CMYK
Tech Talk
“Almost all over the
world the cutting room
development is always
coming after the
complete development
of the sewing room and
finishing room. For this
reason, many potential
customers consider
CAD - SPREADING -
CAM as a unique plant,
which is one hundred
per cent not true. Even
while investing (and
evaluating!) in CAD/
CAM, a lot of
companies probably
consider spreader as an
accessory! Hence the
low emphasis on its
features.”
- Marco Cassani, Mario
Fonio
StitchWorld ! APRIL
April 2003
2003
Mechanized Spreading:
How Far Automatic?
T
he comment of Marco Cassani, Mario Fonio, reflects the apathy
and neglect of the spreading operation in garment
manufacturing operations. While CAD has proved its worth in
small as well as big organisations beyond a shred of doubt, the
computer-aided spreader and cutter (CAS/CAM) has yet to establish
its worth in cheap labour-cost countries. With the growing importance
of quality spreading in the cutting room, the analysis and evaluation
of essential features of mechanised spreading has become of utmost
importance. The article with inputs from Ram Sareen of Tukatech
Marco Casani of Mario Fonio and J P Simon of Lectra discusses
different parameters that have got to be kept in mind about automatic
spreading.
Fabric Unwinding
Mechanism
There was a time when "meter fold"
fabric package was the sole hindrance
towards the use of mechanized spreader
and many spreaders were not equipped
with mechanism to handle/unwind "meter
fold" package. But now fabric roll is
becoming common with growing use of
millmade and imported fabric and cradle
and roll bar is the most common roll
unwinding system with different
variations.
System 1 Standard ‘v’ cradle
This is the more popular system and has
been adopted by many companies. The
advantage is that no roll-supporting shaft
is needed to load and spread the fabric.
Unfortunately, this system has got many
disadvantages: having only 1 shaft and
only 1 motor, the front and the back part
of the cradle have the same speed and in
case of not perfectly rounded fabric rolls,
affects quality. Having only 1 shaft there
is a big gap between the belts and in case
of heavy rolls and/or soft fabric, these can
stack inside the cradle and once again
affect the quality of the feeding; In a
warehouse with many other heavy rolls
on the top, the fabric roll no more
remains a perfect circular shape but oval. Stacking of deformed rolls
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While spreading it on a cradle made of
belts, for sure the weight of the roll will
push down everything, "deforming"
slightly the belts and thus creating
serious problems in unrolling the fabric
and consequently in spreading.
System 2
Cradle that has 2 shafts and a single wide
width belt in front (as wide as the
machine avoiding the gap between the
belts) and a motorised cylinder at the
back allows the avoiding of stacking the
rolls inside the cradle and thus the not so
perfectly round rolls can be better
handled in comparison with the ‘V’
cradle.
System 3
System that has 2 shafts for front and
back cradle solves the problem of the gap
between the belt. Above all, the front
part and the back part are driven by
independent motors: This means
differential speed which is able to control
the unwinding of the roll! The system
ensures perfect control of any kind of roll
and any kind of fabric.
Fabric passage in cradle with 2 shafts and 2 motors
System 4
In this system, a shaft has to be inserted
inside the cardboard core of the fabric
roll and later, the roll is gently laid on the
motorised belts that unwind the roll. The
advantage of this system is that one can
choose the pressure on the roll and also
the fact that one is supporting the weight
of the roll from the centre. The
disadvantage is that one also needs the
roll-supporting shaft. The shaft and roll
are loaded on the machine by a rotating
loader. One can choose where to stop the
loader and in this way one is able to
adjust to let the fabric roll graze the
feeding belts, or can apply more
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9 April 2003 ! StitchWorld
Rotating loader and fabric passage on unwinding
belts.
Picture courtesy : Mario Fonio
pressure, just pushing the loader and the
fabric against the belts.
Besides Cradle, Roll Bar, there are many
other methods, pulling the fabric from
the end by clamps and letting the clamps
take it to the desired length. In the case
of Heavy rolls or very large rolls with no
tension, this is a very effective method.
The other method is for Lycra or delicate
materials, where the fabric is on a cradle
which is stationary simply unwinding
with extra fabric to compensate the
stretch.
Machine Downtime
Smaller roll lengths were a crucial
disadvantage when in using mechanised
spreader due to frequent roll change.
Normally bigger the roll (within the
limits that any machine can handle)
longer the mattress (lay). Table of double
length of the longest lay normally used
because in this way one can do a lay, then
moving it to the next section of table
(operation helped by the conveyor or air
flotation system) and while an operator
can start the cutting, the spreader can
prepare the next mattress in order to let
the machine working in a continuous
cycle. Sometimes one spreader can move
between two tables perpendicularly to
minimise machine downtime.
The biggest thing to consider is the roll
changing or loading time. It should not
be more than 45 seconds including all
elements, assuming that you are at the
starting end of the table. There is too
much machine time wasted, taking the
plastic or wrapping off the roll, in doing
clerical work like noting the roll number,
yardage on the roll, shade number yards
belonging to a predetermined cut number
or any other information that may be
required in the cutting room controls, or
simply taking out the control rod from
the empty tube and inserting it in the
next roll before loading the spreader
unless you are using a cradle machine
that does not require any metal rod
insertion on the roll. All this while the
machine is waiting. To maximise the
machine time, a helper or a service
person is useful who brings in the rolls,
gets it ready for loading so the operator
does not wait. Generally speaking, the
ratio should be 65 per cent running time
and 35 per cent set-up and waiting time.
Lay shifting prior to cutting also causes
machine downtime.
Tension In Fabric Layer
During Spreading
The first consideration is the fabric type,
dimensionally stable rigid fabrics like
denim are comparatively simple to
handle. But for commonly used woven or
knit materials (i.e. dimensionally unstable
fabric), one needs more feeding controls
and that is why some top level machines
have 4 feeding controls: [1] main feeding,
[2] pre-feeding controlled by a dancer
bar, [3] back part of the cradle
independent with differential speed and
[4] nip rollers close to the table to control
the tension of fabric. Naturally all the
feeding controls are synchronised by a
main computer. When the machine is
running at the top speed, there is no
problem. The biggest problems in control
feeding are during the acceleration and
deceleration! Only a modern
computerized spreading equipment
ensures a perfect synchronisation
between fabric unwinding and carriage
movement, even in acceleration and
deceleration phases resulting a perfect
tension-free laying operation, at high
laying speed. Obviously unwinding has to
be faster than linear speed, generally
+ 15% ratio between roll unwinding
speed and linear speed of Spreader is
particularly useful for fabric rolled with
tension. When you are using a spreading
machine and you have a new type of
fabric, you first set the length of the lay
you need, then you start to spread and at
the same time you must check if the
machine is "pulling" the fabric or the lay
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is too loose. Based on that you decide to
increase or decrease the feeding speed.
The value and numbers for speeding feed
are just indicative to remind a setting.
The most important point is the operator
that must see and "feel" the quality of
spreading.
Another important parameter in tension
control is the tightness in rolling the
material. Many fabric suppliers roll the
yardage with a pull to get 5-10% extra
yardage. But depending upon the total
yards on the roll, the tension will not be
uniform in the entire roll and the first
five yards will be different from the
middle five or even different from the
last five yards. In consideration of the
above variable factors, it is impractical to
have the tension controlled automatically.
All claims of automatic tension control go
down the drain but with assistance from
machines and a little training to the
operator with manual tension control
override, quality can be achieved for
any fabric.
“Spreader downtime to running time
ratio depends on the type of
manufacturing process used. In
flexible production mode, small rolls
are often used. The variety of style
to produce is high, and the quantities
to produce per style are relatively
low, the spreads include a lot of
different fabric colours or reference,
and a few layers per colour. Roll
changes are thus frequent, up to 50
per cent of the time and can be
used in extremely flexible
manufacturing In mass production,
mode roll loading time has a lower
importance. Fabric rolls are heavy
and cannot be handled manually.
Lifters or forklifts are frequently used
to handle these rolls. Actually,
optimum use of a spreader is reached
in mass and medium production. A
ratio of 5-15 per cent of the time
seems to be a correct one for roll
loading in mass production. Of
course, it all depends on roll size,
fabric variety, defects level etc.”
- J.P. Simon, Lectra
StitchWorld ! April 2003
Handling Fabrics with
twisted Grain and/or
Bowing Defect
There are two challenges while handling
fabrics with the above defect (effect!);
firstly straightening up the wefts while
laying and secondly, cutting each layer
end along weft. Some spreader with weft
correcting mechanism uses the trellising
motion in fabric itself to correct the
bowing in fabric while spreading. After
every layer you have to tear the fabrics
along weft and almost all brands offer
"fabric tearing device" as additional
feature. Nevertheless the device does not
justify the investment as you must have a
small marker and the moment you make a
longer marker, the purpose of tearing the
goods is defeated as the panels in the
middle are not to the grain anyway.
Splicing During
Spreading
Kawakami spreader Xn460 LMS with weft
correcting mechanism
It is done to overlap the end of the roll to
new roll or if a major flaw is found, the
flaw can be cut and then overlapped at
the splice point. It ensures that all the
pieces are caught within open layer. It is
controversial to discuss whether splicing
method can be followed while using
mechanised spreading as depending on
the frequency of defects, the machine
stoppage (thus downtime!) will increase.
Check Matching During
Spreading
Check matching is not available from any
suppliers of spreaders and the only way
to ensure proper zero-error check
matching while spreading is to use
continuous printables and spread
How Was Fabric
Tearing Device
Developed?
Woven fabrics like crepes and satins
used in clothing manufacture have
twisted or wavy grain, where "on
grain" spreading is not always possible
with conventional equipment. S R
Gent, UK based ladieswear
manufacturer approached CPT
Limited of UK, the sole agent of
Danish cloth spreading machinery
manufacturer Niebuhr Maskinfabric
(now known as Gerber Technology A/S
Niebuhr division after acquisition by
Gerber Technology) to develop a
device with "snip and rip" as opposed
to conventional cutting at the end of
the lay to ensure spreading takes place
"on grain." CPT and Niebuhr, over a
period of 18 months jointly developed
a "snip and rip" fabric tearing device,
which can be easily fitted with Gerber
Syncron spreaders in place of the
conventional cutting-off device and is
plugged into the same power source.
After successful trials at S R Gents,
the first prototype was shown in the
1994 Bobbin Show and subsequently
made commercially available.
manually. Other methods like blocking in
the marker can be utilised for certain
type and size of checks.
Conveyorised vs. air Flotation
System of Lay Transport
The advantage of conveyor table are:
• Only 1 person is required for handling,
spreading and shifting the lay to the
cutter.
• Perfect alignment of the lay to the
cutter. This is important because the lay
must be parallel to the side of the cutter
itself since there is just a few degree of
tolerance.
• After the spreading is over, nobody
needs to touch the matteress as the touch
may stretch the fabric and compromise
the quality of spreading.
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The disadvantages are:
• The higher cost of conveyor tables vs
air flotation tables.
• On conveyor table it is impossible to
use vertical knife: if the cutter is stopped
for maintenance or technical service, it is
not possible to cut anything. (some
companies also might have mattress of a
few lays for sample production and in
that case, they prefer to cut manually
because that is quicker than preparing
everything in the automatic cutter).
• Some companies also prefer, for some
fabric extremely stretchable, to leave the
mattress on the air flotation table for
about 5 minutes with the air on. The air
penetrate the fabric fibre, helping fabric
to relax it from the inside. Very often a
mix of 8 mt air flotation table, 8 mt
conveyor and cutter works better in case
of getting higher productivity and
maintaining flexibility.
9 APRIL
"Spreading is the only operation in
the cutting room that requires skill. It
is not what you are spreading but
how you are spreading that will
determine the quality and savings in
fabric. Most of us assign newcomers
in spreading as we think the cutting
is the skilled job but it is the other
way around. The cutter just has to
follow the lines but any bad spreading
will determine the fabric loss and
quality of cut" - Ram Sareen, Tukatech
Conclusion
Almost everyone wants all the features in
one machine. However, among different
types of fabric that anyone may use, only
a selected few are advised to be used in a
spreader. Analyse your requirements and
buy machines to do just one thing rather
than a machine which can spread rolls,
lap folded goods, knits, wovens etc.
Another important factor is the skill and
scientific training of spreading workers.
In India, as in many other countries,
there is a low level of culture and neglect
for the cutting room.
Depending upon the size of the room,
type of fabric, products and many other
factors, including length of markers,
quality of fabrics, length of rolls and the
layout, the configuration of equipment
will change. Anyone making denim will
have a different ratio of spreaders to
cutter verses someone making knitted
garments. We need to scientifically
evaluate spreader based on individual
need not guided by what others have
got!, and also ensure it is 100 per cent
compatible with all existing CAD and
CAM.
April 2003 ! StitchWorld