..KNITTING DEFECTS AND REMEDIES..

Defected and Defect-free Fabric..

What is a Fabric Defect?
A Fabric Defect is any abnormality in the Fabric that hinders its acceptability by the consumer.

What is a Defect-Free Fabric?

1. A Fabric that exhibits a consistent performance within the boundaries of human use & human view. 2. A Fabric that exhibits a consistent appearance within the human sight boundaries.

A Glossary of Fabric Defects..

Askewed or Bias : condition where where courses are not square with wale lines on knits. Barre : occurs in circular knit. Caused by mixing yarn on feed into machine. Fabric will appear to have horizontal streaks. Birdseye: Caused by unintentional tucking from malfunctioning needle. Usually two small distorted stitches, side by side Bowing : Usually caused by finishing.In knits the course lines lie in an arc across width of goods. Critical on stripes or patterns and not as critical on solid color fabrics. Broken Color Pattern :Usually caused by color yarn out of place on frame.

..Some Knitting Defects..

Measurement of Bias ..
Skew or Bias - Measure the skew in three places spaced as widely as possible along the length of the fabric or along a minimum of 1 linear yard. If possible, make no measurement closer to the ends of the roll or piece of fabric than 1 yard. Draw a line perpendicular to the selvage across the fabric from a point C where the marked yarn or course meets one selvage, meeting the other selvage at point B. Measure the distance between points A and B or D and B, and B and C, as shown in Fig. 2. Record the three or more skew or bias measurements. Calculate the maximum skew or bias as a percentage of the fabric width using the equation: "% Skew = Distance AB or DB x 100 / width BC"

What are the factors that could lead to fabric defects?

Machine-Related Factors: Failure of spinning preparation to eliminate or minimize short and long-term variation Failure of opening and cleaning machines to completely eliminate contaminants and trash particles Failure of the mixing machinery to provide a homogenous blend Excessive machine stops particularly during spinning Excessive ends piecing during spinning preparation Poor maintenance and housekeeping Knitting-related defects Dyeing and Finishing-related defects

What are the factors that could lead to fabric defects?

Material-Related Factors: Fiber contaminants Excessive neps and seedcoat fragments Excessive short fiber content Excessive trash content High variability between and within-mix Clusters of unfavorable fiber characteristics Weight variation Twist variation Excessive Hairiness

Some other Fabric Defects..

Small bits of contaminants spun into the yarn
White specs

Synthetic fibre contaminant

Pointers focussing on the Defected area..

Another Fabric Defect..

Another Fabric Defect..

Knit-in Contaminants..
There can be certain defects which arise during the knit-in process thus are shown here.

Modelling Fabric Defects-The Problem Theory..

DEFECTS
Barre Askewd or bias Birdseye Bowing

SEVERITY
Usually major Could be major or minor Major Major or minor

Broken colour pattern

Crease streak Drop stitches End Out Hole Missing Yarn Mixed Yarn Needle Line Pin Holes Runner Slub

Major
Major or Minor Major Usually Major Major Major Major Major or Minor Major Major Major or Minor

Industry Practise..
PURPOSE To establish a uniform method for determining, quantifying and measuring the quality of warp knit elastomeric fabrics; and a method for measuring length, width, and other physical properties. METHOD Four-Point System - Penalty points are attributed to a piece of fabric according to the length of its defects measured in inches. The following schedule of penalty points is based on fabrics 60/62 inches in width for defects visible when inspected on face side of fabric only: Length of Defects: 3 inches or less Over 3, but not over 6 inches Over 6, but not over 9 inches Over 9 inches

Industry Practise..
Number of Penalty Points 1 2 3 4 Four penalty points per linear yard are the maximum assessable for fabrics up to 60/62 inches in width. For fabrics over 60/62 inches in width, maximum allowable penalty points are to be increased in proportion as the width exceeds 60 inches. Regardless of the length of fabric, the quality shall be expressed in the number of penalty points per 100 yard length. (Example: A 40-yard piece width six penalty points is to be rated as 15 points per 100 yards.)

Industry Practise..
Identification and Rating Defects: Examples of defects in evaluating quality are these: Knitting defects, including holes other than pinholes Grease/oil spots Dye spots Stains Slubs-except where they are an inherent part of the yarn Picks Bowing and Skewing (bias): bowing and skewing may not exceed 5% of overall width. Examples: 60" width - 3" tolerance and 72" width - 3.5" tolerance Any yard containing bowing or skewing in excess of these limits shall be penalized four points. Fabrics are to be examined for these defects only on the agreed upon selling face (which may be the technical face, or technical back).

Facts about Fabric Defects..

99% of Fabric-Defects can be diagnosed with minimum or no testing if every involved personnel from the fiber to the fabric sector is willing to honestly tell his/her side of the story. Fabric-defect diagnostic work has become more of detective work because of missing facts. Poor Cotton Mixing is a Sure Defect-Causing Factor & Good Mixing alone does not always guarantee a Defect-Free Fabric. Machine-Related Factors cannot be emphasized enough. High cost yarn testing equipments available today reveal minimum or no prediction of potential fabric defects. Indeed, there is a significant gap between yarn quality as tested in the yarn raw form and corresponding yarn quality as it exists in the fabric. There is a great loss of fabric as well as money due to fabric defects so care should be taken to minimize them as much as can be done. Fabric faults or defects are responsible for nearly 85% of the defects found in the garment industry.

Current Usual method of Detection and Optimal measure..

Present ScenarioInspection is done manually, ie., when a significant amount of fabric is produced,the fabric roll is removed from circular knitting machine and then sent to an inspection frame. Optimal SolutionTo automatically inspect fabric as it is being produced and to encourage maintainence personnel to prevent production of defects or to cahnge process parameters automatically and consequently improve fabric quality.

Flowchart of Defect Segmentation..

On-line Fabric Defect Detection..

Circular Knitting Machine

..THANK YOU..