Foreign fibers 8

Main Contents

8 Foreign fibers ........................................................................................ 8.1

8.2 Dense Area ................................................................................................................................... 8.3

8.3 Foreign fibers ............................................................................................................................... 8.5
8.3.1 Types of foreign material in cotton ................................................................................................ 8.5
8.3.2 Degree of contamination of bales .................................................................................................. 8.8
8.3.3 Size and appearance of foreign matter in spinning mills ............................................................. 8.10
8.3.4 Frequency of foreign fibers in spinning mills ............................................................................... 8.11
8.3.5 Foreign fiber risk calculated for a spinning mill ........................................................................... 8.12
®
8.4 Classification matrix of foreign fibers with the USTER QUANTUM 3................................. 8.12
8.5 Clearing limits ............................................................................................................................ 8.13
8.5.1 General references for foreign fiber clearing ............................................................................... 8.14
8.5.2 Clearing limits for dark foreign fibers in light yarn ....................................................................... 8.14
8.5.3 Standard way of optimizing clearing limits: Manual clearing limits entry .................................... 8.15
8.5.4 Setting a smart clearing limit for dark foreign matter (FD) .......................................................... 8.17

8.6 Foreign fibers and their effect on the various production processes ................................. 8.19
8.6.1 Methods to eliminate foreign material and frequency of foreign material ................................... 8.21
8.6.2 Effect of large foreign particles on the spinning process ............................................................. 8.24
8.6.3 Alarm options for frequent foreign fibers in yarns with clearers .................................................. 8.24
8.6.4 Limits of foreign fiber elimination ................................................................................................. 8.25
8.6.5 Process disturbances while beaming, weaving and knitting caused by foreign matter .............. 8.25
8.6.6 Recommended approach to eliminate foreign fibers ................................................................... 8.25
8.6.7 Field tests in China ...................................................................................................................... 8.26

8.7 Foreign fibers and their effect on the fabric appearance ...................................................... 8.30
8.7.1 Reasons and measures to minimize foreign fibers in yarns ........................................................ 8.33

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 i
8 Foreign fibers

ii ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

8 Foreign fibers
8.1 Introduction

Foreign fibers are one of the major problems in spinning mills. The global ITMF [3] survey on cotton
contamination in 2009 showed that, in the perception of spinners from around the world, contamina-
tion remains a serious problem. During the past 20 years the degree of significantly contaminated
cotton bales has been increasing steadily from 14% to 22%. Organic matter is still the main contami-
nant, followed by fabrics of cotton and plastic film, strings of jute and plastic [3]. These fibers can be
of different origin, character, structure or color. There are distinct benefits to early detection and re-
moval of unwanted fibrous material, since subsequent processing stages open up and spread out
these “foreign fibers.” This can result in the contamination of many yarn packages [1]. Fabrics con-
taining foreign fibers cannot be dyed homogeneously, and these fibers can cause many quality prob-
lems, especially after finishing [4]. Foreign fibers and materials adversely affect processing, produce
end breaks and also affect the dye uptake, fiber reflectance and the appearance of the final product
[2].

It is obvious that foreign matter in textile fabrics can no longer be accepted. Therefore, the fight
against foreign material in cotton has to cover all the areas where this type of contamination can oc-
cur.

Many foreign fiber problems are detected only after finishing, and the spinner is ultimately held re-
sponsible for the damage.

Therefore, the costs for such claims can be considerable, and provisions have to be made to absorb
such claims if the spinning mill does not have a quality management system to eliminate or minimize
the number of foreign fibers in yarns.

The following is a collection of experience with foreign matter removal systems prior and after the
card.

Fig. 8-1 and Fig. 8-2 show separated foreign material in cotton.

Fig. 8-1 Separated foreign material in cotton Fig. 8-2 Separated foreign material in cotton

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.1
8 Foreign fibers

In Fig. 8-3 and Fig. 8-4 we can see the result of a large blue plastic part which was cut into individual
fibers by the card. As can be seen the cotton fibers are contaminated with blue colored plastic fibers.
The plastic fiber cluster (Fig. 8-3 and Fig. 8-4) will result in foreign fibers in yarns.

Fig. 8-3 Plastic fibers in card sliver Fig. 8-4 Plastic fibers in card sliver

Fig. 8-5 Various foreign fibers in yarns at different magnification

8.2 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

8.2 Dense Area

Another new, innovative and unique feature of the USTER® QUANTUM 3 is the “Dense Area”. The
dense area in the scatter plot (appearance versus length) is the display of the range where foreign
fibers are occurring very frequently but which can hardly be recognized in a fabric because they are
very small (Fig. 8-6). This display of the dense area helps the user to set a clearing limit easier with
an optimal balance between quality and productivity. The dense area depends on the raw material. If
a yarn is produced from cotton having a lot of foreign matter or vegetables, then the dense area will
be wider and a high number of cuts have to be expected.

Similar to the yarn body, after running only a few kilometers of yarn, the first impression of the dense
area and the significant foreign fibers will appear.

The blue colored dense area is used to visualize the distribution and frequency of clearing limits for
the Foreign Matter (FD). By this means a quality analysis of the degree of contamination for different
yarns can be easily done.

With multicolored light sources the new FM sensor can see all colored foreign fibers and enables the
classification of vegetables separately. Having detected all the defects, the USTER® QUANTUM 3
smartly splits the foreign matter into two pools, disturbing colored foreign fibers and mostly non dis-
turbing vegetable foreign matter (see chapter 9). Separate limits for foreign fibers and vegetable mat-
ter can be defined.

Fig. 8-6, shows a dense area with yarn faults as seen by the USTER® QUANTUM 3, with all the fre-
quent remaining events recorded in the yarn (blue dots), and with the marked area of the yarn body
(blue area) and the area of the disturbing yarn faults (red dots).

The vertical scale represents the visual appearance or intensity and the horizontal axis represents the
FD faults length in cm.

Fig. 8-6 Display of the dense area and the scatter plot for foreign matter

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.3
8 Foreign fibers

Examples of various dense areas:

Fig. 8-7 Display of the dense area and the scatter plot for foreign matter

Examples of various dense areas:

Fig. 8-8 Display of the dense area and the scatter plot for foreign matter

8.4 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

8.3 Foreign fibers

8.3.1 Types of foreign material in cotton

There are various spinning mills which permanently eliminate foreign matter manually from the bales.
However, this method only allows the elimination of larger particles. Small foreign fibers such as hu-
man or animal hair cannot be eliminated with such methods because they cannot be detected.

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation ITMF investigates the contamination of cotton
bales on a global scale. The classification of foreign material in bales leads to Table 8-1. [5]

Type of contamination Designation Origin

Cotton-related contamination honeydew insects
leaf cotton plant
stem cotton plant
bark cotton plant
trash cotton plant
seed coat fragments cotton seed
Contamination of natural and man- woven plastic packing material
made origin
jute packing material
plastic fragments foreign matter blown into the fields
strings for cotton bags
bird feathers natural contamination
grass contamination during harvesting
paper contamination of cotton fields
leather contamination during harvesting
human and animal hair contacts with humans and animals
rust machines or transportation trucks
metal plates / wires contamination during harvesting
oil / grease machines or transportation trucks
rubber contamination during harvesting
stamp colorant identification of bales
tar contamination during harvesting

Table 8-1 Contaminations found in cotton (Source: ITMF 2009 [5])

Depending on the growth area and the harvesting methods the type and number of foreign material
can change considerably.

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.5
8 Foreign fibers

Foreign fibers
Foreign fibers are all kinds of fiber type materials, which cling to the yarn. They can be of different
origin, composition, structure and color. They occur as single fibers as well as in fiber bundles. The
length of foreign fibers can vary considerably, but hardly exceeds a length of 7 cm.

Packing material
Cotton bales are often packed in polypropylene bags or other synthetic material after ginning. Other
kind of packing material made of natural fibers will not be discussed here.

Foreign fibers consisting of polypropylene are often white and therefore hardly detectable by electron-
ic means. These fibers do not protrude and are not detected before dyeing or finishing. Thus, they
first become visible in the dyed woven or knitted fabric.

Fig. 8-9 Examples of packing material / Single fiber of a colored polypropylene string for packing the cot-
ton fibers / Distance between black lines: 1 cm

Dirtiness
Dirtiness is caused of substances, which adhere to, are spun into or have penetrated into the yarn
body. The contamination of bales is usually attributed to transport damage, improper storage and print
color.

In the spinning mill, dirtiness as a foreign matter can be caused by

• lubricant residue on machine parts (grease or oil)
• a messy working environment with dust and dirt
• dust or very small particles from rubberized machine parts (e.g. press rollers) or drive belts, which
adhere to the yarn
• Transport vehicles which were not cleaned when moving cotton.

In the yarn, dirtiness appears mostly as dark, brown or gray contaminants. In contrast to many foreign
fibers or packing materials, such faults are often very long, for example 5 cm or more. Due to the
length and the missing fibrous structure, these faults can usually be clearly identified.

8.6 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

Fig. 8-10 Example of grease in the yarn

Vegetable matter
With vegetable matter, it is necessary to clearly differentiate between two categories
• pieces of vegetables
• vegetable packing material

Pieces of vegetables
Under this term, it is commonly understood some fragments of:
• leaves • bark
• stems • seed-coat fragments

The color is light to dark brown and the shape is irregular. The foreign matter adheres to or, in some
cases, is embedded in the yarn.

The frequency of such foreign matter depends on the degree of contamination of the fiber material
and on the efficiency of the blowroom equipment. In general, it can be said that the relative percent-
age of such foreign matter is usually very high.

Foreign matter in the form of vegetable frag-

ments is normally brightened up almost com-
pletely in the bleaching process. But the effec-
tiveness of the bleaching process depends on
the recipe and on the applied technology. Un-
der normal conditions, this type of foreign mat-
ter is considered as non-disturbing after correct
bleaching. However, aggressive bleaching
agents are not allowed anymore.

Experience has shown that vegetables deriving

from weeds might remain as dark spots in the
yarn after bleaching. The monitoring of such
faults is recommended.

Fig. 8-11 Examples of seed-coat fragments

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.7
8 Foreign fibers

Vegetable packing material

Foreign matter made out of vegetable packing materials is e.g.:

• jute fabric or jute-/hemp strings
• chemical components based on cellulosic material

The structure of the material is clearly fibrous. The color is usually light to dark-brown and the length
is in a short to medium range of approx. 1 to 2 cm. The fibers are extremely rigid and brittle, so that
they often protrude from the yarn and rarely cling tightly to the yarn body.

Due to the chemical similarity to the vegetable components of the fiber material, e.g. cotton, vegetable
packing materials are also affected by the bleaching process, whereby the recipe and the process
technology again play an important role.

Fig. 8-12 Examples for vegetables in the yarn

8.3.2 Degree of contamination of bales

The investigation of ITMF every second year in the past has shown that the degree of contamination
of cotton bales depends very much on the growth area. Fig. 8-13 shows the growth areas with the
most contaminated bales.

8.8 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

Fig. 8-13 Growth areas with the highest foreign fiber contamination in cotton bales (Source: ITMF 2009)

Fig. 8-14 shows the growth areas with the least contaminated cotton bales.

Fig. 8-14 Growth areas with the lowest foreign fiber contamination in cotton bales (Source: ITMF 2009)

It has to be taken into consideration that those growth areas where cotton is harvested with machines
are less affected by inorganic matter because there is less contact between workers and cotton, but
the amount of vegetable can be higher.

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.9
8 Foreign fibers

It is evident that while a distinction between “most contaminated” and “least contaminated” cotton can
be made, there are no cotton varieties produced which have zero contamination. As can be seen
above, at least 5% of the produced bales from even the least contaminated origins have significant
levels of contamination.

8.3.3 Size and appearance of foreign matter in spinning mills

If foreign material cannot be eliminated prior to the card the foreign material is cut into pieces by the
card. A piece of plastic can result in a number of individual foreign fibers after the card. As these fi-
bers are mostly colored, the cluster of foreign fibers can easily be recognized in the card sliver.

These clusters of foreign fibers will lead to human interventions, consequently loss of production effi-
ciency and labor costs, because the clearers on the winding machines will trigger foreign fiber alarm
due to the higher amount of foreign fibers within a short period.

Often in some spinning mills some of the foreign fibers are added accidentally through human igno-
rance, waste recycling etc. which contaminate the cotton fibers during the spinning process. For such
fibers the clearer as a monitoring system at the last stage of the spinning process is the only tool
which can eliminate such fibers.

Removed foreign Card Yarn

material in bale sliver

Opening & Draw- Spinning

Cleaning Card
frame machine
Line

Fig. 8-15 Foreign material at various stages of the spinning process

The foreign fibers which cannot be eliminated during the spinning process will show up in the yarn
and have to be eliminated by the yarn clearer on the winding.

8.10 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

8.3.4 Frequency of foreign fibers in spinning mills

In order to understand the frequency of foreign fibers in spinning mills we have to consider that for-
eign fibers which exist as clusters in the card sliver are drawn several times in the spinning process
until they show up in the yarn. The more steps in the spinning process the more increases the dis-
tance from foreign fiber to foreign fiber in the yarn. Therefore, the distance between two foreign fibers
is longer in a ring spinning operation with combers than in an OE rotor operation.

Assumption: Plastic film prior to card of 2 cm2. Resulting cluster: 400 individual foreign fibers in the
card sliver (Fig. 8-15).

Fig. 8-16 Effect of drafting on foreign fiber distribution in yarns

In Fig. 8-16 the processing steps and the drawing ratios are shown for the 3 most important spinning
processes. It can be seen in the figure that the distance between two foreign fibers is short for short
spinning processes and long for spinning processes with many steps.

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.11
8 Foreign fibers

8.3.5 Foreign fiber risk calculated for a spinning mill

Fig. 8-17 shows the risk of a spinning mill which has the foreign fiber challenge not under control.

34800
36000

32000

28000
Sales prices in USD

24000
18000
20000

16000

12000
7320
8000
3840
4000
1320
600
0
Bale Yarn (Nec 30, Raw fabric Finished fabric Shirts Retailer
combed) (bleached)

Fig. 8-17 Foreign fiber risk calculated for a spinning mill

The calculation is based on a bale of 480 lbs (217 kg). The price for the bale was USD 600. The spin-
ner’s sales price for yarns made of this bale was USD 1’320. The raw fabric was sold for USD 3’840.
The finished fabric was sold for USD 7’320.

The foreign fibers were only detected after bleaching. The finishing plant did not send the complaint to
the cotton trader, but to the spinner. Therefore, the finishing plant had a damage of USD 7’320 per
bale which had to be paid by the spinner, but the spinner only earned USD 600 for the processing of
the entire bale.

Therefore, a reliable foreign fiber elimination system has to be installed in the spinning mill if the spin-
ner wants to be the master of his destiny. Any claims to the spinner are much higher than the actual
cost of spinning since there is a significant value addition along the chain.

8.4 Classification matrix of foreign fibers with the USTER® QUANTUM 3

Uster Technologies has developed a classification matrix for foreign fibers and vegetable matters. Fig.
8-18 shows the structure of the classification matrix for foreign fibers, which represents the appear-
ance (in %) and length (in cm). The appearance corresponds to the visibility of a fault.

8.12 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

Fig. 8-18 Classifying system for foreign fibers (Standard F classes (left) and extended F classes (right))

This matrix was developed in a similar way as Uster Technologies designed the matrix for thick plac-
es and thin places. A considerable amount of foreign fibers are located in the B1 class.

Therefore, the B1 class (B11 to B14) serves as a benchmark for recognizing the degree of contamina-
tion of the raw material. The experience values are the following:

Yarn type Low degree of contami- Heavily contaminated

nation per 100 km per 100 km
Combed yarns, 100% cotton 10 150
Carded yarns, 100% cotton 20 300 Table 8-2
Benchmarks for foreign
Worsted yarns, 100% wool 20 100 fibers

8.5 Clearing limits

The setting of the foreign fiber channels depends highly on the application profile of the yarn and the
amount of foreign fibers in the raw material.

Basically, it can be said: the longer a foreign fiber and the higher its color intensity:
• the more disturbing are the consequences in the fabric
• the lower is the number of this kind of faults in the yarn

As for regular yarn clearing, it is also valid for foreign fiber clearing:
• More sensitive setting: more splices, but less remaining faults in the yarn
• Less sensitive setting: many remaining faults, but less splices

As for normal yarn clearing, it can also be said that foreign fiber clearing is a compromise between
quality and productivity.

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.13
8 Foreign fibers

8.5.1 General references for foreign fiber clearing

Fig. 8-19 illustrates the relationship between the visual appearance and the length of foreign fibers.
The normal position for typical foreign fibers in a cotton yarn is shown. The limit between the diverse
foreign fibers cannot be drawn clearly and they also overlap partly.

Fig. 8-19 Distribution of foreign fibers in a cotton yarn

• Vegetables:
- are mainly in short length ranges
- occur in the whole intensity spectrum from low to high
- should not be cleared, if possible, as they are possibly removed or neutralized in the follow-
ing processes, particularly during the bleaching process

• Foreign fibers:
- are mostly shorter than 7 cm, but thinner than vegetables
- must be cleared when exceeding the clearing limit

8.5.2 Clearing limits for dark foreign fibers in light yarn

The FD-channel (Foreign matter Dark) is responsible for the clearing of dark foreign fibers in light
yarn. A dark foreign fiber has a low light reflection and, therefore, appears darker than the yarn.

8.14 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

8.5.3 Standard way of optimizing clearing limits: Manual clearing limits entry

Analogous to the optimization of the thick and thin places, the setting for the foreign fiber clearing
must also be started with the standard settings. According to the results, further adjustments have to
be carried out.

Fig. 8-20 describes this standard procedure when starting foreign fiber clearing with unknown cotton:

Fig. 8-20 Diagram for the optimization of foreign fiber clearing

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.15
8 Foreign fibers

Foreign fibers of different origin, composition, structure and color can be detected with foreign fiber
clearing. By selecting a limit only the disturbing foreign fibers are removed from the yarn. By using
FD, dark foreign fibers in light yarn are detected during production.

The setting of foreign material is mainly driven by the production lines in a mill; of course also in
blended or synthetic yarn the foreign material caused by fly or mix up can be eliminated.

Fig. 8-21 shows the clearing limit as shown in the setting window of the control unit. The USTER®
QUANTUM 3 gives us the chance of determining our clearing limits by placing a maximum of 8 set
points FD1 to FD8. In Fig. 8-21, we can see 3 setting points (red rectangle) and the clearing limit for
FD foreign fibers. By this setting method the effects of a change of the parameters on the clearing
limit can be demonstrated directly.

As soon as we enter new values at set point, the next one will appear until we reach the 8th set point.
This means after we entered the values for FD1, set point FD2 will appear and it will continue the
same way.

Fig. 8-21 Clearing limits on the screen of the control unit

Set points have two parameters. These are: sensitivity (%) and reference length (cm).

Intensity
The sensitivity (%) is a parameter for the clearing limits of the corresponding fault channel. The sensi-
tivity setting shifts the clearing limit upwards (less sensitive) or downwards (more sensitive). (FD1=
40%, Fig. 8-21).

Reference length
The reference length (cm) is a parameter for the clearing limits of the corresponding fault channel and
shifts the clearing limit to the right (less sensitive) or to the left (more sensitive) (FD1 = 0.6 cm,
Fig. 8-21).

8.16 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

8.5.4 Setting a smart clearing limit for dark foreign matter (FD)

As we mentioned in the previous chapter, the dense area is the display of the range where foreign
fibers are occurring very frequently. This display of the dense area helps the user to set a clearing
limit easier with an optimal balance between quality and productivity (Fig. 8-22).

Similar to the yarn body, after running only a few kilometers of yarn, the first impression of the dense
area and the events will appear. In order to see the dense area, the user should press the dense area
key (Fig. 8-23). Besides the dense area, also the scatter plot of the cut faults and remaining events,
and the number of expected fault cuts per 100 km together with the used setting limits will appear
directly on the same setting page (Fig. 8-24).

Pressing key presents

• The dense area.
• Scatter plot of the cut faults
and remaining events.
• Number of expected fault cuts
/ 100 km.

Clearing limit

Red dots = cut yarn faults.

Blue dots are remaining events
Dense area

= Proposes the starting point

for the clearing limits based on the
dense area.
Fig. 8-22 Display of the dense area

With the USTER® QUANTUM 3, we have a very useful and smart tool to find the right starting point
for the new clearing limits. The Smart Limit function proposes a starting point for the clearing limits
based on the yarn body and also provides a cut forecast to facilitate faster setup of clearing limits.

The setting of USTER® QUANTUM 3 can be done simply in one step (Fig. 8-23, Fig. 8-24):

Fig. 8-23 Setting page for FD manual setting or Fig. 8-24 Display of dense area
setting by smart limits available

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.17
8 Foreign fibers

After pressing the smart limit key, a small window with the two appropriate keys to adapt and optimize
the smart limit for foreign fibers appears (Fig. 8-25). The Smart Limit has been developed to propose
a starting point for the clearing limits by pressing one button. This proposal can be altered by up and
down keys to optimize the settings according to the individual quality requirements and productivity.
Every change of setting will automatically initiate a new calculation of the cut forecast. It is recom-
mended to use the Smart Limit function after a minimum of 30 km of yarn has already been wound.
This length includes all the clearers of the machine.

The new setting point proposals

= Smart Limit 1 step less sensitive.

= Smart Limit 1 step more sensitive.

= Show dense area and

scatter plot

= confirm and activate optimized

clearing limit.

= cancel all modifications

Fig. 8-25 Proposed setting is a starting point for optimization

Besides the smart limit function, of course the foreign fiber (FD) and vegetable matter clearing (VEG)
classification is still a very powerful tool where we can refer our last decision (Fig. 8-26).

Cuts/100km

Total yarn events

/100km

Fig. 8-26 FD online classification

8.18 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

The red figure in each class indicates how many foreign fibers were eliminated by the clearer within
this class and the black figure represents the number of foreign fibers which were detected in the
class.

8.6 Foreign fibers and their effect on the various production processes

What is understood by foreign fiber detection?

Commonly, under the term “foreign fiber detection”, textile specialists understand the elimination of all
foreign matter in a yarn, which exhibits a contrast to the yarn. With the existing technology, a real col-
or measurement is not possible. Therefore, the evaluation of the light/dark contrast was chosen.

Very short foreign fibers with the same extension like seed coat fragments must be left in the yarn as
they are not disturbing and because of the high number of cuts that has to be expected and because
such fibers can hardly be recognized in a fabric.

The decision for the respective clearing limit must derive from the principle that no long foreign fibers
should remain in the yarn. The maximum admissible length of the foreign fibers which may remain in
the yarn depends on the final purpose of the yarn. Particularly critical are unicolored large fabric such
as bed sheets, table sheets, etc.

Measuring principle and evaluation

For the monitoring of foreign fibers, an optical measuring system is used. For this, a comparison be-
tween the reflection deviation of the foreign fiber and the normal yarn color is measured. This means,
that a very dark foreign fiber in a very light yarn produces a higher contrast than the same foreign
fiber in a yarn made out of gray fibers.

The difference between the actual yarn color and the contrast of a foreign fiber and its length, over
which the color change occurs, is measured. These two values (reflection in % and length in cm) are
compared with the set clearing limits. Are both values above the clearing limit, a cut is carried out.
Foreign fibers which do not exceed the clearing limit are entered in the classification matrix.

Structure of the classification matrix

Fig. 8-27 shows the structure of the classification matrix for foreign fibers. The foreign fibers are clas-
sified by the parameters reflection (%) and length (cm).

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.19
8 Foreign fibers

Fig. 8-27 Structure of the classification matrix for foreign fibers

Fig. 8-28 shows a practical example for a classification matrix of a carded cotton yarn.

Fig. 8-28 Practical example for a foreign fiber matrix

Foreign fiber grades

The graphical representation of disturbing foreign fibers and their classification cannot be done the
same way as for disturbing thick and thin places, i.e. as generally accepted grades. Depending on the
degree of contamination of the raw material, certain colors and frequencies can dominate in the cot-
ton from certain growth areas, whereas other growing regions have completely different foreign fibers.
Therefore, it is recommended to generate such grades depending on the respective fiber blend inter-
nally, in order to obtain certain standards for the existing foreign fibers.

8.20 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

8.6.1 Methods to eliminate foreign material and frequency of foreign material

A comparison of frequency of foreign material and elimination methods

Fig. 8-29 shows the domains of foreign material removal systems and the frequency of foreign mate-
rial. It is obvious that the frequency of foreign material increases considerably in the area of fine for-
eign matter (human and animal hair, plastic fibers, fragments of strings, seed coat fragments).

Frequency of
foreign material

Domain of
yarn clearers

Domain of manual removal

Domain of automatic removal

systems prior to card

0,001 0,01 0,1 1,0 10 cm2 Size of foreign

(diameter 10µm) (diameter 100µm) material

Fig. 8-29 Methods to eliminate foreign material in cotton and foreign material frequency

It is evident that the type and frequency of foreign matter require an effective system to combat this
problem. Over the years spinning mills used the following methods to eliminate disturbing foreign mat-
ter in order to keep the defects within acceptable limits:
• Selection of cotton with small amount of foreign fibers
• manual labor to pick foreign matter in cotton prior to the opening
• foreign matter removal systems prior to the card
• foreign fiber clearers on winding machines

In some cases, especially in vertically integrated textile mills, the mending of defects after finishing the
fabric is also common practice, but only part of the foreign fibers can be extracted from the fabric.

Cotton selection
It makes sense in a spinning mill to know the growth areas with low foreign material contamination. It
must be the aim to order cotton from areas with a low number of foreign material content to keep the
risk of remaining foreign fibers low and to improve the efficiency of the removal systems both human
and electronic. Further, they help to keep the number of foreign fiber cuts with the clearer on a low
level.

This is especially valid for end customers who ask for “zero foreign fibers” as a mandatory require-
ment, and where a significant premium is paid for such a high value addition. If the premium which the
spinner can realize is not significant, choosing low contamination cotton can often lead to other issues
seriously affecting profit margins.

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.21
8 Foreign fibers

This may be cotton with higher nep content, higher short fiber content and higher cotton prices. Fur-
ther, cotton supply contracts in general do not include contamination level as a dispute clause, with
the result that losses cannot be recovered in case contamination expectations are not met.

Manual labor
In developing countries, low labor costs allow use of manual inspection of cotton to remove the major
defects. Typically mills use manual labor to open bales, inspect for contamination and repack them
again. The number of people or the work load employed varies from mill to mill and the end use. Es-
timates from spinning mills in China show between 1 person per 1 to 3 bales per day depending on
the quality demand. Therefore, in an average size spinning mill with 30’000 spindles the number of
employees who do these jobs vary from 60 to 180 people.

Fig. 8-30 Manual removal of foreign material in a Chinese spinning mill

Foreign material removal systems prior to the card

There are various foreign material removal systems available today prior to the card. In general such
devices are important to eliminate the foreign matter of a size greater than 0.5 cm2 to avoid further
disintegration into finer fibers which would increase the cuts in the final inspection by the yarn clear-
ers.

However, such systems do not fully meet the quality targets of the end user since the size and the
number of ejections make it practically impossible to eliminate the single foreign fibers which consti-
tute the highest amount of disturbing defects in the final yarn or fabric. Further, the location of the sys-
tem and the size of the tuft play a decisive role for the detection efficiency. Similar to manual elimina-
tion, the electronic removal systems help in reducing major contaminations, finally reducing cuts and
human intervention in winding. This helps to maintain consistency in cuts.

Foreign fiber clearers in winding

Foreign fiber clearers are by far the most efficient systems to solve the contamination problems. With
the improvement of the detection rate by the USTER® QUANTUM 3, the solution has become more
and more popular. Today about 75% of delivered clearers are with foreign fiber functionality for cotton
yarn measurement.

8.22 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

Since the clearers are integrated in the automatic winder, they are in a position to make the final in-
spection and monitor every millimeter of yarn. Further, the clearers are today capable of detecting the
finest defects not clearly visible to the naked eye. However, many of these very fine fibers may be
visible after subsequent processes such as bleaching, dyeing, etc. This includes white and transpar-
ent polypropylene defects. The clearer can replace each disturbing defect with a splice, thereby elimi-
nating the defect from the final package to the weaver or knitter.

Fig. 8-29 is, therefore, a very important figure to understand the mechanism of foreign material. This
figure also shows that the foreign material removal systems prior to the card have little influence on
the cut rate of the clearers, because most of the foreign fibers which are eliminated by the clearers
cannot be recognized by systems prior to the card.

It also has to be taken into consideration that the automatic foreign material elimination systems prior
to the card eject a considerable amount of cotton together with the foreign materials which must be
separated manually from the “real” foreign materials to keep the waste on a reasonable level.

Fig. 8-31 Contaminations found in cotton

Calculation of a practical example:

Assumption: Spinning mill with 30‘000 spindles

Production per day: 15’000 kg
Yarn count: Nec 30

Subject Calculation method Result

Ejections prior to card per opening/cleaning line 1200/24 hours 960 foreign items
Efficiency 80%
Ejections prior to card 2 opening/cleaning lines 1920 foreign items
Number of foreign fiber cuts on the winding machine 1/100 km 25 per 100 km
of yarn
Winding speed: 1400 m/min Winding duration per 71,43 min
100 km: 100’000 / 1’400
Foreign fiber cuts per winding position and per day 25 • 1440 / 71,43 504 cuts
Number of foreign fiber cuts with 600 winding positions 600 • 504 302’400 cuts

Table 8-3 Calculation of foreign material detection

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.23
8 Foreign fibers

Conclusion per 24 hours, entire mill:

Ejection of real foreign matter: 1920
Number of foreign fiber cuts: 302’400

This calculation clearly indicates that the number of foreign fiber cuts by the clearer is more than 100
times higher than the number of ejections by the foreign fiber removal system prior to the card.

This also explains that the number of small foreign items is much higher than the number of large
particles which can be eliminated prior to the card. If the foreign material removal system prior to the
card is switched off, it does hardly affect the number of clearer cuts for the same reason. However,
the foreign matter removal systems prior to the card can avoid that large foreign particles are cut in
hundreds of fibers which later requires a human intervention to eliminate the foreign fiber clusters in
the card sliver or to replace the affected roving in case of a foreign fiber alarm of the clearer.

Mending of defects in weaving/knitting

Mending of the woven fabric by removing the disturbing foreign fibers is also a common practice, es-
pecially in composite mills. However, as a practice this is possible only if the defect frequency is low.
Further, this also results in costs and claims to the spinner. Some estimates mention USD 6 to 10 /
100 m as mending costs in low cost countries depending on the amount of defects.

For knitted fabrics, mending is not recommended since they damage the fabric. Defects that have a
higher defect rate or mending requirement are often sold for other low end applications, e.g. printed
furnishing.

8.6.2 Effect of large foreign particles on the spinning process

If the foreign material removal system prior to the card is not in a position to eliminate larger foreign
particles because the particles are embedded in a tuft, the card will produce a large number of indi-
vidual foreign fibers which form a cluster in the card sliver as mentioned above. After various drawing
processes they will end in the yarn. The frequency depends on the number of drawing processes as
mentioned above in Fig. 8-16.

8.6.3 Alarm options for frequent foreign fibers in yarns with clearers

The following are the methods to eliminate clusters of foreign fibers:

Ring spinning
Recognition with foreign fiber alarm. If the number of foreign fiber counts oversteps a preset threshold
the winding machine triggers the red light at the critical winding position which also needs a human
intervention or the winder automatically ejects the contaminated bobbin.

8.24 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

8.6.4 Limits of foreign fiber elimination

Ring spun yarn

Table 8-4 shows an average number of splices in a ring spinning operation. This mill eliminates 30
foreign fibers per 100 km.

The total number of splices is 92,5 per kilometer. At a winding speed of 1200 m/min the mean time
between 2 splices per winding position is 0,9 minutes.

Assumption: Count Ne 30, combed cotton, bobbin size 70 g, winding speed 1200 m/min. All figures
calculated per 100 km.

Bobbin changes 28,5

"Natural" end breaks 4,0

Thin and thick places 30,0

Foreign fibers 30,0

Total number of splices 92,5 Table 8-4

Limits of foreign fiber
Mean time between 2 splices per winding position 0,9 min elimination on winders

With 0,9 minutes between two splices we are approaching the limit of admissible stops on the winding
machine. It is not recommended to process heavily contaminated cotton and expect afterwards that
the clearer can produce a yarn which is completely free of foreign fibers.

8.6.5 Process disturbances while beaming, weaving and knitting caused by foreign matter

Table 8-5 shows the influence of remaining foreign fibers in yarns on subsequent processing stages
in the textile chain.

Process Benchmarks for end breaks End breaks caused by foreign

(Central Europe) matter (experience values)
Beaming 0.2 to 0.3 per 1'000'000 meters up to 50% Table 8-5
Experience values / end
Weaving 1 to 2 per 100'000 picks up to 50% breaks in beaming, weav-
ing, knitting caused by
Knitting 1 to 2 per hour up to 40% foreign matter

8.6.6 Recommended approach to eliminate foreign fibers

Based on the discussions in this paper, the following approach is recommended for elimination of
foreign fibers:
• Foreign fiber clearers are mandatory to eliminate foreign fibers, to fulfill the end user quality
needs and to assess the overall cotton quality (using classification figures)

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.25
8 Foreign fibers

• Installing automatic detection systems prior to the card helps in reducing manpower, eliminating
major defects to reduce stoppages, to reduce human intervention and to maintain consistency in
FF clearing
• Random manual inspection of cotton batches helps to identify and track the type and amount of
defects in order to optimize purchase decisions
• Importing cleaner cotton helps to fulfill demands for a cotton yarn with small amount of foreign
fibers

To prove the above approach Uster Technologies conducted a trial in a Chinese Spinning Mill. The
following is the description and results of the field trials.

8.6.7 Field tests in China

Test procedure
A field test was carried out in a quality oriented Chinese spinning mill, where the following foreign
matter removal systems were available:
• Electronic foreign material elimination system prior to the card
• Visual elimination of foreign material prior to the card (70 employees)
• Yarn clearer (USTER® QUANTUM 3) with foreign fiber feature.

The mills had the following standards:

• Knitted fabric - 10 defects/ 20 kg
• Woven fabric – 28 defects / 100 square yards

Four tests were carried out to check the efficiency of the three above mentioned elimination systems.

The final packages were sent for weaving (as weft) and knitting (circular knitting machine). The tests
were carried out in a mill where the yarn was woven and knitted. Afterwards, textile experts checked
each of the trial fabrics and counted the remaining foreign fibers in the fabrics.

All defects that were disturbing were counted. This means that very short defects were included as
well, though they were beyond the clearing limits. Dirt was not considered since it disappears in sub-
sequent processes.

The yarn produced was a Ne 32/1 (18,7tex), produced from mainly Xinjian province, but also included
some imported cotton from Benin, Zimbabwe and Uzbekistan. The daily production of this mill is
about 22 tons of ring spun yarn.

8.26 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

Knitted fabrics
This mill sells knitted fabrics as first grade if the number of foreign fibers in a knitted fabric of 20 kg
weight is less than 10. The weight of 20 kg is equivalent to a length of the knitted fabric of 120 m.

A first test was made without any foreign material elimination systems. The fabric was knitted on a 30”
circular knitting machine, 96 feeders, fabric weight 125g/ 75cm. The fabric inspection experts could
find 49 foreign fibers in the grey knitted fabric of 20 kg (Fig. 8-33).

Fig. 8-32 Fabric inspection for foreign fibers

A second test was carried out with a visual check of the raw material and simultaneously with an elec-
tronic elimination system prior to the card. With these two elimination methods, the amount of foreign
fibers which the experts counted in the knitted fabric dropped from 49 (without any elimination sys-
tem) to 38 (Fig. 8-33).

Number of
foreign fibers
50
49
40
38
30

20

Tolerated limit:
10 10 foreign fibers

0
Without removal Visual check and
systems removal system
prior to card

st
Fig. 8-33 Test result with knitted fabrics, Ne 32, 1 grade < 10 defects / 20 kg of knitted fabric

A third test was made by using the USTER® QUANTUM clearer only. The number of foreign fiber cuts
of the clearer was 30 to 35 per 100 km. The visual check of the grey knitted fabric has resulted in 8
foreign fibers remaining (Fig. 8-34).

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.27
8 Foreign fibers

Number of
foreign fibers
50
49
40

30

20

Tolerated limit:
10 10 foreign fibers
8
0
Without removal With yarn
systems clearer only

Fig. 8-34 Comparison with the efficiency of the yarn clearer only

A fourth test was undertaken with all the elimination systems. After knitting of a roll with 20 kg, the
experts counted 6 remaining foreign fibers (Fig. 8-35).

Number of
foreign fibers
50
49
40

30

20

Tolerated limit:
10 10 foreign fibers
6
0
Without removal With removal systems prior
systems to card and yarn clearer

Fig. 8-35 Application of all elimination systems

Conclusion
It was only possible to reduce the amount of foreign fibers below the given threshold of 10 per 20 kg
of knitting with the USTER® QUANTUM clearer because the clearer is the only tool which can also
detect and eliminate small foreign fibers.

If this figure has to be improved, the number of foreign fiber cuts of the clearer per 100 km has to be
increased.

8.28 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

Woven fabrics
This mill also sells woven fabrics as first grade if the number of visually counted foreign fibers in a
woven fabric of 100 square yards is below 28.

A first test was made without any foreign material elimination systems (Fig. 8-36). The experts could
find 56 foreign fibers in the grey woven fabric of 100 square yards.

A second test was carried out with a visual check and simultaneously with an electronic elimination
system prior to the card. With these two elimination methods the amount of foreign fibers which the
experts counted in the woven fabric dropped from 56 (without any elimination system) to 52 (Fig.
8-36).

st
Fig. 8-36 Test results with woven fabrics, Ne 32, 1 grade < 28 defects / 100 square yards

A third test was made by using the USTER® QUANTUM only. The number of foreign fiber cuts of the
clearer was 30 to 35 per 100 km. The visual check of the grey woven fabric has resulted in 26 foreign
fibers (Fig. 8-37).

Number of
foreign fibers
60

56
50

40

30
Tolerated limit:
28 foreign fibers
20 26

10

0
Without removal With yarn
systems clearer only

Fig. 8-37 Comparison with the efficiency of the yarn clearer only

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.29
8 Foreign fibers

A fourth test was undertaken with all the elimination systems. The experts counted 16 remaining for-
eign fibers per 100 square yards (Fig. 8-38).

Number of
foreign fibers
60

56
50

40

30 Tolerated limit:
28 foreign fibers
20

10 16

0
Without removal With removal systems prior
systems to card and yarn clearer

Fig. 8-38 Application of all elimination systems

Conclusion
It was only possible to reduce the amount of foreign fibers below the threshold of 28 per 100 square
yards with the USTER® QUANTUM clearer because the clearer is the only tool which can also detect
and eliminate small foreign fibers.

If this figure has to be improved, the number of foreign fiber cuts of the clearer per 100 km has to be
increased.

8.7 Foreign fibers and their effect on the fabric appearance

Depending on the application of the yarn, a foreign fiber can have different effects on the woven or
knitted fabric. In knitting, the loop formation causes a shortening of the yarn, including the foreign fi-
ber, which leads to a concentration of the color contrast. This means, that short foreign fibers have a
more disturbing effect than in a knitted fabric. Short foreign fibers protrude from the woven fabric, un-
less it exhibits a high density and stiffness. Only a combination of the intensity and the length of a
foreign fiber have a disturbing effect on the eye.

In the following figures (Fig. 8-39 and Fig. 8-40) examples for foreign fiber in a woven and in a knitted
fabric are shown.

8.30 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

Fig. 8-39 Example of a foreign fiber in a woven fabric

Fig. 8-40 Example of foreign fibers in a knitted fabric

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.31
8 Foreign fibers

In general, 4 – 5 disturbing foreign fibers are accepted in a piece of knitted fabric (about 80 – 120 m)
today. As disturbing are regarded:
• Short, clearly visible colored foreign fibers in a range of 2 to 3 loops
• Longer, light foreign fibers starting in a range of 8 to 10 loops

Fig. 8-41 to Fig. 8-46 show foreign fibers in various garments. The zoomed pictures show different
colored foreign fibers. In Fig. 8-41 and Fig. 8-42, a blue colored foreign fiber can be observed. The
garment was produced with 100% cotton and, after the bleaching process, it had a uniform white col-
or. But the blue colored foreign fiber disturbs the knitted fabric appearance.

Fig. 8-41 Foreign fiber in knitted garment / 100% Fig. 8-42 Foreign fiber in knitted garment / 100%
cotton, combed, Ne 46 (13 tex) cotton, combed, Ne 46 (13 tex)

In Fig. 8-43 and Fig. 8-44, a red colored foreign fiber can be observed. The garment is produced with
100% cotton, and, after bleaching process, it had a white color. But the red colored foreign fiber dis-
turbs the knitted fabric appearance.

Fig. 8-43 Foreign fiber in knitted garment / 100% Fig. 8-44 Foreign fiber in knitted garment / 100%
cotton, combed, Ne 46 (13 tex) cotton, combed, Ne 46 (13 tex)

8.32 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3
 Foreign fibers 8

Fig. 8-45 and Fig. 8-46 show a blue colored foreign fiber in men’s cardigan. The product was pro-
duced with 100% combed cotton.

Fig. 8-45 Foreign fiber in men’s cardigan / 100% Fig. 8-46 Foreign fiber in men’s cardigan / 100%
cotton, combed, Ne 28 (21 tex) cotton, combed, Ne 28 (21 tex)

8.7.1 Reasons and measures to minimize foreign fibers in yarns

In Table 8-6 and Table 8-7, the origin of the faults related to yarn contaminations is given. Possible
reasons and preventive measures to avoid such faults are explained and various USTER® tools for
improvement are presented.

CONTAMINATION
Origin of Faults Possible Reasons and Preventive Actions

Bale management Prefer – when possible – to use cotton with low content of foreign fibers.
Sometimes spinning mills tend to create or intensify the contamination
problem. A popular mistake is the use of plastic bags for the waste collec-
tion and transportation inside the spinning mill.
Blowroom Controlled recycling of waste
Cards Efficient carding and combing

Drawing frame Proper blending at all drawframes

Optimize comber settings (comber noil, processing speed) in order to

Combing
achieve the maximum foreign fiber reduction.

Table 8-6

®
USTER QUANTUM 3 8.33
8 Foreign fibers

®
CONTAMINATION / USTER Tools for Improvement
Tools Improvement
®
USTER JOSSI VISION SHIELD Elimination of foreign fibers and PP before the carding machine
®
®
USTER Testing off-line Quality control of foreign fibers with USTER TESTER when dealing with
new raw material
®
USTER QUANTUM CLEARER Proper setting of foreign fiber detection
Separate outlier bobbins with too many foreign fibers with quality alarm
settings
®
USTER EXPERT SYSTEMS Long-term control of quality level

Table 8-7 Preventive measures and tools for the management of foreign fibers

8.34 ®
USTER QUANTUM 3