Saurer Total Solutions.
ELASTO SCHLAFHORST
I
VOLKMANN
I
ZINSER
Dynamic, flexible, innovative – These are attributes that characterise the market for elastic textiles when it comes to market growth, the variety of textile applications, the different single and plied yarn structures and the various manufacturing and processing methods.
Yarn structures and production processes.
Applications of elastic yarns
The characteristics of elastic yarns and plied yarns can
and plied yarns.
be adapted specifically to the requirements of the
➔ Sports- and leisure wear,
downstream application (type of fabric) during production and processing. Apart from the choice of fibre and material blend, the decision regarding the production
children's clothing. ➔ Underwear. ➔ Hosiery.
process is the principal influencing parameter, and
➔ Shirts, blouses.
determines the structure of single and plied yarns to a
➔ High-quality outerwear.
decisive degree.
➔ Denim. ➔ Workwear.
Elastic materials were used traditionally in knits for
The following materials are differentiated according to
hosiery, underwear or swimwear. Thanks to their vari-
their method of manufacture:
able, specifically adaptable service properties, new mate-
– Elastic core yarns.
rial blends and optimised production processes, they
– Elastic spin-twisted yarns (elastic SiroSpun yarns).
have become established in many new application areas.
– Elastic OE rotor yarns.
They are used in sportswear, leisure garments and chil-
– Elastic covered twist yarns (single-stage or two-stage).
dren's wear, in functional clothing (fashionable denim
– Elastic plied yarns.
garments or workwear), in high-quality outerwear (shirts, blouses, suits), as bed linen or in technical products (tapes, products for the medical and automotive sectors). Superb dimensional stability, durable elasticity, good stability under load, wear resistance, simple care and above all a high level of wear comfort are just a few of the attributes that make elastic materials suitable for a wide variety of functions, giving rise to a highly dynamic market. Annual growth rates of approx. 10 % on average have been observed in recent years and are also predicted for the future. It is estimated that around 50 % of clothing now contains some form of elastane material.
➔ Technical applications (functional outerwear, tapes, car upholstery fabrics, medical articles…). ➔ Elasticated bed linen.
These all come under the label of combination yarns.
Advantages and characteristics of the
The elastic filament content is either embedded in the
processes / single and plied yarns under the
fibre material or covered by shell yarn. The fibre materi-
microscope.
al can be of synthetic or natural origin and this decision is dictated by the requirements of the downstream
■ Elastic core yarns (Fig. 1 - 3).
process. Blends of PES / elastane, PA / elastane, CO /
Elastic core yarns consist of an elastic core around which
elastane and WO / elastane are most widespread.
staple fibres are wound during the ring spinning process. These CoreSpun yarns ideally combine the
The processes that facilitate the manufacture of such
attributes their individual components possess and
yarn structures are:
above all are highly elastic. The application range
– Ring spinning.
extends from classic yarn for sportswear and underwear
– The combination of CoreSpun and SiroSpun pro-
to outer garments and fashion items.
cesses. – OE rotor spinning. – The covered twist yarn process. – Two-for-one twisting. Saurer's wide range of processes covers a variety of applications. Saurer offers all these process stages, thus covering the entire range of processes. The customer is guaranteed
(Fig. 1 -3)
textile-technological competence through the exploitation of synergy effects and close cooperation between
In the production of elastic core yarns, the elastic fila-
the subsidiary companies. Depending on where the cus-
ment is predrafted approx. 2.5- to 4-fold before being
tomer perceives his market to lie, he can rely on com-
supplied to the spinning process ahead of the front top
prehensive advice. He gains flexibility in making deci-
rollers. The advantage of this feed compared with other
sions, even if he wants to extend his range into new
production processes is that the sensitive filament is
application areas in the future. Saurer will be on hand to
completely wrapped by staple fibres. The elastane is pro-
offer technological advice even when a transfer to
tected superbly against mechanical stress. The elastane
another process is involved.
content is normally between 3 and 10 %.
With its short staple and long staple ring spinning
CoreSpun yarns can be produced on both short staple
machines (Zinser 351 and Zinser 451), Zinser covers core
and long staple ring spinning machines. Zinser offers its
yarn and elastic SiroSpun yarn applications by specifical-
clients component packages for the bobbin creel and
ly incorporating core yarn and/or SiroSpun units into the
drafting system for new machines and also as an
machine. Schlafhorst Winding Systems offers the best
upgrade for existing machines.
downstream processing option for these materials with its Autoconer 338. Saurer is also represented in the field of elastic rotor yarns, one of the newest processes on
■ Elastic spin-twisted yarns produced using the CoreSpun and SiroSpun process (Fig. 4 - 6).
the market, offering an interesting solution with the BD
By combining the CoreSpun and SiroSpun processes you
340 filea® rotor spinning machine. Volkmann is the mar-
produce directly weavable, twofold elastic SiroSpun yarn
ket leader in twisting technology for elastic materials
on the ring spinning machine. To produce elastic spin-
with the ElastoTwister, the CompactTwister and the
twisted yarns, two rovings (staple fibre material) are
TrendTwister. Depending on the machine specification,
drafted in parallel in the drafting zone. The elastic fila-
both covered twist yarns (single-stage and two-stage)
ment is then introduced in the front pair of drafting
and elastic two-for-one twists can be manufactured for
rollers. Yarn production, twisting and insertion of the
the most demanding applications.
elastane thus take place in one process step. The out-
Put your trust in the universal textile-technological competence of the Saurer companies and choose futureoriented, intelligent textile machinery technology.
(Fig. 4 - 6)
standing attributes of the yarn are its high strength, low level of hairiness, smooth surface and round yarn cross-
■ Winding and splicing of elastic yarns (Fig. 10 - 12).
section. Elastic SiroSpun yarns are used in high-quality
Schlafhorst offers a broad spectrum of coordinated
outerwear. They offer the advantage that production is
winding technology for processing elastic materials. The
virtually doubled in ring spinning and winding process-
package format is optimised by the use of Variopack FX,
es.
Autotense FX and Propack FX. The Elastosplicer produces very strong, highly elastic spliced joints identical
Elastic SiroSpun yarns are to be found mainly in long sta-
to the yarn itself, while the software and sensors ensure
ple spinning. Apart from low production and investment
efficient piecing cycles and maximum process reliability.
costs and reduced energy and air-conditioning costs, the process is made considerably simpler due to the elimination of the twisting process. Zinser short and long staple ring spinning machines can be supplied from the factory already fitted with CoreSpun and SiroSpun units. The units are also easy to retrofit to Zinser machines already in use. ■ Elastic OE rotor yarns (Fig. 7 - 9).
(Fig. 10 - 12)
The BD 340 filea® rotor spinning machine produces an elastic rotor yarn with the following characteristic: the
When processing elastic materials, the package geome-
elastane filament supplied through the hollow rotor axis
try is normally characterised by bulging-out of the yarn
is covered by the rotor yarn produced in the rotor from
on the package flanks. Schlafhorst has optimised those
staple fibre material. No twist is introduced into the fila-
factors that can be influenced technologically, the yarn
ment in this process, enabling its elasticity to be utilised
tension and contact pressure. Both winding parameters
to the full. Further advantages of this process lie in its
are coordinated to one another in the integrated Vari-
high level of productivity and its economical, shortened
opack FX control system such that bulging is minimised
process sequence compared with ring spinning and
on the package flanks, resulting in dimensionally stable,
twisting. The Saurer BD 340 filea
large-diameter packages that can be processed effi-
®
rotor spinning
machine is characterised by its flexibility, facilitating the
ciently in the textile process chain.
production of both standard rotor yarns and elastic combination rotor yarns.
Spliced joints with an appearance that is virtually indistinguishable from the yarn itself are possible with the
Take-up roller
Elastosplicer. In downstream processing these augment efficiency thanks to their superb resistance to alternat-
Filament Rotor cable
Staple fibres
ing stresses. The special geometry of the splicer and adaptation of the piecing cycle are the basis for a high level of process reliability.
Filament cable Staple fibre feeding
(Fig. 7 - 9)
The yarn counts are in the range from 20 to 100 tex (Nm 50 to 10, Ne 29,5 to 6). At present, the yarns are used in special fabric constructions for workwear or elasticated bed linen, although applications for finished textile products, which are limited as yet, will be steadily expanded in the future.
â– Elastic covered twist yarns (Fig. 13 - 15). The ElastoTwister by Saurer Hamel / Volkmann is charac-
â– Elastic ply yarns produced by two-for-one twisting (Fig. 16 - 18).
terised by its flexible, unique balloonless technology that
Two-for-one twisting produces elastic ply yarns with the
is particularly gentle on the yarn. In this process, the
character of a genuine ply yarn. In preparation for the
elastic core yarn (filament) is covered by the twisted feed
twisting process, the individual yarns and the elastic fil-
material at a defined covering point. Balloonless means
ament are placed parallel on a doubling bobbin. During
that a very low processing tension is used, resulting in
the actual twisting process, the elastane and the fibre
uniform, voluminous high coverage of the elastane core
bundle are twisted into one another in the twisting pot.
by the shell yarn. The cover yarn, produced without a
The advantage of this twisting process is its high pro-
balloon, has no twisted core and is thus distinguished by
ductivity, since on twisting the yarn acquires two ply
its superb recovery capacity in elastic end products.
twists in the course of one mechanical spindle revolution. Since the elastane in the bundle also takes up the twist rotation, the recovery capacity is not quite as high as for covered twist yarn.
(Fig. 1 3 - 15)
ElastoTwistÂŽ yarns are eminently suitable for use in the warp and weft in weaving applications, producing both
(Fig. 1 6 - 18)
very light fabrics, such as elastic fabrics for ladies' blouses using single covered cotton yarn, and heavy wovens
Elastic two-for-one twists are characterised by a high lev-
such as elastic denim, featuring classic covered twist
el of uniformity, good tear resistance and elongation and
yarn.
an adaptable structure (S/Z structures), yielding advantages in downstream processing and the end application
Elastic garments with additional functions, in demand
in the form of extensive processing reliability, a reduced
for example in sports- and leisurewear and work cloth-
tendency to pilling and abrasion and greater resistance
ing, constitute a growing application area. Technical
to creasing. These elastic ply yarns are used in high-
wovens such as car upholstery fabrics, medical articles
quality outer garments as well as in work clothing that
and elastic tapes are other applications that can be cov-
calls for stability and flexibility.
ered by this flexible technology. Look for the process that meets your particular requirements from the range of Saurer elastic technologies. We'll offer you a comprehensive solution extending from the design via the machine and application technology to service for your machine.
Contact: total-solutions@saurer.com www.textile.saurer.com Fotos: Bayer AG, Falke, Saurer.