FIRST EXPERIENCE OF THE AUTOMATED STICKINESS TESTING WITH LOEPFE FIBERMAP / MESDAN CONTEST

The Loepfe LabMaster FIBERMAP together with Mesdan CONTEST set a new standard for laboratory measurement of cotton. The testing devices, which are developed on the same platform, integrate the most important measurement functions into one system in order to complete the fiber profile throughout the whole preparation process of the spinning mill, from bale to finisher sliver. Apart from delivering the standard data known from cotton classification, detailed analysis of process relevant fragments such as neps, seed coat neps, trash and stickiness are integrated. One of the unique features of the instruments is the automated measurement of stickiness. Over the past two years, we have carried out various investigations and analyses on the measurement of this parameter, collected the experience of several customers and analyzed round trial results. The result of these efforts are shown in this presentation. We were able to prove that our instruments provide a reliable solution for both cotton traders and spinners. INTRODUCTION Savio Group: qualified technologies in the textile industry The Savio group is a network of companies combining qualified technologies in the textile industry. The Savio group provides among others solutions for winding, electronic yarn clearing, splicing of all type of fibers and yarn as well as quality control laboratory testing equipment. Loepfe Brothers Inc. stands for innovation in the textile industry over the last six decades. The company, which was founded in 1955, belongs to the Savio group since 2008. The company introduced weft feeders and weft stop motions – the first electronic sensors for looms. Today, Loepfe supplies 50% of yarn clearers worldwide. Already in 1991, Loepfe developed the first yarn clearer, which was able to detect foreign fibers as well as the first online fault classification in addition to the classic yarn defects. Mesdan was founded in 1952 and became part of the Savio group in 2013. The company consists of two business units: • Mesdan Yarn Joining Solutions • Mesdan-Lab Laboratory Testing Equipment for fibers, yarns, fabrics and garments 34th INTERNATIONAL COTTON CONFERENCE BREMEN, MARCH 21-23, 2018 The textile expertise of both companies was brought together some years ago to start the development of an innovative fiber testing and a comprehensive yarn testing instrument. Both instruments were shown to the public for the first time at ITMA 2015 in Milan. Since then, the instruments were placed in the field at various spinning mills, institutes and cotton traders in order to test them thoroughly before the sales release. Loepfe LabMaster FIBERMAP and Mesdan CONTEST Mesdan and Loepfe developed two instruments that are able to measure parameters, which are important to evaluate the raw material and to control the preparation process. The instrument sold by Mesdan is the so-called CONTEST. The instrument sold by Loepfe is called LabMaster FIBERMAP. Both instruments use the same platform and technologies to measure neps, seed coat neps, trash, stickiness and Micronaire, maturity, and fineness. In addition to these properties relevant for processing, Loepfe LabMaster FIBERMAP measures all the parameters that are required for cotton classification. These are length, strength, elongation, color and trash. Fig. 1: Mesdan CONTEST Fig. 2: Loepfe LabMaster FIBERMAP In this presentation, I am going to look in more detail into the stickiness measurement of both instruments. The evaluation of the stickiness is a very critical matter for the whole cotton supply and processing chain. A spinning mill needs to know if there is any risk of stickiness as it can cause severe problems from deterioration of quality, increased maintenance for cleaning, clogging of machinery up to production loss or even complete shutdown of the whole spinning mill.