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Our Process
Washing First, all fiber must be inspected to remove unwanted matter which includes excessive vegetation, manure, plastic and foreign objects. All fiber is then washed (scoured). We use a simplistic system of several sinks, wash twice and rinse twice. The soap we use is a biodegradable industrial product. Washing is a very important part of processing and whether we have a trouble or trouble-free operation can usually be traced directly to this area. Water temperature and other factors vary from one fiber to another, but overall it is a routine task where one person processes about 10 lbs of fiber per hour. The water is spun out and the fiber spread on racks to dry. For this we have made drying racks and draw the building air through the fiber which dries in in 4 to 6 hours.
Opening and Conditioning The next step is Opening and Conditioning. Fiber tends to tangle into locks on animals and form clumps during washing this entanglement must be opened and for this we use a Picker machine which is a rotating drum with pins to rake through the clumps and separate them out. This process is carried out at 15 to 25 lbs per hour. The opened fiber is then conditioned with water and water soluble oils to control static electricity and promote spinning all during later processing. The conditioning cocktail is varied according to the type of fiber and the intended use, but it is just a matter of spraying the product before gathering it into plastic bins to rest pending further processing. This completes the first phase of the work to which all fiber is subjected. From this point on marketable products appear at the output side of each machine process and the fiber begins to take different paths.
Carding and Dehairing
At this time we should mention that the Picker is an ideal machine to develop any blend such as mixtures of sheep’s wool and mohair in the correct percentages. It is also the process that establishes the mix of fibers from different animals to achieve a consistently even product. The conditioned fiber now goes to the Carder directly or via the Fiber separator (Dehairer). The dehairer removes vegetation from fiber such as Alpaca. We target Alpaca because they have a genetic trait to roll to fluff their coats against the cold. This ensures that they load up with unwanted vegetation and hence the need for a fiber separator. The dehairer also removes coarse guard hair and also acts as a pre-card.
One way or another the fiber is now to be carded. All fiber must be carded and this is truly the heart of the mill. If carding is not successful, there is no point in further processing. There is rarely any problem here if preceding steps such as washing and opening have been properly executed. The throughput of the Carder is a measure of the total capacity of the mill and a definitive statement of this figure is impossible to give. There are two products from Carding; Batts which go for Feltmaking or to handspinners and Rovings or Sliver which goes on for Spinning. When making Felt Batts we can expect to run fiber at 10 lbs per hour, but for spinnable sliver the maximum is 6 lbs per hour depending on other factors, such as fineness and type of fiber.
Felting
Now following the two products we find the batts going to the Felt machine which makes a sheet of felt 36" x 48" in about 10 minutes. Allowing for setting up and removing the finished sheet, this gives a rate of about 3 sheets per hour and would account for about 4 lbs of fiber per hour. All this depends on thickness of the sheet, type of fiber, how hard or firm the finished product is to be, etc., longer time in the machine can produce harder felt which is useful for applications such as hat making. The other path is the Sliver for spinning. This is directed by the Sliver maker into a container(can) and its length measured so that each can contains the same quantity and subsequent machines empty the cans almost simultaneously. This process is accomplished by compacting the carded fiber in a twisting and untwisting sequence so that the sliver retains sufficient strength or integrity to be automatically fed into further machines.
As the sliver cans fill, we see the first electronic assistance as an alarm signals the operative to move another can into position. The raw fiber has been washed, dried, conditioned and carded so that the fibers are all separate from each other, approximately parallel to each other and organized into an endless stream of approximately even size throughout its entire length.
Drafting The next machine task is drafting which is a process of establishing the desired size required for this particular sliver. For this we use a Draw Frame which accepts several slivers at once and in a brushing action further aligns the fibers to be more parallel and reduces the multiple slivers to a single sliver of smaller size. Each pass through the Draw Frame effectively averages any thick or thin sections of the sliver and improves the consistency ready for spinning. To re-form the sliver at each pass from the multiple infeed slivers we again use a twisting and untwisting operation producing a strong machine manageable sliver. The throughput of this stage is completely variable, but its combined passes approximate the Carder which precedes it.
Spinning Now comes the point of no return and the most exciting part of the process, Spinning. For this we are dependent on the fineness of the end product to determine our requirement of number of spindles. A spinner produces a certain length of fiber per unit of time and thin fiber weighs less than thick fiber and this is one of the deciding factors in how much weight of yarn is output. We use an 8 spindle spinning frame. There are many ways to spin fiber and we use Ring spinning as the chosen method to give us exceptional control and flexibility to instantly switch between products. The spinner has only two logical parts, but this doesn’t imply that the subject isn’t complex or that there is any limitation on the creativity of the fiber artist or operative to produce a vast selection of products. The two parts are the drafting zone (or Ratch) and the spinning zone. The Drafting zone is variable in length to accommodate different length fibers and in this zone the sliver is reduced in content to the size required for the particular yarn being created. This reduction can be from 5 to 25 to 1. The drafting factor is dialed in electronically, much like the volume control on your stereo. The second zone is where the twist is inserted into the yarn and here it is a matter of the bobbin speed in r.p.m. in relation to the delivery speed from the drafting zone. This again is set up electrically and then all parts are electronically synchronized and monitored by a small built in computer to give continual digital readout display for assurance that the product is according to design. All functions are also monitored so that it is not necessary to watch the machine working. Any discontinuance will stop the process awaiting operator action.
Plying
The spinner produces single ply yarn and we then move to the plying operation to create 2 ply, 3 ply yarn, etc. This can all be done on the spinning machine, but to increase productivity we prefer to use a 4 spindle spinning frame for the plying function. Again the process is monitored electronically and this adds to the number of machines that an operative can run simultaneously. Most yarns need to be set after spinning to stabilize the structure of the yarn and prevent unpredictable behavior in subsequent knitting or weaving operations. For this we use a Steamer which passes the yarn through a steam chamber and then heat dries it and passes it forward to be wound onto a cone. To complete this set up a cone winder is required.
Final Product The final product of the mill is a cone of yarn or a skein which is produced from cone or bobbin on a winding reel, called a Skeinwinder which is also electronically controlled to give consistent sized skeins.
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