816 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



August 1, 1921 



at the back is used simply as a method of giving uniformity ii: 

 weight to the tinished product. 



SLUBBING, INTERMEDIATE AND ROVING PROCESSES 



From the drawing frame the cotton is taken to the slubber and 

 one end of the drawing is placed at the back for each spindle on 

 the slubber. Now begins the reduction of the rope-like strands 

 to a fine or thread-hke appearance through succeeding processes. 

 The cotton at the slubber is wound upon a bobbin, the machine 

 running automatically until the bobbins are full. They are then 

 removed and taken to the intermediate frame, which is a 

 machine very similar to the slubber, with the exception that 

 the rope-like form at the slubber is wound from cans and at 

 the intermediates, the bobbins from the slubber are placed in 

 the creel at the back, and again the drawing process is used and 

 the cotton at the front is wound upon bobbins still smaller than 

 the slubber bobbins. 



From the intermediates the cotton passes to the roving frame, 

 which is identical with the intermediate, with the exception that 

 the bobbin is even smaller than the intermediate bobbin. From 

 the roving frame the cotton is taken to the spinning frame, and 

 here the proper amount of twist is put into the cotton which 

 will give the greatest breaking strength that can be obtained. 



The necessity of the slubbing, intermediate, and roving 

 processes is due to the fact that cotton cannot be drawn entirely 

 by one process ; that is, cotton in the carding processes should 

 not be given a drawing process of more than five at any one 

 machine. In the spinning room, however, it may be subjected 

 to a drawing process as high as ten. It might be advisable to 

 say that in explanation of the drawing processes, if one inch 

 of cotton is entered at the back of the machine at a certain 

 given time, it should not be stretched or drawn more than five 

 or ten inches at the front of the machine in one given process, 

 but must be gradually drawn through the succeeding machines 

 as previously described. 



SPINNING AND SPOOLING 



Being limited at the spinning frame by the size of the ring, 

 only a certain amount of yarn can be wound upon the bobbins. 

 As this amount is not the yardage desired, the bobbins are 

 taken to the spooler and the yarn upon the bobbin is wound 

 onto the spool. As fast as one bobbin is exhausted the operator, 

 using a very simple knot-tying machine strapped to the left 

 hand, ties the end of another full bobbin to the end on the spool 

 and by reason of the spool constantly revolving, exhausts the 

 yarn from the bobbin which has come from the spinning frame. 

 This method is continued until the spool is entirely full, when 

 it is removed by the operator and an empty spool takes its place, 

 and the method continued. 



WARPING AND TWISTING 



From the spooler the yarn is taken to the warper and from 

 three to five hundred spools are placed in a creel. The ends 

 from the spools are wrapped around a large warper beam revolv- 

 ing from thirty to sixty yards a minute. The yarn is drawn 

 from the spools to the warper beam, forming a spool very 

 similar to a huge spool of thread, and containing, not one end, 

 but from three to five hundred ends drawn parallel, and giving 

 a continuous yardage sf these individual ends of from ten to 

 twenty-five thousand yards, as required. 



From the warper the yarn is taken to the twister, and in 

 square-woven, chafing-strip, or breaker fabric, it is formed into 

 a ply yam. A ply yarn is composed of two or more strands 

 of single yarn twisted together, and in the construction of the 

 fabrics mentioned, ply yarns are entirely used. By a method 

 of passing the yarn from the warper beam in which the yarn 

 is separated into three strands, five strands, or whatever number 

 are desired, the cotton passes through a set of revolving rolls, 

 which deliver the yarn to the twister spindles. As the spindles 

 on the twisters revolve at a high rate of speed, they immediately 

 insert the twist desired. As soon as the yarn leaves the delivery 



rolls it is wound upon spools on the spindles, the yardage con- 

 tained thereon being that specified in the fabric manufactured. 



The manufacture of cord fabric requires one step beyond in 

 the twisting process. The ply yarn necessarily must be cabled, 

 as cord fabric is made from a yarn of this nature. Cable yarn 

 is formed from the twisting of two or more ply threads together 

 rather than from two or more single threads tw^isted together. 

 The cabling process, with the exception of these facts, is. 

 exactly the same as the process of making ply yarn. 



The spools are removed from the twisters and taken to the- 

 \varp compressor. For each warp end desired in the fabric, a 

 spool is placed upon a stationary spindle and the yarn passed 

 through a porcelain eye, which is a means of guiding this thread. 

 It is then carried to the front of the warp compressor and placed 

 in a comb-like bar, which also guides it to the loom beam, which 

 is very similar to the warper beam. By the rotation of the loom- 

 beam drum and a proper tension on each individual sptiol, the 

 yarn is drawn from the spools to the revolving loom beam and' 

 the fourteen to sixteen hundred ends are laid parallel upon this- 

 beam in exactly the same way as they were at the warper. 



WEAVING THE FABRIC 



When the loom beam is filled to capacity it is removed and 

 taken to the loom, and as there are flanges extending on the 

 sides of the loom beam, a tension is placed upon each individual 

 thread so that in the succeeding process of weaving the yarru 

 will be held taut. Each individual end is drawn at the loom, 

 first through the harness, which contains a series of heddles, 

 which are flat bars in the centers of which are eyes. Each' 

 heddle is supported on the harness frame and each thread is. 

 drawn through an individual eye in the heddle. Half of the- 

 threads are carried by one harness and the other half are carried 

 by the second harness. By a cam motion, one harness is raised' 

 and the other harness lowered; that is, one-half of the ends, 

 are all carried upward and the other half are extended down- 

 ward, leaving an opening directly in front of the reed, which is. 

 placed in front of the harnesses, for the shuttle of filling thread' 

 to pass between. The reed is composed of a series of wires, 

 through which spaces are formed and through w-hich the indi- 

 vidual threads are drawn regulating the number of threads- 

 that are required in the fabric to be made. As the harnesses, 

 open, the shuttle passes between, carrying a bobbin on which' 

 is wound the filling yarn, and as soon as the shuttle is received 

 in the shuttle box, the motion of the loom is so timed that the 

 liarness that has been raised immediately lowers and the one 

 that was lowered is raised at the same time, forming interlocking 

 threads over the filling. By means . of a roll at the front of 

 the loom, as fast as the fabric is woven it is drawn at a certain 

 speed around a take-up roll, which winds the finished fabric into 

 a roll of any yardage desired. This method of raising and 

 lowering the harnesses continues, and the filling is beaten into 

 the fabric by the action of the reed, which rocks back and 

 forth after each filling thread is placed across the warp ; that is, 

 simultaneously with the shuttle passing between the oi>ening of 

 the harnesses the reed is carried forward and pushes the filling 

 thread into the fabric as desired. 



The cloth is removed from the loom and carried to the finish- 

 ing department where it is inspected, and any foreign matter 

 removed by a series of brushes and shearing knives. By means 

 of hot rolls the cloth is also calendered or laundered and the 

 yardage determined at the same time. It is then ready to he 

 delivered to the tire manufacturer. 



The writer feels that the proper amount of research work 

 has not been done with regard to construction of fabric, selection 

 of cotton, and the advantages or disadvantages of the combing 

 process. However, remarkable progress is being made, and 

 within a short space of time he feels that manufacturers of tires 

 will have awakened to the fact that there is an immense saving- 

 to be made in the selection of their tire fabric in the near future,. 



