Yarns

Yarns are made by twisting fibers to form an interlocked

continuous length. This process is known as spinning
which is carried through various spinning machines like
ring spinning machines and open-end spinning
machines. Although there are various spinning methods,
the basic processes included in them remain similar that
are carding, combing, drafting, twisting and winding.
They are all done with the help of specialized machines
like carding machines, winding machine and yarn
twisting machines.

All the above mentioned spinning processes are

conducted for making yarns from natural fibers. The
synthetic yarns are formed through polymer processing.
For example, acrylic yarn is made from acrylic polymers.
The methods adopted for making these synthetic yarns
include wet spinning, dry spinning, melt spinning etc.
However, these are the methods for making filament
yarns. There are many other yarns that are made from
combination of staple and filament fibers. They are
known as integrated multicomponent yarns. Integrated
composite spinning and coverspun are the two
significant methods for making such yarns..

Yarn By Fiber

Animal Yarn
Artificial Yarn
Other Yarns
Vegetable Yarn

Yarn By Making Process

Cabled Yarn
Doubled Yarn
Filament Yarn
Novelty Yarn
Spun Yarn

Filament Yarn
Dyed Filament Yarn
Nylon Filament Yarn
PP Filament Yarn
Poly Filament Yarn
Polyester Filament Yarn
Polypropylene Yarn
Rayon Filament Yarn
Twisted Filament Yarn

Yarn Formation
When the short fibers are twisted together, they take the form of yarn. Thus, yarn is a continuous
filament of interconnected fibers used for making textile. Yarn can be made by one of the several
techniques of spinning. Ring spinning is the oldest and the most preferred method of
manufacturing yarn. Open-end spinning is another major technique of spinning fiber into yarn.

Spinning
The process of twisting together of fibers to form yarn is called spinning. In the ancient time,
fiber was spun by hand using such simple tools like spindle, distaff and spinning wheel. It was
only during the Industrial Revolution that industrial spinning through various machines gained
importance. Although newer methods are continuously being invented for spinning, certain
methods adopted earlier are popular till today. Ring spinning and Open-end spinning are such
two methods.
The basic processes included in spinning can be listed as carding, combing, drafting, twisting
and winding. When the fibers pass through these processes, they are subsequently formed into
lap, sliver, roving and finally yarn. These stages can be explained according to their occurrence.

The carding process converts lap into card sliver.

The combing process converts card sliver to comb sliver.

The drafting or drawing out process converts sliver into roving.

Further drafting and twisting process converts roving into yarn.

The winding process reels the yarn on bobbins, spools or cones.

It should also be understood here that although all the fibers pass through spinning process, there
are certain differences when long strands or filaments , such as silk are used rather than staple or
short fibers , such as cotton. In case of long strands, the required number of filaments is simply
twisted together in a ropelike fashion.
The spinning processes explained below are generally adopted for short fibers.
Ring Spinning
The compressed mass of raw fiber at a spinning mill goes through the processes of blending,
opening and cleaning. Blending is essential for obtaining uniformity of fiber quality. Opening
loosens the hard lumps of fiber and disentangles them. Cleaning removes the trash such as dirt,
leaves, burrs and any remaining seeds. Carding, the initial straightening process, puts the fiber
into a parallel lengthwise alignment. Now the fiber is called 'Lap' . The lap is treated for
removing the remaining trash, disentangling and molding it into a rope like mass called 'Sliver'.
The sliver is then straighten again which is called Combing. In this process, the fine-toothed
combs continue straightening the fibers until they are arranged in such a parallel manner that the
short fibers are completely separated from the longer fibers. This procedure is not required for
man made staple fiber because they are cut into predetermined equal lengths. Thus, it produces
'comb sliver' made of the longest fibers. This process of combing is required for better quality as
long staple yarn produces stronger, smoother and more serviceable fabrics.

After combing, drawing is done which pulls the staple lengthwise over each other. After several
stages of drawing out, the sliver is passed to the spindles where it is given its first twist and is
then wound on bobbins. These bobbins are placed on the roving frame where further drawing out
and twisting is done until the fiber is about the diameter of a pencil lead. 'Roving' is the final
product of the several drawing-out operations. It is the preparatory stage for the final insertion of
twist. Till now, enough twist is given for holding the fibers together but it has no tensile strength.
It can break apart easily with a slight pull. The roving, on bobbins, is placed in the spinning
frame, where it passes through several sets of rollers running at high speed and finally the 'Yarn'
is produced of the sizes desired.
Yarn Twist
For Ring spinning, two kinds of spinning machines are used: ring frame and mule frame. The
ring frame is a faster process but produces a relatively coarse yarn. For very fine yarns, such as
worsted, the mule frame is needed because of its slow, intermittent operation. Fine yarns require
more twists than coarse yarns. The amount of twists is an important factor for determining the
appearance and longevity of a fabric. To retain the twist in the yarns and prevent any tendency to
untwist, the yarns are given a twist setting finish with heat or moisture, depending upon the kind
of fiber used.
When the yarn is hold in a vertical position, the direction of its twist may be observed. If the
direction of twist is identical to the direction of the slope of the central part of the letter S, the
yarn has an S twist and if they are identical to the slope of the letter Z, the yarn has a Z twist.
Tightness of twist is measured in TPI (twists per inch or turns per inch).
Blending Fibers
The staple of two or more different kinds of fibers may be combined or blended at any one of the
several stages viz. opening, carding, drawing out or roving
Open- End Spinning
Open- End Spinning is a relatively recent development. It is generally used for spinning coarser
yarns. It begins with the carded sliver which is put into rollers. These rollers revolve at a faster
speed. As a result, the sliver is completely opened up. The separated fibers are moved by an air
stream and are collected as a thin layer in a groove on the inner surface of a funnel- shaped rotor,
which rotates at a very high speed. The centrifugal force of the rotor builds up a multilayer of
fibers which is peeled away from the collecting groove as it is simultaneously twisted by the
rotation of the rotor and withdrawn continuously, thus being formed into a yarn.
Open- End Spinning can produce yarn at a higher rate than that of the conventional ring
spinning. Although it provides better fiber elongation, the produced yarn is only as even as a
good ringspun yarn. Blending of fibers can also be done even better than ring spinning but it has

certain problems too. When spinning 100% manmade staple ( except rayon staple), the fibers get
deposited in the rotor and causes logging. It is also not possible to spin combed yarn.
Friction Spinning
Friction Spinning is a variation of Open- End Spinning. In this process, a stream of carded fibers
in the roll nip of the perforated drums is passed along the longitudinal drum axis. Both of them
move in the same direction. This action forces the fibers to be wedged along the nip, thereby
becoming compressed. The friction of the rollers cause the fibers to twist around each other. In
this technique, the fiber preparation costs are lower as direct feed of card slivers for spinning is
possible. Yarn breakage during spinning is also avoided because their is no tension in the
spinning area. However, the yarns produced may lack uniform distribution of twist through the
cross section. They also have a low tensile strength.
Vortex Spinning
Vortex Spinning is also a variation of Open- End Spinning. In this process, instead of rotor, a
tangential air inlet is used that draws fibers down a tube. As a seed yarn is rotated in the air
stream, a twist is inserted causing the fibers to grasp onto each other forming a continuous yarn.
Although the procedure is cost saving as the moving parts in the machine are eliminated, the
yarns produced are weak and irregular.
Air- Jet Spinning
The Air- Jet Spinning technique drafts the sliver to a predetermined size and passes it through
rollers over a friction plate (to prevent backtwist) into a cylindrical pneumatic twisting chamber.
Jets are set in the walls of the chamber which release compressed air to the central axis of the
tube and the fibers are whirled around each other giving them either an S or Z twist. With the
help of air suction, the strand is passed to a second chamber where it is first stabilized and then
given an equal amount of twist in the opposite direction. This technique produces a yarn of
uniform diameter without thick or thin areas. Although the tensile strength of air- jet spun yarn is
said to be less than that of ring spun yarn, it may be greater than that of open- end yarn.
Formation of Filament Yarns
The manmade filaments are produced by different methods and they can be formed directly into
yarn without the use of techniques to connect fibers together to form the required lengths.
Wet Spinning
In this process of wet spinning, an appropriate liquid solution is pumped through small nozzle,
called spinneret, into a chemical bath that coagulates the extruded solution of endless strands of
filaments. These coagulated continuous fibers are drawn out of the bath, purified by washing,
dried and then wound onto spools. Spinnerets are also of two types. One type of it has one
extrusion hole and it produces a monofilament yarn. The other type has many holes which
produces a multifilament yarn.

Dry Spinning
Dry spinning involves the use of an appropriate liquid solution which is pumped through a
spinneret into an air chamber. The air reacts with the extruded streams causing them to solidify.
These coagulated continuous fibers are then drawn out of the chamber, twisted or processed
further and then wound onto spools.
Melt Spinning
Melt Spinning is another method of manufacturing manmade fibers into yarn. An example of this
is the process of making polyester. Polymer chips obtained from previously reacted chemical
combinations are melted and then pumped through a spinneret into an air chamber. The extruded
streams cool and solidify into continuous filaments and are then drawn out of the chamber,
twisted or processed further and then wound onto spools.
Bicomponent Spinning
In this bicomponent spinning technique, two polymers of different chemical and/or physical
structures which are connected with each other are extruded through a spinneret. There are three
different methods of bicomponent fiber production- side- by-side, core cover and matrix.
In the first method, two varieties of the same polymer are extruded side by side through one
spinneret hole. As the two variants cool and solidify, they adhere together as one filament, one
side of which is composed of one type of the polymer and the other side of which is composed of
another type of the same polymer.
In the second method, one spinneret is used inside another. One variant of the polymer is pumped
through the center, or core, spinneret while another is pumped through the outer or surrounding
spinneret. Both varieties of polymers emerge as one through the common hole of the surrounding
spinneret so that the fiber is formed of a core of one polymer variant surrounded by a ring of the
other variant.
In the third method, drops of one molten polymer variant are distributed into another molten
form of the same polymer. This mixture is then extruded through the single spinneret hole. It
results in a matrix, or conglomerate, of minute, short strands of one fiber suspended inside
another variety of the same fiber.
Formation of Integrated Multicomponent Yarns
Yarns are also produced by combining staple and filament fibers in order to obtain certain of the
characteristics of each. These combinations are known as Integrated Multicomponent Yarns.
Integrated Composite Spinning
In the Integrated Composite Spinning, monofilament or multifilament strand is passed through a

molten proprietary polypropylene alloy. A part of the length of the staple fiber is immediately
embedded into the polymeric resin. Then a predetermined variety and length of staple fiber is
superimposed and press bonded by compression to the polymeric coated continuous filament
core. The ICS yarn is then given a twist at high speed, cooled and wound on spools.
Coverspun
Another type of integrated multicomponent yarn spinning is coverspun. This technique wraps
fine continuous filament manmade fiber around a core of untwisted natural or manmade staple
fiber to produce yarns in a wide range of counts. Coverspun yarn is made by drafting
conventional roving to the desired fineness and passing it directly into the top of a hollow
vertical spindle that has a spool of filament mounted on it. The filament is fed into the top of the
hollow spindle and as the spindle turns, the filament wraps around the untwisted core.