Fibers and Yarns

• Fibers: Fibers are thin, flexible & uniform hair

like materials of natural, synthetic or
regenerated origin. Depending upon length,
fibers can be divided into two categories:
staple fibers, filament fibers
 Fibers and Yarns

• Filament fibers: Fibers having a practically unlimited

or infinite length are called filaments. Filament fibers
are continuous (long) fiber. It may be natural like silk
or synthetic like Nylon

• Staple Fibers: Fibers with limited or finite length are

called “Staple Fibers” These are small length fibers
like cotton, wool, jute etc. they may be natural
(Cotton) or man-made (Viscose rayon, Polyester).
 Essential requirements for textile fibres

• Length of at least 5mm

• flexibility
• cohesiveness
• sufficient strength
• elasticity
• fineness
• uniformity
• durability
• lustre
 Yarn (Spun yarn, Filament yarn)
• Yarn: yarn is a long, uniform, twisted strand of
fibers (either Natural, Regenerated, Synthetic
or a combination of them)
• Spun Yarn: Spun yarn is produced by twisting
together short fibers which are termed as
staple fibers. Fibers can be of natural or
synthetic origin
 Yarn (Spun yarn, Filament yarn)
• Filament Yarn: Filament yarns are produced
from continuous fibers known as filament
fibers/filaments of natural (silk) or synthetic
origin (polymeric fibers extruded from
spinnerets).
 Yarn
A textile yarn is an assembly of substantial length and
relatively small cross-section of fibres and or/ filaments with or
without twist. (Textile Institute)

Yarn occurs in the following forms

1. A number of fibres twisted together;

2. A number of filaments laid together without twist (a zero-
twist yarn);
3. A number of filaments laid together with a degree of twist;
4. A single filament with or without twist (a monofilament);
or
5. A narrow strip of material, such as paper, plastic film, or
metal foil, with or without twist, intended for use in a
textile construction.
 Yarn Classification

Based on Process

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 Yarn Classification

Based on Spinning Techniques

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 Yarn Classification

Based on End-Use

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 Yarn Classification

Based on Ply

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 Yarn Classification

Based on Ply

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 Yarn Classification

Core Spun Yarn

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 Yarn Classification

Fancy and Value-added Yarns

• Slub yarn • Core spun yarn

• Injection slub yarn • Elastic core spun yarn

• Single core elastic spun yarn
• Nepy yarn
• Duel core elastic spun yarn
• Color yarn (Melange)
• Multi twist and multi count yarn
• Siro spun yarn
• Di-blend and Tri-blend yarns
• Chain spun yarn
• Intimate blend and draw frame
• Smoke effect yarn
blended yarn.

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 Yarn Classification

Fancy and Value-added Yarns

Flock/flake yarns:
Have small tufts of different colored fibres added at intervals. These tufts can be easily
pulled out. Flock/flake yarns are generally single yarns.
Nub, knot, and spot yarns;
These are ply yarns in which the effect yarn is twisted around the base yarn to produce a
thicker area or a bump.
Bouclé and loop yarns;
They are ply yarns that use three sets of yarns – base or core yarn, effect yarn, and tie
yarn. The effect yarn is looped around the base or core yarn and tied with a binder yarn.
Spiral and corkscrew yarns;
These are ply yarns in which one ply is soft and thick and the other is fine.

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 Yarn Classification

Textured Yarns
Textured yarns are made of fully drawn filament fibres with a changed surface,
shape and texture developed by using the new spinning techniques. Nylon and
polyester are two main fibres that are textured. Textured yarns provide many
variations in fabric properties.

There are two main types of textured yarns:

1. Stretch yarns
2. Bulk yarns

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 Yarn Classification

Stretch Yarn
It can be made by using any of the following methods:
1. By using special heat setting treatment to thermoplastic filament fibres such as
nylon and polyester.
2. From elastomeric fibres.
3. From bi-component fibres.
4. From chemically treated natural fibres.

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 Yarn Classification

Bulk Yarn

Bulk yarns are softer and much pliable then tightly constructed twisted yarns.
They have a better cover and create less transparent fabrics. These are of two
types:
1. High bulk yarns
2. Loop-bulk or air jet yarns

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 Range of Yarns
• Staple, continuous filament and monofilament
yarns are included;
• Single, plied and cabled;
• Yarn with zero twist
• By the wide definition of fibre/filament paper,
metal and glass yarns are also included.
 CLASSIFICATION OF YARNS

YARNS

SINGLE YARNS ASSEMBLED YARNS FOLDED YARNS

FANCY YARNS
FANCY YARNS

SPUN YARNS FILAMENT YARNS

ROTOR YARNS FLAT FILAMENT YARNS

RING YARNS TEXTURED FILAMENT YARNS

WORSTED YARNS BICOMPONENT TAPE OR SPLIT FILM YARNS

SEMI-WORSTED YARNS

WOOLLEN YARNS
Classification of Yarns
 General Classification
1. Staple Spun Yarn
2. Filament Yarn
 General Classification
Spun staple fibre yarns
Yarns in which staple fibres are assembled and bound together by various
means e.g. Twist insertion and use of adhesive.(Eurotex)
or
SPUN YARNS: are made by mechanical assembly and twisting together
(spinning) of Staple fibres such as cotton, flax, wool, broken or cut man-made
fibres.

 FILAMENT YARNS are made by the assembly of continuous filaments, made

from silk or man-made fibres

A MULTI FILAMENT YARN is a filament yarn made from multiple filaments,

assembled with or without twist.

A MONO FILAMENT YARN consists of only a single continuous filament from

man-made source.
Properties of Spun, Filament and Combination Yarns:

100%Spun Yarns: Warmth, Softness, Light Weight

Ideal for T-Shirts, Sweaters and
Blankets

100%Filament Yarns: Smoother, Finer and Lustrous

Ideal for linings

Combination of spun and filament Yarns: Durable,

Easy care, Comfortable
Suitable for more applications
 Detail Classification
1. According to process
 Staple Spun Yarn
1. Carded yarn
2. Combed yarn
3. Woolen yarn
4. Worsted yarn
 Filament Yarn
1. Monofilament yarn
2. Multifilament yarn
 Detail Classification
2. According to Spinning Technique
1. Ring spun yarn
2. Rotor spun yarn
3. Air-jet/Vortex spun yarn
4. Wrap spun yarn
5. Friction spun yarn
6. Composite yarn/Core Spun Yarn
7. Twist less yarn
8. Self Twist Yarn
9. Fasciated Yarns
 Detail Classification
3. According to Special End Use and Novelty
Yarn
1. Fancy yarn
2. Stretch yarn
3. Chenille yarn
4. Tape yarn
5. Textured yarn
6. High bulk yarn
7. Metalized yarn
 Detail Classification
4. According to Ply Yarn
1. Single ply yarn
2. Multiply yarn
2.1 Assembled Yarn
2.2 Folded yarn
2.3 Cabled yarn
 Ply Yarn
Simple yarns are characterized by uniform size and regular surface. They can be
broadly divided into single, ply, cord, and rope yarns.

1.Single yarn is the simplest type of yarn. It is commonly produced by twisting

together staple or filament fibres.
2. Assembled Yarns: Two or more yarns which are wound side by side on to same

package, but without twisting around each other, are called assembled yarns.
3.Ply yarns are produced by twisting two or more single yarns. Each strand of
single yarn is referred to as a ply. Thus, four single yarns twisted together would
form a four-ply yarn.
4.Cord yarns are produced by twisting two or more ply yarns.
5.Rope yarns are produced by twisting two or more cord yarns.
Twist Direction
Twists or turns per inch
Twist Factor (K)
 Different Yarn Types
• Mono filament yarn
– Yarn produced from single filament is known as mono
filament yarn
– Single filament is usually thicker than multi filaments
• Multifilament yarn
– Filament yarn made of multiple filaments are known
as multifilament yarn
– The number of filaments depend upon
• Number of spinneret holes for synthetic filaments
• No of silk fibers reeled together from cocoons
 Yarn Classifications
• Yarn classification
– Simple yarn
– Fancy yarn
– Composite yarn
• These yarns can be produced both from spun
and filament yarns as well as from yarns made
of one type of fibers or blended ones
 Yarn Classifications
• Simple Yarn:
– These include single, ply, cord or rope yarns

• Single yarn include spun,

mono filament or
multifilament yarn
• Plied yarn is produced by
twisting two or more single
yarns
 Yarn Classifications
• Fancy Yarn
– Fancy yarns provide decorative effect, there are
many types of fancy yarns
– Some are composed of two or more strands that
can include
• Core: core strand provides strength to the yarn
• Effect strand: it provides decorative effect
• Binder strand: to provide binding effect if necessary
 Yarn Classifications
• Slub yarn
– Slub yarn is composed of thick areas created by
change in twist
– Slub yarns are staple yarns
 Yarn Classifications
• Composite yarns
– For example core-spun yarn
• Core spun yarn is made by twisting fibers around a
filament or a previously spun yarn

Cotton fibers twisted around an elastomeric fibers is an example of core-spun yarn

 Spinning Systems
• Spinning: Spinning is the combination of
processes to convert Fibers into yarn by
twisting them together.
• Among many processes, the two main spun
yarn manufacturing processes are
– Ring Spinning Process
– Open end spinning process
 Ring Spinning
• Different stages of ring spinning process are as
follows
• Blow Room: Bales are opened, fibers from different
bales are mixed together and cleaned
• Carding: Fibers are opened to individual level,
aligned in the form of web and converted into sliver
• Drawing: Different slivers from carding are combined
together and converted into a single sliver
• Combing: Combing is a process of removing short
fibers and further aligning the fibers
 Ring Spinning
• Roving: The slivers are further drawn, slightly
twisted and wound on roving bobbins
• Spinning: The roving is converted into yarn on
ring spinning machine
Ring Spinning
 Open End Spinning
• In open end spinning, process is similar till
silver formation f ring spinning process
• Roving process is eliminated and sliver is
directly converted to yarn
• Fibers are separated from sliver into individual
fibers and are fed to a device that twist them to
produce the yarn
• Rotor spinning and air and water jet spinning
are examples of open end spinning process
Rotor spinning
 Characteristics of Ring and Open End
Spinning
• Ring spinning
– Expensive process
– Slower process
– Stronger and finer yarn can be produced
• Open End Spinning
– Cheaper process
– Fast
– Less strong yarn that is smoother on outside
 Different spinning systems
• Open end spinning, for example
– Rotor spinning
– Air vortex spinning
– Air jet spinning
– Friction spinning
 Rotor spinning
• Wider commercial use as compared to other open
end spinning techniques
• commercially introduced in 1969
• Rotor speed about 150000 rpm (earlier 30000 rpm)
• The objective of rotor spinning was to
– Provide economical yarn spinning system
– Produce yarn of quality equivalent to ring spun yarn
• Rotor speed today is more than 200 m/min. as
compared to 40 m/min for ring spinnng
Rotor spinning
 Rotor spinning
• Main features of rotor spinning system are
– a feed roller and feed plate
– a saw tooth roller called opening roller
– fibre transport channel in the form of tapered tube
– a shallow cup called as rotor with a groove cut into the
circumference at the maximum internal radius of the
rotor referred to as the rotor groove
– a flange tube facing the rotor base and co-axial to the
rotor, termed the doffing tube
– a pair of delivery rollers that feed the spun yarn to the
package build device
 Rotor spinning
• Opening roller (50-80 mm diameter ) opens the input sliver
to individual fibers
• Air suction moves these fibers from roller through the
transport channel to the rotor
• Fibers are deposited on internal wall of rotor and then in
the groove and form ribbon of fibers
• The tail end of the yarn is pulled through the doffing tube
• The rotation of the rotor twists the tails end (free end) of
the yarn
• The delivery rollers pull the yarn from the rotor and pulls
fiber ribbon while twist is being inserted in the fiber ribbon
 Rotor spinning
• Rotor speed
– Smaller the rotor dia, higher will be the rotor speed
– 120- 210 m/sec.
– Larger rotor dia is required for coarser yarns as it
reduces cleaning frequency of the rotor cleaning due
to use of inferior cotton used for coarser counts
– Too high rotor speed, poor spinning stability due to
high tension of centrifugal force
– Too low rotor speed, twist can not propagate into the
rotor groove
 Air jet spinning
• Murata Jet Spinning (MJS)
 Air jet spinning
• Murata Jet Spinning (MJS)
– After leaving the drafting system, the fibers are
passed through two air jets
– The second air jet is the false twist element
– The air vortex (with angular velocity more than 2
million rpm) twists the strand
– The first vortex is weaker and is in opposite
direction to the second vortex
– Edge fibers (not more than 5 %) become wrapping
fibers around the untwisted core
 Air jet spinning
• Murata Jet Spinning (MJS)
– The strength of the yarn is derived from the
amount of the wrapped fibers and intensity of
wrapping

The coarser yarns are

weaker than the finer
yarns for the same fibre
type.
 Air vortex spinning system
Murata Vortex Spinning (MVS):

Working Principle:

After leaving the front rollers of the drafting

system, the fibers are sucked into the spiral-
shaped opening of the air jet nozzle. The
nozzle provides a swirling air current which
twists the fibres . A guide needle within the
nozzle controls the movement of the fibres
towards a hollow spindle. The leading ends of
the fiber bundle are drawn into the hollow
spindle by the fibers of the preceding portion
of the fiber bundle being twisted into a spun
yarn. The finished yarn is then wound onto a
package.
 Air vortex spinning system
• Murata Vortex Spinning (MVS):
• air jet stream has decreasing efficiency at higher
delivery speeds because there is less time for the
wrapper fibres to wrap around the parallel core
properly (more suited for coarser yarns)
• Lower yarn tenacity as compared with ring spun yarn
• significant removal of short fibers during the spinning
process (waste 3-8% depending upon carded or
combed sliver)
• improved total imperfections and resultant fabric
appearance and sheen
 Air vortex spinning system
• Murata Vortex Spinning (MVS):
– In Vortex yarns, the center of the yarn is not twisted,
– MVS can reach a speed of 450 m/min
– Medium to long fibers are used usually
– Compared to ring spinning, productivity is 20 times
higher
– In the case of OE-Rotor spinning, MVS is 3 times higher
– Soft MVS yarns can be produced unlike earlier air jet
fabrics which had harsh hand
– MVS yarn has less hairiness, less shrinkage and moisture
absorption due to loose structure and quick drying
 Friction Spinning
• DREF-II Friction Spinning
– Friction spinning technology works on the principle of
friction twisting
– high output speed of up to 300 m/min, coarser counts
– Was introduced in 1973

the pre-opened fibres are fed onto a

moving, perforated collecting drum
underneath which there is suction
device. The fibres are fed between this
and a second rotating drum. Twisting
occurs due to the frictional forces
between the drums and the fibre
assembly.
 Friction Spinning
• DREF-III: core-sheath type friction arrangement
 Friction Spinning
• DREF-III
– Two drafting systems are used, one for core and
one for sheath
– a variety of core-sheath type structures and multi-
component yarns can be produced using different
core and sheath fibres in the count range of 1-
18sNe with delivery speeds as high as 300 m/min.
 Friction Spinning
• Features:
– Poor fiber orientation, poor yarn strength
– Twist variation is high from core to surface
– Disorientation is greater for finer and longer yarns,
variation in turbulence during fiber transport leads to
poor orientation
– the twist variation from surface to core is quite high
– Limited count range, coarser yarns only
– Friction spun yarn has inferior fiber orientation, buckled
or folded fibers and loose packing of fibers due to lower
tension during yarn formation
Process flow chart of carded cotton
ring spun yarn
Process flow chart of combed cotton ring
spun yarn