link 1 /2009

08 TECHNOLOGY  Com4®twin – alternative yarns for exquisite fabrics 11 PRODUCT NEWS  Fully automated E 76 comber now with SERVOtrolley 13  Boosting output with retrofits featuring original components 17 RIETER INSIDE  Rieter in India – Partner of the Spinning Industry

The customer magazine of Rieter Spun Yarn Systems

Vol. 21 / No . 53 . January 2009 / EN

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03  EDITORIAL 

OUR CUSTOMERS04  Breathtaking pace of development at  

Alok Industries Ltd. 

TECHNOLOGY 08  Com4®twin – alternative yarns for exquisite fabrics.  Tencel® fibers spun using the Com4®twin spintwist method

meet the highest standards for exquisite Indian saris. Interesting project results from the cooperation between fiber manufacturer Lenzing AG and Rieter.

  PRODUCT NEWS11  Fully automated E76 comber now with SERVOtrolley. A new, economical automation solution in the combing

room using the SERVOtrolley E 17 on the E 76 comber with the fully automated ROBOlap piecing system.

13  Boosting output with retrofits featuring original components .

Keep your production installations up to the mark with retrofits and original spare parts. We describe five different retrofit kits.

15  Spindle monitoring with ISM and SPIDERweb. 

RIETER INSIDE17  Rieter in India – Partner of the Spinning Industry. Since the first machines were delivered to India in 1886

Rieter has pursued a strategy of providing customer-focused services.

21  25 000th RSB drawframe delivered to Thermax Melange Spinning Mills Ltd. 

  EVENTS22  ITME 2008 –India’s leading textile machinery 

exhibition. 

CONTENTS 

Publisher and editor-in-chief: Marketing Spun Yarn Systems,

Heiner Eberli

Copyright: © 2009 Rieter Machine Works Ltd.,

Klosterstrasse 20, CH-8406 Winterthur,

www.rieter.com, rieter-link@rieter.com

Reprints permitted, subject to prior approval;

specimen copies requested.

Design and production: Marketing Rieter CZ s.r.o., Pavel Bielik

Printing HRG s.r.o., Czech Republic

Cover:Spindle monitoring using ISM

and SPIDERweb.

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EDITORIAL

Dear LINK readersHardly any company can escape the impact of the present economic downturn. The global financial cri-sis in the second half of 2008 is making investment difficult due to banks’ more restrictive lending.

Cyclical fluctuations are nothing exceptional for the textile industry. Successful spinning mills worldwide repeatedly face the challenge of responding rapid-ly and flexibly to changing market conditions and adapting accordingly. Dealing with crisis situations is difficult at first sight, but also offers development opportunities for everyone. We as a company adopt a positive approach to these major challenges: all pulling together, bundling and focusing resources, maintaining a positive attitude and remaining con-vinced that the next upswing will materialize.

Since commodity prices continue to have a great in-fluence on yarn manufacturing costs, optimizing the fiber raw materials used with regard to costs and benefits is essential. With integrated Rieter installa-tions our technology specialists are at your dispos-al on request for raw material and process optimi-zation.

Take advantage also of the SPIDERweb mill moni-toring system to optimize raw material utilization: analyze the data from different raw material blends separately and establish the correct relationship be-tween productivity and yarn quality.

In economically difficult times it is exceptionally im-portant that the range of machines installed produce at the highest technical level. Regular maintenance and the systematic replacement of wearing parts keeps your production efficiency high.

Did you know that Rieter offers numerous upgrades for older generations of machines? Or that you can send robots from older rotor spinning machines to the Ingolstadt plant for a general overhaul?

Invest in key processes, i.e. in machines that have a big impact on the quality of the yarn produced for a modest investment, such as the autoleveler draw-frame and the comber. Then you will be ideally pre-pared for the upswing when economic activity picks up. We are convinced that the upturn will come soon and the textile and textile machinery industries will emerge strengthened from the current situation.

We believe in a positive future, which we aim to shape together with our customers. A textile future that you can manage more easily with innovative products, new yarns and services from Rieter.

In Rieter LINK we inform you regularly about our in-novations so that you are always up-to-date. 8-116 •

Peter Gnägi

CEO Textile Division and Head SYS Business Group Winterthur peter.gnaegi@rieter.com

High technical standards and cost management ensure success even in difficult times.

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OuR CuSTOMERS

India accounts for slightly over 3% of the total global textile trade. The government therefore aims to take appropriate action to increase textile exports from 13 billion uSD in 2005 to 50 billion uSD by 2010.

From 0 to 450 million USD of sales in 20 yearsAlok Industries Ltd. is representative of this boom in the Indian textile sector. It was incorporated in the State of Maharashtra as a close corporation in 1986 and has been a stock corporation since 1993. The company started by texturing polyester filament yarns. In its brief 20-year existence Alok Industries Ltd. has undergone an amazing process of diversifi-cation and expansion: step by step Alok Industries Ltd. has extended its business activities into the fields of weaving, embroidery, knitting, finishing and even the manufacture of home textiles and garments. Alok occupies a leading position in each of these product segments. In order to complete the process chain the company took the logical step of investing in its own short staple spinning installations in 2006 und 2007. In light of the company’s strategic focus it was obvious that it should opt for Rieter as sys-tems supplier in this context. Alok’s cotton spinning mills produce 37 250 tons annually, 95% of which is ring-spun yarn in the Ne 30-140 count range and 5% rotor-spun yarn in the Ne 10-20 count range.

Positive experienceExperience with the spinning installations has been wholly positive to date. Dilip Jiwrajka (Fig. 2), Man-aging Director von Alok, comments: “We are very sat-isfied with the installations from Rieter and achieve substantially higher machine productivity com-pared with other suppliers. We will invest in installa-tions from Rieter again in future, since it is an enor-mous advantage to obtain everything from a single source.”

As a satisfied customer, Alok opened its doors for a Rieter customer convention on January 17-19, 2008, in Silvassa (Fig. 3), when more than 100 customers gained an insight into Alok’s complete production chain from spinning to garment manufacture. The guided tour was rounded off with a technical lecture by Rieter, providing detailed information about the machines installed at Alok. Surendra Jiwrajka, Alok’s Joint Managing Director, opened the event with a

Breathtaking pace of develop-ment at Alok Industries Ltd. 

Fig. 1  Handover of the 2 000 000th Com4® spindle during the customer convention at Alok Industries Ltd. in Silvassa, India.

The Indian textile industry is a major player in the global textile trade. The enormous growth of the textile sector  in recent years  is reflected in  im-pressive manufacturing facilities. A glance behind the scenes at the spin-ning mill operated by Alok Industries Ltd. in Silvassa, where a successful customer convention was held in January 2008 and the installation of the 2-millionth Com4® spindle (Fig. 1) was celebrated.

The Indian textile industry is the country’s oldest in-digenous manufacturing sector. It employs 35 mil-lion people and is thus second only to agriculture as a source of employment.

The Indian textile industry on track for success Due to huge domestic demand and production for export the textile industry is among the largest and most important sectors of the Indian economy. It con-tributes 7% of the country’s total economic output. Textile and garment exports account for almost one-quarter of India’s total exports by value. At present

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OuR CuSTOMERS

speech of welcome and Dr. Martin Folini handed over the 2-millionth Rieter Com4® spindle in a spe-cial ceremony.

Rieter machines – guarantee for high-quality yarns The combination of high-grade raw materials and leading-edge textile technology provides the basis for superior yarn quality. Gentle treatment of the fibers in the blowroom, reliable removal of extrane-ous fibers and trash particles, careful combing-out of short fibers and accurate leveling of the drawframe slivers through to optimum compacting of the fiber strand into a perfect Com4® yarn are the features of a Rieter spinning line.

The SPIDERweb mill monitoring system for Rieter machines enables up-to-date, informative produc-tion data to be called up at any time. Comprehen-sive, long-term data collection enables user-defined analyses to be performed, reveals trouble spots and provides the basis for increasing output and optimiz-ing raw material blends.

Blowroom and cards The blowroom machinery and cards installed at Alok Industries Ltd. are ideally configured for processing cotton. Furthermore, VarioSet enables the machines to be adjusted to the current properties of the types of cotton being processed, without interrupting pro-duction. Maximum flexibility of the machines and VarioSet enable the ideal balance to be maintained between loss of quality and process efficiency.

Fig. 2  Dilip Jiwrajka, Managing Director, and Surendra Jiwrajka, Joint Managing Director, of Alok Industries Ltd.

Fig. 3  Surendra Jiwrajka and the Rieter delega-tion at the customer convention at Alok Industries Ltd.

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OuR CuSTOMERS

The Rieter blowroom line guarantees high efficien-cy in conjunction with maximum fiber preservation and minimum loss of good fibers. The revolutionary geometry of the C 60 card offers great potential for increasing output while maintaining the accustomed high sliver quality. The carding zone 1.50 meters wide and the smaller cylinder diameter are charac-teristic features of the C 60’s design. Higher cylin-der speeds make greater centrifugal forces possi-ble, ensuring better extraction of trash particles. The two installations, each with 2 blowroom lines (Fig. 4), consist of 2 uNIfloc A 11 bale openers, 4 THE VISION SHIELD MPIX extraneous fiber extraction units, 2 uNIclean B 11 pre-cleaners, 4 uNImix B 70

blenders and 4 uNIflex B 60 fine cleaners, followed by 22 C 60 cards.

Combers and drawframesRieter is world market leader in sliver optimization processes. Both drawframes and combers have been operating successfully worldwide for decades. Cus-tomers are highly appreciative of their very high out-put while producing superior quality.

Intelligent engineering and technological solutions with individually configured automation features guarantee top performance in combing preparation and on the combers. The homogeneously built-up laps with optimum batt structure are combed at max-imum speeds of up to 450 nips/min.

Rieter autoleveler drawframes impress with delivery speeds of up to 1 000 m/min and unique leveling consistency. Various functions, such as self-adjust-ing leveling, integrated fault diagnosis and option-al software for process optimization assist the oper-ation and maintenance of the machine and reduce downtime. Innovative drafting system extraction sig-nificantly improves yarn quality.

9 SB-D 40 preliminary drawframes, 4 uNIlap E 32 combing preparation machines, 16 E 65 combers (Fig. 5) and 10 RSB-D 40 autoleveler drawframes are in operation in each installation at Alok.

Fig. 4  2 blowroom lines supply 22 C 60 cards.

Fig. 5  Optimum yarn quality with the 16 E 65 combers.

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OuR CuSTOMERS

Roving frames and ComforSpin machinesAlok Industries Ltd. deliberately opted for compact spinning machines, since compact yarns are ac-cepted on the market and are superior to conven-tional ring-spun yarns. The company invested in 63 ComforSpin machines with 75 600 spindles and 21 ring spinning machines with 25 200 spindles, since Rieter is the technological leader and has extensive know-how and experience in downstream processing of the yarns as far as the end products.

The spinning process is characterized by control of all production substages. The 9 F 15 roving frames with 160 spindles each supply high-quality rovings, which are delivered to the final spinning machines by an automatic roving bobbin transport system in order to prevent loss of quality and to reduce person-nel requirements. The ComforSpin machines and the ring spinning machines with individual spindle mon-itoring (ISM) detect problem spindles and indicate these to operating personnel. The automatic doffing process featuring a clamping crown without under-winding is a highlight of the Rieter ring spinning ma-chines. The finished packages are transferred direct-ly to the winding machines. The 2-millionth Com4® spindle is installed at Alok (Fig. 6).

Com4® yarns for the highest standards The compact spinning process has been supplied on an industrial scale by Rieter for more than 11 years and has been continuously perfected in the mean-time. Com4® yarns feature low hairiness and high tenacity. In downstream processing Com4® yarns achieve superior running properties and thus very high efficiency. The properties of Com4® yarns are the benchmark for the future.

Quality assurance at Alok In a company of this complexity ISO 9001-2000 cer-tification assures the traceability of the individual production processes and the quality consistency of the products. Manufacture in compliance with the Öko-Tex standard assures customers of a high level of environmental friendliness. 8-118 •

Jörg BüchlerArea Sales Manager India Winterthur joerg.buechler@rieter.com

Fig. 6  As far as the eye can see: compact spinning machines for producing Com4® yarns.

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TECHNOLOGY

2

3

Cellulosic fibers such as viscose, Modal or Tencel® are real alternatives to natural fibers such as cotton and silk. Generally speaking, cellulosic fibers display very good moisture absorption, dye readily, are anti-static, have a soft handle, are pleasant to the skin and easy-care. Compared with other cellulosic fibers, such as viscose and Modal, Tencel® (Fig. 1) features higher wet tear strength, better dimensional stabili-ty and lower washing shrinkage. Tencel® is produced in an environmentally friendly solvent spinning proc-ess.

Com4®twin – Spintwisting on ComforSpin machinesThe spintwist method on conventional ring spin-ning machines was developed and introduced many years ago. However, it has never gained a substantial market share, for several reasons. The larger spin-ning triangle in conventional ring spinning results in higher yarn hairiness and subsequently lower yarn tenacity. Com4®twin technology (Fig. 2) combines two important, exceptional advantages. The small-er spinning triangle (Fig. 3) results in lower hairi-ness and the smaller twisting triangle is the prereq-uisite for better running properties and reduced loss of good fibers.

ComforSpin machines employing a perforated met-al cylinder are especially suitable for the produc-tion of compacted spintwist yarn. Conversion is sim-ple. Only roving condensers, suction inserts and air guide elements have to be changed for spintwist pro-duction. The creel has to accommodate twice the number of roving bobbins. The ComforSpin system facilitates separate drafting and compacting of the two rovings, i.e. fiber strands.

Com4®twin – yarn propertiesThe aforementioned spinning conditions enhance low hairiness and high dynamometric yarn proper-ties (Fig. 4-7).

Despite the excellent quality parameters of Com4®twin yarns, they cannot be compared visual-ly with classical 2-ply yarns. The difference is to be found in the twist that is imparted. Classical two-ply yarns are usually spun in the Z-direction and twisted in the S-direction, and vice versa.

Com4®twin – alternative yarns for exquisite fabricsTencel® fibers spun using the Com4®twin spintwist method meet the high-est standards for exquisite Indian saris. They equal traditional saris wo-ven from 100% silk in many respects. Taking fiber and yarn manufacturing costs into consideration, they are actually more profitable than silk saris. The following findings are based on a joint project by fiber producer Lenzing AG, Austria, and Rieter Machine Works Ltd., Switzerland.

Fig. 1 0.9 dtex, 34 mm Tencel® microfibers from Lenzing AG.

Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of the Com4®twin process.

Fig. 3 Spinning triangles of conven-tional spintwist and Com4®twin.

Compacting

Roving bobbin

Com4®twin yarn

Conventional spintwist Com4®twin

Spinning triangle

Drafting

Twisting triangle

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TECHNOLOGY

11 000 12 000 13 000 14 000 15 000 16 000 17 000 18 000

90.00

75.00

60.00

45.00

30.00

15.00

0

11 000 12 000 13 000 14 000 15 000 16 000 17 000 18 000

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

11 000 12 000 13 000 14 000 15 000 16 000 17 000 18 000

9.00

8.50

8.00

7.50

7.00

6.50

11 000 12 000 13 000 14 000 15 000 16 000 17 000 18 000

650

600

550

500

450

Fig. 4 Comparison of the hairiness of Com4®, Com4®twin and ring-spun yarn on cop and package.

Fig. 5 Comparison of the tenacity of Com4®, Com4®twin and ring-spun yarn on cop and package.

Fig. 6 Comparison of the elongation of Com4®, Com4®twin and ring-spun yarn on cop and package.

Fig. 7 Comparison of the stretch recovery of Com4®, Com4®twin and ring-spun yarn on cop and package.

Spinning speed [rpm]

Hai

rine

ss S

1+2

[1/m

in]

Com4® cops

Com4® X-package

Com4®twin cops

Com4®twin X-package

Ring yarn cops

Ring yarn X-package

Tena

city

[cN

/tex

]El

onga

tion

[%]

Stre

tch

reco

very

[cN

.cm

]

Spinning speed [rpm]

Spinning speed [rpm]

Spinning speed [rpm]

10 Rieter . LINK 53 . 1 /2009

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

TECHNOLOGY

Spin-twisted yarns are spun in one direction only. Thus, the visual yarn structure and consequently also the fabric appearance of compacted Com4®twin yarns differ from that of conventional 2-ply yarns (Fig. 8 & 9).

Com4®twin for exquisite fabricsFor this sari fabric 100% silk was used in the warp and 100% Ne 75 (150/2) Tencel® Micro Com4®twin yarn in the weft (Fig. 10).

It is worth mentioning that this fabric dyes bright-er and thus displays more clearly the distinctive contours of the ornaments in a sari. Furthermore, the Com4®twin sari has a considerably softer han-dle compared to the sari made from 100% silk with high-twist 2-ply yarn in warp and weft. 

Com4®twin – economicsThe Com4®twin yarn for this trial was spun from 0.9 dtex, 34 mm Tencel® microfiber. Microfibers are regarded as “compacting friendly” and also accom-modate higher numbers of fibers in the cross sec-tion for a given yarn count. Emphasis has initially been put on the technological aspects of Com4®twin yarns. However the cost aspect is of equal impor-tance and offers a very lucrative alternative in the spinning process. For an Ne 50 yarn the process costs per kg of Com4®twin yarn are 45% lower than for conventionally spun 2-ply yarn (Fig. 11).  8-119 •

Bert RuschHead Product Management Ring Spinning Rieter Machine Works Ltd. Winterthur albert.rusch@rieter.com

Harald SchwipplHead Technology Rieter Machine Works Ltd. Winterthur harald.schwippl@rieter.com

Fig. 8 Yarn structure of Com4®twin.

Fig. 11 Comparison of production costs in India.

Fig. 10 A sari made from Com4®twin.

Fig. 9 Yarn structure of Com4®, classical twist.

Single yarn Ne 50

CHF/

kg

Com4®twin Ne 50 (100/2)

Conventional 2-ply yarn Ne 100/2

Waste

Wages

Energy

Consumables

Capital

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PRODuCT NEWS

Fully automated E 76 comber now with SERVOtrolley The  E 76  comber  features  the  still  unique,  fully  automated  ROBOlap piecing system. This enables high efficiency and quality to be achieved, and  this  can  now  also  be  exploited  to  the  full  in  combination  with SERVOtrolley.

In the past 10 years more than 1 300 ROBOlap ma-chines with SERVOlap E 25 have been installed in Europe, the Far East, South America, China and now also in India. The extensive experience gained has now enabled lap feed also to be implemented with SERVOtrolley.

Economical solution with SERVOtrolley E 17 The advantages of the E 76 automated comber can also be exploited to the full in combination with the semi-automatic SERVOtrolley lap transport system. The economical solution consists of:

high efficiency with the E 76 (ROBOlap) measurably better and consistent piecing quality due to ROBOlap automatic removal of residual lap on the tubes by ROBOlap no qualified personnel required; therefore reduc-tion of operator effort to pure monitoring func-tions integration of the automated E 76 comber into an existing combing room with manual combers

••

•

•

•

Fig. 1  E 76 (ROBOlap) with SERVOtrolley E 17.

As of now the fully automated E 76 comber can also be integrated in existing semi-automatic combing lines, e.g. with the E 65 and older models in combi-nation with SERVOtrolley (Fig. 1).

Experience with the mill-proven ROBOlap system High-precision lap positioning on the fully automat-ed comber is the precondition for a high ROBOlap piecing success rate and optimum piecing quality (Fig. 2). It has been assumed to date that this could only be achieved with the fully automated SERVOlap E 25 lap transport system.

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PRODuCT NEWS

use of SERVOtrolley E 17 and E 16 on the same combing preparation machine – E 32 or E 35 (re-quires technical modification)the E 76 can be retrofitted with SERVOlap E 25

The special features of SERVOtrolley E 17 The semi-automatic E 17 lap transport system is based on the familiar Rieter SERVOtrolley. Various further developments were necessary to adapt the SERVOtrolley to meet the requirements of the auto-mated comber. Special attention was paid to achiev-ing precise positioning of the laps on the comber. Therefore two different SERVOtrolley models are currently available: the E 17 for the automated E 76 comber and the E 16 for the semi-automatic E 66 comber.

Using the E 16 and E 17 in combing preparation Lap discharge on the combing preparation machine has been modified for the new SERVOtrolley E 17. SERVOtrolleys E 16 and E 17 can also be used on the same combing preparation machine. A special en-gineering solution has been developed for this pur-pose. This can be integrated in the preparation ma-chine ex works or retrofitted on existing machines, as required.

•

•

Mode of operation of the E 76 with SERVOtrolley E 17 After both E 17 SERVOtrolleys have been load-ed automatically in the combing preparation area, they are pushed manually to the E 76 comber. The E 76 automatically checks that both SERVOtrolleys are present. When the laps have run empty, the lap changing and piecing process starts fully automati-cally as follows:

1. The tubes are automatically cleaned by the ROBOlap

2. The empty, cleaned tubes are automatically tipped into the SERVOtrolley E 17

3. The full laps are automatically tipped out of the SERVOtrolley E 17 onto the E 76 comber

4. The lap end is automatically prepared for auto-matic piecing with defined detachment of the batt ends

5. The ends are automatically pieced by the pneu-matic Aero-Pic system (Fig. 2)

6. The machine starts automatically

Upgrade to a fully automated combing line The E 76 combers can also be combined with the ful-ly automated SERVOlap E 25 lap transport system at a later date. Rieter is the sole supplier of fully auto-mated combing lines to date.

Flexibility in the high-performance segment Are you looking for flexible solutions for high-per-formance combing? Whether using the SERVOtrolley E 17 or SERVOlap E 25 in combination with the E 76 comber with fully automated lap piecing and high-output OMEGAlap E 35 combing preparation: Rieter is the only supplier offering these efficient combing solutions. 8-120 •

Anja KnickProduct Management Combing Rieter Spun Yarn System Winterthur anja.knick@rieter.com

Fig. 2  ROBOlap – unique, fully automated lap piecing system.

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PRODuCT NEWS

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

00 25 50 75 100 120 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325

Fig. 1  VARIOspeed for high output and consistent lap quality.

As a manufacturer and supplier of original spare parts, technology and wearing components and con-version kits from the blowroom to ring and rotor spinning machines, Rieter is committed to offering its customers the most economical solutions to meet the needs of spinning mills in production.

Higher output with the same lap quality Ongoing increases in output can be achieved by modern Rieter combers with improved combed sliver quality. This fact is also triggering a need for higher output on the uNIlap. It goes without saying that the latest generation of Rieter uNIlap machines takes this into account.

Customers can benefit from an increase in output of up to 10% by installing the VARIOspeed upgrade package for the uNIlap E 32 (Fig. 1). This increase in output is made possible by the unique software, which enables delivery speed to be adjusted to lap diameter.

Reduced wear due to Softstop Rieter combers not only impress with high nip rates, they are also outstanding for the high quality of their combed slivers with low noil extraction from the raw material. The wear characteristics of the combing elements are equally important. Elements such as nipper jaws, top combs and circular combs are ef-fectively protected by gentle braking of the machine, thus prolonging their service life. This objective is achieved with Softstop, which is available as a ret-rofit for the E 7/5A, E 7/6 and E 60 to E 62 Version 2 combers. Softstop brakes the machine within 1.2 seconds after the emergency stop button is pressed, with the machine being switched to creep speed dur-ing the initial 0.4 to 0.8 seconds (Fig. 2). This pro-tects the technology components, since the braking forces generated do not act directly on these ele-ments.

Boosting output with retrofits featuring original components Higher output,  lower component wear, process control and exploiting energy-saving potential top the list of priorities in the development of retrofit products. This is why replacement with original spare parts is of pre-eminent importance.

Constant lap speed VARIOspeed 1 VARIOspeed 2

Lap

spee

d [m

/min

]

Fig. 2  Softstop protects important machine components and thus reduces wear.

In operation Brake only Softstop and brake

In the event of emergency stop

Available for every machine generation This applies to the latest generations of machines, but also and in particular to older machines that are still in production and therefore of equal eco-nomic importance for the customer. The products described below impressively demonstrate the ad-vantages gained from using original Rieter parts and customer care provided throughout the machine’s life cycle. Development is always focused on quali-tative improvement and/or increased output of the Rieter machines in operation.

Lap length [m]

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PRODuCT NEWS

Assured output with the new control unit for the UNIfloc A 1/2The uNIfloc A 1/2 bale opener was launched on the market in 1983 and more than 800 units were brought into operation worldwide until production was discontinued in 1994. This machine is still per-forming reliably today all over the world and is appre-ciated as a dependable bale opener. The conversion featuring a new take-off roller with individually in-terchangeable teeth has brought significant improve-ments in terms of technology due to smaller tuft size and also in terms of production performance.

The brisk trade in this machine on the second-hand market continues to underscore the selling points listed at the time. These include the fact that the bale opener is a key machine in the spinning proc-ess as a whole. If this machine fails, this means that the entire blowroom – and not infrequently the en-tire spinning process – comes to a standstill within a very short time. The development of the new control unit has assured supplies of spare parts for a number

Silvano RufoHead Marketing Business unit Parts SYS Winterthur silvano.rufo@rieter.com

Fig. 4  Fast, clean and safe doffing with SERVOgrip.

of years, and users can continue to depend on excel-lent performance from these machines (Fig. 3).

At the same time ongoing – and successful – efforts have been made to increase the machine’s already high performance further and provide even more attractive customer benefits: for example, operator-friendliness has been improved by simplifying menu guidance; out-put and flexibility have been increased by independ-ently programmable bale groups; and overall safety has been further enhanced by improved actuation of the safety flaps.

Doffing with SERVOgrip and TWINdrive The operating reliability and speed of the Rieter dof-fer are unique distinguishing features of Rieter ring spinning machines. Rieter introduced doffing with-out underwinding in the shape of SERVOgrip and thus set a milestone in the doffing process. G 10, G 30 and K 40 ring spinning machines can also ben-efit from these unique advantages by means of a con-version to SERVOgrip (Fig. 4). They include signifi-cantly less fly in the spinning premises, fewer ends down, reduced cleaning effort on the spindles and correspondingly fewer yarn defects. The further im-provement in quality results in higher proceeds from sales of the yarns.

TWINdrive enables the SERVOdisc belt to be driv-en from both the headstock and the tailstock of the ring spinning machine (Fig. 5). This ensures slip-free drive during transport of the full cops as well as cor-rect positioning of the empty tubes. This also consid-erably prolongs the service life of the belt, of course, which in turn has a positive impact on the consump-tion of spare parts and on machine downtime.  8-124•

Fig. 5  TWINdrive – faultless traction and positioning of the peg tray.

Fig. 3  The SCu control unit is a mill-proven Rieter system with clear menu guidance.

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PRODuCT NEWS

1

2

to the operator via a 3-level, optical guidance system. SPIDERweb software simultaneously records the mal-functions that are detected when collecting data. The malfunctions can then be analyzed on the computer.

ISM has a light guidance system Ends down or spindles running at a slower speed are indicated optically to the operator during his routine patrol of the ring spinning installation. Firstly by the lamps on the sections concerned, which are visible from a distance, and then by a lamp on the relevant spindle. Lamps on the headstock and tailstock of the machines indicate ends down for operators outside of the ring spinning aisles. The number of ends down at which the machine lamps light up is freely selecta-ble.

Time and motion study provides proof For example, if 5 ring spinning machines with 1 632 spindles each are allocated to one operator in an in-stallation, the average time elapsing until an end down is remedied is 15 minutes. Optical operator Fig. 1  The ISM

section is permanently attached to the ring rail. The lamps on the section and spinning positions guide the operator directly to problem spindles.

Spinning professionals are familiar with the situ-ation. The ring spinning machine’s efficiency is poor. But why? What’s the reason? Is it caused by too many ends down? Is the machine running too fast? Is the quality of the raw material to blame? Are there doffing problems? Or do the ring travelers need changing? Question after question.

Rapid detection of sources of error These questions need to be examined thoroughly in order to find the cause. But what information is avail-able in order to do this? Attempts are usually made to discover the cause on the basis of the operator’s experience. This in turn costs valuable time and has a negative impact on the efficiency of the machine.

If ring spinning machines are equipped with Indi-vidual Spindle Monitoring (ISM) and if the spinning mill also uses the SPIDERweb mill monitoring sys-tem (Fig. 1), the ideal tools for rapid fault analysis are available. ISM in conjunction with SPIDERweb supplies data from each individual spinning position and indicates trouble spots. The data collected can be analyzed easily and conveniently on the compu-ter and the causes of faults can be remedied imme-diately (Fig. 2). ISM – individual spindle monitoring Rieter already brought an innovative spindle moni-toring system onto the market 3 years ago under the name of ISM. For the first time each individual spindle was continuously monitored in respect of ends down and speed. This offers significant advantages over pe-riodic detection of stationary spindles by mobile sen-sors. Each spindle on the ring spinning machine is continuously monitored by infrared sensors attached permanently to the ring rail. Ends down or deviations in traveler speed are detected instantly and displayed

Spindle monitoring with ISM  and SPIDERweb Individual spindle monitoring and systematic data collection and anal-ysis considerably increase the efficiency and productivity of ring spin-ning installations. 

Fig. 2  The chart shows the difference between the distance covered by the operator on ring spinning machines with and without ISM.

1. Distance covered by operator when checking for ends down without ISM.

2. The ISM light guidance system pilots the operator directly to the ends down.

ISM light guidance system

Ring spinning machines without ISM

Ring spinning machines with ISM

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PRODuCT NEWS

guidance reduces this time to an average of 2 to 3 minutes. At 20 ends down per 1 000 spindle hours, downtime per hour on the 8 160 spindles is there-fore reduced by 32.6 production hours. For an Ne 30 yarn this is equivalent to an increase in yarn out-put of 7 430 kg/year based on 8 400 production hours/year.

Improved quality with ISM Faster detection and remedying of running ends down results in less fiber fly in the spinning mill and improved yarn quality. The immediate detection of slipper spindles also contributes to an improvement in quality.

Efficient analysis of individual spinning positions  with SPIDERwebRandom manual data collection is a thing of the past. ISM not only guides the operator to problem spin-ning positions, it monitors each spinning position continuously and transmits the data to SPIDERweb.

Markus BaumliProduct Management SPIDERweb Rieter Machine Works Ltd. Winterthur markus.baumli@rieter.com

The data collected can be analyzed by means of the SPIDERweb software. Overviews of ring spin-ning machines and their problem spinning positions within a section or displays of the individual spin-ning positions with problems are available. How-ever, spinning startup behavior can also, for exam-ple, be analyzed and improved by means of the ISM trend diagram (Fig. 3). Optimizing machine mainte-nance by delaying a traveler replacement is anoth-er of SPIDERweb’s many possibilities. ISM and SPI-DERweb are therefore a strong team when it comes to efficient fault analysis.

SPIDERweb covers the entire spinning processThe SPIDERweb mill monitoring system offers more than just data from the ring spinning machine. SPIDERweb collects all data from the blowroom to the final spinning process. Production and quality data or data on the machine’s running behavior are analyzed and evaluated in clearly structured tables, simple charts and diagrams. Comprehensive data en-able trouble spots to be detected, efficiency to be im-proved and quality inspections in the laboratory to be reduced considerably.

Customers shown their confidence in SPIDERweb Since the market launch 14 years ago the number of spinning mills using SPIDERweb has steadily in-creased (Fig. 4); many of these are follow-up orders, not least because SPIDERweb is undergoing continu-ous further development.  8-121•

Bert RuschHead Product Management Ring Spinning Rieter Machine Works Ltd. Winterthur albert.rusch@rieter.com

Fig. 4  SPIDERweb and ISM facts and figures since the market launch of SPIDERweb.

Number of customers with SPIDERweb > 180

Number of machines connected, worldwide > 8 050

Number of countries in which SPIDERweb is installed 47

Number of spinning positions monitored by ISM and SPIDERweb > 236 000

Fig. 3  The ISM trend diagram is the latest data display provided by SPIDERweb software version 5.3.x. This chart enables, for example, spinning startup behavior or the relationship between startup ends down and machine speed to be analyzed.

17 Rieter . LINK 53 . 1 /2009

RIETER INSIDE

Rieter in India – Partner of the Spinning IndustryWith the first machines delivered to India  in 1886, a  joint venture  in 1968,  the  100%  subsidiary  established  in  1995  and  the  decision  to embark on local manufacturing in 2007, Rieter is progressively imple-menting its strategy with the top priority of providing customer-orient-ed service. 

dustry to increase domestic output. After a period of recession during the 1930s, the industry again de-veloped great momentum and at that time the avail-ability of machinery became a bottleneck restricting the further growth of the industry.

The development of the textile industry became strong and vibrant during the 1950s. India imported lots of machines from Switzerland and Germany, and the industry modernized and expanded to meet grow-ing demands during the period from 1950 to 1960. Since 1960 there has been progressive growth in the spinning industry, reflected in the increase in total spindle capacity from 13.05 million in 1958 to 39.5 million in 2007.

With the economic liberalization starting in the late 1980s the EOu (Export Oriented unit) scheme was launched, and between 1989 and 2000 “100% EOu” units emerged, focusing on leading-edge tech-nology and machinery to compete in the global mar-ketplace.

In 2000-2007 the government made considerable efforts to boost the industry’s performance, launch-ing schemes such as the Cotton Technology Mission

Rieter enjoys very good, long-term relationships with its Indian customers. This close association is based on mutual success and trust. All the leading mills in India have been Rieter’s customers for dec-ades (Fig. 1). No matter how the market performs in the current year compared to 2006 and 2007, India is displaying strong capabilities and a resolve to de-velop into an important player in the global textile market.

History of the Indian textile industryThe history of the Indian textile industry dates back to the early 19th century, when traditional handloom textiles were a core feature of the industry. The avail-ability of raw cotton was the main reason for this in-

Fig. 1 Close interactions with customers are the building blocks of our long-term relationships.

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RIETER INSIDE

and the Technology upgrading Fund. The industry re-sponded to this with record growth in cotton produc-tion and a substantial increase in the production of yarns and other textile materials (Fig. 2).

Rieter’s association with IndiaThe first Rieter machines entered the Indian market in the last quarter of 19th century. The Tata Group’s Svadeshi Mills already opted for Rieter machines in 1886. Rieter re-entered the Indian market in 1930 when quality machines were in demand even if in-vestment costs were higher. In 1938, Rieter sup-plied a blowroom line to Rajapalayam in South India which is still running today.

Rieter went a step further with technology transfer to a joint venture with Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd. in the late 1960s, further strengthening its position in the Indian textile market.

On August 1, 1995, Rieter formed its 100% subsidi-ary Rieter India Pvt. Ltd. and opened offices in ma-jor locations to offer doorstep services to customers. This enabled Rieter to get even closer to the market and offer doorstep service and after sales facilities to its customers.

In March 2007 the Indian government granted Rieter a license to manufacture in India. Rieter is current-ly building up its manufacturing facilities and very soon India will become another Rieter manufactur-ing hub, with technology and R&D support coming from the parent location in Winterthur, Switzerland. Rieter’s endeavor to offer the best machinery and service continues with ambitious plans for the fu-ture.

Quality, flexibility and energy-saving concepts For Rieter, India has always been one of those mar-kets for textile spinning where quality and superior service take priority over price. In an era of increas-ing energy costs the Indian spinning industry appre-ciates all Rieter’s innovation efforts in the fields of consistent quality, flexibility of machinery setup and minimum energy consumption per kg of material output. In addition, the reduction of waste through-out the spinning process has become one of the main reasons for the increasing preference for Rieter ma-chines in India during the past two decades.

The presence of qualified mill managers all over the country makes it easier for investors to opt for Rieter technology and machines and operate them efficient-ly to extract all possible innovation benefits.

From only 10 customers in 1989, 507 mills had be-come valued customers of Rieter by the end of 2007.

Fig. 2 Increasing textile production made in India – thanks to government efforts.

Fig. 3 Rieter, founded in 1795, has been active in India since 1886.

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RIETER INSIDE

Today we have more than 550 mills using our ma-chines and technology and supplying their end prod-ucts around the world.

Metamorphosis from a trading to a manufacturing  organizationRieter India, a 100% subsidiary of Rieter, Switzer-land, has been offering sales and after sales service of Rieter machinery in India since August 1, 1995. Rieter India started with 35 people in 1995 and to-day is a team of 120 professionals backed by the strong manufacturing, sales and service team of Rieter, Switzerland. Rieter has five offices around the country, located in Coimbatore in the state of Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh in the state of Punjab, Guntur in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra, and its registered office in the capital city New Delhi. Rieter also has a full-fledged elec-tronic service center in Coimbatore, with stocks of critical electronic and mechanical parts (Fig. 4). To-day, electronic parts are also stocked in Chandigarh to meet the immediate requirements of customers in North India.

With the start of manufacturing activities by Rieter in India, Rieter India has metamorphosed from a trading organization into a manufacturing organiza-tion. Rieter India has become a business group with-in Rieter, enabling it to handle independently most of the business processes associated with manufac-

turing. It is also a challenging and time-consuming task for Rieter to train and develop local personnel to manufacture machinery that has to match the bench-mark of Rieter’s production sites in Switzerland and Germany.

Future growthThe world has witnessed enormous growth in In-dia and China in recent years. India’s GDP has been growing at an average of 7-9% in the past 3 years, with industry and services growing at 10- 11%. The textile industry has also grown at a similar pace, re-flected in increasing investment in factory buildings. The Indian textile industry has already identified weaving and finishing as the weak links in the value chain. The action taken to remedy these weakness-es, once implemented, will once again trigger a new surge in growth and opportunities for all sectors of the industry.

The Indian textile industry is also facing many short-term problems in the areas of infrastructure, power shortages, increasing raw material prices, high inter-est costs and a shortage of skilled labor. The positive outlook is that the industry and the government are now making joint efforts to minimize and solve these problems.

Fig. 4 Rieter‘s full-fledged electronic service center in Coimbatore.

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RIETER INSIDE

Be global – act localRieter’s commitment to building close and long-term relationships with customers has resulted in long-term plans for India. The focus now is to build up manufacturing facilities, enhance product portfolios and offer superior sales, marketing and service faci-lities with suitable machines and technology. India is one of Rieter’s key markets. With positive growth trends in past years and inherent strengths in raw material and the workforce, there are enough rea-sons to look forward to a long-term presence and as-sociation in India.  8-122 •

The long-term growth prospectsThe long-term growth prospects for India are good for the textile industry in the light of factors such as increasing domestic consumption, increasing expor-ts as well as the ample availability of cotton and a young workforce. The vision document drawn up by the textile and clothing industry with the govern-ment projects an increase in the total market size of the industry from uSD 52 billion to uSD 110 billion in 2012. It’s time for India to get over the present global financial crisis and gain pace to achieve this target by 2012.

Prasanta-Kumar DekaHead Marketing India Rieter India Pvt. Ltd New Delhi prasanta-kumar.deka@rieter.com

Fig. 5 GDP in India is increasing thanks to domestic consumption – e.g. colorful saris.

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RIETER INSIDE

Abdul Kadir Mollah, owner of the Thermax Group, symbolically took delivery of the jubilee machine from Jürgen Müller, Product Manager Drawframe at Rieter (Fig. 1). Members of Thermax Group manage-ment attended the ceremony together with Harun Rashid, owner of Rieter’s local agent, Textile Associ-ates Ltd. Other Rieter representatives present were Thomas Küttel, Regional Head Sales, Orient, and Pe-ter Spirgi, Head Sales, Bangladesh, at that time.

The Thermax Group Established in 1997, Thermax now already employs a workforce of 10 000. The group manufactures quality yarns for the export market on 135 000 ring spindles and 1 152 rotors. Thermax also produces 20 000 T-shirts daily for well-known European brand names, such as Terranova, Zara, etc.

RSB-D 40 – the most successful RSB generation Rieter has sold RSB/SB drawframes to more than 2 100 spinning mills in almost 100 countries to date. With some 4 000 machines already sold, the RSB-D 40 generation is well on the way to becoming the most successful RSB machine of all time (Fig. 2). Simple machine operation, robust engineering and further improved, consistent RSB yarn quality again confirm the saying coined by mill managers: “Buy an RSB and sleep soundly at night.”

Fig. 1  Official handover of the jubilee drawframe to Nasrin Sultana Dina (Director of Thermax Melange Spinning Mills Ltd.) and Abdul Kadir Mollah (owner of the Thermax Group).

Jürgen MüllerHead Product Management Drawframe Rieter Ingolstadt GmbH Ingolstadt juergen.mueller@rieter.com

25 000th RSB drawframe delivered to Thermax Melange Spinning Mills Ltd.In  spring  2008  Rieter  Spun  Yarn  Systems  officially  handed  over  the 25  000th  RSB  drawframe  in  Dhaka,  Bangladesh,  to  Thermax  Melange Spinning Mills Ltd., a member of the Thermax Group.

Further investments in Rieter drawframes planned This also applies to Thermax. The company is current-ly operating 22 Rieter drawframes. According to own-er A. K. Mollah the RSB-D 35 and RSB-D 40 autolev-eler drawframes have made a significant contribution to the success of the Thermax Group. He emphasized that the Rieter drawframes improve the spinning mill’s productivity and – what is even more important – guarantee consistent yarn quality. Personnel also appreciate the operating and maintenance conven-ience of the drawframe. This is why Thermax plans to continue investing in Rieter drawframes. 8-123•

Fig. 2 Some 4 000 machines of the RSB-D 40 generation have already been sold worldwide.

22 Rieter . LINK 53 . 1 /2009

EVENTS

ITME 2008 – India’s leading textile machinery exhibitionITME 2008 was held at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) on November 15-22, 2008. This trade show was organized by the India International Textile Machinery Exhibitions Society and this year was being held for the first time in Bangalore. Rieter presented its latest generations of machines at this fair in Hall 2.

Interesting facts about BangaloreThe Indian city of Bangalore was renamed Bengaluru on November 1, 2006. The capital city of the State of Karnataka has approx. 5 million inhabitants and is an important center of India’s civilian and military aerospace industry and research. In recent years it has developed into one of the country’s most impor-tant IT centers and is often called the Silicon Valley of the East.

The BIEC trade fair venue in BangaloreINDIA ITME 2008 was held on a total exhibition area of 42 500 m2 in 3 air-conditioned halls at the Banga-lore International Exhibition Center. 450 Indian and 250 international exhibitors from 30 countries dis-played their products in Bangalore. Numerous visi-tors from the textile and machine manufacturing in-

dustries informed themselves about innovations. Most visitors came from India, but textile specialists from Bangladesh and Pakistan also seized the oppor-tunity to gather information in Bangalore – without having to travel such long distances.

Live on the Rieter booth at the ITME 08  The following machines were to be seen live on Booth A 104 in Hall 2:

The further developed C 60 card; the new E 76 high-performance comber with 500 nips/minute; the K 45 ComforSpin machine with individual spindle monitor-ing system (ISM) and the SERVOtrail roving bobbin transport system, as well as the SPIDERweb mill mon-itoring system. Rieter demonstrated highly flexible ring spinning on a K 45 ComforSpin machine. 6 differ-ent types of Com4® yarn – with or without fancy yarn settings – were spun from different raw materials on one and the same machine.

Numerous attractive and novel products made from Rieter yarns (Com4®, ComfoRo®, etc.) and Rieter nonwovens (spunbond, spunlace, meltblown) were shown on the booth.

Energy saving – more important than ever before Specific energy consumption (kWh/kg of yarn) has continued to gain in importance in recent years in relation to manufacturing costs in textile production processes. Alongside the costs of raw material and capital, energy costs rank third in importance among cost categories in India. Rieter Spun Yarn Systems has always given special attention to this sensitive aspect and takes it into account both in new devel-opments and in retrofit kits for older generations of machines.

Product highlights from RieterThe design of the C 60 card enables optimum, eco-nomical yarn production to be achieved with low space and energy requirements per kg of sliver. Out-put of up to 240 kg/h and unparalleled flexibility in the range of applications are the outstanding charac-teristics of this card.

The K 45 and G 35 machines are available with up to 1 632 spindles. The K 45 is therefore the longest

E 76 high-performance comber with 500 nips/minute.

Bangalore, South India.

23 Rieter . LINK 53 . 1 /2009

EVENTS

Nadia QaudProject Manager Marketing Spun Yarn Systems Winterthur nadia.qaud@rieter.com

compact spinning machine on the market. Particular attention has been given to further reducing energy consumption.

The OMEGAlap E 35 high-performance combing pre-paration machine is adapted to the performance of the new generation of combers. Outstanding fi-ber selection, low energy consumption, nip rates of 500 nips/min, output of 74 kg/h and batt weights of up to 80 g/m are the main features of the new E 66 / E 76 combers.

Rieter has complemented its drawframe portfolio with the RSB-D 22 double-head autoleveler draw-frame featuring a maximum delivery speed of 2 x 1 100 m/min. Completely separate drive and au-toleveling functions enable each head to produce ex-actly the same quality as that which is familiar from the RSB-D 40 single-head drawframe. Further advan-tages are reduced space requirements and low capi-tal costs.

The R 40 rotor spinning machine provides high pro-ductivity at reduced energy consumption with 500 spinning boxes at delivery speeds of 270 m/min; as much as 350 m/min can be achieved with 240 spin-ning boxes. The R 40 is available with 2, 3 or 4 ro-bots.

The BT 923 rotor spinning machine is now being of-fered with up to 400 spinning positions per machine. Rotor speeds of up to 110 000 rpm result in high productivity on this machine. An optional, integrat-ed fancy yarn device enables fancy rotor-spun yarns to be produced inexpensively.

Trade shows serve not only to pass on technical and technological information. Close personal relation-ships are nurtured and established. For the custom-ary form of greeting in India – known as Namaste – the palms of the hands are placed together at the height of the heart and the head is bowed, and the greeting comes symbolically from the heart.

Legend has it that Mahatma Gandhi’s response to Albert Einstein’s inquiry as to what the greeting “Na-maste” was meant to express was: “I revere the place in you where the whole universe resides. I revere the

place of light, love, truth, peace and wisdom in you. I revere the place in you where – if you are there and I also am there – we are both but one.”

Rieter – your systems supplierThe logo of this year’s ITME 2008 was the lotus blos-som. The lotus blossom – with its perfectly formed petals – symbolizes a system of perfection, not only in India. Each of the petals is in itself a miracle of na-ture, but only together can they fulfill their function and radiate a sense of perfection.

Textile machines by Rieter are also offered as a to-tal system and the advantages of all the individual machines are only fully apparent in their interaction. Only when all machines come from a single source can the system be optimized as a whole. Rieter offers spinning in perfection – like a lotus blossom. 8-125•

Intensive and useful contacts at the ITME 08.

6 different types of Com4® yarn were spun on the ComforSpin machine at the ITME.

Rieter offers spinning in perfection – like a lotus blossom.

www.rieter.com

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