PROCESS CONTROL IN

SPINNING
Prof. R. Chattopadhyay
IIT, Delhi
 QUALITY ASSURANCE IN SPINNING
STEPS

 Setting of Norms

 Quality of incoming raw material to the Khadi

Institution

 Process Monitoring and Control

 Inspection of final product

MATERIAL FLOW Raw cotton

CENTRAL SLIVER
PLANT
Transportation of
Sliver / roving

Khadi Khadi Khadi

Institution 1 Institution2 Institution3

Internal transportation

Distributed spinning Institutional

in villages spinning
Transportation of
sliver or roving

Village 1 Village 2 Village 3 Village n

Charkha
1 2 3 4 10
 PROCESS CONTROL

PROCESS
Input Output

Corrective Monitor
Monitor Monitor
action Process parameters
/Intermediate product
characteristics/Machine
conditions/Work practice /
Compare process waste
against norm
Compare
against norm
Corrective
Compare against
action
norm
 QUALITY OF INCOMING RAW
MATERIAL TO CENTRAL SLIVER PLANT

 Test of raw cotton in terms of physical parameters

and accept if comparable with norms

 Careful transportation & storage of cotton bales

 Check sliver or roving parameters i. e

Count and count CV%
Trash % & Neps
Checks on material handling during packaging and
loading on trucks

- Transfer sliver into polythene bags

- Put roving bobbins into polythene bags
- Transport sliver cans, polythene bags
containing sliver or roving on to the trucks.
- Properly cover sliver cans, polythene bags
containing sliver or roving on trucks
QUALITY OF RAW MATERIAL RECEIVED BY
KHADI INSTITUTION
Checks on material handling during Unloading from

trucks
- Careful unloading of packages
- Careful internal transportation to avoid damage
- Proper storage and segregation of sliver/ roving
to avoid accidental mixing
Checks on delivered sliver / roving
- Weighing of packages
- Cross checking of average count
 DISTRIBUTUON OF ROVING OR
SLIVER TO THE SPINNERS

- Ensure that the sliver or roving corresponds to

the count to be spun.

- The package is covered in polyethylene sheet.

n - Instruction about careful handling of package

 CHARKHA SPINNING GUIDELINES
a) Work practice related
I. Running of Charkha
- Run at a slow speed in the beginning and then
raise speed and maintain speed at a convenient
level.
- Cover the charkha once spinning is over.
- The broken end should be pieced (joined)
properly. A knot is to be avoided as it becomes
too large with respect to the yarn diameter,
which deteriorates fabric appearance
II. Lea Making
-All the sections of the lea should be made from
same yarn count.

-The end of the yarn should be inserted in to the

inner portion of the lea.

-Leas should be properly stored in plastic bags or

fabric bags with count wise segregation by colour
mark.

-If possible, lea bundles should be segregated

while storing according to the type of fibres used
or count to avoid accidental mixing.
b) Maintenance related
-Follow a specified maintenance schedule in terms
of cleaning and oiling.

-Top roller pressure should be checked at regular

intervals.
-Check the condition of the aprons and driving
belts (mall) and adjust if necessary.
b) Parameters selection
- Select parameters based on past experience that
suits the raw material.
 QUALITY ATTRIBUTES TO BE
CONTROLLED IN KHADI YARN
Average Count and It’s CV%
Lea CSP
Yarn Unevenness
Imperfections
Soft and hard twisted portion
Faults
Pote
Kachara
Moore
Daghi
Bakar
Slubs
Possible reasons for deterioration in quality
Characteristics and occurrence of faults
 PROCESS CONTROL OF CHARKHA
SPUN YARN
Detection of significant shift in quality level

Investigation on the causes of departure

Taking remedial action immediately to set the process

back to normal
 Monitoring stages and Characteristics to
be monitored
YARN STAGE
-Average count and count variability
-Uniformity
-Imperfections
-Count Strength Product (CSP)
INTERMEDIATE STAGES
Sliver
-Sliver count and its variability
-Sliver uniformity
-Sliver cleanliness
Roving
-Roving count and its variability
-Roving uniformity
-Roving cleanliness
Process Performance
-Waste level
-End breaks in charkha
- Productivity
Detection of shift in yarn count:
Example:
Nominal Count = 20 Nm
Average weight of lea = 50 gm
Count CV % = 10
S.D. of count = 5gm
Warning limit = Mean ± 2 × S.D. = 50 ± 10
= 60 gm and 40 gm
Action limit = Mean ± 32 × S.D. = 50 ± 15
= 65gm and 35gm
 Shift

65 g Upper Action Limit (UAL)

Lea weight

Upper Warning Limit (UWL)

60 g
( gm)

50 g

40 g Lower Warning Limit (LWL)

Lower Action Limit (LAL)

35 g

Operator ID
 65 g Upper Action Limit (UAL)
Lea weight

Upper Warning Limit (UWL)

60 g
( gm)

50 g

40 g Lower Warning Limit (LWL)

Lower Action Limit (LAL)

35 g

Operator ID
 65 g Upper Action Limit (UAL)
Lea weight

Upper Warning Limit (UWL)

60 g
( gm)

50 g

40 g Lower Warning Limit (LWL)

35 g Lower Action Limit (LAL)

Operator ID
WHAT ACTION IS TO BE TAKEN
For case I
-Wrong Draft Change Pinion ( DCP)
-Inadvertent change in draft constant
-Wrong count of sliver or roving
For case II
-Count of sliver / roving supplied is to be verified
-Too coarse and too fine sliver / roving are to be
withdrawn
-Draft on charkhas are to be adjusted
Control of Count Variability
Opera Count Values of Lea No.
tor
No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Calculation of within and between count CV

REASONS FOR HIGH BETWEEN OPERATOR COUNT
VARIABILITY (CVBO)
Difference in average hank of sliver/ roving used.
Difference in the total drafts in the charkhas
Difference in effective drafts between spindles of charkhas
due to cot slippage.
Roving stretch

REASONS FOR DIFFERENCE IN AVERAGE SLIVER HANK

Difference in waste level and mechanical draft in card breaker
or finisher draw frame.

DIFFERENCE IN AVERAGE ROVING HANK

Difference in sliver hank.
Draft difference in speed frames.
Differences in waste level in card.
DIFFERENCE IN AVERAGE DRAFT IN CHARKHAS
 Wrong draft constant in charkha or wrong change
pinions
 Difference in effective draft within a charkha
-Slippage of top rollers, inadequate roller pressure.

ROVING STRETCHING
 Inadequate roving twist, low inter fibre cohesion
(specially when fibres are short),defective bobbin
holder
 YARN UNIFORMITY / UNEVENNESS

1. A routine check on all the samples received may not

be practicable.

2. Only when yarn samples for any new lot arrives , the

test can be carried out by randomly selecting 30 leas

from as many operators as possible.

 REASONS FOR UNEVEN YARN
Incorrect setting of break draft on D/F, S/F or charkha.

 Inadequate top roller pressure.

 Wear/damaged apron or cots.

 Eccentric top roller y in charkha.

 High short fiber percentage in sliver or roving.

 Too wide setting in the front zone of charkha.

 Slipping apron.
 YARN APPEARANCE
 Subjective assessment based on visual check of yarn
boards on yarns received from operators when fresh
yarn lots are received from them for a new mixing .
 Maintain a record according to operator ID

REASON FOR POOR APPEARANCE

 High yarn unevenness
 Many excessively severe thick, thin places and neps
in the yarn
 Presence of too many impurities like seed coat,
leaves, stalks etc in the yarn
 CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN
Check the overall condition of the charkha and roller
setting
Replacement of defective drafting rollers or aprons
Cleaning of accumulation of stray fibres on drafting
elements, ring, travelers, gears etc should be avoided.
Roller slippage because of low pressure or presence of
oil on roller surface is to be avoided.
 Neps in sliver to be maintained as per the norms
 Cleanliness of the sliver
 Yarn Count Strength Product (CSP)
Average CSP = 1000 for count 24 – 36 Nm
CSP CV% = 12, CSP S.D. = 120
UAL = 1000 + 3× 120 = 1360
UWL= 1000 + 2 × 120 = 1240
LAL = 1000 - 3× 120 = 640
LWL= 1000- 2 × 120 = 760

1360 UAL
Lea weight (g)

1240 UWL

1000

640 LWL

760 LAL
gm

Operator ID
Action to be taken
Case I: Points fall below the lower Action Limit or
continues to fall in between Warning and Action Limit
for many operators.
Case II: Points are distributed with a wide scatter.

Case I: A repeat check on the yarn supplied by the

operator whose estimated CSP value fall below the
action limit is to be performed. At least 6 leas are to be
tested and the average is to be found out. If the average
is found to be still lower, then remedial measures should
be taken.
 POSSIBLE REASONS FOR LOW AVERAGE CSP

-Inadequate twist in the yarn.

-Finer yarn count.

-Weak fibres in mixing.

Twist and count testing of the same are to be

performed to find out whether the twist is really low
or the count is fine. The lower twist could be
attributed to:

Lower spindle speed due to slippage, which can be

 Reasons for finer yarn
-Higher total draft.
-The finer sliver/roving supplied.

If count and twist are as per nominal value but

CSP is still found to be less, inadvertently a sliver/ roving
may have been supplied from a mixing in which the
fibres are intrinsically weak.
Reasons for high strength variation
– Intermittent slippage of top roller in the charkhas.
– Variability in between yarn count produced on
different charkhas.