 |
FOREIGN FIBER CLAIMS ARE EXPENSIVE |
Foreign matter (or contaminations as they are often described) have been one of the primary causes for quality claims in the last few years. And due to value addition, foreign fiber claims are several times the cost of spinning. The loss of customer confidence is even more damaging!
|
|
 |
THERE IS NO CONTAMINATION-FREE COTTON |
An investigation by ITMF* has shown that the degree of contamination of cotton bales depends very much on the growth area and harvesting methods. It is evident that while a distinction between “most contaminated” and “least contaminated” cotton can be made, there are no cotton varieties produced which have zero contamination! Even the cleanest cotton producing countries have installed a systematic foreign matter removal system.
*Source: International Textile Manufacturer’s Federation ITMF, 2003 |
|
|
 |
YARN CLEARERS HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT |
The figure on the left shows the domain of foreign material removal systems and the frequency of foreign material. It is obvious that the frequency of foreign material increases considerably in the area of fine foreign matters. Those fine foreign matters are the most disturbing events in the final fabric and can be detected only by advanced electronic yarn clearers like the USTER® QUANTUM 2. The foreign fiber clearing option is mandatory to eliminate foreign fiber, to fulfil the end users’ quality needs and to assess the overall cotton quality. |
|
|
 |
OTHER SYSTEMS HAVE LIMITED IMPACT |
|
Spinning mills employ manual and/or automatic opening line systems for eliminating contaminations. Automatic contamination removal systems prior to the card may help in reducing manpower, eliminating major defects to reduce stoppages and maintain consistency in foreign fiber clearing. However, these systems have very limited impact on their own in fulfilling end user quality specifications.
|
|
|
|
|
ADVANCED FF SENSOR – MADE BY USTER® |
With the most powerful illumination and high sensitivity, the USTER® QUANTUM 2 can detect even single foreign fibers of very low visibility. The ultrashort measuring field detects and classifies single colored fibers of the widest color spectrum. The freely programmable help points offer the best possibility to optimize quality and production according to different end user needs. Foreign fiber classification according to the internationally accepted USTER® FOREIGNCLASS helps to assess raw material quality and implement systematic improvements in purchase and quality. With the release of the new USTER® STATISTICS 2007 for foreign fibers, users can benchmark quality levels to international standards.
|
|
 |
EFFECTIVE DETECTION –
PROVEN UNDER TOUGH CONDITIONS WORLDWIDE |
A field test done at M/s Taicang Litai, China, proved that the USTER® QUANTUM 2 is the most effective tool to eliminate foreign fibers and meet end user requirements. M/s Taicang Litai had the following foreign matter removal systems:
• Cotton from China – Xingjian province, 70 employees per shift to remove FF defects alone, automatic FF elimination system in opening and USTER® QUANTUM 2 with foreign fiber feature.
The test result (yarn count Ne 32) with knitted fabrics is illustrated here for reference. Without any elimination method, the defects counted were 49 per 20 kg of knitted fabric. This reduced to only 38 with manual and automatic removal in the opening line. But when the material was cleared with the USTER® QUANTUM 2 the defects reduced to 6 per 20 kg. It was only possible to reduce the amount of foreign fibers below the given end users’ demand of 10 per 20 kg fabric with the USTER® QUANTUM 2. |
|
|
 |
INCLUDES Q DATA AND VEGETABLE FILTER – ASSURED QUALITY, MAXIMIZED PRODUCTIVITY |
|
Q Data – Includes unevenness (CV), imperfections (IP), classification, limited scatter plot, PC channel for periodic defects. Values correlate closely to the USTER® TESTER and USTER® CLASSIMAT QUANTUM, allowing a continuous assessment of the quality for 100% of the production.
Vegetable Filter – Enables you to differentiate between organic and non-organic foreign matter. Vegetable foreign matter disappears after bleaching and has no effect on the appearance. The vegetable filter allows you to reduce these cuts and improves the productivity.
|