the shed wi th l ow-mass el ements

pr ojecti l es, r api er s, water, or com-

pressed ai r. To accompl i sh thi s, the
weft has to be cut off fol l owi ng
i nser ti on, so that i t can be fed to
the i nser ti on el ement agai n. Thi s
i n tur n r esul ts i n a weft end
extendi ng beyond the fabri c border
both on the l eft and on the r i ght.
Tr i mmi ng the ends to a uni for m
l ength i s not a probl em, but poi nt-
l ess because ther e i s nothi ng to
r etai n the war p ends at the fabr i c
bor der, so the fabr i c coul d easi l y
fr ay. To pr event thi s, the bor der i s
str engthened wi th one or mor e
pai rs of l eno threads. The fi ne l eno
threads, made of hi gh-tensi l e pol y-
ester twi st, ar e l ooped ar ound the
weft ends i n such a way that they
can no l onger sl i p off, and thus
a non-sl i p sel vedge i s cr eated
(Fi g. 2
I
). New technol ogi es devel -
oped by Sul zer Texti l r educe both
the cost of sel vedge formati on and
the wastage i nvol ved. Wi th val u-
abl e r aw mater i al s, i n par ti cul ar,
thi s resul ts i n substanti al savi ngs
(Fi g. 3
I
).
AVOIDABLE WASTE
I n pr acti ce, the pai r s of l eno
threads at the fabri c border are not
suffi ci ent to ensure a neat, durabl e
sel vedge and correct weft i nserti on
on shuttl el ess weavi ng machi nes;
so-cal l ed auxi l i ar y sel vedges ar e
al so needed on both si des of the
fabr i c, and addi ti onal war p ends
and l eno thr eads ar e r equi r ed for
these auxi l i ar y sel vedges. Si nce
the auxi l i ar y sel vedges i ncr ease
the wor ki ng wi dth, the weft al so
has to be l onger (Fi g. 4
I
). The aux-
i l i ar y sel vedges ar e cut off whi l e
the fabr i c i s sti l l on the machi ne
and thus become waste, consi sti ng
of (pol yester ) l eno thr eads, war p
ends and weft threads, i .e. a mate-
r i al mi x, consi sti ng for i nstance of
pol yester and the base materi al of
the fabr i c wool , cotton, etc.). As a
S UL ZER TECHNI CAL REVI EW 1 / 9 9 17
FRITZ LEGLER
SULZER TEXTIL
A firm, strong selvedge is extremely important not
only when producing fabrics, but also in their
subsequent treatment. On modern, shuttleless
weaving machines, selvedge formation is usually a
costly item. I t was this that prompted Sulzer Textil
to develop methods and devices for its weaving
machines which reduce both operating costs and
yarn wastage.
I
On conventi onal shuttl e
l ooms, a str ong sel vedge i s
cr eated automati cal l y. The weft
whi ch i s i nser ted i s pr acti cal l y
endl ess. At the border of the fabri c
i t changes di r ecti on, and thi s
resul ts i n the formati on of a strong
sel vedge (Fi g. 1
I
). Modern, shuttl e-
l ess weavi ng machi nes, on the oth-
er hand, achi eve thei r hi gh perfor-
mance by i nser ti ng the weft i nto
1
I
On modern, shuttleless weaving machines, the
creation of a firm selvedge consumes more yarn
and is technically more complex than on
conventional shuttle looms (figure).
Shuttles
with yarn
packages
Weft ends
Warp ends
3830
New Technology to
Reduce Yarn Wastage
2
I
Structure of a cut selvedge utilizing the leno
method. The special crossing technique results in a
non-slip selvedge. For especially slip-proof selvedges
and smooth yarns the full-cross technique is used.
r ul e, i mpur e waste of thi s ki nd
cannot be put thr ough any r ecy-
cl i ng process.
VALUABLE RAW
MATERIALS SAVED
The Sul zer Texti l G6200 r api er
weavi ng machi ne i s used pr i mar i -
l y to pr oduce hi gh-qual i ty and
i ntr i catel y patter ned fabr i cs for
mens and womens outer wear,
from wool l en and other hi gh-grade
yar ns. Unti l now, auxi l i ar y
sel vedges, as descr i bed above,
were needed to create a neat mai n
sel vedge on the r api er weavi ng
machi ne. Now, however, thanks to
a recentl y devel oped weft gri ppi ng
devi ce, the Waste Saver, the l eft
auxi l i ar y sel vedge can be di s-
pensed wi th (Fi g. 4
I
). Thi s speci al ,
contr ol l ed devi ce takes over the
functi on of the auxi l i ar y sel vedge.
To ensur e cor r ect tr ansfer of the
weft thr ead to the gr i pper head,
the Waste Saver i s contr ol l ed by a
l i near motor and synchr oni zed
wi th col our sel ecti on.
Due to system desi gn, the r i ght-
hand auxi l i ary sel vedge i s sti l l nec-
essary. However, the el i mi nati on of
the l eft auxi l i ar y sel vedge means
that about 37 mm of thr ead per
weft i nserti on are saved. Together
wi th the savi ng i n war p and l eno
threads, the total quanti ty of waste
i s r educed by some 40%. Over the
year, thi s savi ng of about 37 mm
per weft thr ead thus r esul ts i n a
substanti al r educti on i n waste.
Wi th a fi ne wor sted fabr i c, for
exampl e, ar ound 200 kg of yar n a
year can be saved by reduci ng weft
wastage, and wi th excl usi ve camel -
hai r fabr i cs for l adi es coats as
much as 800 kg. Dependi ng on the
r aw mater i al , these savi ngs can
r esul t i n a substanti al cost r educ-
ti on (Fi g. 3
I
).
ELIMINATING AUXILIARY
SELVEDGES
For techni cal r easons, the tr i ed-
and-tr usted, waste-fr ee tucked
sel vedge cannot be used when pro-
duci ng heavy, densel y woven fab-
ri cs, e.g. deni m, on projecti l e weav-
i ng machi nes. Sel vedge for mati on
wi th l eno thr eads, as descr i bed i n
the foregoi ng, i s therefore used for
thi s type of fabri c, and so, depend-
18 S UL ZER TECHNI CAL REVI EW 1 / 9 9
Warp ends
Weft ends
Leno threads
3
I
The single-humped Arabian
dromedary is one supplier of camel
hair as a raw material for textiles.
Given the differences in the prices
of such raw materials, it obviously
makes good sense to economize
wherever possible.
1 Cotton
2 Merino wool
3 Alpaka
4 Camel
5 Extra fine camel
6 Fine cashmere
Selvedge with
half-cross leno
Selvedge with
full-cross leno
1
2
3
1 2 3 4 5 6
0
20
40
60
80
P
r
i
c
e

o
f

r
a
w

m
a
t
e
r
i
a
l

C
H
F
/
k
g
1
2
3
1
2
3
i ng on the si ze of the weavi ng faci l -
i ty, substanti al quanti ti es of waste
may be generated.
A new type of sel vedge for mati on
has now been devel oped whi ch
al l ows the auxi l i ar y sel vedges on
both si des of the fabri c to be el i mi -
nated. A new weft end gri pper, the
Sel vedge Saver, cl amps the weft
end fol l owi ng i nser ti on. Extr actor
nozzl es on the l eft- and ri ght-hand
bor der s of the fabr i c hol d the weft
ends so that they can be neatl y
tr i mmed and si mul taneousl y
extr acted (Fi g. 5
I
). The auxi l i ar y
sel vedges on the ri ght and l eft are
no l onger needed, r esul ti ng i n a
35% r educti on i n weft yar n
wastage al one. At the same ti me,
effi ci ency and qual i ty ar e i m-
pr oved by the r educti on i n war p
stoppages, and output i s i ncreased
by better uti l i zati on of the avai l -
abl e worki ng wi dth.
Appr oxi matel y two-thi r ds of al l
deni m pr oduced i n the wor l d i s
woven on Sul zer Texti l pr ojecti l e
weavi ng machi nes. Wi th the
Sel vedge Saver, some 350 kg of
yarn are saved annual l y per weav-
i ng machi ne i n the pr oducti on of
standar d deni m fabr i cs. I n an
average-si zed deni m weavi ng faci l -
i ty wi th 100 weavi ng machi nes,
thi s r educes the amount of yar n
used by around 35 metri c tons.
PRESERVING VALUABLE
INVESTMENTS
The devi ces descri bed here are al so
avai l abl e as r etr ofi tti ng ki ts for
Sul zer Texti l pr ojecti l e and r api er
weavi ng machi nes. Thr ough i ts
extensi ve ser vi ce networ k, Sul zer
4
I
Comparison of
selvedge formation
on rapier weaving
machines. Above:
conventional, with
two auxiliary
selvedges. Below:
with controlled
Waste Saver weft
gripping device.
S UL ZER TECHNI CAL REVI EW 1 / 9 9 19
All dimensions in mm
5
I
Comparison of selvedge formation on projectile weaving
machines. Left, with auxiliary selvedge; right, without.
Eliminating the auxiliary selvedges also eliminates the
need for creels for the leno and selvedge yarns, thus making
the machine more user-friendly.
30 2030
8 8 4 Fabric width 4
2535
8 Fabric width
Leno threads
Auxiliary selvedges
Auxiliary selvedges Auxiliary selvedges
Linear motor
Waste Saver
4
Leno threads
Texti l supports i ts customers wi th
l i fe-cycl e engi neer i ng i n weavi ng
machi ne servi ce and mai ntenance,
and offer s new pr oduct enhance-
ments and accessor i es whi ch can
be retrofi tted. Retrofi tti ng i s possi -
bl e even on machi nes that have
been i n ser vi ce for 20 year s or
more. Thus we hel p to ensure that
fashi on fabr i cs and standar d
weaves can be pr oduced economi -
cal l y even on these machi nes, thus
gr eatl y extendi ng thei r ser vi ce
l i ves. Dependi ng on the r ange of
pr oducts woven, the r etr ofi tti ng
i nvestment may pay for i tsel f wi th-
i n a few months.
F OR MORE DE TAI L S
Sul zer Texti l AG
Fri tz Legl er, 9091
CH-8630 Ruti
Swi tzerl and
Tel ephone +41 (0)55-250 23 30
Fax +41 (0)55-250 21 45
E-mai l fri tz.l egl er@sul zer.ch
9096 0310 9096 0311