TORONTO, Ontario — June 14, 2017 — Self-heating winter coats and boot insoles, t-shirts that monitor a person’s heart and breathing, leg bands that measure muscle performance and help prevent injuries, LED-backlit apparel and socks that improve balance.
These are some of the trending smart apparel and textiles that will be on display for public sampling at theApparel Textile Sourcing Canada (ATSC) show – Canada’s premier international apparel and textile sourcing event– which takes place August 21-23, 2017, at the Toronto International Centre.
Members of the media were given a sneak peek of some of these technologies at a preview event today to announce details of ATSC 2017, which will introduce a first-of-its-kind ATSC Smart Apparel and Textile Showcase. Featuring a wide range of Canadian-made products soon to be launched to the Canadian market as well as products from Chinese and other international manufacturers, the showcase will include the latest innovations by such industry leaders as Quebec-based R&D labs CTT Group and Vestechpro.
The new ATSC showcase will be among a wide range of show features, including 300 local and international exhibits, three full days of seminars, panels and sessions by industry, government and fashion leaders, business matchmaking services, and a fashion runway event showcasing Canadian student and international exhibitor designs.
Debuting last year with great success, ATSC is back in 2017 expanded in size by more than 50 percent. With two months still to go until show time, exhibits are already 95 percent sold and attendee pre-registration is up exponentially over 2016, said Jason Prescott, CEO of JP Communications, ATSC producer and North America’s leading publisher of B2B trade platforms TopTenWholesale.com and Manufacturer.com.
“The participation of a rapidly-growing number of local and international exhibitors demonstrates confidence in the Canadian economy and the importance of the apparel and textile industry both in Toronto and nationally,” Prescott said. “As well, the significant early registration numbers by thousands of Canadian SMEs, retailers, manufacturers and fashion designers points to the renewed strength of the Canadian industry.”
Show exhibits will include top apparel and textile manufacturers from more than 20 countries, including Canada, China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the U.S., the U.K., Turkey, Switzerland, Spain, Nepal, as well as a delegation of 30 artisanal companies from eight Least Developed Countries (LDC) sponsored by Ottawa-based TFO Canada. China alone is bringing a delegation of 200 manufacturers to display their newest offerings and forge business relationships with local industry players, Prescott said.
ATSC is supported by many international governments and associations, headed by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textile and Apparel (CCCT) and the Bangladesh High Commission on behalf of the Export Promotion Bureau and the Bangladesh Garment and Manufacturers Export Association.
BURLINGTON, N.C. — June 12, 2017— Rubberflex Sdn. Bhd. of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and DeSales Trading Co. of Burlington, N.S., have begun a partnership for the distribution of 100-percent latex rubber thread in the United States.
“DeSales offers excellent channel for our products to reach the elastic narrow fabric, braided rope and related market segments in the Eastern half of the United States,” said Amy Wong, international sales coordinator at Rubberflex. “Even some of our container load customers use DeSales as a back-up to maintain a consistent inventory.” DeSales carries a wide range of gauges & end counts.
Specialty gauges & end counts will be stocked on request. Customers can source from DeSales in pallet load quantities therefore offering the convenience of prompt deliveries in less than container load orders. Rubberflex first organized in 1986 is currently the world’s largest producer of 100-percent natural latex rubber thread. DeSales Trading, since 1969, has been a distributor of stock-lot yarns and over time has added first quality yarns to their product mix. Michael Murray, vice president at DeSales, said: “The addition of 100-percent Latex Rubber Thread from Rubberflex is a natural progression in our line of products we offer to market segments we already service. The product mix Rubberflex offers: 20 gauge to 110 gauge rubber, silicone & talcum finishes in black & white presents an opportunity for our customers to source their yarns and rubber thread needs from one central location in the heart of the textile business in the United States — Burlington, N.C.”
LAURINBURG, N.C. — June 13, 2017 — ServiceThread, an engineered industrial yarn and thread manufacturer located in Laurinburg, N.C., has completed the purchase and installation of new technical yarn winding equipment totaling more than $500,000 as of June 5, 2017.
Germany-based equipment manufacturer Dietz + Schell Maschinenfrabrik GmbH, was selected as the best option for Service Thread’s multifilament technical yarn products that include aramid, polyester and nylon yarn winding, used by wire and cable and thermoplastic hose manufacturers. This latest version of the DS10E fully programmable winder features electronic traverse, tension control, and programmable wind ratios for precise, consistent yarn cone and tube design.
According to COO, Jay Todd: “After just four weeks in operation we’ve seen an average operating speed increase of more than 40 percent as compared to the previous winding equipment used, and a decrease in reworking and scrap of more than 70 percent…with electronic programmable traverse lengths, the DS10e winder differs from older DS10 models in that no cam changes are necessary to setup different traverse stroke sizes, saving hours of maintenance labor and valuable production time.”
Switzerland-based machinery manufacturer SSM’s TK2-20 KT winder was chosen as the most advanced kingspool winder for Service Thread’s growing industrial sewing thread business. The SSM TK 2-20 KT winder, like the DS10e, features fully programmable electronic traverse winding for minimal downtime and precision package construction.
“In 2016 we installed our first set of TK 2-20 KT spindles to improve product consistency, crucial for demanding industrial sewing thread product requirements,” said Jay Todd. “Based on the success we had last year, we’ve doubled our spindle count of these winders, to support Service Thread’s core values of innovation and exceeding customer satisfaction. This expansion will allow us to not only increase production capacity but will reduce lead time and package variations for the best service and product experience for out industrial thread customers.”
Service Thread provides the best yarn and thread products, and technical support to a wide variety of customers in the wire and cable, hose, packaging, and industrial sewing industries. We pair our broad experience with assembly winding, twisting, coating, and package winding and design, with the most advanced technology to push our industry forward.
NEWTON, Kan. – Bunting® Magnetics Co. today announced the appointment of two new sales representatives: Carlos J. Chamorro, Jr and Nolan Lamb. Chamorro will manage the sales growth in Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and parts of Virginia and West Virginia. Lamb will support customers in Southern California, Southern Nevada (Including Las Vegas) and Arizona.
“I am excited to have these seasoned pros join our sales team,” commented Rod Henricks, director of Sales, Bunting Magnetics Co., who made the announcement. “They have both been proven to be attentive and growth-oriented sales professionals who have many years of sales and technical experience. I am confident our current and new customers will benefit from their skills as they help provide solutions to their processing challenges.”
Both have garnered a decade of territory sales experience in business-to-business manufacturing, including supporting distributors, OEMs and end-users alike. Prior to joining Bunting Magnetics Co., Chamorro was Eastern Regional Sales Manager for CECO Environmental Corporation while Lamb was Key Account Manager for Southco Inc.
Carlos J Chamorro Jr is based in suburban Philadelphia.
Clothing soaked in salt water was restored and ready for retailer’s promotion
By Jeff Glassman
The textile industry encompasses nearly every “corner” of the globe. And there’s the rub. A company’s apparel may be manufactured, assembled and shipped from virtually any continent. Many apparel manufacturers and distributors unfortunately have opened cartons shipped from across the country — or across the ocean — only to find a heart-stopping issue.
Cartons Of Clothing Soaked In Salt Water
Recently, Darn It! Inc., a third-party apparel refurbisher, received a frantic call from an apparel manufacturer in the midst of a crisis. The freight forwarder informed the company that two shipping containers of pants, which were due at the distribution center the next day, would arrive late. Worse yet, the shipping containers — containing 20,000 pairs of pants — had been submerged in salt water at the port during a storm. Cartons were crushed, and the pants were thoroughly soaked.
Naturally, the timing could not have been worse. In two weeks, the pants should be on retailer’s shelves throughout the nation and available online for a big promotion. Complicating matters, the pants were coordinated with a jacket, which had already arrived at the distribution center.
Darn It! requested a few sample pants and after inspecting them determined that the problem could be remediated. Fortunately, mold and mildew had not started to form on the fabric. However, the pants did have a slight odor. Darn It! discussed a variety of solutions with the apparel manufacturer and it agreed to apply all the solutions to solve the problem in the most complete manner possible.
The battle plan was as follows:
Some pants were spared and had not gotten wet. These pants were hung up to air them out. In addition, the garments received an ozone shock treatment to eliminate the musty odor and bring back the original fabric smell. This treatment involved placing the apparel in a state-of-the-art ozone chamber, which kills mold and mildew and ensures it won’t grow back.
Most of the pants had been soaked in salt water. Darn It! laundered these pants to kill festering mold and to remove the salt water, which could damage the fabric.
Once all pants were pressed and inspected, they were reticketed, bagged in new polybags, placed in new boxes, and shipped to the apparel manufacturer.
The entire process of apparel inspection, ozone treatment, laundering, pressing, reticketing, repackaging, and shipping was completed in less than two weeks. The apparel manufacturer was able to match the pants with the jackets, deliver them to the stores, and get the product online in time for the big promotion.
Apparel Manufacturers And Distributors Are Often Surprised At How Much Can Be Fixed – And How Quickly
There’s an old saying: “You can have it good, or you can have it fast.” With apparel repair, often it is possible to get both. The key is working with a third-party refurbisher that can deliver the skilled workforce and professional equipment. Plus, it’s important to team with the refurbisher to discuss and select the solution that best solves the problem at hand.
Use This Checklist Before Disaster Strikes
Look for a third-party refurbisher that provides a variety of services and solutions. Consider establishing a relationship with the refurbisher before disaster strikes. That way, when faced with a crisis management situation, a phone call can happen quickly.
When researching third-party refurbishers based in the United States, refer to this checklist:
Visual inspection — If the shipment has a quality issue, a fast turn-time is critical. Can the refurbisher help get first-quality apparel on the shelves quickly? Will it offer workable solutions for the remaining garments?
Inbound Acceptable Quality Limit (AQL) inspection — Can the refurbisher directly receive shipped merchandise at its warehouse? Does it have a trained inspection team to conduct the initial AQL inspection?
Measurement inspection — The shipment arrives, and an issue with measurements is discovered. Perhaps the sleeves are too long, legs are too short, or the head opening is too small. Does the refurbisher offer a well-trained apparel inspection team to inspect the entire shipment, sort garments, and remedy the issue?
Relabeling/heat transfer label — Small yet mighty, labels must have accurate content and be placed correctly. One option is to use heat transfer labels to cover up wrong size information, add decoration and update garments.
Sewing repairs — Beyond buttons, the apparel sewing staff must be skilled in a variety of tasks including reinforcing stress points, closing open seams, adjusting hem lines, shortening pant legs, and the list goes on.
Apparel part/trim replacement — Apparel manufacturers and distributors often need to repair or replace zippers, snaps, buttons and other parts. Consider swapping out trim to update and refresh an out-of-season item.
Apparel cleaning — From rust to salt water, a surprising variety of stains and soiling can be treated via spot cleaning, laundering or dry cleaning. Look for a refurbisher that has the know-how to tackle stubborn stains and restore garments.
Mold and mildew removal — A damp, musty-smelling shipment is disappointing, but not disastrous. Does the refurbisher have an on-site ozone shock treatment chamber to transform musty clothes into first-quality product?
Returns processing/reverse logistics — Whether it’s customer returns or end-of-season consolidation, those units must be inspected, repaired and pressed as necessary, and repackaged to look brand-new. Find a refurbisher that can restore and resell these products.
Apparel Repackaging/Ticketing — Packaging or ticketing issues must be resolved quickly and accurately. Team with a refurbisher that will ensure first-quality goods have the right packaging and accurate tickets, along with a speedy turn-time.
The Goal Is To Get First-Quality Condition Apparel ASAP
Apparel manufacturer or distributors need to address these types of issues as quickly as possible to get garments to first-quality condition. Next, product needs to be on the shelves and directly into the hands of customers as soon as possible. Seek out a third-party refurbisher to partner with in any type of apparel crisis management situation — a refurbisher with the experience to remediate the issue accurately and quickly.
Editor’s Note: Jeff Glassman is CEO of Darn It! Inc, a third-party refurbisher specializing in apparel and general merchandise inspection, repair, cleaning, kitting, and warehousing (www.DarnIt.com). Jeff can be reached at Jeff@DarnIt.com or (508) 999-4584.
By Marie-Isabel Popzyk, Viktor Reimer and Thomas Gries
Introduction And Motivation Of The Project GreenBraid
Bio composites — natural fiber reinforced composites — for structural applications have proven their material capabilities on the various levels of aggregation — the micro (fibers), meso (textile) and macro (part) level. Bio composites are on their way to beat glass-based composites on mechanical performance and least environmental impact. Many promising products have been demonstrated, but mostly for small production volumes in niche markets. Application for medium to large production volumes is to be developed for high production parameters.
The application of glass-fibre reinforced composites (GFRC) is widely used in lightweight construction in various fields of application, for example in the aerospace industry. However, GFRCs still have some serious environmental disadvantages: production of the raw material of the glass fiber in countries with low energy costs such as China, as well as long transportation distances for the raw materials to Europe. In addition, a lot of energy is required for the production of glass, which is associated with high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To produce just one ton of glass fibers, 30 gigajoules (GJ), or 8300 kilowatt-hours (kWh), are required, and 4800 kilograms (kg) of CO2 are generated [MPB11].
Natural fibers, such as flax fibers, have the potential to replace glass fibers because of their mechanical properties, thus reducing the environmental impact caused by the use of GFRC. In particular, the CO2 footprint of natural fibers is much lower than for glass fibers. For the production of one ton of natural fibers, only 5 GJ are needed and 800 kg CO2 is generated [MPB11]. The saving compared to glass is therefore 83 percent. Furthermore, high-quality flax fibers that are suitable for use in structural components are produced in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, [BS13] while glass fibers mostly are produced in distant countries, especially in China. As a result, the environmental load can be considerably reduced by the shorter transport of the fibers. The use of natural fiber reinforced composites (NFRC) can further reduce the environmental impact because NFRCs are suitable for cascade use due to their high self-energy [BS13] and, unlike GFRC, do not have to be deposited after their end of use. Rather, waste residues from the production of semi-finished products can be composted as required, since the fibers are a natural product. NFRC products can be melted again when a thermoplastic matrix is used and thus the matrix can be separated from the natural fiber. The natural fiber can be reused in injection mouldings. The thermoplastic matrix can be reused in various applications. Furthermore, in the case of components with a thermoset matrix — also in the case of a thermoplastic matrix — the self-sufficiency can be fully recovered by cascade use. Therefore, an environmentally damaging landfill is not necessary for NFRC.
However, there are still challenges for all advantages: In composite materials, reinforcing fibers must always be aligned in load direction in order to be able to exploit the maximum mechanical properties of the fibers in the composite. This is not a problem with glass fibers, since they are produced synthetically and are virtually endless. The further processing of glass fibers to fabrics, for example by weaving, can be carried out directly in the following process step. Natural fibers, on the other hand, are basically staple fibers, that is to say fibers having a defined length of 30 to 100 millimeters. The prior art is to form these staple fibers into a sliver and to provide sufficient strength for the further processing like weaving by applying a twist to the drawn fiber package. However, this twist in the yarn causes the fibers in the composite component to no longer be in load direction. Thus, their strength cannot be fully utilized. Therefore, natural fibers have hitherto only been used in non-structural components with no loads and in non-visible areas, such as, for car inner door paneling.
The main problem for both traditional and bio-based composites is the relatively high cost of average 30 euros per kilogram as the result of a still labour-intensive manufacturing process. As a consequence, the market for bio-based composites is hardly opened yet, leaving many promising sustainable technologies unexploited. But the market for this new material is growing at a rate of 100,000 tons per year in the industry’s highest-selling NFRC market. In 2005, the NFRC volume in the automotive industry was only 30,000 tons [KOG+06].
When using NFRC, same mechanical properties are achieved as with GFRC with an additional higher damping capacity. The higher damping capacity of flax fibers with the same mechanical properties allows a very wide range of application of NFRC in the automobile and for sports equipment such as hockey sticks and alpine skis. Carbon and glass fiber composites are only limited suitable for this, known to have partly better mechanical properties are flax fibers.
Figure 1: Mission Statement
The aim of the project is to reduce the energy consumption of fiber reinforced composite products by 75 percent at same process costs using the example of a hockey stick (See Figure 1). The approach is the elimination of process steps during the spinning process and increasing the level of automation during the preform production. A field hockey stick is manufactured as a demonstrator, which, due to its complex, curved geometry, serves as a platform technology for further applications. The demonstrator is compared with a glass fiber hockey stick. The research will provide knowledge basis for future transfer to applications like windmill blades, pressure vessels or automotive scooters. With the help of this project the industry will be able to produce bio composites for high performance materials.
Approach
The novel flax fiber hockey sticks consist of flax braids formed around a foam core, impregnated by a resin under vacuum pressure using an elastic tubular foil. Before braiding the flax fibers are spun to yarn with low/no twist using a special spinning technology. The approach is new and relies heavily on dedicated designed braids.
Figure 2: Principle of the wrap spinning technology3 and an Allma Saurer Fancy Twister at ITA
Wrap Spinning Technology
The special method of the wrap spinning technology is used, in which a winding filament is laid around the drawn sliver of flax fibers. The core remains untwisted and is solidified solely by the winding filament (See Figure 2). Afterwards the wrap spun yarn can be braided and resinated with a low-viscosity epoxy resin.
Through this approach, it is for the first time possible to use cost-efficient, environmentally-friendly natural fibers as reinforcing fibers in composite materials for structural applications and thus to substitute glass fibers. Natural fibers, which have a limited length, can thereby be further processed by means of conventional surface forming methods and can be introduced into the composite component in a completely aligned manner.
Figure 3: Wrap spun yarn with flax fibers in the core and a PA 6.6 filament
Figure 3 shows a wrap spun yarn with flax fibers in the core and a nylon 6,6 filament. The low twist flax roving with the count of 400 tex was purchased from France-based Safilin. The draw ratio was set 0 due to the already very fine roving. The winding filament was wrapped around the roving with 100 windings per meter. The draw-off speed was 20 meters per minute but can be increased drastically if needed with no yarn breaks occurring.
Figure 4: Illustration of a radial braiding process
Braiding Process
Net-shaped textile structures, known as preforms within the composites industry, can be produced in a radial braiding process. In this process, fibers like carbon or glass can be used to over-braid a net-shaped mandrel (See Figure 4).
This process can be used to produce curved hollow structures for example for car components or sport articles like hockey sticks. Radial braiding is already used in mass production by BMW Group, Germany. Some components of the i- and M-series cars are integrated in the body using glass and carbon fibers.
The novelty in the frame of this research is the ability to process also bio-based fibers like flax or linen due the innovative process of fiber wrap spinning technology and optimizing the machine set-up.
Optimizing the process parameters for braiding is determined by two conflicting criteria. The first is by the braiding process in order not to break the yarns; the other resides from the design of the product. As braiding is a highly automated process involving an extensive preparation of the machine, breakage would increase costs for recovering the process. However, first results of braiding of flax fibers are shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: First braiding test by industry partner Barthels-Feldhoff GmbH & Co. KG, Wuppertal, Germany, by processing of unidirectional bio-based fibers developed by ITA
This result shows the process ability by setting the machine properly. But there are still some broken filaments that will lead to decreased mechanical properties. Therefore, ITA has developed a concept featuring a fiber carrier bobbin that is designed to reduce fiber damage and to set even the fiber tension during the process to adjust it to the curved hockey stick. This will also lead to better fiber distribution on curved areas of the product. The concept of the automated carrier will be patented and, therefore, not discussed in detail here.
Outlook
Next steps in this research are to adjust the fiber architecture to achieve mechanical properties comparable to glass fiber composites and to evaluate mechanical properties. The approach is to braid the modified flax on a mandrel and to cut out test specimens off the hose. The test specimens will be consolidated and tested. For the production of the test specimens the radial braider Herzog RF 144-100/1 is used. Bending and impact behavior will be analyzed. Furthermore, the amount of fiber damage needs to be identified and compared with the damage using of the new design of the bobbin. For this purpose, at least 10 bobbins will be built and installed in the machine.
References
[BS13] Brückner, T.; Steger, J.: Quantitative und qualitative Bedarfsanalyse für Naturfasern und Optionen zur regionalen Sicherung der Rohstoffbereitstellung in Deutschland. Final report. Funding organisation Fachagentur für nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR), Förderkennzeichen 22034311. SachsenLeinen GmbH, Waldenburg, 2013
[MPB11] Morasch, A.; Prievitzer, J.; Baier, H.: Zur ganzheitlichen Bewertung von Werkstoffen am Beispiel von naturfaserverstärkten und glasfaserverstärkten Kunststoffen. Presentation. Lehrstuhl für Leichtbau (LLB), Technische Universität München, München, 29.09.2011
[CHE11] Cherif, Ch.: Textile Werkstoffe für den Leichtbau. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer- Verl., 2011 ISBN: 978-3-642-17991-4
[KOG+06] Karus, M.; Ortmann, S.; Gahle, C.; Pendarovski, C.: Einsatz von Naturfasern in Verbundwerkstoffen für die Automobilproduktion in Deutschland von 1999 bis 29005. Nova-Institut. Hürth, November 2006. http://www.nova-institut.de/pdf/06-11NF-VerbundAutoD.pdf, accessed on January 25,2017
Editor’s Notes: Dipl.-Ing. Marie-Isabel Popzyk; Viktor Reimer, M.Sc.; and Dr. Thomas Gries, professor and head; with the Institut für Textiltechnik, the textile machinery and processes research arm of RWTH Aachen University, Germany, contributed to this article. Grateful acknowledgement goes to the research association Eurostars of the research project “GreenBraid”. The author would also like to thank the project partners NPSP and Holland Hockey both based in The Netherlands, and Germany-based Barthels-Feldhoff.
Aided by a Walmart U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund grant, NC State professors aim to improve weaving efficiency with new tying-in process.
By Dr. Abdel-Fattah M. Seyam and Dr. William Oxenham, Technical Editors
Abstract
Recent analyses of textile production costs have indicated that the United States is globally competitive in the majority of primary manufacturing processes with exception of weaving1-3. The weaving process is the slowest process in the fabric manufacturing pipeline, and this is due both to the nature of the weaving process, and inherent limitations in the yarns’ tensile and abrasion properties, which can result in yarn breakages during weaving. In an attempt to offset these limitations, a weaving machine must run at its highest speed and efficiency. To overcome the inherent limitations of the weaving process, weavers made major advances in improving the quality of yarns by preparing them to withstand the rigor of weaving, which led to the reduction of short-term stops. Parallel efforts have been conducted by machinery manufacturers that led to the development of high-speed machines. The improvements in yarn preparation and weaving machine speed have reached the limit and other revolutionary ways to improve efficiency of the process are sorely needed. Two long-term stops in weaving remained unchallenged: Style change, which is conducted when a warp beam runs out and new fabric with different specifications is required; and tying-in, which is performed when the warp beam runs out and the same fabric needs to be continued. Style change requires four to eight hours to complete while tying-in needs 30 to 120 minutes, excluding the time preparation prior to tying-in and loom beam change and passing the knots after tying-in, depending on warp width, warp density, yarn type, and tying-in machine type. This sort of long-term stop significantly reduces the efficiency of high-speed weaving machines.
Introduction
More than 50 percent of world fiber production is converted to woven fabrics for applications including apparel, home, and technical textiles. While modern weaving machines operates at high-speed, the weaving process remains the slowest process in the entire production pipeline. This is due to the nature of the weaving process and the inherent warp and weft yarns’ properties, with finite tensile strength and abrasion resistance, and as a result yarns can break during weaving. In the event of a yarn break, the process is automatically stopped and a manual repair by the operator is then made. A weaving machine has to perform a series of sequential motions to interlace a weft yarn with numerous warp yarns every weaving cycle. A finite length of warp sheet is supplied on a warp beam behind the loom that will eventually runs out and this requires stopping the process to replace the run out beam with a full beam.
Because the weaving process is the bottleneck in the production pipeline, weaving speed and efficiency must be maximized. Machine manufacturers have succeeded in developing high-speed machines through the development of better and more powerful motors, lighter and stronger machine parts, and separate drives for weaving motions. In fact, today’s weaving machines can run faster if the warp and weft yarns can handle the complex stresses that arise from the high speed combined with the nature of the process. To increase machine assignment per operator, reduce downtime, and enhance versatility and quality, weaving machine manufacturers have developed innovative electronic-based and control technologies that include: automatic weft repair to reduce downtime; variable weaving speed to preprogram speed for each weft yarns based on their strength to avoid breaks; automatic weave/pattern change to eliminate stopping to change weave if same warp is used; start mark prevention; and on loom inspection4-6. On the other hand, research and development in yarn preparation for weaving — spinning, winding, warping, and sizing — has led to better prepared yarns that can withstand the rigor of weaving process and minimize yarn breaks during weaving and hence increase weaving efficiency7-12. Additionally, there has been significant work on the role of spinning system and processing parameters on the properties of yarn which can be correlated with their subsequent weaving performance13-15.
Two long-term causes of weaving stops remained unchallenged. These are style change — which is conducted when warp beam runs out and new fabric with different specifications is required — and tying-in — which is performed when the warp beam runs out and the same fabric to be continued. Style change requires four to eight hours to complete, while tying-in needs 30 to 120 minutes, excluding the time preparation prior to tying-in and loom beam change and passing the knots after tying-in, depending on warp width, warp density, yarn type, and typing machine type, which is premium for high-speed weaving. Tying-in is conducted for numerous fabric types such as shirting, sheeting and pillow, denim, air bags, and almost all jacquard fabrics. Each weaving room has several tying-in machines to conduct tying-in after loom beams run out.
Previous research work focused on improving tying-in machines to increase the degree of automation, expand their applications, and increase knotting speed. At the ITMA exhibitions of 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015, major tying-in machine manufacturers exhibited latest automatic tying-in technologies. More details on advances in tying-in can be found elsewhere4-6&16.
Incentive and Objectives
None of the previous research and development efforts dealt with eliminating the long-term stop of the weaving process while tying-in is being performed. The Walmart Foundation and U.S. Conference of Mayors call for proposals in July 2015 for applied research from the Walmart U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund included weaving as one of the thrust areas of research. This motivated the authors to successfully propose an innovative, revolutionary research approach to eliminate the long-term stop practiced currently and to allow the weaving process to continue without stopping while the tying-in process is being conducted. The proposed work targeted the development of portable mechanisms that could work with any current automatic tying-in machine.
This project deals with eliminating the need for stopping the weaving process in order to conduct tying-in. Currently, when the warp beam runs out, the operator stops the process, and an automatic tying-in machine and its table are brought to the loom along with a full warp beam. Setting time, which is conducted by tying-in operators, is required before the automatic tying-in of each warp yarn from the run out warp beam to its corresponding yarn of the full warp beam. After tying-in, the empty warp beam is taken out of the loom and replaced by a full warp beam. The knots are then passed through different parts of the weaving machines, namely drop wires, heddle wires, and reed. Then the weaving process resumes after many hours of lost production.
The recognized advantages of the project is to increase weaving efficiency/productivity and reduce the cost of woven products. This will afford U.S. woven fabric manufacturers a competitive advantage and potentially increase the number of jobs in weaving and its allied industries, which is in line with the target of the Walmart U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund.
Figure 1 Concept of non-stop tying-in process
Approach
The problem to be addressed is that in order to provide new warp sheet, the weaving machine needs to be stopped, to allow for knotting of yarns from the new warp sheet to the end of the run out warp sheet, and this essentially renders weaving as a batch process. To continue weaving during the tying-in process and achieve the objectives of the project, two developments are required: (1) Develop a loom beam winding procedure, at the sizing or warping process, to create a warp beam with tail that will be available for tying-in before warp beam runs out, and (2) Develop a warp sheet accumulator to store the warp tail while the weaving machine is forming the fabric from the main warp sheet. The warp tail length, which depends on the weaving speed and pick density — or fabric take up speed — must be sufficient to allow time for the tying-in and its associated procedures. A schematic of the concept of non-stop tying-in process is shown in Figure 1. The figure shows as the warp beam is running out, the tail will unwind and become available for connecting to yarn on the replacement beam. As it can be seen from the figure, the warp sheet tail is fed out through the accumulator’s rollers into the tying-in table. The sheet of the full warp beam is also fed into the tying-in table. The yarns of the two warp sheets will be joined, and any excess warp sheet length will be accommodated by the spread of the moveable rollers of the accumulator, which is also part of a control system to ensure uniform tension. When the process is completed, the full warp beam will replace the empty warp beam. Then both tying-in machine and the accumulator are moved out to storage or to the next weaving machine for another tying-in procedure. To design and build non-stop equipment and procedures, it was decided to conduct tying-in time study to capture the time of every task performed during the entire tying-in process, including preparation for tying-in, tying-in, and post tying-in tasks. This will enable the determination of tasks that could be streamlined during the formation of tailed warp beam and non-stop tying-in process as well as design the equipment for ergonomic purpose, which will lead to overall improvement in weaving efficiency.
Tying-in Time Study
The tying-in time study was conducted at the Weaving Lab at North Carolina State University’s (NC State’s) College of Textiles, on a G6200 rapier loom weaving 60-inch-wide fabric with 3,120 warp yarns (or ends/inch = 53.5). The warp yarn was 2-ply, spun. The entire time from loom beam run out to the recommencement of weaving with the new warp is 196 minutes. It took a team of three to conduct all procedures, however, most of the time one operator conducted the tasks. To precisely get the time for each task, a video capturing system was used. The video was streamed to capture the beginning and end of each event. The Table 1 shows beginning, end, and time of each task.
Table 1: Tying-in Time Study
This time study revealed that there are numerous tasks required before and after the actual tying-in task. The tying-in process (task 22) took 77 minutes to complete. The preparation for the tying-in tasks (1-21) took 98 minutes to perform while the tasks (23-27) conducted after tying-in took 21 minutes. It should be pointed out that the number of ends tied-in in this case are low compared to high dense warp. The warp density of such high dense warps could reach 300 ends/inch or more for applications such as high thread count bed sheets, backed fabrics, and double cloth. With such high number of warp yarns, it is expected that the stop time to conduct tying-in process and its preparation will be much higher than the case studied here.
Equipment Development
A proprietary passive warp storage (accumulator) as a first prototype, was designed and built at NC State’s machine shop. It was designed to work with 20-inch-wide CCI sample loom available at the College of Textiles. The word passive here indicates that there is no warp sheet tension control, rather the warp sheet tension is controlled by rollers and dead weights. This is a simple flexible prototype to be used for developing the final, more sophisticated solution. The purpose of the first prototype is to study the operator/machine interaction, improve ergonomic and reduce process time and lead to design of an active prototype with tension control. Figure 2 shows the warp accumulator disassembled and assembled. The system was designed in two parts to allow disengaging the system from the warp sheet after completing the tying-in process using four quick release clamps for quick disassembling/assembling. The figure shows the parts of the warp accumulator. The number between parentheses indicates the quantity of each part.
A warp beam support, which is needed to work with warping machine to form wrap beam with tail, was also designed and built. This equipment supports a warp beam that has the tail warp sheet with required length. The beam is termed tail beam. The support is a frame with two bearings to allow unwinding the tail to form the final beam with tail using the warper. This is also a passive system. A more sophisticated system will be built that will have a tension control and positive feed.
Non-stop Tying-in Process Trial
The non-stop tying-in process requires two steps. The first step is to form warp beam with tail and the second step is to conduct the tying-in process and its associated tasks while the weaving machine is running.
Figure 3 Procedures of formation of loom beam with tail ; Figure 3a: Tail beam winding from pattern drum
Procedures Of Formation Of Warp Beam With Tail
A CCI Lutan V3.6, equipped with rotary creel, warper was used to form a tail beam and final warp beam with tail. The warp width was 20 inches with 50 ends/inch for a total of 1,000 ends and a yarn count of 42/2. The procedures of formation of loom beam with tail are shown in Figure 3. After the warp was completed on the pattern drum, the tail beam was wound (See Figure 3a). The tail length was about 7 yards — 1 yard from point of tail take off from the warp beam on loom, 4 yards in the accumulator, and 2 yards from the accumulator to the tying-in table. The tail beam was fixed on the beam support (See top right in Figure 3b). The warp beam was placed in the two bearings as seen in Figure 3b. The warp beam is formed from a folded warp sheet; the tail and the main sheet on the drum form a fold. The fold is achieved by a spring rod pushed down against the warp sheet and supported by the warp beam flanges. After securing the spring rod, loom beam winding starts (See Figure 3c). The loom beam is formed from the tail, from the tail beam and the warp sheet from the pattern drum till the end of the tail (See Figure 3d). The end of the tail is secured with tape in order to keep the warp yarn spread out and in order to reduce handling and brushing in preparation for the tying-in. The winding of loom beam with tail continues (See Figure 3e) form the warp sheet on the pattern drum till the entire warp is transferred.
Figure 3b: Starting winding of loom beam with tail with aid of spring rodFigure 3c: Winding loom beam with tailFigure 3d: End of tail – taped to keep the warp yarns’ orderFigure 3e: Completing winding of loom beam with tailFigure 4a: Warp sheet of new beam fixed to tying-in table and warp tail is being passed to the accumulator
Procedures Of Non-stop Tying-in Process
Once the end of the tail merges out of the loom beam during weaving, the procedures of non-stop tying-in process start (See Figure 4a). The new full warp beam, the accumulator, and the tying-in table are brought and stationed behind the weaving machine as it can be seen in Figure 4a. The new warp sheet is pulled and guided to the tying-in table where it is brushed and clamped to the table. The tail warp sheet is taken and threaded through the accumulator rollers (See Figure 4b) and then clamped to the tying-in table above the warp sheet of the new beam. The two warp sheets are brushed and warp yarns are straightened in preparation of tying-in or knotting (See Figure 4c). The tying-in machine is brought and engaged to the rails and tying-in starts (See Figure 4d). The above steps are conducted while the weaving machine is running from the main warp sheet of the loom beam and the tail is being stored in the accumulator. When the main warp sheet runs out, the spring rod will be uncovered and removed. At this moment, the accumulator will take any slackness out as a result of removing the spring rod. At this stage, the accumulator feeds the weaving machine from the stored warp sheet (tail) as it is shown in Figure 4e. The weaving machine will be stopped after 10 minutes during this trial to replace the empty warp beam with the full warp beam. Then the weaving process resumes. The accumulator supplies the loom with the warp sheet from the tail until it is depleted. The accumulator is disassembled and then taken away to storage or to the next tying-in if needed. The new loom beam supplies the warp to the loom after stopping the loom for short period to pass the knots through the heddle wires’ eyes and reed dents.
Figure 4b: Tail of loom beam passed through the accumulator and fixed to the tying-in tableFigure 4c: The two warp sheets are being prepared for tying-inFigure 4d: Tying-inFigure 4e: Tying-in table is disengaged and accumulator is feeding the warp tail to the loom and run out warp beam is replaced with the new warp beamFigure 4f: Accumulator is disengaged and the loom is weaving from the new warp beam
It should be noted here that the stop time to install the new full beam can be eliminated by having a nip incorporated with the accumulator or beam support to keep the sheet tension under control. Beside the elimination of stop time and loss of production, additional advantages were realized during conducting the trial. These include elimination of tasks shown in Table 1, reduction of warp waste, and elimination of the need to check the end of warp beam. The tail emerging from the warp beam is obvious and it is possible to install an optical sensor to detect the tail appearance.
Next Step
This trial marks a historical technological innovation and proved the concept of the non-stop tying-in process and paves the road for commercialization of the process for any type of weaving machine. The authors currently are collaborating with a N.C.-based weaving company and planning for full-scale trials at its facility. A full-scale accumulator and tail beam support are being sourced to be built by a machine manufacturer.
References
Hamilton B.J, Oxenham W., Thoney K.A., “Textile Manufacturing: Global Cost Trends From A U.S. Perspective: Staple Spinning”, Textile World (on-line Edition), April 17, 2013. http://textileworld.com/Articles/2013/April/Web_issue/NCSU_Paper_Part_2.html
Hamilton B.J, Oxenham W., Thoney K.A., “Textile Manufacturing: Global Cost Trends From A U.S. Perspective: Knitting”, Textile World (on-line Edition), June 25, 2013. http://textileworld.com/Articles/2013/June/Web_issue/Textile_Manufacturing_Part_3_NCSU.html
Hamilton B.J, Oxenham W., Thoney K.A., “Textile Manufacturing: Global Cost Trends From A U.S. Perspective: Weaving”, Textile World (on-line Edition), August 21, 2013. http://textileworld.com/Articles/2013/August/Web_issue/NCSU_Global_Cost_Trends_Part_4.html
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Editor’s Note:This material is based upon work supported by U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Fund Grant No. 2016-1006. The authors would like to extend their thanks to Dr. Mohamed Midani for the help with the tying-in time study and drawing of the accumulator.
As the second quarter winds down, many U.S. spinners report the uptick in orders that began in March continues to gain momentum. Spinners and other experts attribute much of the reason to rising prices in China and other areas of Asia-Pacific, which allows domestic companies to be more competitive in price. Others maintain that the increase is a correction, based on the mistaken impression by much of the world that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement would become a reality.
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen prices from China spike considerably,” said one industry observer. “And this is just not in yarn and fabric, but across the entire manufacturing sector. It is the continuation of a cycle that began when U.S. manufacturers initially began losing market share to imports. First, we saw a tremendous growth in imports from the Western Hemisphere. Then it was Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong and, finally, to China. But as each of these nations began to realize gains in revenue, they also began experiencing increased labor costs.”
A yarn broker, who deals in both domestic and imported products, said: “I think a lot of the increase is due to TPP. When customers thought it was a sure thing, they moved a lot of production to Asia. Now that it is off the table, at least until the next election, some of those programs are moving back.”
But a spinner from the Southeast had yet another take on the issue. “We are becoming more cost competitive, despite the strength of the dollar against many currencies,” he said. “Part of this is due to increasing prices from the largest importers, but part of it is due, as well, to increasing efficiencies within our own ecosystems. We have the most productive, most modern industry and infrastructure in the world, and this allows us to compete with just about anyone. If we can’t match price, we can always at least compete on total value. And by total value, I mean the absolute best combination of price, service and delivery.”
Indeed, service and delivery have been significant advantages for U.S. spinners for the last decade. “Our advantage has always been that we produce the highest quality products and have in place a supply chain that allows us to deliver product faster than anybody else,” said one spinner. “Especially in today’s business environment, where customers want a nearly just-in-time experience, our company can deliver the right product at the right time. When you look at overall cost, combining price, transportation costs and the length of delivery time, we are hard to beat, even if the competition is selling product at 60 to 65 percent of our price.”
In 2016, according to NCTO, man-made fiber and filament, textiles and apparel shipments from U.S. manufacturers totaled $75 billion, up 11 percent from 2009. Yarns and fabrics accounted for more than $30 billion of shipments in 2016. Man-made fibers represented $7.4 billion.
“We’ve been optimistic that, after years of steady decline, the U.S industry is once again poised for growth,” said a yarn broker. “And we’ve already seen evidence of that by new plants opening up and new spindles coming on line for the first time in years.”
The Changing Dynamics Of Retail
Despite the overall optimism of many industry executives, there are still signs of potential upheavals on the horizon. “One of our biggest concerns is the uncertain future of major retail chains in the United States,” said one spinner. “When you see some of the most prominent retail chains in the world shuttering stores at an alarming rate, then you have to wonder how that will affect us.”
From an industry observer: “Shopping patterns are changing. Online orders constitute a much greater percentage of online sales than ever, and this is going to just keep growing. Can all these major retailers develop an online presence to compete with the likes of Amazon? The whole dynamic of retail is changing, and those who supply these new channels are going to have to change as well. They will have to respond to new demands, faster delivery of more varied products, new pricing pressures and who knows what else. The bottom line is that the old standard of ‘business as usual’ does not apply any more. Those that can adapt will thrive. Those that can’t — well I wouldn’t be optimistic.”
WASHINGTON — June 12, 2017 — The National Retail Federation today submitted comments to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) outlining retail’s priorities for the negotiation of a modernized North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
“The agreement has benefited U.S. importers and exporters, and more importantly, U.S. workers and consumers,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay in a letter to USTR Ambassador Lighthizer detailing the retail industry’s comments on NAFTA modernization. “We applaud the administration for the reevaluation of NAFTA. NRF and its members are very supportive of NAFTA, as well as other free trade agreements that not only open up sourcing opportunities for retailers to provide high quality products to U.S. consumers, but those that also open foreign markets for U.S. retailers to sell U.S.-made goods to foreign consumers.”
“Since the agreement was negotiated over two decades ago, it does not reflect today’s global value chain or many new ways of doing business in the global economy,” Shay said. “A number of its provisions affecting ‘old’ ways of doing business need to be updated and modernized to reflect today’s business environment as well as what may come in the future.”
Broadly, retailers encourage the administration to: first do no harm to the existing trade relationship, keep the pact trilateral, conclude negotiations quickly and provide a seamless transition for any changes that are agreed upon. NRF notes that NAFTA has spurred economic activity supporting 14 million U.S. jobs in farming, manufacturing and a wide range of service sectors.
The comment letter also outlines key principles on tariffs, rule of origin, customs and trade facilitation, digital commerce, labor and environment, and enforcement provisions that would improve trade and support better regional integration among the NAFTA partners.
NRF’s suggestions, while specific to Canada and Mexico, are also broad enough to apply to other U.S. trading partners. This is because retailers recognize that the modernized NAFTA will become a model for the Trump Administration’s efforts to negotiate future trade agreements with countries with which the U.S. does not yet have such agreements.
USTR officially notified Congress on May 18 that President Trump intends to renegotiate NAFTA, setting in motion the 90-day consultation clock under Trade Promotion Authority. USTR set today — June 12 — as the deadline for comments on the negotiating objectives, and will hold a hearing on June 27. Under TPA, negotiations with Canada and Mexico could begin in mid-August.
NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.
