USTER AFIS PRO

APPLICATION REPORT

Cotton card maintenance with

a single fiber testing system

THE FIBER PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM

Editorial team, UTUS

March 2006
SE 595

THE FIBER PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM

Copyright 2007 by Uster Technologies AG

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, translated or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the copyright owner.

veronesi\TT\Schulung_Dokumente\Off-line\AFIS\SE-595_Cotton card maintenance\SE_595.doc

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Table of contents
1

Introduction ................................................................................ 5

Carding department analysis .................................................... 6

2.1

Historical scheduling of maintenance........................................... 6

2.2

Nep variation in card sliver ........................................................... 6

Application of USTER AFIS nep data ..................................... 7

3.1

Process control chart ................................................................... 7

3.2

Setting control limits ..................................................................... 8

3.3

Nep removal efficiency................................................................. 8

Reducing maintenance costs ................................................... 9

4.1

Historical card rebuilding and grinding ......................................... 9

4.2

Maintenance based on AFIS control chart nep levels ................ 10

Conclusions.............................................................................. 10

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Introduction

The carding department in a spinning mill is the most critical area for maintaining proper control. The cotton card is the last opportunity to remove
neps and trash in sliver before the spinning process. However, additional
removal of neps and trash can be accomplished in the combing process.
Neps in card sliver produce imperfections in carded yarn as measured by
USTER TESTER. The number of imperfections in terms of neps and thick
places can be directly associated with the neps and seed coat fragments in
cards sliver. Neps in card and draw frame sliver cannot be detected by only
controlling sliver weight and evenness. This is the reason that sliver with
acceptable evenness and count variation values may produce unacceptable spinning efficiencies and poor quality yarn. The application information
presented in this paper will focus on cotton neps in the carding process.
New high speed cards have a very high production rate compared to the
cards produced just a few years ago. Normal production rate for a new card
is approximately 100 pounds (44 kg) to 120 pounds (53 kg)/hour. This
means a card can produce 2,400 pounds (1065 kg) of sliver in 24 hours.
Visual inspection of the card web by the technician has been used to judge
the performance of the carding elements such as cylinder wire, flat settings,
and licker-in cylinder. These visual determinations can be very subjective
and lead to unnecessary maintenance and rebuilding. Visual counting of
neps also is complicated by trash and seed coat fragments in the card web,
new design, etc. New designs of cotton cards have moved the doffer cylinder very close to the main cylinder. This new design has eliminated access
to the card web that has traditionally been inspected by the quality control
technician.
The USTER AFIS (neps) instrument allows the spinning mill to quickly test
each card sliver to determine the quality level of the sliver being produced.
The repeatability and consistency of the USTER AFIS measurement gives
valuable information to the card room technician. This information can be
used to establish a detailed maintenance schedule for the carding department. The information provided by the USTER AFIS instrument can improve yarn quality by reducing the number of imperfections in the yarn such
as neps and thick places. Intelligent scheduling of card maintenance can
substantially reduce the amount of money and time spent on card rebuilding.
This paper only deals with one quality parameter which can be measured
with USTER AFIS: neps in raw material and slivers.

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Carding department analysis

2.1

Historical scheduling of maintenance

A line or group of cotton cards do not operate or wear the same throughout
the Carding department. Because of the mechanical nature of the card design, the components of each card wear differently from one another. This
has led to establishing general maintenance and rebuilding schedules
based on experience. Typical schedules are as follows:
Operation

Schedule

Grinding
cylinder wire and flats

6 months or 500000 Ibs (225000 kg)

Rebuilding
replace cylinder wire and flats

1 year or 1 million Ibs (450000 kg)

Licker-in Cylinder
replace

6 months or 500000 Ibs (225000 kg)

Table 1
Recommended procedure

The use of AFIS can produce a more realistic and practical schedule.

2.2

Nep variation in card sliver

The variation of neps in sliver from card to card results in maintenance being done on cards that are producing a good quality sliver. This also means
that some cards that are producing off quality sliver are not scheduled for
maintenance at the optimum time. Regularly scheduled testing of card
sliver on the USTER AFIS instrument can provide the necessary information for determining which cards are in need of maintenance. The graph
below shows the typical variation in a single line of cotton cards.
180
160

Neps/gram in sliver

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1

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4
Card number

Fig. 1
Significant differences
across card line

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This graph clearly shows that some of the cards have a low nep count and
some of the cards have a higher than acceptable nep count. This example
is very typical of the variation of neps in sliver in a normal carding department. The cotton used in this carding process was a saw ginned American
upland variety.

Application of USTER AFIS nep data

3.1

Process control chart

The best way to make sure the cards are operating as efficiently as possible is to begin by setting up a process control chart for each card. This
chart should be kept in the file that records maintenance for each individual
card. A typical chart for a high speed cotton card is shown below:
120

Upper limit

Neps/gram: Card no. 12

100

80

60

40

20

0
0

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Week number

Fig. 2
Process control chart

Neps in card sliver will increase with time as the card wire and other components deteriorate. This type chart applies to any make of card, slow or
high speed as well as single or tandem. Cards operating at slower speeds
will generally take a longer time to reach the upper limit.

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3.2

Setting control limits

The control chart showing the card number, Fig. 1, has the AFIS nep count
per gram on the vertical axis. The weekly test results of card no. 12 are
shown in Fig. 2 on the vertikal axis. Card sliver should be tested weekly if
possible, and the results posted at the card for that particular week. When
the nep levels go above the upper control limit, the card is then scheduled
for maintenance.
The upper control limit is established using the following information:
Question

Answer

Carding Department average nep count/gram?

Check all cards for 6-8 weeks to determine card

room average.

Spinning system, ring or rotor?

Ring spinning nep counts should be lower than

those of rotor spinning for coarse and medium
count yarns. This is due to the way yarns is
formed in the two spinning systems. In fine count
yarns, the nep levels for ring and rotor systems
should be kept to a minimum.

End product, knitting or

weaving yarn?

Neps are more visually critical in finished knit fabric than in finished woven fabric. This is due to
basic fabric construction and finishing techniques.

USTER TESTER nep

count?

Compare the counts of the yarn neps from the

Uster Evenness Tester to the quality charts in the
USTER STATISTICS. To improve the yarn nep
count and reach a desired level, such as below
the 5% curve, the nep count in sliver must be reduced to meet this higher quality level.

3.3

Table 2
Recommended procedure

Nep removal efficiency

As the card nep removal efficiency improves, the upper limit on the control
chart should be slowly lowered. Experience has shown that the upper limit
should level off in 4 to 6 months after a maintenance program is started
using the AFIS nep data to schedule card maintenance.
There are two ways to monitor neps in card sliver. One is to use the actual
nep count per gram. Another is to use card nep removal efficiency. Removal efficiency is calculated using the following formula:

% Removal efficiency =

Neps in card mat Neps in card sliver

x 100
Neps in card mat

Neps in card mat are the neps in samples taken from cotton going into the
back of the card either in lap or mat form.

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Neps in card sliver are the neps in samples of cotton sliver taken from the
sliver can at the front of the card.
Calculating the nep removal efficiency is a good way to analyze an individual card. The efficiency calculation is also very useful in comparing carding
elements such as different card wire, card flats, or licker-in cylinders.
This efficiency calculation is ideal for evaluating a new design of card cylinder wire. Two cards can be rebuilt, one using new wire of the old design
and one using wire of the new design. These two cards can be compared
for a 30 day period to determine which wire is best for the mill's own quality
requirements. This same procedure can be used to evaluate card flat wire,
licker-in cylinders, as well as main cylinder and flat speeds.

Reducing maintenance costs

Using the information from the USTER AFIS instrument to establish a nep
control chart and limits for scheduling carding maintenance, these can reduce the overall costs for the carding department. Mill studies have shown
that it is possible for some cotton cards to process over 2 million pounds
(900000 kg) before exceeding the upper limits for nep counts in sliver.
Typically, costs for card wire and replacement parts such as flats and
licker-in cylinders are the largest expense items in the spinning mill's machinery maintenance budget. Reducing or eliminating the grinding of cylinder wire can also be accomplished using this nep control chart for scheduling maintenance.
The following example shows a comparison between historical maintenance scheduling and the USTER AFIS control chart for establishing a
schedule. This example is based on a single card processing 100% American upland type cottons. The cards are high speed cards producing 100
Ibs/hr (44 kg) that have been operating for 4 years. Prices for rebuilding
and grinding are typical USA costs. This same chart can be used for other
economic regions by inserting typical costs for that particular area.

4.1

Historical card rebuilding and grinding

Cards
30

Rebuild/yr

Regrind/yr

30

30

Rebuild ($) Regrind ($)

2500

60

75000
250

Total maintenance

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Total ($)

15000
90000

Table 3
Cost for maintenance

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4.2

Maintenance based on AFIS control chart nep levels

Cards
30

Rebuild/yr

Regrind/yr

18

30

Rebuild ($) Regrind ($)

2500

21

Total ($)
45000

250
Total maintenance

5250
50250

Table 4
Cost for maintenance, AFIS
based

Total savings using USTER AFIS is $ 39250

Savings shown are based on the following guidelines:

Rebuild only cards that exceed established nep levels
All cotton cards do not wear at the same rate
Additional savings can be accomplished by reducing the replacement of
additional carding elements such as card flats and licker-in cylinder

Conclusions

The USTER AFIS instrument gives modern spinning mill management the
information necessary to monitor and improve nep levels in card sliver. Reducing neps in sliver reduces the neps and imperfections in yarn and improves fabric appearance. Replacing historical card maintenance schedules with a control chart using AFIS nep information can substantially reduce the repair and replacement costs in the carding department.
The following guidelines will ensure the best process control in the carding
department:
Weekly testing of card sliver with the USTER AFIS
Establishing a process control chart for each individual cotton card
Establishing upper control limits for nep levels
Designing maintenance schedules based only for those cards above the
upper limit of the nep control chart

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Uster Technologies AG
Wilstrasse 11
CH-8610 Uster / Switzerland
Phone +41 43 366 36 36
Fax
+41 43 366 36 37
www.uster.com
sales@uster.com

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