NAME: MWENDIA VINCENT MUREA

REG NO: MPE/27/19

COUSE CODE: MPE 290

COURSE TITLE: WORKSHOP PRACTICE

TASK: INDUSTRIAL VISIT REPORT- RIVATEX

SUBMITTED TO: MR. MARARO

SIGNATURE: …………………………….

DATE: 20TH AUGUST 2021

Rivatex east Africa limited was opened in August 2007 as a Moi university facility for
training, consultancy, research, product development, extension and commercial purposes. It
is a textile company that manufactures different textile products from cotton and cotton blend
fibres. The products are supplied to independent retailers, schools, institutions and other
manufacturers. It primarily deals with conversion of fibre to yarn and yarn to fabric.

The main types of fibre used at Rivatex include ;

• Cotton
• Polyester
• Viscose

These raw materials undergo many processes to produce the final product.

The processes include;

• Bale opening
• Cleaning
• Mixing
• Carding
• Lap forming
• Roving and combing
• Spinning process
• Weaving
• Warping
• Sizing
• Inspection process
• Raising process
• Grey stitching
• Shearing and cropping
• Desizing
• Scouring
• Bleaching
• Mercerization
Yarn formation process involves the following steps;

Bale opening

This refers to the process whereby the high density bale is broken down in to smaller clumps
of fibres. Cotton is packed in comprssed bales ;the cotton fibre is loosened by use of rotating
spiked rollers of the bale opener .

Cleaning

When the cotton arrives , they still hold vegetable matter. Cleaning involves getting rid of the
waste materials present in the cotton. Waste materials include dust, seeds and dirt.

In the blow room the cleaning and opening of the cotton is done by beaters and openers .the
main objective of blowroom is to separate good fibres from impurities like dust,leaves and
seed coats. Also in the blowroom the bales are opened and make the tufts of cotton as small
as possible.

Good quality fibres proceed to spinning

Mixing

This is a process of mixing the same or different category of fibers to get desired properties
and cost effectiveness.

Carding

Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles ,cleans and mixes fibers to produce a sliver
suitable for processing . makes use of a carding machine.
Objectives of carding.

• To eliminate impurities present in cotton.

Lap formation

Through drafting fibers get paralleled and are fed into the draw frame where they are
stretched and made into a single sliver.
Roving

The sliver from draw-frame is thick and is difficult to be fed into the ring-frame, hence here
the slivers are stretched and the density reduced by drafting and mild twisting.

The end product is called Roving

The roving is then fed into the ring-frame and is made into yarn by further Drafting and
Twisting. The function of the ring frame is to draft the roving up to the required level
according to the yarn count to be spun.

The spinning process

Spinning is the process of conversion of fibres into yarns. The yarns produced at this stage
are wound around cones. The yarn in the cones is then wound on beams and proceeds to the
next stage.

The yarn is brought in contact with starch and beef tallow in the presence of steam. This
process stiffens and strengthens the yarn. An acrylic binder is used to hold the fibers together.
The sized yarn is wound onto beams and is now ready for weaving.

WEAVING.

Weaving is the process by which the yarns are produced into fabric

A machine for undertaking the process of weaving is called as a loom.

A mechanical loom produces tougher fabric while an airjet loom produces finer fabric.
weaving process

The main steps in the weaving process include: warping, sizing and weaving

1. Yarn preparation: Yarn collected from the spinning section is brought forward..

2.Warping: warping is defined as the pararell winding of yarn from cone to a warp beam .

Warping is intended to prepare the beam of the weaver to be installed on the weaving
machine. Warping performs the following operations:

• Create, out of a limited number of warp threads

• Arrangement of the above-mentioned threads according to the desired sequence.

3. Sizing; its an intermediate protective process which is done to prepare the yarn for
weaving. Its done by application of adhesives . Sizing increases yarn strength, reduces
hairiness which minimize the abrasion that occur between the warp thread and the various
parts of the beam, and also prevent friction during weaving. Below is a sizing machine.
4. Denting: Denting refers to drawing the warp thread through the dent

5. Final weaving; this is where the actual weaving takes place. The yarns that are placed
lengthwise or parallel to the selvedge of the cloth are called warp yarn and the yarns that run
crosswise are called weft yarns.

The fabric produced here proceeds to the inspection process.

Inspection process

This is the process of visual examination in identifying weaving faults in the fabric after
coming from weaving department .

Common faults include ;

• Broken pick
• Extra pick
• Miss pick

Raising process.

A process where fibers are raised on a fabric to produce a mat fiber end or nap.

A raising machine.
STITCHING

Same surface stitched together to make it continuous.

SHEARING AND CROPPING

This process is employed to remove the unevenness present on the surface of the fabric so as
to attain even surface for further processing.

Desizing process

Desizing is the process of removing the size material from warp yarns after a textile fabric is
woven. Starches and waxes present in the size paste forms a hydrophobic film on the surface
of the fabric which hinders the further processing such as dyeing, printing etc

The major desizing processes are:

1. Enzymatic desizing of starches on cotton fabrics.

2. Oxidative desizing.

3. Acid desizing.

Scouring process

During this process, the fabric is treated with sodium hydroxide.The water insoluble
impurities, the natural fats and waxes present in the fabric are removed in this process. The
removal of such impurities makes the textile water arbsorbent.

Bleaching process

The scouring process of cotton removes waxes, but other majority of impurity leave behind
the natural coloring matter. Bleaching completes the purification of fiber by ensuring the
complete decolorization of coloring matter. The bleaching agents generally used include:
hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, sodium hypochlorite.
Mercerization

It is a textile finishing treatment for fabric which improves dye uptake and tear strength
,reduces fabric shrinkage and imparts silk like luster.

The fabric is treated by use NAOH solution .

Importance of mercerization

• Increasing luster.
• Increases smoothness
• Reduces lint
• Increasing affinity to dyestuffs
Dyeing
Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textiles materials with the aim of
desired colour.

o Methods of Dyeing
• Batchwise processes: The machine used in this process is jigger jet dyeing machine.
• Continuous processes: These methods are specified by continuous dyeing range. The
basic units for continuous process are padding, steaming, dry heat treatment and
soaping.

Quality of Dyeing is determined by evenness of dyeing, desired fastness value and brightness
of colors.

Printing

This is a process in which a multi color effect is produced on the fabric at discrete places.

Types of printing;

• Rotary screen printing

Textile finishing covers an extremely wide range of activities, which are performed on
textiles before they reach the final customer. The term finishing includes all the mechanical
and chemical processes employed commercially to improve the acceptability of the product.

This includes;

Mechanical finishing

• Napping – folding and formation of naps.

Chemical finishing- process of applying and treating textiles with a variety of chemicals in
order to achieve desired functional properties.
These include
• Flame retardant finishes
• Wrinkle resistant finishing
• Water repellant finishing
• Oil and soil repellancy

The fabrics are then packed .some are delivered to the customers while others proceed to the
tailoring department .
Conclusion

A trip to Rivatex was so educative and helped me to learn and understand more on the
processes involved in textile processing.
Rivatex East Africa Limited, plays a vital role in the development of the country and the
world at large, that is by exporting its products, importing various raw materials from
different parts of the world. It has also opened other Textile manufacturing industries at
various parts of the country making textile as the industry to grow. It also acts as a source of
employment to various people.
References

www.textileguide.chemsec.org

notes given by tourgides at rivatex

www.textilescholar.com

MIT 221 class notes.