Open End Spinning Technique

Rotor spinning
 Rotor Spinning
Introduction
Rotor spinning overcomes all the problems of ring spinning by
separating twisting, winding and automation limitation in the
yarn manufacturing process.
In 1969 commercially introduced, rotor spinning has
developed continuously with two main objectives:
✔ To provide a more economical spinning system than
conventional ring spinning through higher productivity
✔ To produce yarn of a quality that matches or surpasses that
of conventional ring spinning.
The current market share of rotor spun is 20% of total staple
fiber yarn production and is steadily increased.
Rotor is limited to coarse and medium yarn counts (16 tex to 120
tex) while ring spinning excels in the medium to fine counts
( finer than 16 tex)
 Task of the Rotor Spinning Machine
1. Opening (drafting) almost to individual fibers
2. Cleaning
3. Homogenizing through back doubling
4. Combing, forming coherent linear strand from
individual fibers
5. Ordering: fibers in longitudinal direction
6. Improving evenness through back doubling
7. Imparting strength by twisting
8. Winding
 Principle of operation:
In rotor spinning includes feeding of input sliver, opening
of fibers to the individualized stage, transportation of fibers
up to the rotor groove, and insertion of twist and winding of
yarn.
 Types of Rotor Spinning
1. Short staple machines (staple length up to 60 mm)
2. Medium staple machines (staple length up to 100 mm)
3. Long staple machines (staple length above 100 mm)
Requirement of the Rotor Spin material
According to the Reiter Company, Fiber length
Material Staple Length Rotor Spin Yarn
Specification mm Count Ne
Roto r Spin Yarn ount Ne
Wastes ≤ 22.3 Up to 15
R C
Short staple ≤ 25.4 Up to 18
cotton
Medium staple ≤ 28.6 Up to 35
cotton
Manmade fibers 32-40 up to 60 Up to 50
 Fiber Fineness
In the Rotor Spinning fiber length is not the dominate
fiber characteristic as it in Ring Spinning but in Rotor
Spinning this role is considered by fiber fineness.
Fine fibers arepreferred in Rotor spinning in the
following ranges:
Cotton Fiber : 2.8 4.5 Micronaire
Synthetic Fibers: 1-1.17 dtex
 Preparation of the sliver
For a suitable card sliver, double carding or an
autolevelling card and two draw frame passages of 4 -8
ktex count for most short staple fibers should be used.
For the spinning of coarse yarn counts with short fibre
lengths, i.e. <20 mm, card slivers can be directly fed to
the rotor machine.
Satisfactory yarn strength and consistency is usually
obtained most economically from two drawframe passages.
However, fibres with trailing hooks have less of a negative
influence on rotor yarn strength and irregularity than on
ring-spun yarns
 Opening methods
The opening roller removes the fibre from the sliver as it is fed
in, and, after two or three rotations, delivers them to the feed
tube in which the airflow takes them to the rotor.
The trash particles are extracted by centrifugal forces in the first
90° of the opening roller revolution. The majority of rotor
machines use a 50–80 mm diameter steel opening roller.
It is designed to be fed by sliver usually ranging from about 40
to 300 times thicker than the yarn count to be produced.
Removal of fibres from the opening roller is by controlled air
flow, aided by centrifugal acceleration.
The ratio of air speed to opener surface speed should be in the
region of 1.5 to 4.0. The higher ratios result in higher yarn
tenacities because of the improved fibre orientation.
 The card clothing used on the opening roller is usually of
the rigid metallic type, varying from a face angle of about:
1. 65° and 18.5 points/cm2 for cotton
2. 80° or 100° and 15 points/cm2 for manmade fibres.
The tooth shape (i.e. face angle and tooth tip
configuration), surface roughness, frictional coefficient
and opening roller speed are all critical for successful
spinning
The opening roller surface speed is usually selected from
within the range 800–2500 m/min, depending on the type of
fibre and the roller design.
 Fiber transfer
After opening, the fibres are conveyed to the collecting surface of
the rotor through a feed tube.
There are different possible positions of the feed tube relative
to the rotor.
A central feed tube
has an advantage of this arrangement was that it was possible to
spin either S or Z twist merely by reversing the direction of the
rotor rotation.
A tangentially placed feed tube
is usually tapered thinner towards the exit end so that the
accelerating air aligns and straightens out the fibers before their
leading ends emerge from the tube to contact the smooth surface
of the faster-moving rotor slide wall which slopes at an angle of
20–40° to the rotor axis.
 Rotor
The Rotor can be compared with a small cup with inclined walls
seated on a shaft. The wall inclination is necessary so that fiber
emerging from the feed tube and passing to the wall can slide
downwards.
The important rotor parameters which have significant effects on
the spinning process and yarn quality are
✔ Fibre feed-in conditions (feed-in height relative to the rotor
groove, feed in direction, fibre feed-in speed relative to
peripheral rotor speed)
✔ Rotor groove diameter
✔ Rotor groove shape (aperture angle, groove radius and depth)
✔ Rotor wall and rotor groove roughness
✔ Rotor wall inclination and surface quality
✔ Rotor speed.
The most important of these are rotor diameter and speed, the
design of the rotor groove and the rotor wall.
 Rotor speed and diameter
Rotor speeds typically lie in the 120–210 m/s range, but
mostly between 150 and 190 m/s, with a tendency to be
higher with a smaller rotor diameter

Rotor diameter (minimum) =Staple length *1.2

The rotor groove
the rotor groove has a pronounced effect on spinning
stability, rotor groove dust loading and yarn quality.
Three different types of rotor grooves are available:

A G-groove rotor with a narrow groove is suitable for finer count

yarns providing the fibres are clean, since this design of groove
is difficult to clean and has a tendency to produce moiré effects in
the yarn. This type of groove is recommended for knitted yarns.
The S-groove rotor has a sharp edge and is suitable for dirty
cotton and coarser counts with less tendency to produce a moiré
effect.
The U-groove rotor has a wider groove suitable for coarser
counts and produces a higher strength yarn than the S-groove.
 Importance of Rotor diameter and groove
In Rotor spinning, rotor is selected by following
designation:
Rotor diameter(mm)/groove angle(degree)
Means 35/32° and 40/32°
✔ 48/35° rotor is used in the production of denim yarns
✔ 48/57° rotor is suitable for yarn resistance to scrubbing of
fibers together in the longitudinal direction
✔ 56/50° rotor is best suited to the processing of
waste spinning material
 The Rotor Wall
The roughness of the rotor wall is determined by the rotor
coating.
✔ A rough surface gives higher yarn quality.
✔ On the other hand, too much roughness with a small wall
inclination angle may affect spinning stability.
✔ Rotor wall unevenness amplifies this effect.
✔ Suitable rotor geometry, precision production and the
right fiber feed-in (closer to the rotor groove in the case of
a small wall inclination angle 12°-50°) are important
requirements.
 Rotor yarn formation
The yarn is pressed against the rotor wall by the high
centrifugal force and the separation point therefore
rotates with in rotor .
Dragging of the yarn from the rotor at the separation
point and continuously withdrawal.
Twist formula
𝑡/𝑚 = 𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 (𝑟𝑝𝑚)/𝑤𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑(𝑚/min)
Back Doubling formula
𝐵𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑓𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟𝑠)
= 𝑡/𝑚 ∗ 𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝑚𝑚) ∗ 3.14/1000
 Yarn Withdrawal / The Take-off Nozzle
To start Rotor spinning, a seed yarn is introduced into the
yarn tube until it contacts the collecting surface and
becomes trapped in the strand of fibers.
Yarn withdrawal then commences with the fiber layer
peeled from the collecting surface.
Reverse withdrawal
There is a spontaneous change of motion of the yarn
withdrawal point and it moves around the rotor in the
opposite direction. This may be described as reverse
withdrawal. In this case, because of air drag, the yarns
form an ‘S’ curve and yarn appearance is adversely
affected.
 To achieve good Rotor spinning stability
It is important for the highest possible degree of yarn twist
to be available at the yarn peel-off point in the rotor
groove.
This ensures a high yarn twisting torque and, as a result,
the greatest possible yarn twist penetration into the rotor
groove zone and, consequently, reliable twisting-in of the
deposited fibers.
1. In the rotor spinning process, the take-off nozzle
plays about the same role as the lappet guide in Ring
spinning.
2. It affects the degree of twist present in the rotor and
therefore the spinning conditions in the rotor groove.
3. Additionally, it exerts strong frictional forces on the
yarn at the time of false twist release.
 Materials Used In Take-off Nozzles
The mouth piece of Withdrawal tube, the Navel is made of
Ceramic, Chrome plated Steel and steel.
Different configurations and their characteristics are
Smooth take-off nozzle:
1. Produces good yarn values and little hairiness
2. Should always be used if spinning stability allows it
Recommended especially for high twist yarns
3. Well suited for delicate fibers
Fluted take-off nozzle:
1. Better spinning stability
2. Poorer yarn values with higher yarn hairiness
3. Best suited for low twist yarns with a high trash content
Spiral take-off nozzle:
1. Improved yarn regularity
2. Reduced spinning stability
Swirl take-off nozzle:
1. Increased yarn hairiness
2. Best-suited for knitted and terry fabrics.
 Winding
Continual withdrawal of the yarn from the
rotor is ensured by the withdrawal roller.
Winding up is effected under light tension by
rotation of the package driven by friction from
the winding roll.
 Structure and properties of rotor spun yarns
Rotor spun yarns are well known for their unique
three-part structure:
1. Wrapper or belt fibres
2. Sheath fibres
3. Core fibres
Sheath fibres are loosely packed round the yarn core
at a low angle to the yarn axis. The wrapper or belt
fibres are wrapped around the outside of the yarn at
a very large inclination to the yarn axis.
The typical distribution of fibre shapes in rotor spun
yarn is 39% folded or buckled fibres in the core, 31%
straight fibres in the core, 15% leading hooks and 15%
trailing hooks in the outer layers
✔ Rotor yarns are known to be 5–10% bulkier than ring yarn
✔ Rotor spun yarn is less strong than comparable ring spun yarn
✔ Rotor spun yarns are generally more extensible than ring spun
yarns
✔ Rotor yarns also have fewer irregularities and imperfections
compared to carded ring-spun yarns. This has been attributed to
the mechanism of yarn formation, i.e. back doubling in the
rotor groove before twist insertion, which irons out
irregularities.