A.

Acknowledgment
I would like to thank Mr. RAMFUL Raviduth, the placement coordinator of level 3 students of
Mechanical Engineering, who made the necessary arrangement for my internship at Companie
Mauricienne de Textile Ltee (CMT).

I thank Mr. Bhoomitra Sharma TOOLSY, my University Supervisor. He helped me and coached
me during my internship by giving me feedback and tips on how to handle and approach
situations. He always had time to answer all my questions concerning my internship.
I really want to thank all the staff of the organization in general. They have made my training
experience a memorable and unforgettable moment.

I thank Mrs. Natasha BHOODHNA (Human Resource Manager) for giving me the opportunity
to follow my internship at CMT. I am very grateful to my site supervisor Mr D. Khelawon, and
the staff of the mechanical department for their support and guidance throughout. They have
been very sympathetic and of great help. My appreciation goes to them for their willingness to
share their knowledge and professional past experience which helped me to understand the future
role of an engineer. I found the people highly professional and talented and they were a pleasure
to work with. I have a deep appreciation and an honest respect for the people who work at CMT.

1|Page

Table of Contents
A.

Acknowledgment ..........................................................................................1

1.

Introduction....................................................................................................3

2.

Literature review...........................................................................................3

3.

Fabric Dyeing ................................................................................................5

3.1

Jet dyeing machine ...........................................................................................5

4.

Pneumatic valves ..........................................................................................9

4.1

Slanted valves ...................................................................................................9

4.2

Modulating Valve ...........................................................................................11

5.

Steam Trap Valves .....................................................................................13

6.

Nozzle ...........................................................................................................15

7.

Boiler .............................................................................................................19

7.2

Operating principle of boiler ..........................................................................20

7.3

Cochran Burner...............................................................................................21

Yarn dyeing .................................................................................................24

8.1 Dosing pump ......................................................................................................26

Main pump of yarn dyeing machine ......................................................29

10

Conclusion ...................................................................................................32

2|Page

1. Introduction
Companie Mauricienne de Textile Ltee (CMT) was founded by Louis Lai Fat Fur and Francois
Woo Shing Hai in 1986. In Mauritius, the branch at La Tour Keonig consist of four different
sections namely FM1 (Fabric Mill 1), FM2 (Fabric Mill 2), Knitting and Spinning. During the
first week a site visit was carried out in both FM1 and FM2 to have an overview of the main
activities being carried out in these 2 sections and to get acquainted with the technical staff. I was
assigned to work in FM2 which comprises mostly of fabric dyeing, yarn dyeing and finishing.
The dyeing section of FM2 consists of 16 fabric dyeing machines and 24 yarn dyeing machines.
Servicing is carried out on all 40 machines over a period of 2 months by the maintenance crew
comprising of Mr. Avinash and Mr. Clyde for the mechanical part and Mr. Irshad for the
electrical part under the supervision of Mr Lynley. Breakdown maintenance staff consists of
Mr. Gerard and Mr. Jean Noel.
As usual in the morning the maintenance task is assigned by the chief engineer Mr. D.
Khelawon, through which the intervention is known thus a plan for the day is established. The
current maintenance strategy adopted is a combination of both preventive and breakdown
maintenance.

2. Literature review
Background of the company
Companie Mauricienne de Textile Ltee (CMT) specialised in the design and production of fastfashion jersey wear products for the finest clothing brands and fast-fashion retailers on the high
streets. The company started out with 30 employees and was involved mainly in cut, make and
trim operations. The company eventually grew to become the largest jersey wear manufacturer in
Mauritius and the Sub-Saharan region with a turnover of US $200 million and employing around
10,000 people.

3|Page

The Company starts out with raw cotton of the best quality and carries out the following
activities:
1. Spinning
2. Knitting
3. Dyeing
4. Finishing
5. Cutting
6. Sewing

Cotton
Cotton of the highest quality is used as raw material

Spinning
Carried out at spinning section at La Tour Koenig

Knitting
Carried out at the knitting section at La Tour Koenig

Fabric and yarn Dyeing

Takes place in both fabric mill 1(FM1) and fabric mill
2(FM2)

Finishing
Undertaken at FM1 and FM2

Cutting and Sewing

Carried out at Phoenix Headquarters

Figure 1: Schematic of all 6 processes undertaken at CMT

4|Page

The company offers a full-package service to its customers, ranging from design to landed
delivery in distribution centres in Europe and the US. CMT has complete control over the full
supply chain making it a reliable reliable total service provider of a vast array of value-added
jersey garments designed to meet the unique and ever-changing needs of its customers.

3. Fabric Dyeing
Dyeing is the process of adding color to textile products like fibers, yarns, and fabrics. Dyeing is
normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular chemical material. After
dyeing, dye molecules have uncut chemical bond with fiber molecules. Temperature and time
control are key factors in dyeing.
Fabric mill 2 consists mainly of three types of dyeing machine:
1. Jet dyeing machine
2. Sample dyeing machine
3. Winch dyeing machine

3.1 Jet dyeing machine

Jet dye machine is the most modern machine used for dyeing of polyester using disperse dye. It
is identical to winch dyeing and fabric is processed in continuous loop. The technique is efficient
for delicate polyester fabrics but depending on the machine almost any weight, structure, or
fabric type can be used.
The dye tank contains disperse dye, dispersing agent, leveling agent and acetic acid. The solution
is filled up in the dye tank and it reaches the heat exchanger where the solution will be heated
which then passed on to the centrifugal pump and then to the filter chamber.
The solution will be filtered and reaches the tubular chamber. Here the material to be dyed will be
loaded and the winch is rotated, so that the material is also rotated. Again the dye liquor reaches
the heat exchanger and the operation is repeated for 20 to 30 minutes at 135 C. Then the dye bath
is cooled down, after the material is taken out.

5|Page

Metering wheel is also fixed on winch by external electronic unit. Its purpose is to record the speed
of the fabric. The thermometer, pressure gauge is also fixed in the side of the machine to note the
temperature and pressure under working. A simple device is also fixed to note the shade under
working.

Figure 2: Components of jet dyeing machine

There are 3 main types of jet dyeing machine:

Overflow Dyeing Machine (FONG and THIES Sample machine)

Soft-flow Dyeing Machine (FCM Dyeing machine)

Airflow Dyeing Machine (THIES Imaster dyeing machine)

6|Page

Figure 3: Imaster dyeing machine

Figure 4: Schematic of jet dyeing machine

7|Page

As shown in figure 3, the main components of a jet dyeing machine are as follows:

Pneumatic Valves: Slanted valves, Butterfly valves and Modulating valves

Main pump

Dosing pump

Heat exchanger

Lint filter

Nozzle airflow

Unload motor

Winch motor

A checklist is provided to the maintenance crew and after each servicing has been carried out,
the checklist has to be filled and signed by the maintenance crew. The checklist comprises of all
the components that need to be visually inspected and repaired or replaced in case they are
damaged.

The following procedures are followed when carrying out servicing on a machine:

The shift dyer is informed that servicing will be carried out on the machine.

The machine is then switched off and a notice of Machine under maintenance is
displayed as a safety measure.

The steam valve is closed.

Servicing is then carried out on all components according to the checklist provided.

8|Page

4. Pneumatic valves
4.1 Slanted valves
Most slanted valves are normally closed and opens when actuated. During servicing all slanted
valves are checked for any leakage via the following procedure.
1. Pressure is supplied to the slanted valve while it is still in place.
2. It is known whether the valve is operating smoothly via the indicator shown below.

Indicator

Figure 5: Slanted valve with indicator

3. If a continuous hissing sound is heard when the valve is actuated, it indicates a leakage
and the valve is replaced with a new one (O-ring is replaced when repairing valve.

9|Page

Spring
O-ring

Threading

Indicator

Seat

Bolt

Figure 6: Exploded view of slanted valve

4. In the absence of leakage, the valve is removed from the machine and is inspected
visually to check whether the seat is damaged and need to be replaced.
5. The valves used in FONGS dyeing machines are different from THIES dyeing
machines. In THIES dyeing machines, the seats on the valves can be removed and
replaced whereas in the case for FONGS dyeing machines, the whole part comprising of
the seat has to be replaced.

Only seat can be removed and

replaced

Figure 7: Slanted valve THIES

10 | P a g e

The whole part need to be

removed and replaced when
changing seat

Figure 8: Slanted valve FONG

4.2 Modulating Valve

A modulating valve is a device capable of modulating flow at varying degrees between minimal
flow and full capacity in response to a signal from an external control device.

Figure 9: Modulating valves

11 | P a g e

Gasket

Figure 10: Operation of one-way modulating valve

A gasket is a mechanical seal which fills the space between two or more mating surfaces,
generally to prevent leakage from or into the joined objects while under compression. Gaskets
are normally made from a flat material, a sheet such as paper, rubber, silicone, metal, cork, felt,
neoprene, nitrile, rubber, fiberglass, polytetrapolyfluoroethylene (Teflon) or a plastic polymer.
Damaged gaskets are the main cause of leakage in modulating valves and has to be replaced
during servicing.
12 | P a g e

5. Steam Trap Valves

The main function of a team trap valve is to get rid of condensate without any significant
consumption or loss of live steam. It opens, closes and modulates automatically.
The simplest form of steam trap is a disc or short solid pipe nipple with a small hole drilled
through it installed at the lowest point of the equipment. Since steam condensate will collect at
the lowest point and live steam is about 1200 times greater in volume than this hot liquid,
condensate is effectively removed and steam is blocked. However, the vast majority of steam
traps in current operation are of the mechanical or thermostatically operated design.
Mechanical and thermostatic steam traps basically open when condensate and inert gases need to
be removed, and close when all the condensate is removed. The process repeats when new steam
is condensed again and ready to be drained.

It was noticed by the operator of sample dyeing machine A01 that temperature was not rising in
the machine. The steam valve was closed and an intervention was carried out on the machine.
Eventually the root cause of the problem was identified to be the steam trap valve.

The five bolts holding the valve were removed with the help of a spanner.

After dismantling the steam trap valve (Inverted Bucket Type) and from visual inspection
the problem was found to be the damaged gasket located between the bucket and the top
part of the valve (head).

The gasket was replaced with a new one.

13 | P a g e

Bolts

Figure 11: Dismantled bucket steam trap valve

Gasket

Figure 12: New gasket on inverted bucket steam trap valve

14 | P a g e

Floater

Gasket

Figure 13: Opened up steam trap valve (Floater type)

Lesson Learnt: If a steam trap valve malfunctions, pressure in the machine is not retained and
temperature fails to rise since condensate remains trapped in the machine.

6. Nozzle
A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow
(especially, to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe.
A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross sectional area, and it can be used to direct or
modify the flow of a fluid. Nozzles are frequently used to control the rate of flow, speed,
direction, mass, shape, and/or the pressure of the stream that emerges from them. In a nozzle, the
velocity of fluid increases at the expense of its pressure energy.

15 | P a g e

Knit Fabrics
Dye Liquor Entry path

Figure 14: Mechanism of nozzle

After the operator of sample dyeing machine A01 signalled a leakage in the machine, the nozzle
along with the mechanical seal on the shaft of the winch were removed and visual inspected. The
following procedures were followed:
1. The machine was switched off and the steam valve was closed.
2. The electrician, Mr. Nizam disconnected and removed the winch motor.
3. The winch along with its shaft and mechanical seal were removed from the machine in
order to gain acess to the nozzle.
4. The nozzle was then removed and visually inspected.

16 | P a g e

Winch motor
Nozzle

Figure 15: Nozzle

Broken O-ring

A broken O-ring was found after 6 years of operation and was replaced with a
new one.
The mechanical on the shaft of the winch, having a lifespan of 8760 hours was also replaced.
A mechanical seal is a device that helps join systems or mechanisms together by preventing
leakage containing pressure, or excluding contamination. The effectiveness of a seal is
dependent on adhesion in the case of sealants and compression in the case of gaskets.

17 | P a g e

Winch Shaft

Rotary Mechanical
Seal

Figure 16: Mechanical seal for winch

Both the stationery and the rotary mechanical seal are replaced after 1 year and ean one bears a
cost of Rs 40,000.

18 | P a g e

7. Boiler
Fabric Mill 2 consists of 3 Heavy fuel oil (HFO, Cochran) steam fire tube boilers. A fire-tube
boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases from a fire pass through one or many more tubes
running through a sealed container of water. The heat of the gases is transferred through the
walls of the tubes by thermal conduction, heating the water and ultimately creating steam.
Their advantage over flued boilers with a single large flue is that the many small tubes offer far
greater heating surface area for the same overall boiler volume. The general construction is as a
tank of water penetrated by tubes that carry the hot flue gases from the fire

Figure 17: Cochran Boiler(horizontal)

The Cochran boiler consists of the following components:

Burner (connected to the front door)

Blow-down valve

Steam valve (steam to all machines in FM2)

Water level indicator

Air release valve

2 feed water pumps

19 | P a g e

7.2

Operating principle of boiler

Water is fed into the softening plant before being pumped into the boiler. In order to remove
Magnesium and calcium found in the water, sodium chloride (NACL) is added in the softening
tank. Sodium chloride reacts with the excess magnesium and calcium to form calcium chloride
and magnesium chloride which are both solids at room temperature. The water is then filtered
and sent to the boiler via the 2 feed water pumps.

Softening water tank

Figure 18: Water softening system

Once the required amount of water is fed into the boiler, the burner starts automatically, heating
the water to a temperature of about 135 C. Once the specified temperature is reached the burner
shuts down automatically and starts again when the temperature drops. The operator has to check
the water level indicator regularly along with the sight glass which indicates whether the burner
is operating properly. The boiler operates properly at a pressure of 8.5 - 9 bar.
20 | P a g e

Water level indicator

Cochran burner

Feed water pump

Blow down valve

Steam valve (Steam to all machines in

industry

Figure 19: Components of steam boiler

7.3

Cochran Burner

The burner mixes the fuel and oxygen together and, with the assistance of an ignition device,
provides a platform for combustion. This combustion takes place in the combustion chamber,
and the heat that it generates is transferred to the water through the heat exchanger. Controls
regulate the ignition, burner firing rate, fuel supply, air supply, exhaust draft, water temperature,
steam pressure, and boiler pressure. If insufficient air is provided to the burner, incomplete
combustion takes place resulting into the formation of harmful gases like carbon monoxide.
Pressure and temperature at which the burner is operating is checked by the operator on a daily
basis via the pressure and temperature indicator. The operating pressure of the burner is set at 8.5
bar.
21 | P a g e

Temperature indicator

Sight glass

Pressure indicator

Heavy fuel oil input

Figure 20: Cochran Burner

Daily maintenance on the burner is carried out via the following procedures:

Once the burner shuts down, it is switched off by the electrician.

The front door of the boiler is then opened.

The nozzle is visually inspected and cleaned along with the sight glass.

Once the nozzle has been cleaned the door is closed and the burner is then switched on.

When the pressure indicator displays a pressure of 8.5 bar excess air is sucked in via the
motor and ignition takes place inside the burner.

Proper functioning of the burner is known via the sight glass.

22 | P a g e

Sight glass

Nozzle

Electrical Motor
(Driving pulley)

Figure 21: Opened front door of boiler (burner)

The following are major causes of failure of a boiler:

Loss of ignition energy

Electrical supply failure

Very high furnace pressure

Air flow below 30% of total air flow

The electrical panel along with the proper functioning of the alarm and sensors is checked every
day. The proper functioning of the motor sucking air in by the burner is also of essential
importance. The alarm is set off once any malfunction is detected and the boiler is shut down.

23 | P a g e

8 Yarn dyeing
Yarn dyeing is carried out by the LABWIN (Laboratory Package Dyeing machine)
The dyeing process of cotton yarn with reactive dyes at package form is as follows:

The raw yarn is wound on a spring tube to achieve a package suitable for dye penetration.

These softened packages are loaded on a dyeing carrier's spindle one on another.

The packages are pressed up to a desired height to achieve suitable density of packing.

The carrier is loaded on the dyeing machine and the yarn is dyed.

After dyeing, the packages are unloaded from the carrier into a trolley.

Now the trolley is taken to hydro extractor (Galvanin) where water is removed.

The packages are hydro extracted to remove the maximum amount of water leaving the
desired color into raw yarn.

The packages are then dried to achieve the final dyed package.

Once the above procedures have been completed, the dyed yarn packages are then packed and
delivered.

Figure 22: LABWIN

24 | P a g e

These yarn dyeing machines are not connected directly to the color service unit nor the chemical
distribution unit. Thus the dyes along with the required amount of chemicals are added
separately by the operators. Several interventions were carried out on these machines due to
malfunctioning of dosing pump or drain valves.

Main Vessel
Tank

Pneumatic valve

Main pump

Dosing pump

Figure 23: Schematic of Labwin

Figure 23 displays a brief schematic of the laboratory package dyeing machine whereby the read
arrows represent the passage of steam and the blue arrows represent the passage of water. All
dyes and chemicals are added in the tank by the operators and the mixture is then pumped into
the main vessel via the dosing pump.

25 | P a g e

8.1 Dosing pump

A dosing pump is a small, positive displacement pump. It is designed to pump a very precise
flow rate of a chemical or substance into either a water, steam or gas flow. A dosing pump will
deliver this precise flow rate of chemical or other product by a number of different methods but
it generally involves drawing a measured amount into a chamber and then injecting this volume
of chemical into the pipe or tank being dosed.

Figure 24: Components of dosing pump

The cucchi dosing pump is made up of the following components:

Electrical motor

Romovable warm drive in an oil bath lubrication

Positive percentage stroke adjuster

Efficient double valves

26 | P a g e

F18(FONG) is equipped with a Cucchi Dosing pump with the following rating:

Figure 25: Cucchi Dosing pump rating (65 bar)

The dosing pump on F18 started leaking and was making an awkward sound when operating.
Eventually the pump had to be removed and dismantled to identify the root cause of the noise.
Safety precaution before removing pump:
1. The machine is switched off, ensuring no current flows and the main valve is closed.
2. A noticed of machine under maintenance is displayed as a safety measure.

27 | P a g e

After removing the dosing pump from the machine it was then dismantled in the workshop. A
visual inspection was then carried out and a damaged O-ring was found to be the root cause of
the leakage.
New O-ring

Figure 26: Dismantled Dosing pump

A damaged Ball bearing with a nominal diameter of 35mm and a width of 15mm was the reason
for the awkward noise the pump was making while running. Eventually it was replaced with a
new one.

Figure 26: Ball Bearing

28 | P a g e

9 Main pump of yarn dyeing machine

Main pump

Figure 27: Fongs Yarn dyeing machine

After the operator of the yarn dyeing machine signaled a leakage in the main pump, an
intervention was carried at once via the following procedures:

The shift dyer was informed of the intervention and all chemical and dyes being sent to
the machine was stopped at once.

The machine was switched and a notice of Machine under maintenance was displayed
to prevent any operator from starting the machine.

The electrician disconnected the motor of the pump.

The electric motor was then decoupled from the pump as shown on figure 29.

The problem was found to be a damaged O-ring. The O-ring ceases to be O shaped
and was permanently deformed into a flat sided oval, the flat sides of which were the
original seal interface and under compression before failure.
29 | P a g e

Pump

Coupling

Electrical motor

Figure 28: Electrical motor and pump before decoupling

Decoupled electric motor

Figure 29: Electrical motor after decoupling

30 | P a g e

Figure 30: Main pump rating

The main cause of failure for the ring was most probably due to a compression set. An effective
O-ring seal requires a continuous seal line between the sealed surfaces. The establishment of
this seal line is a function of gland design and seal cross-section which determines the correct
amount of squeeze (compression) on the O-ring to maintain seal integrity without excessive
deformation of the seal element. The following factors can lead to a compression set failure of Orings:
Selection of O-ring material with inherently poor compression set properties.
Improper gland design.
Excessive temperature developed causing the O-ring to harden and lose its elastic
properties.
Volume swell of the O-ring due to system fluid.
Excessive squeeze due to over tightening of adjustable glands.
Incomplete curing (vulcanization) of O-ring material during production.
Introduction of fluid incompatible with O-ring material.
31 | P a g e

10 Conclusion

It will be worthy to say that the different activities have definitely contributed to my knowledge,
skills, attitudes and professional attributes. My training has emphasized on the benefits of
practical knowledge as well as the ability to endure the conditions and hardships of the real
engineering world. The experience was good in terms that I was able to familiarize myself more
with the technical side of engineering rather than just the theoretical side. Working along with
people of different level again reminds me of how leadership and communication skills play an
important role in carrying out a job properly.
As a final conclusion, the industrial training undertaken during the 3 months was an amazing
experience for me. It is a challenging work to do, as it disconnects us from the usual learning
process and provides a new learning platform in which we are prone to achieve something at the
end.

32 | P a g e