Best Practices in Weaving

To meet the ever-growing demands of quality and quantity of the textile industry, the world

of weaving has witnessed tremendous technological advancement during the past three

decades. The innovations were not confined to final stage of fabric forming but also at various

stages of weaving and weaving preparatory. The fabric forming technology has taken a big

leap from handloom weaving of primitive years to power loom atomize weaving to today’s

high-speed shuttle less weaving technology. It is the result of persistent efforts put in by the

scientists and technologists over the years. These sophisticated weaving technologies are

considered as basic tool to ensure high productivity and quality in fabric. The mere existence

of sophisticated weaving technology alone will not ensure fulfillment of above goals and thus

it is needless to say to handle such sophisticated weaving technologies, also need best work

practices by the people handling these technologies, to ensure efficient weaving operations.

It will not be out of the place to discuss the process flow of weaving and then the best

practices to be followed at each stage of fabric manufacturing.

A systematic process flow diagram will help to understand weaving in a better way.

Yarn from Spinning

Winding

Direct Warping Sectional Warping

Warping

Drawing in / Knotting

Weaving

Sizing

Fabric Inspection

Yarn Dyeing

Best Practices in Yarn Go down

Weaving process converts yarn in to fabric therefore the yarn is considered as raw material

for weaving. Yarn is supplied to the weaving mill by Yarn supplier or spinning mill directly

in the form of cones, which is stored in Yarn Go down.

In Yarn go down following practices must be carried out for smooth functioning.

All cones should be packed in polythene bags before transported to next process.

Proper stacking of yarn, received from different suppliers to avoid lot to lot and

package to package variation for further process i.e. Dyeing and Weaving.

Provide protection to the yarn, against external damages like bad handling, sunlight

and rain.

Easy availability of yarn at one place for easy handling and to reduce machine down

time of further process.

Make proper record of yarn received from supplier, Issued against requirement and

received return from Winding, Warping, Dyeing and Weaving department.

Identify the trend of consumption of yarn separately for better inventory.

Control on yarn wastages.

Best Practices in Winding Process

Winding converts, yarns from smaller spinner’s bobbins to big cones in the form of soft and

hard. Spinner’s bobbin contains 60 – 80 Gms of yarn (3,000 – 5,000 mtrs) which are

converted in to larger yarn package known as cone

containing approx. 1.25 to 1.5 Kg of yarn

(1,00,000 -1,25,000 mtrs). Soft cones are used for

‘yarn dyeing purpose’ where as hard cones are

used as ‘weft for weaving’ and as ‘cones for direct

warping’. Soft cones after dyeing are further

converted in to as ‘big cones for dyed weft’ or ‘small cones (Length of cones depends up on

the fabric order length) for sectional warping’. Winding process also removes objectionable

yarn faults from yarn during winding.

In winding process following practices must be carried out for smooth functioning of further

process like warping and weaving.

At 6% moisture content cotton shows high strength

therefore it is very much essential to condition the

yarn before further process.

Yarn received from dyed yarn ware-house for warp

winding must have right information on it like

production order no., issued quantity, Count, Shade

no., Lot no. etc.

Before warp winding must check for package

condition, shade variation in packages, Bronziness

problem etc. to avoid fabric defects which are observed only after weaving.

Yarn must wound on clean empty cones specified for that particular count.

Inner layer (Bottom) of dyed package yarn must remove during winding to avoid yarn

dyeing defect in fabric like undyed & uneven dyeing. In normal practice for lighter

shade 10-15gms and for dark shade 20-25gms of yarn are removed from each dyed

packages.

Never mix different lots even it is same in

shade. Use of identification sticker will help.

Use of different size of dyed yarn packages is

advisable to avoid shade variation problem in

weft chambray fabric.

Always use Knotter for mending broken end.

Frequent checking of splicing quality and strength of knot for at least 10% of drums/

day will ensure better machine condition.

Frequent checks for yarn passage of each spindle, yarn tension, tension unit disc

position, and removal of fluff and wild yarn helps for better winding quality.

Preset all machine settings to remove all the objectionable faults and check frequently

to ensure zero deviation.

Winding

Ensure Good housekeeping and PEEP Management system. (Place for Everything and

Everything in Place)

Less attending time to start stopped drums, improves productivity.

Use of nose mask avoids inhaling of fly and fluff.

Best Practices in Warping Process

The initial stage in producing woven fabric is to convert yarn from cones to warp beams.

Warping provides even and parallel distribution of warp ends over the entire width of the

warping beam. Direct warping and Sectional warping are two types of warping and widely

used in industry. When several beams with same beam length are prepared and then all beams

are unwound on the weavers beam is called as direct warping. This type of warping is more

productive and commonly used for bulk production. Similarly when several sections are

wound in a sequence which is parallel to each other on a drum and then all sections are

unwound on the weavers beam is called as sectional warping. This type of warping is cost

effective for short and striped warp and fancy pattern fabric.

In warping following practices must carry out for smooth functioning in weaving.

Cleaning of machine at every creel

change will improve productivity

of warping machine.

Polishing of weavers beam flanges

to avoid scratches on it helps to

reduce warp brakes.

Even tension throughout the warp

sheet will ensure good quality of warping.

Broken ends should mend correctly i.e. first find out the missing ends in the drum by

reversing 2 to 3 turns and then mend it.

Never use two different yarn lots in same creel.

Ensure even creel tension or warping speed in between one set.

Direct Warping

For beam dyeing beam density should maintain at 360 to 400gms/ltr.

Creeling of cones must be done and

checked thoroughly as per as per the

pattern given in design sheet.

Do not use damaged cones, it will cause

frequent breakages of warp yarn and

minimize the productivity.

First pattern always starts from right side

of the creel.

Adjust the section width and section starting position for every section start-up to

avoid section mark in the fabric.

Use of seven leases and cross lease during each section winding improves working in

sizing and weaving.

Best Practices in Sizing Process

Strong, smooth and elastic yarn is the prime requirement of weaving process. To achieve

these properties without deteriorating the inherent quality of yarn a starch /polymeric film or

coating is applied on the warp yarn. During application of size it get penetrated in to the yarn

structure and enhances its breaking load capacity, softeners makes surface smoother and

binders binds protruding fibers of yarn resulting improvement in the warp yarn strength,

smoother yarn surface and reduction in hairiness of yarn.

In Sizing following practices must carry out for smooth functioning in weaving.

Frequent check and maintain

viscosity and RF value of the size

recipe.

Close monitoring on temperature of cylinders and size-box at every stage of sizing.

Close monitoring on machine parameters like squeezing pressures, dividing zone and

drag roll tension etc.

Sectional Warping

While inserting lease rods start the machine in slow speed and ensure comb assembly

is lowered while knots are passing.

Do the denting in the comb by using

cross lease, starting from the centre

of comb.

Apply the press roller after 20-25

mtrs, then run the machine at normal

speed i.e. 40 mtrs /min.

Maintain sheet opening angle equal

to lease rod dia. and stretch always maintain below 1%.

Ensure sized beam moisture content in between 5% – 6 % because less moisture in

sized yarn makes it brittle and more moisture makes it sticky.

Drain used size recipe from saw box and clean saw box properly, if light color set is

running after dark color set.

Don't reuse the old or used size recipe.

Don't allow un-dried portion to go inside the sized beam.

Don’t apply high stretch on warp sheet, will result in elongation loss of yarn and cause

high warp brakes in weaving.

Don’t size single count and double count together, double count will get loosen and

created crossing and migration in sizing and warp brake at weaving.

Use even warp tension across the width of the beam.

Best Practices in Drawing- in Process

After sizing, sized weaver beams are sent to drawing in department to draw each warp ends in

predetermined drawing sequence provided by the design department. Design sheet provides

information which is required for drawing in like Draft, Denting Plan and Warp Pattern. In

drawing in each ends are threaded through a drop pin, heald eye and the reed according to the

plan. After completion of drawing in process drawn set goes to weaving and gaited on loom.

For better performance in weaving and quick startup of loom a drawn set must have almost

zero broken ends and crossing ends. Broken ends and crossing ends need more time to mend

and correct it thus in most of the case it is the only reason for higher beam gaiting time

resulting less productivity of loom.

In Drawing- in following practices must carry out for

smooth functioning in weaving.

Warp sheet should properly brush and combed

at the preparation stage, to ensure

parallelization of each yarn before clamping.

Drop pins, serrated bars, healdwires, healdframes and reeds must be clean thoroughly

before drawing in.

Strict checking and immediate disposal of damaged drop pins, serrated bars,

healdwires, healdframes and reeds are required to improve weaving efficiency.

Application of lamination sheet in drawn set reduces gaiting time considerably and

also ensures less end breakages during gaiting

process.

A good understanding of Draft, Denting Plan

and Design is very much needed to avoid any

drawing in mistakes thus periodic training to the

operators is must.

Before handing over to weaving, a drawn set

must be checked properly. Preparation of checklist and rigorous follow-up will help in

this.

Best Practices in Textile Designing

Textile designing involves producing patterns for cloth used in clothing, household textiles

such as towel, upholstery and decorative textiles such as curtains / carpets. The field

encompasses the actual pattern making as well as supervising part or all of the production

process. Combination of colours and weaves play major role in textile designing.

In Designing following practices must carry out for smooth functioning in weaving.

Total ends / repeat should not be odd otherwise it will create problem in warping

during leasing.

Use bleach yarn for reactive dye shade instead of grey yarn.

Do not use very close shade adjacent to each other especially in fila-fil designs.

For combination weave like Plain + mix weave; take plain weave always in front heald

frame.

Don’t take more than 1800 ends in one heald frame.

Different color ends should not be taken in same dent where lifting is same like mock

leno, oxford, matt and rib weave.

Take selvedge ends from bottom beam in case of double beam design.

Best Practices in Weaving Process

Weaving is the process of interlacing two sets of yarns at right angles. The threads which lie

along the length of the fabric are known as warp threads, while those which lie across the

width are known as weft threads. More

technical names for these same threads are ends

and picks respectively. The weaving or

interlacing of warp and weft threads is

accomplished with a machine known as loom.

In order to interlace warp and weft threads to

produce a fabric on any type of loom, following operations are necessary.

Shedding: separating the warp threads into two layers to form a tunnel known as the

shed.

Picking: passing the weft thread through

the shed.

Beating-up: pushing the newly inserted

length of weft, into the already woven

fabric at a point known as the fell.

After all these operations took place, a weaving cycle is completed. Weaving cycles are

repeated over and over again until the cloth reaches the desired length.

In weaving following practices must carry out for better productivity and quality of the fabric.

Apply count and shade details on each package holder of weft creel to avoid mixing of

weft during weaving.

Warp patterns in the fabric must check with the help of swatches.

Display of denting and drawing plan on loom will help to reduce the weaver related

defects like wrong denting and wrong drawing.

To avoid Starting mark defect in the fabric starting mark marking must be done after

startup of new sort.

Apply standard machine setting after

each gaiting process.

Always monitor and maintain standard

RPM on loom.

Always do correct drawing and denting

of false selvedge to avoid fabric defects

and warp brakes at selvedges.

Always knot tail end of running weft package to start end of new weft package to

avoid weft brakes.

Always use four accumulators for better mixing of weft in the fabric to avoid fabric

defect i.e. weft bar and shade variation.

Do online checking of fabric at regular interval to avoid any continuous defect.

Best Practices in Maintenance

In foregoing discussion only best operational practices are discussed but in order to enhance

the probability of accomplishment of final goal of productivity and quality the best

operational practices need to be supported by good maintenance management. Ideally,

maintenance is performed to keep equipment and systems running efficiently for at least

designed life of the components. The design life of most equipment requires periodic

maintenance like Belts need adjustment; alignment and proper lubrication on rotating

equipment and so on. In some cases, certain components need to be replaced and therefore a

maintenance manager has to do following types of maintenance activities.

1. Breakdown Maintenance: “run it till it breaks”

2. Preventive Maintenance: “Periodic checking, adjustment and replacement”

3. Predictive maintenance: “ Maintenance on actual condition of the machine components

by judging performance, abnormal worn-out, noise & vibration rather than on some

preset maintenance schedule”

Preventive and Predictive Maintenance are the best maintenance practices over the

Breakdown Maintenance because

It Reduces equipment or process failure.

Flexibility to allow maintenance periodicity.

Increases component life cycle.

Estimated 12% to 18% cost savings over Breakdown maintenance.

Best Practices in Fabric Inspection

After the production of fabric from loom, woven out fabric sent to inspection department for

checking and grading. Men ding is a tool for removing fabric defect manually; similarly fabric

inspection is a tool for satisfying internal as well as external customer by mapping fabric

defects in the fabric. External customer can benefit by getting the products as per the

specification provided while internal customer benefit by knowing the reason for any down-

gradation and can thus correct the same. Fabric inspection also mirrors the packing

percentage and associated value losses due to down-gradation. A systematic approach of

inspection is important for proper and timely feedback to all pre production activities like

weaving, weaving preparatory, yarn dyeing and spinning. From weaving department cloth

rolls are sent for inspection at various stages of fabric production i.e. just after the starting of

new sort (first piece), in between the running sort (running piece) and at the finish of sort (last

piece).First priority must be given to first piece because

it will help to rectify fabric defect immediately after the

production start and also helps to raise an alert to

backward process. Next priority must be given to those

cloth roll for which inspection or quality control

department has already raised alert and then after

running piece and last piece of the sort.

There are many inspection practices and of them four

point inspection practice has got wide acceptance and is followed globally by fabric and

garment manufactures.

Basic requirement of Four Point Inspection System is as follows.

The light source must have perpendicular to the

surface of the fabric and the fabric runs at an

angle of 45 degree.

The inspection area surface illumination level

shall be a minimum of 1075 lux.

Inspect the fabric at a distance of one meter,

while the fabric is in motion.

FOUR POINT INSPECTION SYSTEM:

Assign defect points based on the length of the defect as mentioned in the following

table.

Defect Length ( Inches) Defect Point Category

Up to 3 1 Minor Defect

3 to 6 2 Minor Defect

6 to 9 3 Medium Defect

Over 9 4 Major Defect

Maximum 24 defect points are permissible in a 100 square meter of fabric.

Only 20 numbers of defects are permissible in 100 square meter of fabric.

Only 4, four point defects are permissible in 100 square meter of fabric.

No Major defect is allowed for first and last one meter of cloth roll.

Holes with ¼ inches or more considered as cut able defect.

Conclusion

Going forward every weaving mill needs to do periodic brainstorming sessions with work

force on each activities which is carried out in day to day work and find out the best ways to

do each activities. A continuous education / training of work force will further improvise the

best practices. Periodic brainstorming on Standard operating procedures (SOPs) of every

activities and strict adherence to SOPs are very much essential. These good practices in

process will help to enhance the productivity, quality of fabric, reduction of manpower

requirement and stress.