Dyeing machinery

Contemporary wool dyeing and finishing

Mr Arthur Fisher
CSIRO
Summary

1. Introduction
2. Loose stock dyeing
3. Top dyeing
4. Yarn dyeing
5. Fabric dyeing
6. Garment dyeing
1. Introduction
Principles of different dyeing
machines

§ Wool may be dyed using a number of different types of

dyeing machines and in numerous forms from loose
fibre to woven and knitted fabric or even garments.
§ As a rule it is preferable to carry out dyeing as late in
the manufacturing chain as possible as this leads to
just-in-time deliveries and reduced inventories.
However, there are a number of reasons why this is not
always desirable or possible.
2. Loose stock dyeing
Loose stock dyeing

§ Wool is often dyed in fibre form. This of course means

that the dyeing is done at the earliest stage of
processing and colouration commitments must be made
well in advance of the finished product.
§ Loose stock dyeing is most often used these days as a
pre-colouration method in the production of woollen
spun yarns in the carpet manufacturing industry where
large lots of up to 12 tonnes per colour are produced.
Advantages of loose stock dyeing

a) It is possible to dye very large lots of up to 12–14 tonnes per colour.

This is done by dyeing numerous batches of perhaps 500 kg each and
then blending all of these batches together.
b) This method is ideal, for instance when supplying carpet to large
commercial installations such as hotels, where many thousands of
metres of the same colour may be required.
c) This dyeing method provides the ability to even out any colour
irregularities within the individual dyebatches during subsequent
blending
d) It provides a simple way of dyeing blends of different fibres as the
optimum dyeing procedure may be employed for each of the
individual fibres.
e) By this method it is possible to mix different colours together to
produce heather mixtures.
Disadvantages of loose stock dyeing

§ Economy of scale is lost if small lots are dyed.

§ Very long lead times are required between

time of dyeing and production of finished
product.
Radial flow loose stock dyeing
machine
Conical pan loose stock dyeing
machine
3. Top dyeing
Top dyeing

§ Wool is often dyed in top form. Wool tops are produced

after combing which is a preparatory stage before
worsted spinning. The tops are actually balls of sliver
which weigh anywhere between 3 and 10 kg or are
more commonly made into bump tops of up to 20 kg.
§ Modern top dyeing machines are multipurpose
machines, which may be used for dyeing yarn on
packages and also loose fibre. They are able to dye at
high temperatures under pressure so may be used for
dyeing fibres other than wool.
Advantages of top dyeing

§ Top dyeing shares similar advantages to loose

stock dyeing and is the first opportunity to dye
the fibre in the worsted spinning production
chain.
Disadvantages of top dyeing

§ As with loose stock dyeing, the economies of

scale are lost if small lots are required.

§ Once wool tops have been dyed they then

need to be re-combed prior to spinning which
adds an additional cost.
4. Yarn dyeing
Yarn dyeing

§ Dyeing is often carried out in yarn form for a number of

reasons. For colour woven fabrics such as checks and
fancy designs and also for multicoloured knitted
garments, the requirements for some individual colours
may be very small and there may be a large number of
colours in the design. In this situation it is not practical
or cost effective to dye large lots of tops for each
colour.
§ Yarn can be dyed in lots of from 1 kg to 500 kg or
1000 kg, depending on the size of the machines
available.
Package dyeing

§ Package dyeing is now a very widely used technique for

producing coloured yarn for colour woven fabrics and
knitgoods.
§ Modern package dyeing machines have a high degree of
versatility with regards to batch sizes and the fibres
which may be dyed.
§ The machines may be operated under pressurised
conditions at temperatures up to 140oC making it
possible to dye fibres such as polyester.
§ The yarn to be dyed is wound onto perforated dye
centres which may be disposable plastic or stainless
steel springs which are reused.
Package dyeing (cont.)

§ The packages may be in the form of cones, cheeses,

muffs or bobbins. The packages are loaded onto a
carrier with with perforated spindles and are normally
compressed by about 30% to reduce the possibility of
channelling and leakage between packages.
§ These machines have very efficient pumping systems
with the facility to reverse the flow direction and can
dye at liquor ratios down to 1:6.
§ A general rule of thumb for flow rates is that 30 litres
per kilogram of yarn per minute is about optimum.
Advantages of package dyeing

a) Reduced lead times from order to finished product -

reduced stock holding.
b) Extremely versatile in batch sizes – any size lot from
one to 1000kg, depending on machinery available.
c) Yarn packages may be assembled on two for one
twisters thereby saving a winding operation.
d) Improved spinning yields as fibre is not damaged prior
to spinning.
Disadvantages of package dyeing

a) Loss of yarn bulk if special dyeing methods

are not used.
b) Yarn flattening on inside of package.
Schematic of pressure package
dyeing machine
Hank dyeing

§ The traditional method of dyeing yarn is to do

it in hank form.
§ It is carried out in machines with fairly gentle
liquor flow so as to reduce channelling.
§ The hanks of yarn are supported by sticks
(steel rods) at the top and bottom of the
machine to cater for reversal of the liquor flow
direction.
Advantages of hank dyeing

§ Low liquor flow rates and very little tension on

the yarn provides a very gentle action during
the dyeing cycle and maintains the yarn bulk
or loftiness.
§ Improved spinning yields.
§ Reduced lead times and inventories.
§ Ideal dyeing system for wool and acrylic yarn
which is easily deformed during dyeing.
Disadvantages of hank dyeing

§ Little flexibility in batch sizes as machines

must be fully loaded.
§ Hanking and backwinding operations add extra
cost.
§ Loading material carriers is slow and labour
intensive.
Schematic of hank dyeing machine
5. Fabric dyeing
Fabric dyeing

§ Fabric is dyed using a number of different types of

machines including winches, beam dyeing machines,
jigs and jet dyeing machines.
§ For wool fabrics which are produced from woollen spun
yarns, winches are often preferred as they can have a
positive effect on fabric consolidation.
§ However, for wool and wool blend fabrics produced on
the worsted system, soft action jet dyeing machines are
usually preferred.
§ In special cases with wool fabric which is very delicate
or prone to creasing it is sometimes necessary to dye
them on a beam dyeing machine.
Advantages of fabric dyeing

§ Very short lead times and minimum

stockholding of finished goods.
§ Amounts exactly matching the size of the
order may be dyed.
§ Leads to highly efficient processing as only
white fabric needs to be woven or knitted.
Disadvantages of fabric dyeing

§ Restricted colouration flexibility as only solid

colours can be dyed unless blends of different
fibres are used.
§ A certain amount of permanent set may be
imparted to the fabric which may prove
undesirable in later finishing operations.
Schematic of a jet dyeing machine
Modern softflow jet dyeing machine
6. Garment dyeing
Garment dyeing

§ Garment dyeing machines have long been used for

dyeing socks, stockings and pantyhose and are
sometimes used for dyeing fully fashioned knitted
garments.

§ There are a number of different types of machines, from

rotary drum machines to side and overhead paddles and
the more modern front-loading rotary drum garment
dyeing machines.
Garment dyeing (cont.)

§ The front-loading rotary drum machines have

the advantage that they are also used for
extracting water from the dyed goods.

§ Garment dyeing is not widely used for dyeing

wool or wool blend products except for shrink
resist treated fully fashioned knitted garments
or socks.