Fibre Properties in Wool Manufacture Gary Robinson
Traditional: Horizontal Structure Greasy Wool Combing = Top Spinner = Yarn Fabric Manufacturer Garment Manufacturer Retail
Greasy Wool Recent Trend: Vertical Structure > Fabric Manufacturer > Garment Manufacturer > Retail
Communication Gates Finance F Technical Trade Transport TE TD TR Company Buyers F TE TD TR F TE TD TR Process Managers
New? Greasy To Garment Retail Problem: Expertise in all areas Solution: Communication (Managed Teams)
Fibre and Wool Growing Make Money Finer Wool Increase Fleece Weight (Changes Crimp)
FIBRE DIAMETER
Yarn Linear Density, g/km, and Fibre 60 Diameter Yarn Weight (tex) 40 20 90 fibres 70 fibres 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 Fibre Diameter (Micron)
Fabric Weight, Fibre Diameter and Weave 400 Fabric Weight (g/m 2) 300 200 90 Fibres 70 Fibres 2/2 Twill Plain Weave 100 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 Fibre Diameter
Fibre Diameter and Comfort 100 (Knitwear) 100% Comfortable 80 60 40 20 20 21 22 23 24 25 Fibre Diameter, Micron
Fibre Diameter and Comfort 5 (Knitwear) Softness Ranking 4 3 2 1 0 16 18 20 Fibre Diameter, Micron
Coeff of Variation In Fibre Diameter CVD Smaller effect than Fibre Diameter Need a change of 6% in CVD = Small Change in Handle
Mean Fibre Diameter Ø Significant effect on handle/softness Ø Significant effect on fabric weight Ø Effects process variations
FIBRE LENGTH
Fibre Length Hauteur: Number x Cross-section Equal Visual Barbe: Weight-biased Distribution Barbe is always greater than Hauteur B = H (1 +V 2 ) V = Fractional Coeff. Variation of Hauteur
Fibre Length and Yarn Tenacity 8.5 8.0 7.5 YT cn/tex ~ H YT cn/tex 7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 50 60 70 80 90 100 Hauteur mm
Fibre Length and Spinning Ends-down ~ H 200 150 EDMSH 100 50 0 50 60 70 80 90 100 Hauteur mm
Mean Fibre Length - Hauteur (ref - Toptech 96) For yarn tenacity & ends down, 10mm = 1µm For yarn evenness, 25mm = 1µm For fabric handle no trade-off
Savings 10mm of Hauteur can allow (approx.): a 10% reduction of twist, or a 7% increase of spinning speed, or a cheaper (1µm coarser) wool
Coeff. of Variation of Fibre Length Industry generally claims CV(H) is very important Longer staple length and lower strength gives a high CV(H). As does blending a wide range of fibre lengths Shorter staples give less breakage Controlled industry trials reveal it is the shorter H not the high CV(H) that matters
STAPLE STRENGTH and POB
Hauteur, Staple Strength, and POB 70 Hauteur (mm) 60 50 77B 35T 48M (22 µm) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 N/KTEX
Noil, Staple Strength, and POB 6.0 77B 34T 48M % Noil 5.5 5.0 4.5 (22µm) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 N/KTEX
Spinning Breaks, Staple Strength, and POB 300 250 200 EDMSH 150 100 R 2 = 0.69 50 R 2 = 0.37 0 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 Hauteur (mm) 8k spindle rpm 11.5k spindle rpm Linear (11.5k spindle rpm) Linear (8k spindle rpm)
VEGETABLE MATER
VM Base and VM in Fabric VM F Per Kg 80 Burr 40 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 VM Base % S/S
Vegetable Matter (VM) Line VM Base % VM Top (Per Kg) >3mm >10mm Holes in Fabric (per kg) Total Due to VM B, AAA 2.7 14 1.0 2.4 0 B, Pcs 10.7 83 13.2 4.5 1.0 K, AAA 2.8 5.2 0.4 0.7 0 K, Pcs 10.3 5.8 0.6 3.9 0.1
FIBRE CRIMP
Ø fleece Fibre Crimp 1. Problems with Measurement sample history/preparation Ø combed Ø relaxed
Fibre Crimp 2. Effects Process Variation Ø Yield 0.5 to 1.0 % increase in Romaine for each 10degree/mm increase in curvature.
Fibre Crimp 2. Effects Process Variation Ø Ø Fabric Dimensions - higher crimp wool increase dimensional stability in use Fabric Weight - fabric weight clearly increases as fibre crimp increases - an increase of 85 to 100 deg/mm caused a 10gsm in 200gsm, (5%), increase.
Fibre Crimp 3. Effects Product Quality Ø Pilling higher crimp pill less Ø Bulk higher crimp gives greater bulk and cover (warmth?) Ø Handle higher crimp tends to give stiffer handle
Consumer Needs/Preferences Preference share % Soft Next to skin* 19 Machine Washability 13 Shape Retention 12 Soft to Handle* 11 Light Weight* 11 Resist Pilling 10 Crease Resistant 9 Easy Ironing 9 Tumble Drying 6 *41% - Fibre diameter related
End - Use Finishing and Fabric Structure >>Fibre Properties
Prickle Property Importance Fibre Diameter 10 CVD (>27 micron) 3 Fibre Length 2 Yarn Count 0 Cover Factor (knit) 4 Finishing 10
Wrinkle Recovery, WR WR - depends on relaxing stress - lesser extent, fibre-fibre friction Finer Wools Worse (small) Fibre crimp Higher crimp better (small)
Pilling Property Relative Effect Fabric Tightness 10 Yarn Twist 5 Fibre Diameter 5 Fibre Crimp?
White, bright, pastel (Ladies Wear) - need white wool Dark Shades - Colour is less important - Uniformity of colour
Fibre Diameter and Abrasion Resistance (AR) 20 AR (x 1000 rubs) 15 + + + 10 18 20 22 24 26 Fibre Diameter, Micron
Fibre: Processing and Product Greasy Wool Property Processing Fabric Fibre Diameter XXXX XXXX Yield XXXX X Staple Length XXX X Staple Strength/POB XXX X Vegetable Matter XXX X Clean Colour XXX XX Dark Fibres XX XX Fibre Diam. Variation XX X Crimp/Curvature XX XX Tip X X Horizontal ü? Vertical ü ü XXXX (Most Importance) X (Least Importance)