Textile is niche and one can explore and gain much opportunities if he/she is interested.
Innovations have combined each sector of engineering , for example automation in textile industries is covered with electronics and computer science. Shafts, belts, gear trains etc are some elements of mechanical engineering which have much contribution as a backbone of textiles.
Let us now understand how all the processing of textile occurs and how the raw material is treated for the formation of yarn and then subsequently fabric.
SPINNING
(1) Blowroom
It is the first process of textile in which the raw material is the input. It is the first section in spinning department. Opening, Cleaning and mixing of the fibers is necessary and is done here. There is a train of machines in blowroom. Many physics concepts are used for efficient processing. Wire points are kept hard or soft according to the quality and type of material.
(2) Card
This is the second process in which complete individualization of fibers is done. Output of blowroom is lap in conventional or tuft in modern system which is input for card. Material is pulled 100 times to form a compressed, condensed tube like material called sliver.
(3) Comber
It is an optional process given to the fibers for more straightened and cleaned fibers. Quality of yarn is improved here.
(4) Draw frame
6 or 8 slivers are feeded into this machine and stretched to 6 or 8 times. This actually straightens the fibers in the sliver and also minor impurities are removed. Mixing of different slivers are also possible here for getting different properties.
(5) Speed frame
Sliver is stretched further here and also some amount of twist is given to the material. The output of this machine is known as Roving which is thinner than sliver but thicker than a thread(yarn).
(6) Ring frame
Further the roving is stretched here to make a thread as the output. twist is given more for the strength and better cohesion between fibers.
YARN PREPARATION
Now we got a thread , but it may not enough to bear the loading and tension that is to be given in the subsequent processes. So for this reason, yarn preparation is necessary. Thread is considered a yarn in technical words, hope we are not confused.
Winding
This process is important to spot the weakness in our yarn. Thick portion in the yarn tends to have more strength than thin portion. So objective of winding is to remove the same and make a uniform yarn, so the bearing capacity of all the portions in the yarn will be almost same and tends to have more strength.
As we know even a simple fabric needs two sets of threads. One moves horizontal and other one moves vertical. vertical one is known as warp yarn and horizontal one is known as weft yarn.
Warp yarn is subjected to more tension so it is given strength by some chemicals and sizing agents which is subsequently removed after application of it into the fabric. Here the question arises how the warp is subjected to more tension. This answer we will get afterwards when we will discuss the weaving section.
WEAVING
This process provides us the actual output that is our fabric or cloth. So many types of power looms are available for the fabric production. Plain power looms, water jet looms, air jet looms, etc.
Basic principle of any power loom is to make an interlacement of warp and weft alternatively for making a woven fabric.
Input of this loom is a beam of warp yarns and a bobbin of weft yarn. The complete procedure is quite simple but somewhat lengthy due to a train of mechanisms which we will discuss in some other articles. The loom is driven by simple motor and there are hundreds of loom in an industry.
Different designs needs different mechanisms in the looms. For complex designs on the fabric, DOBBY and JAQUARD are the attachments necessary in the loom.
TESTING OF TEXTILES
Testing always plays an important role for the knowledge of behavior of the fabric in the future. Testing is done at all stages. Fibers, lap, sliver, roving, yarn, fabric, etc.
Evenness, air permeability, water permeability, tearing strength, tensile strength, the fall of the fabric, etc. are some of the important parameters need to be checked in the textile material.
Various instruments are required for the testing. Some tests are destructive , so whole lot is never tested , also it is time consuming.
Ambient conditions such as temperature, humidity are also important.
DYEING AND PRINTING
Fashion trends change at a high rate, demanding new colors and designs to get unique appearance.
Dyeing is uniform coloration of fabric on both the sides while printing is localized dyeing on one side of the fabric.
Fabric must be well prepared for the application of dyes. All dyes cannot be used on all the fabrics. some dyes degrade the fabric and harm upto the extent that it can give nightmares!!!
Example: A fabric of wool cannot be dyed through basic dyes. The reason is that, wool is a protein fiber made up of amino acids and we know acid+base=salt+water. So ultimately the fabric will get dissolved.
There are types of dyeing and printing methods. According to type of fiber and contents in dye, method varies. Some dyes are even insoluble in water. Oxidizing agents, reducing agents, careers, etc. much chemistry is involved in this process , but it is quite interesting.
FINISHING
The final touch to give smart appearance to the fabric, finishing is carried out. Camouflage, anti creased fabric, anti static fabric, anti microbial fabric, etc are some of the examples of finished good of textiles.
All types of magic can be done in this branch of textile chemistry. One can enter a new world of textiles with the combination of textiles and chemistry field.
Here also all types of fibers need different treatment. Some chemicals may cause damage to particular set of fabrics. NANOTECHNOLOGY will be the new emerging branch in textiles itself which may lead to a brand new creation of properties in the fabrics.
Innovations have combined each sector of engineering , for example automation in textile industries is covered with electronics and computer science. Shafts, belts, gear trains etc are some elements of mechanical engineering which have much contribution as a backbone of textiles.
Let us now understand how all the processing of textile occurs and how the raw material is treated for the formation of yarn and then subsequently fabric.
SPINNING
source: google images
(1) Blowroom
It is the first process of textile in which the raw material is the input. It is the first section in spinning department. Opening, Cleaning and mixing of the fibers is necessary and is done here. There is a train of machines in blowroom. Many physics concepts are used for efficient processing. Wire points are kept hard or soft according to the quality and type of material.
(2) Card
This is the second process in which complete individualization of fibers is done. Output of blowroom is lap in conventional or tuft in modern system which is input for card. Material is pulled 100 times to form a compressed, condensed tube like material called sliver.
(3) Comber
It is an optional process given to the fibers for more straightened and cleaned fibers. Quality of yarn is improved here.
(4) Draw frame
6 or 8 slivers are feeded into this machine and stretched to 6 or 8 times. This actually straightens the fibers in the sliver and also minor impurities are removed. Mixing of different slivers are also possible here for getting different properties.
(5) Speed frame
Sliver is stretched further here and also some amount of twist is given to the material. The output of this machine is known as Roving which is thinner than sliver but thicker than a thread(yarn).
(6) Ring frame
Further the roving is stretched here to make a thread as the output. twist is given more for the strength and better cohesion between fibers.
YARN PREPARATION
source: google images
Now we got a thread , but it may not enough to bear the loading and tension that is to be given in the subsequent processes. So for this reason, yarn preparation is necessary. Thread is considered a yarn in technical words, hope we are not confused.
Winding
This process is important to spot the weakness in our yarn. Thick portion in the yarn tends to have more strength than thin portion. So objective of winding is to remove the same and make a uniform yarn, so the bearing capacity of all the portions in the yarn will be almost same and tends to have more strength.
As we know even a simple fabric needs two sets of threads. One moves horizontal and other one moves vertical. vertical one is known as warp yarn and horizontal one is known as weft yarn.
Warp yarn is subjected to more tension so it is given strength by some chemicals and sizing agents which is subsequently removed after application of it into the fabric. Here the question arises how the warp is subjected to more tension. This answer we will get afterwards when we will discuss the weaving section.
WEAVING
source: google images
This process provides us the actual output that is our fabric or cloth. So many types of power looms are available for the fabric production. Plain power looms, water jet looms, air jet looms, etc.
Basic principle of any power loom is to make an interlacement of warp and weft alternatively for making a woven fabric.
Input of this loom is a beam of warp yarns and a bobbin of weft yarn. The complete procedure is quite simple but somewhat lengthy due to a train of mechanisms which we will discuss in some other articles. The loom is driven by simple motor and there are hundreds of loom in an industry.
Different designs needs different mechanisms in the looms. For complex designs on the fabric, DOBBY and JAQUARD are the attachments necessary in the loom.
TESTING OF TEXTILES
source: google images
Testing always plays an important role for the knowledge of behavior of the fabric in the future. Testing is done at all stages. Fibers, lap, sliver, roving, yarn, fabric, etc.
Evenness, air permeability, water permeability, tearing strength, tensile strength, the fall of the fabric, etc. are some of the important parameters need to be checked in the textile material.
Various instruments are required for the testing. Some tests are destructive , so whole lot is never tested , also it is time consuming.
Ambient conditions such as temperature, humidity are also important.
DYEING AND PRINTING
source: google images
Fashion trends change at a high rate, demanding new colors and designs to get unique appearance.
Dyeing is uniform coloration of fabric on both the sides while printing is localized dyeing on one side of the fabric.
Fabric must be well prepared for the application of dyes. All dyes cannot be used on all the fabrics. some dyes degrade the fabric and harm upto the extent that it can give nightmares!!!
Example: A fabric of wool cannot be dyed through basic dyes. The reason is that, wool is a protein fiber made up of amino acids and we know acid+base=salt+water. So ultimately the fabric will get dissolved.
There are types of dyeing and printing methods. According to type of fiber and contents in dye, method varies. Some dyes are even insoluble in water. Oxidizing agents, reducing agents, careers, etc. much chemistry is involved in this process , but it is quite interesting.
FINISHING
source: google images
The final touch to give smart appearance to the fabric, finishing is carried out. Camouflage, anti creased fabric, anti static fabric, anti microbial fabric, etc are some of the examples of finished good of textiles.
All types of magic can be done in this branch of textile chemistry. One can enter a new world of textiles with the combination of textiles and chemistry field.
Here also all types of fibers need different treatment. Some chemicals may cause damage to particular set of fabrics. NANOTECHNOLOGY will be the new emerging branch in textiles itself which may lead to a brand new creation of properties in the fabrics.
