A Textile Internship Report At GTN TEXTILES, Aluva, Kerala

Department of Fashion Technology National Institute of Fashion Technology New Delhi December 09 -January 10

Submitted By: Piyush Patel Rahul Kumar Tanmoy Hazra Semester VI B.F. Tech- Apparel Production

ACKNOWLDGEMENT
Our faculty for the subject, Dr. Venkatalu Senthil has consistently guided through the details of the subject. His lectures have established the base of our hands on experience in the industry. We are grateful to him for enlightening us. Also, our Course coordinator, Ms. Bhawna Kapoor, has always added to our buoyancy with her tremendous efforts.

At GTN, we would like to begin by expressing gratitude to Mr. Balakrishnan Vice President, GTN TEXTILES. Without his permission, our learning experience would not have been possible. We wish to thank Mr. Kunju Mohammad, HR Manager. His unflinching cooperation, valuable guidance and ample suggestions have not only helped us now, but will be with us long way. We would take immense pride in thanking Mr. Abhilash for his constant support and guidance during the course of conducting our research work.

At the outset, we would like to acknowledge some officers at GTN, especially Mr. K. P. Umanaden (AGM, QAD), Mr. Ponnan C. Paul (AGM, Maintainence), Mr. Antony George (AGM, Production), Mr. Sukumar (Storage), Mr. Dilip Kesha and Mr. Vijay Kumar (Raw Material) and Mr. Renson Cruz (Chief Security Officer).

Last, but not the least we want to thank ourselves for standing by each other and supporting each other in our constant endeavours.

Piyush Patel Rahul Kumar Tanmoy Hazra

OBJECTIVE
As a part of the Bachelors in Fashion Technology (B.F. Tech) - Apparel Production curriculum, we, the students are required to undergo 15 day training in the textile industry. The objective of this internship is to understand the concept of spun yarn production, grey fabric(both woven and knitted) production, dyeing, printing and finishing of fabric, textile testing and their quality aspects both technical as well as for commercial purposes.

INDEX
3

Part - I Introduction o o o o o o Company Profile Corporate Objective Export Performance Feathers in its Cap Key Factors for Success Competitors

Organizational Structure o o o Board of Directors Organizational Hierarchy Organogram

Departments o o o o Raw Materials Department Maintenance Department Personnel Department Storage Department

Plant Layout

Part II Production Department Process Flow Pre Production / Waste Packing Department Blowroom Carding Pre Comber Drawing Lap Formation Combing Drawing Speed Frame or Simplex Ringframe Post Spinning Section o o o Winding Cheese Winding Two For One Twisting

o o o o

Singeing Conditioning Inspection Packing

Quality Assurance Department

Part III Project I. Determining correct number of ringframe machines to be allocated per worker Project II. Improving safety and health standards of workers

PART - I

INTRODUCTION

GTN Textiles is one of the largest cotton yarn exporting mills from India and is currently exporting almost 90% of its total production to countries like Japan, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and West Germany. Company Profile GTN Textiles Ltd. (formerly GTN Industries Ltd.) promoted by G.T. Narayanaswamy Naidu, was incorporated on August 02, 1962 in Aluva and commissioned in 1964 for the manufacture of cotton yarn with a capacity of 12000 spindles. In 1966, the company was taken over by present promoters: the Patodia family. GTN Industries Ltd. was incorporated as a Public Ltd. Co. on March 28, 2005 under the Companies Act, 1956 and obtained the Certificate for Commencement of Business on April 6, 2005. The company took over the demerged business of GTN Textiles Ltd., comprising of the business activity of the Aluva Unit, Investment of 39.07% of the Paid-up Equity Share Capital of Patspin India Ltd. Along with other assets, as per the Scheme of Arrangement approved by the Honble High Court of Kerala Vide, its Orders dated 28.9.05, 5.12.05 and 9.12.05, respectively. Pursuant to the Scheme, GTN Industries Ltd. has changed its name to GTN Textiles Ltd. and viceversa vide fresh Certificate of Incorporation dated 27.12.05, issued by the Registrar of Companies, Kerala. The company had its registered office at Erumathala, near Aluva, in Ernakulam district and Corporate office at Nariman Point, Mumbai. GTN Textiles produces yarn from cotton and almost 90% of the finished yarn is exported. The company was declared as an export oriented unit in March, 1998. The two-third part of the finished yarn is exported mainly to Italy and Japan. The company produces various types of cotton yarn in different counts according to the requirement of the customers. The company got the prestigious Quality Management System (QMS) Certification (ISO 9002) on April 16, 1994 from Bureau of India Standards and Environment Management System (EMS) Certification in June 2004 from KPMG. Presently both QMS (ISO 9001) and EMS (14001) are combined in one QEMS certification from Intertech. GTN Textiles, Aluva has a workforce approximately comprising 200 staff members and 750 workmen. It operates 7 days a week round the clock in a pattern of 3 shifts per day. The shift timings are: 08 A.M. 04 P.M. (General Shift) 04 P.M. 12 A.M. 12 A.M. 08 A.M. 09 A.M. 05:30 P.M. (Staff shift) The cotton needed for the production, i.e. the raw material, is mostly imported from countries like America & Egypt or purchased locally from the states of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. GTN has a policy of stocking up good quality raw cotton at appropriate time for a minimum of five or six months. This enables the unit to mix homogenously the same blend for a longer period of time.

In terms of production, over 90% of the yarn produced is fine or superfine combed yarn & compact yarn. The main counts range from 50 s to 140s, both single and multifold as well as Gasses, suitable for knitting & weaving. The overall capacity of the unit is approximately 58864 spindles a day. Corporate Objectives To retain its present position in the export market. To satisfy its customers and shareholders. To concentrate more on high value added processing of yarn. To maintain long term relationships with customers and to provide service and quality.

Export performance GTN pride themselves as the leaders in the cotton yarn exports from India, and are the recipients of the prestigious Texprocil Gold Trophy (Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council of India) award for the excellence in exports continuously for the last fourteen years. Major markets are Japan, Italy, South Korea, Israel, China, Austria, Taiwan, Malaysia, but they are keen on continuously developing all the potential international markets.

Percentage Share in Major Markets

2% 3% 1% 2% 1% 2% 2% 2% 3% 3% 6% 36%

Japan Italy Korea Israel China Hong Kong Taiw an Malaysia U.K. Portugal Germany Austria Mauritius Chile

10%

12%

15%

Sri Lanka

Feathers in its Cap TEXPROCIL highest export award winner for 14 consecutive years

Award for excellence from BIRLA Economic and Textile Research Foundation GTN is named the STAR EXPORTER AND EXPORT HOUSE GTN received BIRLA award for Research and Development and Modernisation effort ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified Oeko-tex certification for eco friendly yarns GTN won the GOLD TROPHY for outstanding performance from Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council

Key factors for success Procurement of the right quality at the right time Ability to procure large quantities of raw material and keep long term stock, which ensures consistent quality Associated concern trading in cotton for the last 40 years, which gives it an added advantage. Use of speciality cotton like: Competitors The Asok Textiles Ltd. Sri Bhagavathi Textiles Ltd. The Cannanore Co-operative Spinning Mills Ltd. Chakolas Spinning and Weaving Mills Ltd. Eurospin Industries Ltd. American Supima Grade 2 Egyptian Giza 70/86/88/77/80 American SJV Acala Australia Sudan India Suvin , MCU 5

Kathayee Cotton Mills Ltd. Kerala Spinners Ltd. Kottayam Textiles (KSTC) Madras Spinners Ltd.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Board of Directors M.L. Patodia (Chairman) B.K. Patodia (Vice Chairman and Managing Director) M.K. Patodia (Managing Director) P.K. Kurian C.D. Thakker B.L. Singhal R. Rajagopalan Siby Anthony Umang Patodia E.K. Balakrishnan (Company Secretary)

Organizational Hierarchy Chairman VCMD Vice Chairman cum Managing Director MD Managing Director GME General Manager Exports

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CE Chief Executive Sr. VP (T&O) Senior Vice President (Technical & Operations) AGM (ES) - Assistant General Manager ( Engineering Services) DME - Deputy Manger Electrical SCO Senior Commercial Officer AMQA Assistant Manager Quality Assurance AGM (M) Assistant General Manager (Maintenance) SM (M) Senior Manager Maintenance DM (M) - Deputy Manager Maintenance SGM (P & IR) Senior General Manager (P & IR) M (T&D) Manager (Training & Development) MRM Manager Raw Material SGMW Senior General Manager Works GMP - General Manager Productions SMP Senior Manager Production

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Organogram

Vice Chairman & Managing Director

Assistant Manager

Direct or Senior Manager Senior Manager Engineering Services Manager Maintenanc e General Manager Quality Assurance Senior Officer Quality Assurance

Chief Executive

Vice President Technical

Senior General Manager Senior Production Manager

General Manager Finance

Commerci al Manager

Deputy Production Manager Assistant Manager Officer s Superviso rs

Senior Manager Finance

Assistant Manager Stores

Senior Manager Maintenance Fitters

Senior Manager Personnel Assistant Manager Training

Jobber s Worke rs

Senior Officer Quality System

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13

DEPARTMENTS
There are six different departments drawn out at the unit which are: Raw Material Department Production Department Maintenance Department Storage Department Quality Assurance Department Personnel Department

Raw Materials Department The raw material for spinning is bales of cotton. In GTN, the cotton is primarily procured from countries like Egypt, Sudan and US, as well as locally from the states of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The different types of cotton used to manufacture yarn in GTN are: Imported Cotton Varieties PIMA (USA) GIZA 86, 88 (Egypt) SUDAGIB (Egypt) Indian Cotton Varieties SUVIN MCU 5 DCH Fiber properties like strength, length, uniformity ratio etc vary from type to type. Contamination is quite less in imported cotton as compared to Indian cotton. The godown for storage of raw materials in GTN has been divided into three parts A, B and C. The layout is as follows:

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GODOWN C

GODOWN B

GODOWN A

The storage capacities of the three sections are as follows: Godown A B C Total = Area (m2) 868.76 875.42 778.39 2522.57 Storage & bins 1 62 1 63 1 65 Capacity (bales) 3100 3150 2750 9000

From the godowns the cotton is put in the bale opening machine. The machine shreds the cotton from the bales and cleans them, where after it is handpicked by workers for contaminants. The contaminants like black cotton, yellow cotton, jute, plastic, leaves and bark are kept aside and clean cotton is sent to the blowroom. Defective cotton after the blowroom stage is sent back to the raw materials department and put in the bale opener for recycling.

Unloading Porch

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Maintenance Department The maintenance department conducts the maintenance of textile machinery only. It is responsible for scheduled maintenance, i.e., the cleaning, checking of machine parts, lubrication etc., and for the repair of machines after breakdown. The maintenance of other equipment like generators, transformers and electrical equipments is done by the engineering department. Only highly skilled personnel are involved in the work of this department. All schedules of repair and maintenance is fed into the computer and with the help of SAP software it generates the time of completion of a particular job, which can be allowed a grace period of 25%. Personnel Department The company has a well-established personnel department with experienced executives. The major functions of this department are listed below: -

Recruitment and selection of employees Selection is basically done through written tests and
interviews. The minimum qualification for the workers is S.S.L.C. For other staff selection, the qualification, skills required and the job experience is specified beforehand. If selected, the candidate is put on a probation period of 3-4 months, during which their performance is continuously monitored. Depending upon their performance, they may be permanently appointed or discarded.

Performance Appraisal system Performance appraisal is conducted once every two years with
the help of external consultants. This is done through questionnaires, called Competency Mapping which is evaluated by the top management and accordingly promotional incentives are given or workers are instructed for training.

Promotion Policy In case of workers, seniority is considered for the purpose of promotion while
in the case of staff, Competency Mapping is considered along with their service experience. If any position is vacant, the personnel with higher competency score will be posted to that position by giving more responsibilities and duties.

Training Policy The company provides training to fill gaps in knowledge and skill of employees
where necessary, and evaluates the effectiveness of such training. The organization also maintains records of training imparted including skills, experience and competence.

Long Term Settlement This is done for settling the basic payment of staff along with the joint
decision of management and union leaders. By this bilateral agreement, the payment of every department staff is settled.

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 Employee Motivation It is the duty of the personnel department to encourage workers to do their
jobs properly and with full concentration. Based on how well it is done, incentives or bonuses can be given.

Conflict resolution Many times, there may occur labour strikes or there might be some agitation
or unrest among the workers to bring attention to some problem of theirs. At this time, the personnel department negotiates with the union leaders and tries to reach a solution.

Communication with external bodies Apart from all the above responsibilities, the personnel
department is also responsible for interaction with the customers, media or the board of directors. Storage Department Apart from storing the finished product, ready for shipment, the storage department also handles the inspection and packaging of the yarn cones before being dispatched for shipment. The functions of this department have been further described elaborately later in the document.

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PLANT LAYOUT

18

PART - II

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT
Process Flow

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PRE- PRODUCTION / WASTE PACKING DEPARTMENT Cotton from raw materials storage is passed through this department before being sent to the blowroom. The cotton (called 1st quality cotton) is pressed into bales by the bale presser machine. Wastes from carding, combing and blowroom also get delivered here through the waste ducts. There are separate ducts for under card waste, upper card waste, comber waste and blowroom waste. According to the type of wastes, the cotton is sorted. Only 1 st quality cotton is sent forward for spinning. The other cotton wastes are pressed into bales and kept aside for export or for sending to local markets. Categorisation of wastes Waste from Blowroom Under card Upper card Comber Sliver Quality 5 4 3 2 1 Sent to Coimbatore carpet mills Local mills Malaysia cotton mills Malaysia cotton mills Blowroom (recycled)

BLOWROOM A blow room line consists of opening, cleaning, mixing and lap making (optional) machines. The cotton is received in the mill in hard bales which contain several impurities. The blow room machinery performs function of opening hard pressed bales of cotton and cleaning the cotton of impurities. Trash and foreign matter is to be extracted from the cotton with the least amount of lint loss. The amount of waste extracted would depend on the amount of trash in the mixing. Another important function that is performed by the blow room equipment is "Mixing". Two or more different varieties of cotton me general mixed thoroughly to get a proper blend. In order to produce uniform quality of yarn and also to reduce the cotton cost of yarn while achieving the desired level quality, the mixing, of two or more types of cotton is carried out in the blow room. The loose cotton passed through the blow room machinery is converted into regular sheets called laps. These laps are delivered lo the next department viz. carding room, alternately auto feed system in blow room to feed the carding machines the process of lap formation is avoided.

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A blow room installation consists of a sequence of different machines to carry out the above said operations. Moreover since the tuft size of cotton becomes smaller and smaller, the required intensities of processing necessitates different machine configuration. Some basic concepts of the blowroom are: o o The larger the dirt particles, the better they can be removed. Since almost every blow room machine can shatter particles, as far as possible a lot of impurities should be eliminated at the start of the process. o The higher the degree of opening, the higher the degree of cleaning. A very high cleaning effect is almost always purchased at the cost of a high fiber loss. Higher roller speeds give a better cleaning effect but also more stress on the fiber. o Cleaning is made more difficult if the impurities of dirty cotton are distributed through a larger quantity of material by mixing with clean cotton. o The cleaning efficiency is strongly dependent on the trash percentage. It is also affected by the size of the particle and stickiness of cotton. Therefore cleaning efficiency can be different for different cottons with the same trash percentage. o If cotton is opened well in the opening process, cleaning becomes easier because opened cotton has more surface area, therefore cleaning is more efficient o In cleaning, it is necessary to release the adhesion of the impurities to the fibers and to give the particles an opportunity to separate from the stock. The former is achieved mostly by picking of flocks; the latter is achieved by leading the flocks over a grid. o Mechanical action on fibers causes some deterioration on yarn quality, particularly in terms of neps. Moreover it is true that the staple length of cotton can be significantly shortened. o In a beating operation, the flocks are subjected to a sudden strong blow. The inertia of the impurities accelerated to a high speed, is substantially greater than that of the opened flocks due to the low air resistance of the impurities. The latter are hurled against the grid and because of their small size, pass between the grid bars into the waste box, while the flocks continue around the periphery of the rotating beater. o Air streams are often used in the latest machine sequence, to separate fibers from trash particles by buoyancy differences rather than beating the material against a series of grid bars.

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For cotton, the humidity should be 55 % and the temperature has to be maintained at around 300C. If the ideal conditions for cotton are not maintained, the cotton cannot be processed properly. For proper opening, cleaning and mixing, the required conditions must be necessarily maintained. Objective To open the compressed bale of cotton. To extract impurities and other foreign matters from cotton by opening and beating. To allow passage of clean cotton either as fluffy mass or as lap (chute feed or lap feed) to the next machine. Input Bale of cotton Output Uniformly mixed, clean cotton in the form of chute feed or compressed layer of cotton called lap. Machinery 1. Rieter UNIFLOC A11 Automatic Bale Opener The UNIFLOC A11 performs the task of opening the hard pressed bales into small flocks. The volume of the flock is increased while the number of fibres remains constant i.e., the specific density of the material is reduced. UNIFLOC A11 processes the fiber material gently and efficiently into micro tufts, from which impurities can be removed very readily in the subsequent processes. The machine has one arm and the main part of the arm is a long cylindrical drum extending to the full length of the arm which consists of six pairs of metallic teeth and arranged in thirty nine rows. They are responsible for the intake of material from bale. Star wheels are arranged on both sides of these rows to guide the material to the long drum. The arm is provided with gear motor for the rotation of the drum and has the ability to turn both sides of the rail. It is also capable of moving up and down to adjust the arm according to the height of the table. The machine is also provided with a light sensing device to detect the height of Bale weight Above 250 kg Relative humidity maintained in blowroom (preparatory) 55-60%

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the bale. The central unit consists of the main gearing alignment related to the lifting and lowering of the arm suction of material and transportation of the UNIFLOC with the help of conveyer belts. The UNIFLOC is designed for output of up to 1400 kg/h (carded sliver). Bales are laid down over a length of 40-45 meters. Automatic bale profiling eliminates labor-intensive manual alignment of the bales. Opening bales into micro tufts provides the basis for effective cleaning and de-dusting by subsequent machines. The double tooth profile ensures gentle extraction of the tufts irrespective of the direction of rotation of the take-off roller. Automatic bale profiling enables quality consistency to be maintained in subsequent cleaning processes. The UNIF at GTN processed up to 4 assortments simultaneously. The width of the takeoff unit can be selected between 1700 and 2300 mm. Cottons of all origins up to a staple length of 65 mm are processed. The collected material from UNIFLOC is collected and distributed by the material transport fan. Gravity waste is removed before passing the material to the metal detector, which detects metallic impurities such as scraps, nails etc. and is diverted by the metal diverter.

No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1/6 (1 operator operates all 6 machines in blowroom)

2. Rieter UNICLEAN B11

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The UNICLEAN B11 is an efficient cleaning and de-dusting machine which is used immediately after bale opening. It performs fine cleaning on the cotton with the help of spiked beater drum and grids. The spiked beater revolves with high speed and beats the cotton against a grid. The impurities having less weight are taken in by the grid, beneath the beating chamber. Micro dust is collected by another duct. The cleaning by the machine depends on cleaning intensity and percentage of trash removed. Cleaning intensity can be varied by varying the speed (it ranges from 0 to 1). Percentage of trash depends on grid opening. Automatic cycle sends the trash at regular intervals. The UNICLEAN B11 handles a sustained 1200 kg/hr card production. The UNICLEAN removes loose trash particles, fibre fragments and dust.

No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1/6 (1 operator operates all 6 machines in blowroom) 3. VETAL Scan Polysensor It is one of the most effective ways of removing foreign particles like feather, color cloth bits, discolored threads, yellow fabric pieces and high density impurities like white/transparent polypropylene, plastic, colored polythene bag fragments. It is done by 96 line scan cameras and using sonic acoustic / ultrasonic sensing. Detected materials are ejected through high-speed nozzles by pneumatic air jets.

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No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1/6 (1 operator operates all 6 machines in blowroom) 4. Lakshmi UNIMIX LB 7/4 The object of UNIMIX is further opening and cleaning of cotton. It consists of six chambers. Cotton is introduced into a big chamber divided into six compartments vertically. Once all the compartments are filled with cotton, all of them are allowed to release small equal amounts simultaneously on a conveyor belt moving horizontally below the chamber. The conveyor belt moves with the help of rollers. The contents of the conveyor belt are which taken up by an inclined lattice. This movement mixes the cotton further. The machines working width is 1600 mm. It has an infinitely variable production up to 600 kg / hr. Both machines have a pin type roller as shown in the picture. The UNIMIX machines supply the subsequent carding process with input in the form of flocks or tufts of cotton fibre with the help of air flow. This system of feeding the carding machines is known as chute feed system. The UNIMIX machine supplies the tufts of cotton directly to the carding machines via chute feed system. There are 3 UNIMIX machines UNIMIX I, II, III according to the type of cotton being processed, mainly PA, DH, MM.

No.

of

machines 3

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No. of operators 1/6 (1 operator operates all 6 machines in blowroom) 5. Trutzschler Multimixer The main function of this machine is opening and cleaning, though it is also used for mixing. It has 8 mixing chambers, each of which is divided into equal sections. Each compartment has two calendar rollers rotating in the clockwise direction. These rollers allow the cotton to fall into the beater, from where it is passed to the condenser of the scutcher through pipes by the flow of air. It has light barriers in all chambers for minimum filling level monitoring an also has pressure sensing through sensitive pressure transducer. The Trutzschler Multimixer supplies tufts of cotton into the Trumac Scutcher machine for lap formation.

No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1/6 (1 operator operates all 6 machines in blowroom) 6. Trumac Scutcher It converts the cotton into a lap form for subsequent carding process. This system of feeding the carding machine is known as lap feed system. Trumacs Scutcher line for cotton comprises of Condenser LVSA, Pneumafeeder FS and Scutcher SME. The Condenser LVSA, which is mounted on the Pneumafeeder FS, draws the tufts from the preceding machine. A high-speed dust cage separates the tufts from the carrier air current and de-dusts the tuft material. A stripper roller of condenser delivers the material to Pneumafeeder FS in tuft form. Exhaust air is channeled to a filter. The Pneumafeeder FS provides uniform feed to the Scutcher SME. Pneumafeeder FS is easily accessible and has fewer moving parts; hence it is maintenance-free. Emptying for material change can also be done easily. Condenser delivers the material to reserve trunk. An adjustable sensor maintains the level in the trunk. Two pairs of delivery rollers form bottom of the reserve trunk, which

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guides material to coarse spiked plucking rollers. The plucking rollers throw the tufts into an air current generated by a fan, which carries tufts into the feeding trunk. Perforated steel sheets form both walls of the feeding trunk, holding back the material, but allowing air to escape freely. Here material is compressed uniformly across the full width by the pressure of the air current. Two delivery rollers in the Scutcher draw the material from the feeding trunk and guide it to the feed rollers through sensing levers. The sensing levers are chrome-plated, permitting the fibres to glide smoothly over them without causing any congestion. An integration of the sensing lever actuates P.I.V. drive, which regulates speed of the feed roller. A single Kirschner beater running at 800 rpm carries the ultimate cleaning and fine opening. Centrally adjustable 10 grid bars with an index scale facilitates waste removal. In case of processing man-made fibres, complete system can be closed. Finely opened material is collected on single enlarged dust cage of diameter 550 mm Fan exhaust dusts the air diametrically and ensures uniform distribution of material. In this manner, cotton laps upto 30 kg and man-made fibre upto 20 kg can be produced. The required lap length can be preset by means of a counter and limit switch. The production rate is 200-240 kg/hr. The laps are then carried to the carding machines. No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1/6 (1 operator operates all 6 machines in blowroom)

Line Diagram

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UNIFLOC MATERIAL TRANSPORT FAN METAL DETECTOR METAL DIVERTER UNICLEAN VISION SHIELD FIRE DETECTOR

MICRO DUST GRAVITY WASTE

UNIMIX 1

UNIMIX 2

UNIMIX 3 MULTIMIXE R SCUTCHER

CARDING

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Carding is known as the heart of spinning. This process is done for the individualization of the cotton fibers. The fibers after this process get arranged into parallel form from zigzag arrangement. Objective 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Input Cotton in the form of lap Output Carded sliver Waste Flat stripes Licker Cylinder fly To open the flocks into individual fibers Cleaning or elimination of impurities Elimination of dust Elimination of short fibers Fiber blending Fiber orientation or alignment Sliver formation

Feed System As mentioned earlier, there are two types of feeding to the cards, lap feed system, in which the fibres are formed into a lap or a compact sheet, and chute feed system, in which flocks are transported pneumatically. The advantages and disadvantages of each system are as follows:

Lap Feed System

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Advantages 1. The linear density of the lap is very good and uniformity is easier to maintain. 2. The whole installation is very flexible 3. Deviations in card output will be nil, as laps can be rejected

4. Autolevellers are not required, hence investment cost and maintenance cost is less
Disadvantages 1. Transportation of lap needs more manual efforts (more labour) 2. Lap run out is an additional source of fault, as it should be replaced by a new lap 3. Fibre loss can take place during lap change 4. More load on the taker-in, as laps are heavily compressed Chute Feed System Advantages

1. High performance in carding due to high degree of openness of feed web. 2. Labour requirement is less due to no lap transportation and lap change in cards.
3. For high production cards, only chute feeding system is suitable. Disadvantages

1. Linear density of the web fed to the card is not as good as lap. 2. The installation is not flexible. 3. Auto leveller is a must for controlling weight per unit length, hence investment cost and
maintenance cost is more. Principle

Short fibres which are responsible for hairiness and reduction in strength are to be removed

Cotton is introduced in the form of flocks and obtained in the form of slivers.

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At carding, the faults like neps, hooked ends can come. These faults can be rectified at the later stages.

Rollers used in the carding machines are fixed at certain distance that defines the minimum length of fiber required. This eliminates shorter fibres but also gives rise to hooks (fibres held by front rollers form trailing hooks while fibres held by back rollers form leading hooks).

Following are the five types of clothing used in a Carding machine 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Cylinder wire Doffer wire Flat tops Licker-in wire Stationary flats

Mechanism There are photo sensors at the entrance of carding machine. If the passage gets filled with the material, shutters controlled by the sensors are closed. They allow only the required amount of cotton thus avoiding overloading. The feed roller and the feed plate together produce batt. The flocks are taken in by the licker-in (taker-in) in the form of batt. The purpose of the taker-in is to pluck finely opened flocks out of the feed batt, to lead them over the dirt eliminating parts like mote knives, combing segment and waste plates, and then to deliver the fibres to the main cylinder. There are three licker-ins. The main cylinder is a large drum moving at a speed of approx. 550 rpm. The centrifugal force makes the dust rise to flat card. The flat card sucks in the dust. The opening effect is directly proportional to the number of wire points per fiber - at the taker-in 0.3 points/ fiber and at the main cylinder 10-15 points /fiber. If a given quality of yarn is required, a corresponding degree of opening at the card is needed. To increase production in carding, the number of points per unit time must also be increased. The main work of the card, separation to individual fibres is done between the main cylinder and the flats. In the cylinder-flats region, the following processes take place: 1. opening of flocks to individual fibres

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2. elimination of remaining impurities (trash particles) 3. elimination of short fibres and neps 4. untangling the neps 5. dust removal 6. high degree of longitudinal orientation of the fibres Only by means of this fibre separation; it is possible to eliminate the fine dirt particles and dust. The flats can be moved forwards or backwards, i.e. in the same direction as or in opposition to the cylinder. The arrangement of the material between the cylinder and the doffer is not meant for stripping action. It is for carding action. This is the only way to obtain a condensing action and finally to form a web. Additional carding action is obtained here and it differs somewhat from processing at the flats. The sliver formation takes place at calendar rollers where the sliver is taken from sliver web. The sliver is collected in the spring cans. Machinery 1. Truetzschler DK 780 Material from the blowroom is fed to a series of cards arranged in a circuit to pneumatic pipes (chute feed). With its comprehensive carding concept the DK 780 is ideally suited for modern textile mills, which want to be competitive in the worldwide textile market. The new features of the DK 780 improve carding quality once more and an increase in productivity can be achieved in many cases. The DK 780 card is designed for production output of up to 100 kg/h (mechanically). There are sufficient performance reserves for a trouble-free operation with low maintenance. The licker-in is equipped with adjustable deflector blades and mote knives with suction hoods. It offers variable flat speed adapted to the raw material. There is a reduction in amount of seed coat fragments, with stationary flat system Twin Top. There is a choice between lap feeding and the Tuft Feeder unit FBK. No. of machines 13 No. of operators - 1

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2. Lakshmi LC 300V3 Salient features Modular Construction FRC system ensures leveled material Aluminum alloy cylinder cover plates Easy tongue setting adjustment FMC system facilitate symmetric web gathering High Production with Superior Quality Production up to 80 kg/hr Delivery Speed up to 300 m/min. (mechanical) Cylinder Speed up to 550 rpm Excellent quality with in-built short term and long term FRC system PCL & PCD system ensures less imperfection in sliver Flexibility Suction system through fibre reinforced plastic ducts for waste collection and provision for centralized suction Feed from Fine feed or Lap feed Manual or Automatic waste evacuation system Effective suction by individual or centralized collection system Separation of Licker-in and flat waste

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Linear or Rotary Can changers Wide range of can coilers to suit various customer needs Ease of Maintenance Compact and maintenance free flat drive system Replaceable combing segments with special knives and control bars Effective suction for removal of trash and micro dust Compact doffer drive with inverter, controlled by PLC Touch screen display system No. of machines 28 No. of operators - 2

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Line Diagram

FEED BOX (CHUTE FEED) FEED ROLLER LICKER-IN REGION C CLEANER CARDING SECTION C CLEANER DOFFE R DOFFING UNIT COILER MECHANISM SLIVER CAN

SLIVER FEED PLATE

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PRE COMBER DRAWING Objective Drafting, Parallelisation, Doubling Input Carded sliver Output Drafted sliver Drawing is the final process of quality improvement in the spinning mill. Drafting is the process of elongating a strand of fibres, with the intention of orienting the fibres in the direction of the strand and reducing its linear density. In a roller drafting system, the strand is passed through a series of sets of rollers, each successive set rotating at a surface velocity greater than that of the previous set. During drafting, the fibres must be moved relative to each other as uniformly as possible by overcoming the cohesive friction. Different cans from different carding machines are used for doubling so as to maintain homogeneity. 28 cans are used in a single drawframe. Each drawframe has three pairs of rollers that adjust speed for providing uniform sliver of fibre. The first roller is the slowest in speed, and the delivery roller is the fastest. Rieter D35 and D40 are the drawframes used in GTN. No. of machines 4 No. of operators - 1

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LAP FORMATION The raw material delivered by the carding machine cannot be fed directly to the comber. Lap preparation is a must. A good lap fed to the comber should have 1. highest degree of evenness so that lap is gripped uniformly by the nipper 2. a good parallel disposition of fibres so that long fibres will not be lost 3. trailing hooks from carding should be fed as leading hooks to reduce long fibre loss These machines combine many slivers to form batts again. They are used in succession and simply provide the raw material for the comber. For process of combing, the sliver lap machines (18-24 slivers form a lap) are used when end product is ribbon. Then the ribbon lap machines or super lap formers are used. Each ribbon in the ribbon lap machine is made from six ribbons. After this process, four ribbons are passed through comber. Machinery 1. Lakshmi LE 2/4A Sliver Lap Objective Doubling Carded slivers are passed side by side and reduce the width to improve the uniformity of the sliver. Drafting Straightening and parallelisation. Lap formation The doubled and drafted material is passed through the heavily weighted calendar rollers. Then the material is compressed into sheet form. Input Carded sliver Output

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Sliver Lap Lap Length 150-200 m Lap Width 9-10 kg No. of doubling 18-24

Features Optimal fibre control and parallel alignment of the individual fibres High operating speed of 65 m/min Heavy laps up to 75 g/m Pneumatic Lap weighing for improved Lap Quality Suspended Creel to accommodate cans of diameter from 400 mm to 1000 mm Double nip drafting arrangement with Pneumatically weighed top rollers Lapping Apparatus with Automatic Lap Changer

No. of machines 1

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No. of operators (1 operator operating 2 machines)

Line Diagram

18 SLIVERS CREEL GUIDE PLATE GUIDE ROLLERS STOP MOTION GUIDE DRAFTING SECTION (4/6 DRAFTING SYSTEM) CALENDER ROLLERS SPOOL
2. Lakshmi LE 4/1 A Ribbon Lap Objective Input Sliver lap (6) Output Ribbon lap To improve uniformity of lap by doubling To strengthen and parallelize the fibres by giving draft

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Draft 6 Width of lap 11.75 in.

Features Pneumatically weighted drafting rollers Reflecting mirror is placed above the machine for easy operation

No. of machines 1 No. of operators (1 operator operating 2 machines)

3. Super Lap LH 10 Objective Drafting, doubling, parallelisation Input Drafted sliver Output

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Super lap Features No. of doublings 24 Lap width 300 mm Maximum lap diameter 600 mm Fibre length 25-45 mm Lap sheet weight 20 kg Maximum delivery speed 120m/min Can size o o Diameter up to 24 in. Length up to 48 in.

Drafting system 4/4 No. of drafting heads 2 Top roller loading Spring loaded Electrical stop motion present Pneumatic weighted draft rollers Automatic doffing

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Line Diagram

12 SLIVERS DRAFTING SECTION TABLE CALENDER ROLLER

12 SLIVERS DRAFTING SECTION TABLE CALENDER ROLLER

TWO SECTIONS ARE EQUALIZED 4 HEAVY WEIGHTED CALENDER ROLLERS SPOOL MAGAZINE SPOOL

No. of machines 4

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No. of operators - 2

COMBING Combing is the process which is used to upgrade the raw material. It influences the following yarn properties: 1. yarn evenness 2. strength 3. cleanness 4. smoothness 5. visual appearance In addition to the above, combed cotton needs less twist than a carded yarn because the short fibres are removed. Objective In order to produce an improvement in yarn quality, the comber must perform the following operations: 1. elimination of short fibres 2. elimination of remaining impurities

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3. elimination of neps The basic operation of the comber is to improve the mean length or staple length by removing the short fibres. Since fineness of short fibres (noil) is low, the overall micronaire of the sliver after combing is high. Because of combing, fibre parallelization increases. Input Ribbon Lap or Super Lap Output Combed sliver

Machinery Lakshmi LK 54 Comber The sequence of operation in a comber is as follows: 1. Feeding of the lap by feed roller 2. The fed lap is gripped by the nipper 3. The gripped lap is combed by circular comb 4. The detaching roller grips the combed lap and moves forward 5. While the detaching roller delivers the material, top comb comes into action to further clean the lap. The short fibres are removed. 6. While going back, nipper opens and receives a new bit of lap. Thus, nipper holds the material while the comb moves to and fro. It pulls the material. There are brushes that clean the circular comb. Fibres must be presented to the comber so that leading hooks predominate in the feedstock. This influences not only the opening out of the hooks themselves, but also the cleanliness of the web. If the sheet is fed to the comber in the wrong direction, the number of neps rises markedly.

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No. of machines 20 No. of operators - 3

Line Diagram

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LAP STAND LAP ROLLERS LAP TENSION PAD NIPPER TOP COMB UNICOMB DETACHING ROLLER BOTTOM ROLLER TABLE TABLE TRUMPET TABLE CALENDER ROLLER DRAFTING ZONE COILER TRUMPET CA N BRUSH SEPARAT OR WASTE BOX

DRAWING Objective

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Input

Through doubling, the slivers are made even Doubling results in homogenization (blending) Through draft, fibres get parallelized Hooks created in the card are straightened Through the suction, intensive dust removal is achieved Autoleveller maintains absolute sliver fineness

Combed or carded sliver Output Drafted sliver Machinery Lakshmi LRSB 851 Drawframe Positively driven creel calendar rollers By changing the calendar rollers (thickness), the count can be changed. Length of sliver 4500-6000 m/can Machine speed 200-400 m/min Autoleveller is an additional device which is meant for correcting the linear density variations in the delivered sliver by changing either the main draft or break draft of the drafting system, according to the feed variation. There are two types of Autolevelling systems. They are Open loop system Closed loop system

Most of the drawframe autolevellers are open loop autolevellers. The major components in the autoleveller system are

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Scanning roller Signal converter Levelling CPU Servo drive(servo motor and servo leveller) Differential gear box(Planetary gear box)

No. of machines 10 No. of operators 2

Line Diagram

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SLIVER CREEL CALENDER ROLLER TENSION ROLLERS FUNNE L SCANNING ROLLERS DRAFTING ZONE NOSSI L TRUMPET COILER CALENDER ROLLERS CA N

SPEED FRAME or SIMPLEX

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Objective Reduces the thickness of the sliver into roving, imparts twists and winds it around a bobbin.

The main function of speed frame is to make roving from the draft sliver that has strength to withstand the tension variations at ring frame.

Input Sliver Output Roving Purpose Sliver is thick, untwisted strand that tends to be hairy and to create fly. The draft needed to convert this is around 300 to 500. Drafting arrangements of ring frames are not capable of processing this strand in a single drafting operation to create a yarn that meets all the normal demands on such yarns. Hence, roving frame is used. Parts Creel stand Sliver guide Comb Flyer Flyer finger Bobbin Bobbin coil Comb rod Tension pulley Suction tube

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Flow of material The sliver cans are set in their place, and the sliver is passed through the guides. There is a comb arrangement which removes the remaining short fibres from the sliver. The slivers enter the drafting zone. Top and bottom rollers press the sliver and draw thin roving. The sliver comes to the flyer which is fitted on the bobbin rail. Bobbin rail gets drive from the spindle and winds the twisted material on the bobbin in suitable form. Mechanism Bobbin and flyer are driven separately, so that winding of the twisted strand is carried out by running the bobbin at a higher peripheral speed than the flyer. As the roving winds the bobbin, its diameter increases constantly. If the speed of bobbins rotation is kept constant, the surface speed increases which may lead to strain and breakage of roving. Hence, the speed is decreased. Flyer inserts twist. Each flyer rotation creates one turn in the roving. Twist per unit length of roving depends upon the delivery rate. Turns per metre = (flyer rpm)/ (delivery speed (m/min)) Usually, 200-250 twists are imparted in one metre of roving. Builder motion: This device has to perform the following tasks 1. to shift the belt according to the bobbin diameter increase 2. to reverse the bobbin rail direction at top and bottom 3. to shorten the lift after each layer to form tapered ends There is a shaft connected to the traveler with the help of electromagnetic disk. It has a fixed point that has a sensor connected. Whenever it hits an object, there is a change in the direction of vertical movement of the point. There are two plates inclined downward at left hand side. The shaft in rest is exactly midway of the distance between the two plates. At the start, the electronic disk engages the traveler with the shaft. This decides the height of traveler. The shaft also has a horizontal movement form right to left. When the pin is at rightmost point, it is at top near to the plate. The sensor senses the presence of plate and reverses the movement. It reaches the bottom plate, hits it and reverses its direction. The shaft moves horizontally after each vertical

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travel. Thus, the traversal path decreases for the shaft due to presence of inclined plates. Consequently, a package with tapered shape is formed. Machinery Lakshmi LFS 1660V Speed frame In this machine, the top rail is fixed and the bottom rail is moved up and down for builder action. Aprons are present in the third drafting roller. Separate photocell is used to correct the tension on the roving. Doffing is done at the bottom rail. No cone drums are used. Tension controller varies the speed of the inverter motor. Flyer is fixed. Doff weight 2.5 kg Machine R.P.M 1011 Roving bobbin 132/frame

No. of machines 12 No. of operators 3

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Line Diagram

SLIVER CREEL ROLLER CONDENS ER DRAFTING ZONE FALSE TWISTER CUP PRESSER ARM BOBBI N

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RINGFRAME SPINNING Ring Frame gives the final output for spinning i.e. yarn. The productivity of the factory is determined by the output of the ring frame. Objective

It reduces the thickness of the roving to the desired yarn count by means of drafting rollers. Drafting arrangement is the most important part of the machine. It influences mainly evenness and strength.

It imparts twists into the yarn thus strengthening it and preventing short fibers from protruding.

Input Rove Output Bobbin

Packing it in a more easy to handle package.

Flow of material Roving bobbins are mounted on the stand and the end is drawn through the machine. Roving is made to pass through guides to drafting rollers to reduce the thickness to required yarn count. Yarn is passed through balloon control rings and end breakage sensors (working on optical principle) It is passed through a small metal traveler moving on the ring rail and winding the yarn around the spindle. Mechanism Traveller: Traveller imparts twist to the yarn. Traveller and spindle together help to wind the yarn on the bobbin. Length wound up on the bobbin corresponds to the difference in peripheral speeds of the spindle and traveller. The difference in speed should correspond to length delivered at the front rollers since traveler does not have a drive on its own but is dragged along behind by the spindle.

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One revolution of traveler gives one twist to the yarn. The shape formation of the package (cop) takes place with the help of cam that lifts the ring rail through shafts. The cam pushes the shaft down and the ring rail lifts up. There is a tape that controls the continuous up and down movement. The shape of the cam defines the shape of the cone. Spinning Triangle: Twist in a yarn is generated at the traveller and travel against the direction of yarn movement to the front roller. Twist must run back as close as possible to the nip of the rollers, but it never penetrates completely to the nip because, after leaving the rollers, the fibres first have to be diverted inwards and wrapped around each other. There is always a triangular bundle of fibres without twist at the exit of the rollers; this is called as spinning triangle. Most of the end breaks originate at this point. The length of the spinning triangle depends upon the spinning geometry and upon the twist level in the yarn. Machinery 1. RXI 240 Kirloskar Tyoda Textile Machinery No. of machines 25 No. of spindles 1904 2. Lakshmi LR 6/S No. of machines 35 No. of spindles 1200/ frame

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No. of operators - 72 Line Diagram

ROV E CREE L BOBBIN HOLDER U GUIDE DRAFTING SECTION LAPPE T LAPPET HOOK BALLOON RING SEPARAT OR SPINDLE RAIL TRAVELLE R BOBBI N
Compact Spinning Compact yarns are yarns with the most reduced hairiness. The aim of applying the compact spinning systems is the increase in yarn quality by means of narrowing and decreasing the width of the band of fibres which come out from the drawing apparatus before it is twisted into yarn, and by the elimination of the twisting triangle.

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Compact yarn as compared with classical yarn is characterized by: o o o o o o o o o o o higher fibre utilisation higher tenacity with same twist factor, or same tenacity with reduced twist factor for higher production lowest hairiness (highest reduction in hairs longer than 3 mm) fewer weak points better imperfections (IPI) values higher abrasion resistance greater brilliance of colour intensive dye penetration no singeing before printing Due to better utilization of fibre substance it is possible to reduce yarn twist of these yarns by up to 20%, maintaining the yarn strength of conventional ring yarns. This increases yarn production. o Due to better embedding of fibres (including short one) in compact yarn, approximately 6% fewer combing noils are possible. Compacting takes place in the compacting zone following the main drafting zone of the drafting system. The drafted fibre strand is compacted before twist is imparted, meaning fibres are arranged in close and parallel position to one another. Two main compact spinning systems are used in GTN: i) EliTe Spinning System: This system is by American company SUESSEN. The operating method of the SUESSEN EliTe Spinning System is well known. After the fibres leave the drafting system they are condensed by an air-permeable lattice apron, which slides over an inclined

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suction slot. The fibres follow the outer edge of this suction slot and at the same time they perform a lateral rolling motion. Above the front bottom roller of the drafting system, the fibre band influenced by high draft is spreading. In the area of the suction slot, which is covered by the lattice apron, the fibre band is condensed. Commencing from the semi-dotted clamping line of the EliTe Q Top Roller, twist is being inserted. There is no spinning triangle. ii) ComforSpin: The ComforSpin technology allows aero-dynamic parallelization and condensation of the fibres after the main draft. The spinning triangle is thus reduced to a minimum. The heart of ComforSpin machine is the compacting zone, consisting of the following elements: o o o perforated drum suction insert air guide element

The directly driven perforated drum is hard to wear and resistant to fibre clinging. Inside each drum there is an exchangeable stationary suction insert with a specially shaped slot. It is connected to the machines suction system. The air current created by the vacuum generated in the perforated drum condenses the fibres after the main draft. The fibres are fully controlled all the way from the nipping line after the drafting zone to the spinning triangle. An additional nip roller prevents the twist from being propagated into the condensing zone. The compacting efficiency in the condensing zone is enhanced by a specially designed and patented air guide element. Optimal interaction of the compacting elements ensures complete condensation of all fibres. This results in the typical COM4 yarn characteristics.

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POST SPINNING SECTION

WINDING Package obtained from ring frame is cop which holds a small amount of yarn. It is not easy as well as convenient to transport the cops from one place to other. Secondly, these packages cant find any use in weaving where a long and continuous supply of yarn is required. Hence, six cops are combined to make a cone. This is done by Autoconer. Objective To remove yarn faults To make bigger package (60 gram bobbins to 2 kg cones) by splicing Lubrication of yarn Input Cop Output Cone Mechanism During winding, various faults such as neps, thick and thin section and variations in colour of yarns etc. are removed. The machine is controlled by computer. Six cops are arranged in a stand that can be rotated. The yarn from a single cop is taken by the machine. It is passed through a waxing rod that provides wax. Then, it is passed through electric yarn clearer and splicing unit. This unit contains sensing device(optical and capacitance based) that detects the presence of any fault like thick or thin places, contamination, hairiness, nep formation, weak places. Such places are cut or spliced and

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the two ends of the yarn are tied into a tiny knot. A tensioning device maintains the tension in the yarn and thus helps in maintaining uniform tension while winding the yarn.

Machinery Schlafhorst Saurer 338 Autoconer Winding speed 500-1200 m/min Twin or mechanical splicer Operates on 310 V D.C current Contains head stock (power) unit Contains Electronic Yarn Clearer Gripper arm, suction arm worked on minus pressure Empty tube conveyer system Asymmetric grooved drums used Automatic doffing Flat and round vibrator both are present for feeding the cops Magnetic caddy and caddy stopper present Propac system present for controlling the length of winding No. of spindles 60

No. of machines 17 No. of operators 15

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Line Diagram

ROUND MAGAZINE BOBBIN PEG TENSIONE R SPLICE R EYE WAX HOLDER SUCTION GROOVED DRUM CONE HOLDER CONE STAND AUTO DOFFING UNIT BLOWER

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CHEESE WINDING This machine takes in two cones of yarn and produces a single cheese. A cheese is a package in a cylinder form without tapering ends. It winds two plies around the spindle but without imparting any twist to the package. This process is also known as doubling. Objective Join two yarns from two different packages and wind in a cheese. Input Cone Output Cheese Mechanism The cone is first of all placed on the cone peg. The yarn from the cone is then passed through the peg tail to reduce ballooning. It is then passed through the cup washer, which maintains the tension upon the yarn through the thread guide and runner roller. Intersecting ground drum is usually used for winding for these machines. Symmetrical drums help to wind the yarn uniformly upon the cheese. Machinery Textool DRJ Winding units 60 /side 2.5 turn drums used. Drop needles used for stop motion.

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Runner rollers are used for stop motion. Runner rollers are used to guide the yarn.

No. of machines 2 No. of operators - 1

Line Diagram

CONE PEG LAPPET TENSIONE R SENSO R LAPPET CUTTER BLADES GUARD PROPELLER BLADE SUPPORT BLADE CHEESE HOLDER WITH HANDLE

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TWO FOR ONE TWISTER (T.F.O WINDING) The two parallel yarns in the cheese are twisted together to obtain a double ply yarn. Usually a twist amounting to 90% of the twist given to the single yarns in the spinning stage is given in this process. For strength purposes it is necessary to have doubled yarns, which are single yarns twisted together. It is called TFO because it imparts two twists for one rotation of traveler. The twists imparted are in S direction. The yarn receives its first turn between the yarn brake in the hollow axle and the exit in the spindle roller. The second turn is given with the outer balloon between the spindle rotor and pig tail thread guide. To obtain this TFO effect, the part with untwisted feed package is kept motionless on the spindle rotor by magnets. No. of twists = {Spindle Revolution (rpm) X 2}/Yarn Speed (m/min) Objective TFO machine takes in two yarns from the cheese winder, imparts twists and wind them into a cone. Input Cheese Output Two-ply twisted yarn Mechanism The untwisted yarn, unwound from the feed package by means of an unwinding aid called flyer, passes through the capsule portion and the hollow axle enters in the reserve disc. The yarn at this point with one twist already inserted winds around the reserve disc and then enters the pig tail forming a balloon, thereby the second twist is also inserted. The twisted yarn turns over the

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pre take-up roller and with the help of the traversing thread guide gets wound on to the cross cradle between centering discs. The speed of winding varies according to the material and the count of the yarn being processed. Feeding material is supplied to the spindle and directly taken up to the delivery cone or cheese as knot free yarn with the required number of twists inserted.

Machinery Veejay Lakshmi VJ 120HS Individual pulley diameter 254 mm Wharve diameter 32 mm Take up roller diameter 77 mm Spindle tape thickness 0.5 mm R.P.M 1043 No. of spindles 216

No. of machines 17 No. of operators - 7 Line Diagram

SPINDLE FLYER TENSION WEIGHT PIGTAI L STOP MOTION GUIDE PRETAKE UP ROLLER TRAVERSING BAR DRU M CON 66

SINGEING Singeing is the process of removal of short fibers from the surface of the yarn. Gas singeing is done on the yarns as per customer specifications. The singeing machine removes the protruding short fibers by the use of propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10) in 60:40 ratios. This improves the appearance and the luster of the yarn. The singeing process also reduces the yarn count by 4 5.5%. Machinery SSM (Sanharv Scwltweiter Mettler, Switzerland) GSX No. of spindles 40 Burner flame works on gas (LPG) and air mixing Air: Gas Ratio 9.5 : 8 (For 80s)

: 5.5 (For 120s to 140 s) Singeing Percentage 5% Each drum has a separate motor. Maximum pressure on gas flow 10.2 bar Maximum temperature on gas flow - 52C

No. of machines 3 No. of operators 2

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Line Diagram

CONE YARN PASSING ASSEMBLY BURNER WITH COVER GUIDE ROLLER GUIDE ROLLER WITH SENSOR GROOVED DRUM CONE ON THE CRADLE
CONDITIONING The normal moisture content of cotton is around 6-6.5%. After converting to yarn, cotton has only 4% of moisture. A conditioning machine by the name of Xorella imparts required amount of moisture and strength to the yarns. It uses steam, high temperature and pressure. Steam penetrates into the material and increases the strength of the yarn. If conditioning of yarn is not done, problems like snarling and end twists can occur. Objective Increase weight and strength of the cone.

GUIDE SLUB CATCHER CUP WASHER

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Increase absorption capacity of dyeing agents.

Machinery Contexxor (Xorella AG CH 5430 Wettinen) No. of machines 1 No. of operators - 1

INSPECTION The completed cones of yarn are daily checked for weight and defect. A random sample is selected from the cartons according to statistical methods for checking. The following table shows the number of samples to be selected for checking for weight and defect based on the order: Order 281 500 kg 501 1200 kg 1201 3200 kg 3201 10000 kg Total no. of cones checked 52 75 110 160 Cones checked for defect 32 50 80 125 Cones checked for weight 20 25 30 35

The tolerance for cone weight checking is 10 g. After checking for weight, some of the cones are checked in UV light for shade variation. 4 5 cartons are opened and 60 -70 cones are checked randomly for defect, color variation and weight. 10 other cones are checked for yarn quality and 40 are checked for count in QA department. PACKING Mainly there are two types of packing methods:

1. Pallet Packing Cones or cheeses wrapped in plastic are placed on top of one another
and the entire package is wrapped in plastic. The maximum number of layers possible is 12. The following table shows the details of pallet packing :

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S. No. 1 2

Cone Weight 1.8 kg 2.4 kg

Number 432 300

Net weight 1.8 X 432 2.4 X 300

No. of cones in a layer 36 25

2. Carton Packing Cones or cheeses are wrapped in plastic and packed into baseboard
boxes. Depending upon the cone or cheese weight, the size or capacity of the carton varies. S. No. 1 2 3 4 Cone weight 0.945 g 1.1 kg 1.89 kg 1.89 kg Number 24 50 24 12 Net weight 22.68 kg 57 kg 46.32 kg 22.68 kg Carton size 22.5 X 17 X 14 28.5 X14 X 29 22.5 X 14 X30.5 22.5 X 17.9 X 21

There is another type of packing method which is based on customer orders, which is called carton pallet packing. In this method of packing, cartons already filled with cheeses or cones are placed on top of each other in layers and then the entire package is wrapped in plastic. Carton strap color signifies the count of the yarn. After packing, the cartons or pallets are either stored or loaded into trucks for shipment.

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QUALITY ASSURANCE DEPARTMENT

The QA (Quality Assurance) Department ensures the quality and purity of raw material as well as the final product. It checks the whole process at every step so that there is no loss. It conducts incoming inspection, in-process inspection and final inspection. The functions performed by the QA department: Raw material testing Yarn testing Quality control at all production steps

The yarns are tested according to ASTM standards. The quality level varies from order to order. Machinery 1. Uster Tester 3 Evenness Converter This machine checks the evenness of the yarns or sliver. Yarn testing is done either from ring bobbin or from cone package. Based on the reports generated, the yarn is sorted into thick, thin or neps. The unevenness percentage (U %) is calculated by monitoring the variation in the mass of material per centimeter. Faults are determined by the U% as follows: o o o +50% -- Thick place -50% -- Thin place +200% -- Nep

The hairiness of the yarns can also be tested using the machine. Total length of yarn to be checked 400 m One testing is done for every 1 cm cut length. Total imperfection = Thin place (-50) + Thick place (+50) + Neps (+200)

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No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1/3 (1 operator operates 3 machines)

2. Zweigle G566 Hairiness Tester

Hairiness occurs due to short protruding fibres on the yarn surface. The tests are done for yarns before or after the auto coning process. Short fibres are classified according to their length, ranging from 1 to 25 cm, and then fibres in each category are counted for a length of yarn (approximately 150 m). The mean is calculated and the fineness of the yarn is determined from this value. Testing speed 100 m/min It classifies the protruding fibres according to length. S3 value is the sum of length of protruding fibres above 3 mm.

No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1/3 (1 operator operates 3 machines)

3. Uster Tensojet This instrument is used to test yarn strength and elongation of single ply yarns. The machine draws in a single yarn which is passed through two rollers moving in opposite directions after being fixed at two extreme points. It measures the amount of force required to break a certain length (generally 50 cm) of yarn, and also, the elongation in the yarn at this breaking point. For one whole package of yarn, every 50 cm is tested and the mean calculated. The report generated predicts the breaking force and tenacity of the yarn based on a plotted graph. The tenacity thus calculated is an important parameter for yarn which has to be woven using air jet weaving looms. Testing speed 30000 tests / hour

No. of machines 1

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No. of operators 1/3 (1 operator operates 3 machines) 4. Coset FX 300 This machine determines the count of the yarn or sliver. State TT23 machine is used to prepare samples of yarn to be weighed in this machine. 120 yards of sample of yarn are prepared, the approximate weight fro which should be around 1 g. Statex machine prepares roving of 5 m length, which is supposed to weigh around 15-20 g. The count of the yarn is determined according to the weight. No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1 5. Cascade This machine is used to test the strength of multiple yarns or slivers. Statex machine prepares roving of around 5 m length, which is tested in the Lea strength tester, by fixing its two ends at rigid fixtures. No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1 6. Statex Twist Tester This machine is used to determine the twist per inch (TPI) in the yarn (single or double). Two types of twists are given to the yarns S twist or Z twist. Fibres are made into yarns by inserting twist. The machine untwists the yarn and calculates the twist when it retwists it. At least 20 m length of yarn us required for this testing. No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1 7. Zellweger Uster HVI 900 The function of this machine is to find the length uniformity ratio, strength elongation, short fibre index, reflectance and micron air value (fineness) of raw cotton either before blowroom or during blowroom stage. Uster Fibro Sampler is used to prepare samples for testing in this machine, the weight of which should be 8.5-11.5 g. First, one sample is fed into the machine where it is tested for length, strength and elongation. A separate sample

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is placed in UV light and checked for color. This sample is then weighed and tested for fineness. No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1

8. Uster AFIS Pro ( Advanced Fibre Information System Professional) It measures various fiber characteristics such as fiber length, maturity, trash and nep content and determines the noil (short fibres) percentage. About 0.4 - 0.6 g of cotton sliver is used. The short fiber content, for example, is essential for assessing the carding and combing efficiency of a spinning mill. The potential saving of 2% in comber noil removal means better raw material utilization and greater profitability. Second quality fabric showing an irregular or neppy surface is often caused by a high nep content in the yarn, resulting from a high nep content in the sliver or roving. It senses about 12000 fibers automatically. First, the sample is weighed and its length is measured. It is then fed to the machine which generates a report which gives the number and length of neps for the specified length of fibre. No. of machines 1 No. of operators 1 Test Reports This document includes samples of test reports of all machines in the QA Department which can be found in the Annexure.

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PART - III

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PROJECT I. DETERMINING CORRECT NUMBER OF RINGFRAME MACHINES TO BE ALLOCATED PER WORKER

OBJECTIVE Determine average thread breakage rate Find the number of machines allotted per worker Calculate time taken for a particular worker to complete his round of machines by conducting time study Calculate time taken by a worker to mend broken yarn by conducting time study Calculate idle time of worker Based on idle time, suggestions to be made regarding the correct number of machines to be allocated to a worker PROCEDURE The approximate efficiency of a ringframe machine was found out to be 94.68% by consulting the QA Department. Three machines (M/C No. 17, 18, 19) were selected for this study which had its efficiencies closest to this value. The thread breakage rate was calculated after going through previous reports of ring frame machines and then counting the number of breakages occurring on both sides of the 3 machines on an hourly basis. One worker had been allotted to look after these machines and mend broken threads occurring in 2544 spindles. A time study was conducted and the worker was observed to find out his patrolling time and also the piecing rate. The idle time was then calculated from these observations.

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END BREAKAGES IN SPINNING Date 28.12.09 Machines observed 17, 18, 19 (both left and right sides) Hours observed 1 No. of reading 4 Operator Name P.C. Varghese Observations Machine No. 17 Observation No. 1 Spindles observed Total breaks Breaks per 1000 spindle hours Average breakage rate LHS 424 16 37.74 56.61 RHS 424 32 75.47 18 LHS 424 38 89.6 71.93 RHS 424 23 54.26 19 LHS 424 39 91.98 97.86 RHS 424 44 103.77

Machine No. 17 Observation No. 2 Spindles observed Total breaks Breaks per 1000 spindle hours Average breakage rate LHS 423 42 99.29 94.56 RHS 423 38 89.83 18 LHS 423 45 106.38 82.67 RHS 424 25 58.96 19 LHS 423 31 73.29 79.4 RHS 421 36 85.51

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Machine No. 17 Observation No. 3 Spindles observed Total breaks Breaks per 1000 spindle hours Average breakage rate LHS 423 37 87.5 70.9 RHS 517 28 54.2 18 LHS 423 37 87.5 87.5 RHS 423 37 87.5 19 LHS 424 42 99.1 92.0 RHS 424 36 84.9

Machine No. 17 Observation No. 4 Spindles observed Total breaks Breaks per 1000 spindle hours Average breakage rate LHS 424 20 47.17 83.68 RHS 424 34 80.19 18 LHS 419 24 57.28 57.08 RHS 422 24 56.87 19 LHS 424 14 33.02 35.38 RHS 424 16 37.74

Calculations Average breakage rate of M/C No. 17 = 71.44 Average breakage rate of M/C No. 18 = 74.8 Average breakage rate of M/C No. 19 = 76.16 Average breakage rate for the 3 M/Cs = 74.13 breaks/ 1000 spindle hours

TIME STUDY Observations Obs. No. Thread Joining Rate / Piecing Rate Patrolling Time / Round Time

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(in seconds) (in minutes) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2 4.5 6.3 5.4 6.8 6.2 5.5 6.2 4.9 6.1 3.5 5.2 6.5 5.2 6.7 3.1 4.2 5.9 4.3 3.6

Calculations Average piecing rate = 5.81 seconds Average patrolling time = 4.82 minutes or 289.2 seconds Now, In 60 minutes, the number of breakages per 1000 spindles is 74.13. The number of breakages in 4.82 minutes of his patrolling is calculated as 5.95. Thus the worker has to attend to 5.95 breakages approximately in one round of these three machines. The working time can be calculated by multiplying this number by the piecing rate. It is found that the worker spends 34.57 seconds of his patrolling time joining broken threads.

CONCLUSION After consulting records of the workers from the QA Department, we found that an average worker took less than 5 seconds to mend a broken thread and 2 3 minutes to complete his rounds. In comparison to other workers, this worker takes a relatively longer time to complete his rounds and also for mending broken yarns. We thought of increasing the number of workers attending to these machines but when we consulted the HR Department, they said that

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production could not come at the cost of increasing the amount spent in labour. The company believed in spending the least amount possible on labour and also using the minimum number of workers to accomplish a task. Another solution to this problem, according to us, is close observation of the worker and finding the reasons as to why he is taking a longer time. Counseling of the worker should be done and he should be motivated to work at a faster rate.

PROJECT II. IMPROVING SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS OF WORKERS

OBJECTIVE A close observation of the following factors which pose problems to the workers: -

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Exposure to fibre dust Exposure to noise Lighting and ventilation Accident prevention and handling Fire safety measures

EXPOSURE TO FIBRE DUST The workers engaged in the processing and spinning of fibre are exposed to significant amounts of cotton dust. Even small fibre fragments enter the respiratory track and cause various respiratory problems. These fibres can cause serious respiratory ailments like brown lungs, which is the most common disease among the textile industry workers. Observations

Person responsible for handling fibre in spinning Department use only a face mask. Persons in the blowroom line had full body contact with the fibres but did not use any body cover.

The unit has the facility of a Fibre Depositing Plant which automatically sucks fibre dust from all sections of the production floor and sends these to trenches underground.

Apart from these, fibre dust is also cleared manually by using vacuum cleaning machines.

Suggestions Person responsible for handling fibre in spinning Department should be given Purifying Respirators (APR) o Half-face Full Face (recommended as it also saves eyes from contamination) Air

Full body suits should be provided to workers in body contact with the fibre. The usage of these equipments to be made mandatory.

EXPOSURE TO NOISE

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High levels of noise are observed in most of the units engaged in the textile industry. In the long run, exposure to high noise levels has been known to damage the eardrum and cause hearing loss. Other problems like fatigue, absenteeism, annoyance, anxiety, reduction in efficiency, changes in pulse rate and blood pressure as well as sleep disorders have also been noted on account of continuous exposure to noise. Though it causes serious health effects, exposure to noise is often ignored by textile units because its effects are not immediately visible and there is an absence of pain. Observations The Kerala Pollution Control Board specified the noise limit of an industry to be 55 dB during daytime and 45 dB during night. This noise level is to be determined, however, 1 m away from the boundary of the complex. The plant generates noise exceeding this limit inside, and this can be dangerous for workers who have a prolonged exposure to this noise. Earmuffs have been provided to the workers for their safety, but none of the workers were found to be actually using them. Suggestions Noise can be controlled in three ways 1. At the source of the noise Replacement of worn/defective machine parts Regular service and maintenance of machines (keeping noise reduction in mind) Mounting of machines on rubber mats or other damping material Replacing metal parts with sound absorbing materials (plastic or heavy duty rubber) 2. Along the path between the source and the worker Sound absorbing materials on walls, floors, ceilings Sound absorbing panels from ceilings to reduce overall noise level Sound-proofing control areas and rest rooms

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3. At the worker Personal protective equipment (principle: preventing damaging sound waves from reaching sensitive parts of the inner ear) by use of: 1. Ear plugs (made of rubber, moldable foam, coated plastic or any other material that fits tightly in the ear) 2. Ear muffs (more efficient than ear plugs but costly) Use of ear muffs should be made compulsory for the safety of the workers. LIGHTING & VENTILATION Lighting Observations

The lighting standards in GTN were found to be satisfactory and the workers were quite satisfied with the lighting.

In case of power failure, there is pitch darkness in some areas of the factory floor.

Suggestions

Battery operated emergency lights should be placed at all points so as to provide some lighting to the workers in case of power failure.

Provisions can be made for more entry of natural light. This can significantly reduce the electrical consumption.

Ventilation Observations Recommended minimum air flow is 50 cubic meters per hour and air is usually required to be changed at least 3 times every hour.

Though the arrangements for proper ventilation have been made in all the units of GTN, during the course of our study we observed that a lot of exhaust fans were out of order.

There is an air purification system inside the production floor which removes the air inside the unit and circulates fresh air inside it. This system also helps in cooling the unit, because a lot of heat is generated by the working of the machines.

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Suggestions Non functioning fans should be immediately fixed.

ACCIDENT PREVENTION AND HANDLING Accidents not only cause harm to the work force and the property but also cause loss of productivity. Observations

No major accidents have occurred in the unit in the last 8 years which has caused casualty.

First Aid boxes are not properly maintained. There have been a large number of minor accidents, the causes of which were o o o Fall due to presence of water or any slippery substance on the work floor Injury to hands and fingers while operating machines Injury to eye or face due to the high speed traveller in ringframe coming off

Suggestions The floors should be provided with anti slip tiles, and proper drainage grooves should be made, the slope of the floor should be so adjusted so as to prevent water retention.

The first aid box should be inspected at regular intervals and maintained in proper condition.

Machine parts should be maintained properly so that accidents may not occur. The vigilance of the workers operating the machines should be increased.

FIRE SAFETY MEASURES Fire safety is the most major concern in an industrial setup. Observations

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The plant is well equipped with the fire fighting equipment and the fire drill takes place every 4 months.

The way to the emergency exits is marked properly on the factory floor. Workers can be found smoking in the GTN campus including the toilets and the canteen. The fire alarms although present are not properly marked. Sufficient number of fire extinguishers in raw material storage, blowroom and the godowns.

Fire hoses are there to control fire occurring inside the ducts. Workers are aware of what to do in case of fire emergency. Smoke detectors and water sprinklers are installed in the blowroom as this section stores more than 50000 kg cotton at a time.

LPG Detecting Device is present in the singeing department which alarms the workers in case of gas leaks.

Suggestions

With the implementation of Public Smoking Act w.e.f 1st October 2008, smoking in the factory premises is now a punishable offence and the workers should be informed about the same. The law should be strictly implemented inside the campus.

The position of the fire alarms and fire extinguishers should be prominently marked and displayed.

A gathering point for the workers should be established and marked. The workers should be informed to gather at the particular point in case of a fire outbreak or other emergency. Further instructions to the workers can be disseminated at this gathering point.

Emergency Lighting System should be installed inside the production floor, in case fire causes shutdown of all lighting and electrical equipments.

Fire drills should be held more frequently.

CONCLUSION

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Safety and health measures play an important role in any industry. It is essential that the workers be aware of the various occupational hazards in the industry. At the same time, it is necessary that the management take the necessary steps to protect workers from potential hazardous situations. The management at GTN claims that the PPEs have been issued to workers, but only a handful were found to be using the same. The management can also introduce a fine system for the workers who are not found using the PPEs and following the security guidelines.

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