Open-end spinning is a technology for creating yarn without using a spindle. It was invented and developed in Czechoslovakia in Výzkumný ústav bavlnářský / Cotton Research Institute in Ústí nad Orlicí in 1963.
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Method
It is also known as break spinning or rotor spinning. The principle behind open-end spinning is similar to that of a clothes dryer spinning full of sheets. If you could open the door and pull out a sheet, it would spin together as you pulled it out. Sliver from the card goes into the rotor, is spun into yarn and comes out, wrapped up on a bobbin, all ready to go to the next step. There is no roving stage or re-packaging on an auto-coner. This system is much less labour-intensive and faster than ring spinning with rotor speeds up to 140,000 rpm. The Rotor design is the key to the operation of the open-ended spinners. Each type of fibre may require a different rotor design for optimal product quality and processing speed.
The first open-end machines in the United Kingdom were placed, under great secrecy, by Courtaulds into Maple Mill, Oldham in 1967.
One disadvantage of open-end spinning is that it is limited to coarser counts, another is the structure of the yarn itself with fibres less in parallel compared to ring-spun yarns, for example, consequently cloth made from open-end yarn has a "fuzzier" feel and poorer wear resistance.
History
The global demand for spun fibre is huge. Converting raw fibre to yarn is a complicated process. Many manufacturers compete to provide the spinning machines that are essential to meeting the demand by delivering increases in spinning productivity and additional improvements in yarn quality. Over the past three centuries spinning technology has been continuously improved through thousands of minor innovations, and occasional major advances that have collectively increased the quality and lowered the cost of producing yarn dramatically.
Major technology advances have included:
The number of manufacturers who can successfully compete has been reduced, as the technical complexity of the spinning machines has increased. However, there are many competent companies serving the global market for spinning machines who continue to pursue innovative ways to increase spinning productivity and yarn quality.
Characteristics
A good open-end machine should have: