Problems, Causes and Remedies in Blow Room Section

Problems, Causes and Remedies in Blow Room Section

Blow Room: Blow room is the initial stage in spinning process. The name blow room is given because of the "air flow" And all process is done in blow room because of air flow. Blow room is consisting of different machines to carry out the objectives of blow room. In blow room the tuft size of cotton becomes smaller and smaller. In a word we can say a section in which the supplied compressed bales are opened, cleaned & blending or mixing to form uniform lap of specific length is called Blow room section. During the opening, cleaning, blending or mixing different faults or defects occur in blow room. Now I will discuss about faults/defects, causes and way to remedies in blow room section. Problems/Faults/Defects in Blow Room: 1.      Low cleaning efficiency 2.      High nep generation and fibre rupture 3.      High variability in the delivered hank 4.      Formation of cat's tail 5.      Conical lap 6.      Lap licking 7.      Patchy lap 8.      Holes in lap 9.      Soft laps 10. Ragged lap selvedge Causes and Remedies are discussed below: Low cleaning efficiency: Lower extraction of wastes than required for that mixing considering the trash content is one of the main reasons for low cleaning efficiency. Increase the wastes if the lint in the wastes is normal or nil. If the beater speeds are lesser than required, we get lower cleaning. Check the beater settings and correct them if needed. Increase the space between the grid bars. Close slightly the air-inlets under the grid bars towards the cotton entry side, and open those on the delivery side. Reduce the fan speed following the beaters by 100 to 200 RPM. If the grip of the feed roller is less, we shall get low cleaning efficiency. Therefore check for the grip. Also check the sharpness of the beaters. Check the synchronization of the machine working. The blending bale openers should work for 80 to 85% of the time of working of the final machine. If there is a back draught because of not cleaning the wastes under the machines, the cleaning efficiency shall come down. High NEP generation and fibre rupture: The main reasons are blunt beaters, burrs in grid bars, bent pins on beaters, higher beater speed, lower fan speed and excessive feed. A higher beater speed shall give more neps, if the material is not moved out of the beating area effectively. If materials return back to beaters, neps shall generate, hence check the setting of leather flaps, stripper knife etc. Excessive of soft wastes fed, and cottons with more immature fibres are major reasons for neps in opened material. Therefore have a control on the issue of soft wastes to mixing and spread them uniformly throughout the mixing. High variability in the delivered hank: Improper levels in the hoppers, improper action of feed regulators viz, cone drums, pedals, photocells, direct driving gear motors, etc are the normal reasons for variability in delivered hanks. Formation of cat's tail: If material movement is less and cottons are over beaten, we get this defect. By sharpening beater edges, increasing fan speeds, increasing the air in-let below the grid bar area of cotton entry, closing the striping knife and beater setting shall avoid cat's tail. The very important step in avoiding cat's tail is to avoid chocking of materials in beaters. Excessive use of cotton-spray oil, water etc., also causes cat's tails. Conical lap: Conical laps are due to, either higher quantity of cottons coming on one side of the lap, or due to unequal calendar and rack pressures in scutchers. Ensure equal opening of air-inlets under grid bars, replace torn leather lining at the cage, clean the cage thoroughly with emery paper, make pressure on lap spindle uniform on both the sides, remove the pedals and clean thoroughly, and check the pedals where it rests on fulcrum and also pedal fulcrum bar. Lap licking: Lap licking can be due to excessive addition of soft wastes in mixing, higher rack pressures, lower compacting of laps and excessive dampness in cotton. In case of polyesters, this problem shall be mainly due to static charges and higher bulk of fibres. The problem of lap licking can be reduced by increasing the pressure on calendar rollers, reducing the pressure on racks, increasing the quantity of antistatic, use of roving ends or lap fingers behind the calendar roller nip, blocking of top cage and by reducing the lap length. Patchy lap: Patchy lap is a result of unopened tufts. Ensure that the mixing is opened thoroughly, and increase opening points if feasible. Check tuft size at the delivery of each beater, and adjust the setting between feed roller and beaters, reduce the gauge between evener roller and inclined lattice, clean the cages, and increase effective suction at cages. Holes in lap: Holes in the lap can be due to different reasons. Check the cages for damage, and reduce tension draft. Soft lap: Lower calendar pressure makes the laps soft. Increase the calendar roller pressure. Ragged lap selvedge: Ragged lap selvedges are mainly due to uneven spots at the edges. Check for the rough spots on the sides of the feed plates, leather linings for the cages, and keep the edges of the scutcher clean.