard hardware and flexible software of automated process control.

2. PC-driven Programmable Logical Controllers (PLCs): these systems of process control are equipped to receive logical information (from switch or pushbutton contacts, limit switches, photocells, any kind of ON/OFF sensor) and to activate logical outputs (electric drives, relay contacts, etc). A controller checks continuously the status of inputs (openings/closures, presence/absence of electrical current), and according to the configuration of the inputs, activates its own outputs (activated/deactivated, ON/OFF, command presence/absence). The logical correlation between input status and the output status consequently imposed is determined when programming the system. Thus, the PLC can be regarded as a completely general purpose tool, capable of carrying out, when duly programmed by the user for proper process control, the most diverse functions. In practice, PLCs are used to resolve all those problems relating to automation and sequence management that used to be resolved using electrical systems and relay logics for process control. They feature on practically all the systems used for automated process control, in textile finishing, for operations such as washing, mercerization, dyeing, drying, calendaring, raising, pad-batching and steaming.

3. Numerical Controls of process control: these control system are electronic systems, specifically designed to control the positioning of a number of moving organs (e.g., robot axes). Using special languages, they programmed the sequences of the positions of the various axes, each of which is controlled through measurement of the position of the organ. This measurement is carried out by high precision transducers (encoders, resolvers, optical rulers), which transmit to the numerical control a number (hence the name of the system) which represents that position.

4. Special programmers: This automated process control system is developed specifically to carry out dedicated functions of textile process. These programmers are designed with and for the machine, in such a way that input and output signals and processing capacity are kept to the absolute minimum. In order to reduce costs, size and maintenance of production, they are often engineered in the form of single electronic cards. The four systems of process control described above are can be integrated with one another, and are often used together.

Benefit of automated process control
 -Better process quality
 -Reduction of errors
 -Greater production flexibility
 -Rationalization of the cycle according to scientific criteria
 -Rapid personnel training
 -Greater familiarity with production characteristics
 -Scope for integration with other company information systems
 -Repeatability of procedures
 -End quality no longer dependent upon the skill and experience of staff

Limitation of automated process control
 -Need for organizational changes
 -Difficulty personalizing the system to specific requirements
 -Difficulty interfacing with different IT products
 -Need for assistance and maintenance

You should read RELATED POST for automated process control system
Wish you good luck..................

AUTOMATED COLOR ANALYSIS AND COLOR CONTROL OF DYEING INDUSTRY

AUTOMATED COLOR ANALYSIS AND CONTROL OF DYE HOUSE

It is worth remembering that in the past the assessment of color reproduction was exclusively entrusted to the ability and to the experience of the eye of highly skilled operators working on the color kitchen, whose judgment, however, could be influenced by a number of physical, physiological and psychological restrictions. The success and the development of electronics have deeply transformed the color control task thanks to the introduction of new measuring instruments, which have allowed definitely scientific and objective assessment.

All the systems currently available on the market have basically the same fundamental structure and differ only in their performance and in the algorithms adopted for color analysis. These systems generally feature:

1. A spectrophotometer, which measures the different spectral components of the sample analyzed. Today the measurement is carried out by means of a xenon flash, a prism separating the chromatic components and a CCD sensor (of the type used for modern solid state television cameras that have only a single row of light-sensitive elements or pixels), which reads the intensity of all the components simultaneously;

AUTOMATION IN TEXTILE FINISHING

AUTOMATED OPERATION OF TEXTILE FINISHING:
Automation in textile finishing industry is not a new concept, but it is being modern day by day. The textile factory is characterized by a considerable fragmentation of the production cycle into a number of segments specialized in the production processing of different fibres/yarns; even the single steps of automated production are often considerably fragmented, which entails the need for them to be perfectly organized for guarantee good final results of automated production. The Initial steps for production of the textile cycle are less fragmented but fragmentation unquestionably increases during the finalized finishing stage, for this reason the large amount of processes required by the market. Modern automation technologies for textile finishing based on electrical and electronics, computer programmability and smart systems show great potential for textile applications and currently aim to the achievement of important objectives such as flexibility and quality, according to three reliable paths:
1) The automated standardization of components
2) The automated compatibility of systems
3) The popularity of personal computers in case of textile finishing.

The automated standardization of components takes place thanks to the concentration of automation technologies in some basic types of automated processes which must be done by the mechanical forces by machine. The machine is defined and summarized by a system made of inputs and outputs for automated textile production system. Inputs of textile production are sensors which transform the physical variables of the system into electrical values which can be read and processed by an electrical and electronic unit. Outputs of automated production are the actuators controlling the machine and consequently the process (motors, solenoid valves, thermo resistors).

Any system may usually refer to this operating scheme and can be controlled by making inputs operating in relation to the state of the output and following a preset sequence of times. The computer, by means of the appropriate automated operating software, supplies the logical links between inputs and outputs and controls the right operating sequence for Automation in textile finishing industry.

Through its gradual introduction, automation has affected:
1. Machines: the immediate objective was the reduction and simplification of the operator’s tasks;
2. Processes: the subsequent evolution stage has ensured the links between the various production steps with the automatic control of the textile mill, leaving the operator with only control and supervision tasks. The full insolvency of the different production areas (inventory control systems, preparation of dyes and auxiliaries, dyeing equipment, material storage, etc) and /or services such as planning, laboratory, design pattern development, technological planning of cycles and production still needs to be addressed. The most advanced integration solutions available today are mainly production cells.

The main difference between automated systems essentially lies in the quantity of variables controlled. Here are the finishing segments most affected by technological development:
1. Color analysis
2. Process control
3. Production control systems
4. Color kitchen
5. Automated inventory control systems
6. Transport and robotized systems
7. Machine control systems

You should read RELATED POST to learn more,
Wish you good luck...........................................

NEW INVENTION IN TEXTILE DYEING AND FINISHING

Ultra and new modern technologies are always regarded as likely for dyeing and finishing of textile. Usually the process of textile dyeing and finishing are very slower and the process takes almost 8 to 12 hours for dyeing cotton knitted fabric with winch or jet  dyeing machine and almost 5 to 8 hours for finishing that fabric in finishing machine. It takes too much time, costly, labor depended. If we use new technology in textile dyeing and finishing, we will get a very good result.

 

On 16 January, the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) organized a seminar on dyeing/finishing and functional treatments of textiles. The seminar decision provides new perspectives on industrial upgrade by promoting new technologies in textile dyeing and finishing which both is energy saving and waste reducing. As part of the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme, the seminar aims at helping enterprises achieve green production and cost reduction at the same time.

Electrochemical Process Technology in textile dyeing and finishing:

A modern invention in textile dyeing and finishing is the development of Electrochemical process technology. Electrochemistry means the use of electrical energy in initiating chemical reactions, replacing traditional aid agents in direct chemical reactions. Taking sulphur dyes as example, in traditional technology, sulphides (such as sodium sulphide, Na2S) are used as reducing agents.

What ever the reduction process of dyeing is fast and direct, but it is wasted large amount of chemical energy and Green production has become necessary for enterprises under the update and conversion policy. The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) promotes new technologies in textile dyeing and finishing, injecting new thoughts to the industry.

New invention in Textile Dyeing and Finishing wastewater with high chemical oxygen demand (COD) value is produced, operation inefficiency become long-term. When electrochemical reduction is adopted, no reducing agents are needed and the

COD value of wastewater can be largely reduced, hence cost of wastewater treatment will be lowering. So using of direct electrochemical reduction is undoubtedly more efficient than the traditional technology, and the underlying chemical principle is also simple. However, as the stability and oxidizing/reducing power of different chemical substances are not the same, dyes can not be directly and effectively reduced by electrodes. Hence the scope of utilizing direct electrochemical reduction is quite narrow.

The system of indirect electrochemical reduction is the same, but in operation another strong oxidizing/reducing agent acts as medium, which makes the technology more applicable to different kinds of dyes. Taking indigo as example, traditional technology takes sodium dithionite (Na2S2O4) as a reducing agent, and the product should be re-oxidized in the air afterwards to fix the colour. Just like traditional reduction of

sulphides, large amount of chemical energy is wasted and wastewater with high COD value is produced.

Enterprises attempt to reduce the amount of sodium dithionite used in order to lower production cost, but such attempt produces other difficulties as well. For example, the oxidation of sodium dithionite can reduce by injecting nitrogen but is very costly. Addition of aldehydes or directly powering with electricity may devloped the reducing power of sodium dithionite, but the wastewater problem remains.

If electrochemical reduction is involved indirectly, sodium dithionite can replace as the reducing agent by the medium. The medium may supply both oxidizing and reducing substances and can regenerate so that both waste and pollution can be removed. Past experiments show that reduction by electrolysis can save about 90 percent of production cost when compared with reduction by sodium dithionite.

For reducing dyes, electrochemical process technology can be utilized in other aspects. Taking bleaching as example, the core principle of electrochemical mercerizing and bleaching is that bleaching chemicals can be produced by electrical energy and can be regenerated; hence the process is easily controlled, waste-reducing and energy-saving.

The process can be monitored so that bleaching occurs evenly. Also, the cost and danger of transportation is greatly reduced, particularly regarding hydrogen peroxide which is explosive.

Another emerging project is the technology of ozone electrolysis. Ozone is strongly oxidizing and can be used in decolorizing and other waterless dye treatments (e.g. ozone jets to prevent wearing out of jeans). As ozone can self decompose, it will not cause pollution problems once carefully treated. New perspectives on industrial upgrade by promoting new technologies which are both energy saving and waste reducing.

In conventional technology of dyeing with water, textiles should involved multiple processes with the help of aid agents, chemical salts, surfactants and reduction clearing agents. In contrast, for the supercritical waterless dyeing technology, only supercritical liquid is needed for dyeing and migration, after which the pressure and temperature can be lowered and the whole process is finished, without producing any wastewater. Also, as carbon dioxide automatically detaches from textiles and remaining dyes, the latter can be reused. More importantly, as operation procedures are reduced, the dyeing cycle is also shortened from several hours to 15 to 60 minutes; energy is also saved due to the lower operational temperature.

Regarding the cost, although the equipment required for the process is quite expensive, the supercritical substance (carbon dioxide) is cheap and the technology enjoys an overall advantage in cost. On the other hand, although the technology is not mature enough regarding application in natural fibres, the quality of the end-product made of synthetic fibres is high. Overall, the effects of interactions between different textiles with supercritical substances are yet to be fully discovered.

Plasma Treatment Technology in textle dyeing and finishing:

When a substance in its gaseous phase absorbs enough energy, the outermost electrons in the atoms will escape the nucleus’ control and become free electrons, while the atoms become positively charged. This chemical status of a substance is called plasma. As it is volatile, it can discharge electricity under certain physical conditions and react with other substances (including textiles), leading to various chemical fusions and fissions. These effects can alter the surface structure of textiles; hence plasma is suitable for surface treatment.

Since only the surface structure of materials is altered by plasma, the substrate characteristics of textiles will not be affected. Also, as small amount of plasma is enough to produce profound effect and one set of equipment can accommodate to different kinds of gaseous chemicals, the equipment is relatively cost effective and user friendly. The kinds of plasma undergoing testing are varied, including silanes (SinH2n+2) (waterproof), freons (increasing surface tension and oil- and dirt-proof effects) and phosphoruscontaining organic monomers (fireproof), etc.

Plasma treatment technology can also improve existing dyeing technology, including the newly developed technology of metallised fabrics. On the other hand, HKPC attempts to integrate plasma treatment technology and supercritical fluid dyeing technology, and replace supercritical fluid with plasma in the dyeing process. The lowpressure plasma dyeing technology is still being developed.

The textile dyeing and finishing industry is considered energy-wasting and highly-polluting, which will be forced to withdraw under the upgrade and transformation policy. However, with technological development on a full swing, traditional industries are able to overcome technical difficulties and revive after the financial crisis.

You should read RELATED POST for more information.
Wish you good luck.....................................................