Application Report

Yarn Evenness CV

August 2003
Contents

1 Introduction ...............................................................................3

2 Reasons and effects of the yarn irregularity ...........................3

3 Definition of the coefficient of variation CV.............................4

4 Deviation of the CV mean value of the group (CV-MV) ...........5

5 Deviation of the CV of the winding position (CV-SP) ..............6

6 Settings ......................................................................................7

7 Result display .......................................................................... 10

USTER® QUANTUM 2 (10)

1 Introduction

The coefficient of variation CV is a well known value for the determination

of the evenness of slivers, rovings and yarns. Each process in a spinning
mill contributes a part to the evenness.

The continuous determination of the quality parameters guarantees that all

spinning positions produce the same quality. For the calculation of the yarn
evenness CV, it can be selected between 2 measurements:
· continuous over the whole bobbin length with selectable reference
lengths or
· starting from a bobbin change with selectable reference lengths.

When a preset limit is exceeded, the system can provide an alarm for the
respective spinning position and another one for the machine value derived
from all producing spinning positions.

2 Reasons and effects of the yarn irregularity

The reason for yarn irregularity is based on the fact that it is not possible for
staple fiber yarns to keep a constant number of fibers in the cross-section.
Reasons can be divided into:
· raw-material related faults, like e.g. the evenness of the fiber length, fi-
ber adhesion or
· process-related faults, caused by defect machine parts, like draw-box
defects or the kind of roller coats.

From these points is becomes clear, that the coefficient of variation is used
as an efficient method for quality and process monitoring.

In general it can be said: the lower the CV-value, the more even is the ma-
terial and the more even it will look in the end-product. Fig. 2-1 shows a
comparison between two fabrics with a low (CV = 11.48%) and a high co-
efficient of variation (CV = 17.76%).

USTER® QUANTUM 3 (10)

 CVm = 11.48% CVm = 17.76%

Fig. 2-1 Comparison of

two fabrics with a different
CVm

It is known, that the evenness is not constant over the whole bobbin length.
It usually decreases from the tip to the base of a bobbin. This circumstance
has to be taken into account when evaluating the values when setting in the
setting of the monitoring limits.

3 Definition of the coefficient of variation CV

The coefficient of variation is given in percent; it is a measure for the yarn

evenness and is defined as follows:

s
CV% = ´ 100
x

mass/
diameter

+s
-s
_
x
length Fig. 3-1 Graphical repre-
sentation of the CV

With the help of the coefficient of variation, CVm as well as CVd, winding
positions, which deviate in quality, can be monitored.

CVm = Coefficient of variation based on the measurement of the yarn

mass (capacitive sensor).

CVd = Coefficient of variation based on the yarn diameter (optical sen-

sor).

USTER® QUANTUM 4 (10)

4 Deviation of the CV mean value of the group
(CV-MV)

The CV mean value of the group (CV-MV) is determined from all winding
positions. As it is based on a large population, it does not show any erratic
deviations. Erratic deviations can occur with individual winding positions.
The upper alarm limit “CV-MV upper” and the lower alarm limit “CV-MV
lower” can be set independent of each other. Compared to the CV of the
winding position, this "alarm band" is set to a relatively high sensitivity be-
cause a mean value CV-MV which exceeds preset limits is usually an indi-
cation of serious problems.

The CV-MV indicates important changes and trends of the yarn. In an initial
test cycles, the settings of this alarm band should not be set too sensitive.
After the CV mean value of the group has been determined over a certain
time span (e.g. one shift or several doffings), then the upper and lower
alarm limits can be set.

If the upper or lower alarm limits are exceeded, then this will be indicated
by an alarm. After a period of observation, the setting can then be adjusted
according to the specific application. This is illustrated by the following Fig.
4-1:

CV - MV
Alarm is
triggered

Upper alarm limit

CV - MV

Lower alarm limit Fig. 4-1 Schematic rep-

resentation of the deviation
behavior of the CV mean
t
value of the group

USTER® QUANTUM 5 (10)

5 Deviation of the CV of the winding position
(CV-SP)

The CV-MV is used as a basis for the CV value referred to a single winding
position. The monitoring of the CV of the spinning position is carried out in
relation to the current CV mean value of the group. As with the CV-MV, an
"alarm band" can be set for the CV-SP value. The set value is effective in
both the positive and the negative direction. If an alarm limit is exceeded,
then this will be indicated by an alarm. Depending on the settings, the
winding position can be blocked.

Example:
The percentage deviation (CV-SP), which is defined as the alarm limit, is
calculated be means of the CV-MW, as shown in the following example:
With a CV-MV of 14% and an alarm limit of ±20%, the effective range is
between 11.2% and 16.8%. The deviation behavior of the CV of the wind-
ing position is shown schematically in the following Fig. 5-1:

Alarm is
CV triggered
CV-SP

CV+

CV+-

CV-MW CV+-

CV- Fig. 5-1 Schematic rep-

resentation of the deviation
behavior of the CV of an in-
dividual winding position

USTER® QUANTUM 6 (10)

6 Settings

In the window "Q-Parameter" of the Control Unit, the following settings can
be adjusted:

Fig. 6-1 Setting window

for the coefficient of varia-
tion at the Control Unit

Reference length:
It is possible to set the reference length between 50 – 10'000 m. In winding,
a reference length of 400 m has been accepted as the standard. This is a
length which is necessary for a reliable CV-value. However, the setting of
the reference length also depends on the objective when monitoring the
coefficient of variation.

· For data acquisition:

For the monitoring of the CV it is recommended to select the reference
length of 400 m starting from the bobbin tip (see "measurement"). As the
yarn evenness increases from bobbin tip to bobbin base, it is guaranteed
that results measured under the same circumstances (same yarn length)
can better be compared with each other. A longer reference length is not
recommended as the number of faults increases at the bottom part of
the bobbin and thus, the CV-value is influenced.
For pure data collection, no action is taken in case of exceeding limits.

· For the selection of bad bobbins:

The selection of the reference length depends on the quality require-
ments. The reference length must be derived from the possible CV-
deviation in the yarn. The monitoring of faulty yarn must be carried out
continuously (see "measurement"). This guarantees that bobbins which
do not meet the quality requirements will be monitored and can be taken
out of the winding process (action: block). Mainly in the production of
compact yarns, faults which are formed in the compacting zone can in-
fluence the CV-value. Such faults can occur over the whole bobbin
length.

USTER® QUANTUM 7 (10)

Measurement:
The measurement can be carried out:
· continuously · at bobbin change

The following winding machines provide a bobbin change signal. This

means that the winding position informs the clearer when a bobbin change
is carried out:
· Murata Mach Coner 7/5 · Schlafhorst Autoconer System 238
· Murata Process Coner 21 · Schlafhorst Autoconer 338
· Savio Orion

Alarm limit MV-monitoring

This is an absolute monitoring of the CV-group mean value. The CV-MV
alarm can only be deleted by increasing the alarm limits or when the CV-
MV decreases below the alarm limit. As no action is carried out in case of
an exceeding limit, the alarm must be considered as a warning.

If the alarm limit is set to 0, the monitoring is inactive.

Monitoring of individual winding positions

With the monitoring of the CV of a winding position, a relative deviation of
the SP-MV from the CV-MV is set. The setting of the percent value must
determined out for each individual application. Due to the diverse causes
for the changes of the yarn evenness, it is not possible to give any recom-
mendations for the settings.

· The setting of a lower CV alarm limit serves for monitoring and the de-
tection of yarns, which have too much twist caused by:
– heavy ring travellers,
– 2 ring travellers on one ring with different operating hours, i.e. the old
traveller was not removed,
– twisted drive belts.

· The setting of a upper CV alarm limit which serves for the monitoring
and detection of:
– a general high CV, caused by diverse faults in the production proc-
ess,
– a rough ring,
– slow spindles caused by loose drive belts.

If the yarn evenness of a bobbin deviates from the SP ALARM LIMIT, a

CVp- or CVm alarm is triggered. At the same time, this deviation from the
mean value can be found on the window for "textile alarms" at the control
unit.

USTER® QUANTUM 8 (10)

If information on the yarn evenness is desired only, there is the possibility
to set the alarm limit, but without selecting any actions. In this case, the
number of alarms is indicated in the shift report.

If the alarm limit is set to 0, the monitoring is inactive.

Action
If the CV of a winding position exceeds one of the alarm limits, the iMK re-
acts according to the selected alarm, setting column ACTION. An entry is
made in the logbook in all cases. There are three different possibilities:
· none
· cut
· block

If no action is chosen, the measurement with a set limit serves only for
data collection to monitor the quality of the production. If USTER® QUAN-
TUM EXPERT for winding is connected, the signal is transferred to this
data system for alarm purposes.

With the selection cut, a cut is triggered when a preset alarm limit is
reached. CV alarms are quality parameters and indicate changes of the
yarn quality. It does not make much sense to take the yarn off the cone
since it causes damages in the packing and leads to weak places in the
yarn. This setting should not be chosen.

The action block can be recommended, if it is desired to take a bad bobbin

out of the process. For this, trained personnel is necessary. Depending to
the machine type, an automatic bobbin change is carried out or the bobbin
must be changed manually.

USTER® QUANTUM 9 (10)

7 Result display

Fig. 7-1 shows the results of the CV-measurement of each winding position
as well as the CV-mean value of the group and the absolute CV-alarm at
the control unit.

Fig. 7-1 Display of the

CV-value

· SP UPPER LIMIT
The upper absolute CV-limit is calculated from the CV-mean value of the
group and the set relative upper CV-alarm limit.

· SP LOWER LIMIT
The lower absolute CV-limit is calculated from the CV-mean value of the
group and the set relative lower CV-alarm limit.

If the CV of a winding position lies above or below the absolute SP ALARM

LIMIT, a CVp- or CVm-alarm is triggered.

Uster Technologies AG
Wilstrasse 11
CH-8610 Uster / Switzerland
Phone +41 1 943 38 88
Fax +41 1 943 38 38
www.uster.com
sales@uster.com

USTER® QUANTUM 10 (10)