Decatising and shearing

Fabric & Garment finishing assignment

Abhishek Kumar (M/BFT/11/02) Rasika Iyer (M/BFT/11/07) Ojasvi Srivastava (M/BFT/11/15)

Decatising Decatising or decatizing, also known as crabbing, blowing, and decating, is the process of making permanent a textile finish on a cloth, so that it does not shrink during garment making. The word comes from the French dcatir, which means to remove the cati or finish of the wool. Though used mainly for wool, the term is also applied to processes performed on fabrics of other fibers, such as cotton, linen or polyester. Crabbing and blowing are minor variations on the general process for wool, which is to roll the cloth onto a roller and blow steam through it. Fabric is interleaved with a cotton, polyester/cotton or polyester fabric and rolled up onto a perforated decatizing drum under controlled tension. Here it is important that the felt used should not be so hard that the fabric is not pressed flat, and that both the felt and the fabric are free from creases. The action of steam or hot water renders the wool plastic, during which state it is allowed to cool under mechanical constraint, usually on a roller where it has been wrapped evenly, smoothly and firmly. An impermeable pressure belt prevents escaping of the steam. In crabbing, for e.g., this process removes the strains in the woven fabric which would establish distortions such as cockling, puckering, waviness etc. and gives an even appearance and regular structure to the fabric. This simple method of forming a roll under tension and causing the fibres to yield to the self pressure in the plastic state is capable of many variations. The main objectives of decatising are: to improve appearance, handle and dimensional stability to set permanent luster and sheen to make the fabric easier to sew

The undercloth for decatising serves to: separate from each other the various layers of fabric to be decatised, prevent the weaves of the fabrics from printing onto one another, not printing their weave onto the fabrics to be decatised. allow regular and even passage and flow of the steam and moisture between the various layers of the package (roll of fabric to be decatised and undercloth for decatising), alter the gloss or opacity of the fabric to be decatised.

Procedure: The fabric is tightly wound against a fine cotton wrapper onto a perforated shell and a heavy end cloth is wound on top of the finished roll to afford protection to the whole and to apply pressure to the outer layers of the whole. The perforated cylinder is then placed in a jacketed cylinder which is closed and evacuated; steam is admitted through the perforated cylinder on which the cloth is wound and passed for 2 or 3 minutes after which the direction of the steam is reversed to pass through the roll from outside by suction. The cylinder is rotated during the whole period of steaming. This process is completed by removing the perforated roller from the pressure cylinder, pumping out the steam from the cloth, and cooling by drawing air through the roll of fabric. In this process the passage of the steam in both directions through the cloth gives an even result with one winding. In ordinary dry-blowing or decatising it is possible to follow one of two courses - self blowing or wrapper blowing - but the former is of somewhat limited application and is generally used to impart a little shrinkage. Wrapper blowing obviates or removes surface distortions, increases the lustre of the cloth, and imparts a type of press finish from the tension of winding; the amount of shrinkage in width is less with wrapper blowing than with self blowing. The winding of the cloth under tension produces an internal pressure between the layers so that the fabric becomes thinner, and may have to receive a further finish such as ordinary steaming to restore its fullness. The general method is to wind the wool fabric, interleaved with a fine cotton apron or wrapper, on a perforated cylinder which is already protected with cotton wrapper; the roll of cotton and wool is then covered with the cotton wrapper whose extending sides are bound with cord so that when steam is blown into this cylinder it must pass through the body of the cloth and not escape at the selvedges. the older machines had two cylinders whose diameters were from 6-10 inches but the modern tendency is towards a single large cylinder whose diameter may be 36-40 inches; the large cylinder makes it possible to avoid double blowing, and also permits greater sinkage since the internal pressure is less due to fewer layers on the cylinder. The time of steaming may be varied according to the result required but it is usually from 1-5 minutes. The steam is generally removed by a vacuum pump but if only partially removed, a duller effect may be obtained.

The lustrous effect is due to the swelling which occurs under the influence of heat and moisture and this swelling presses the fibres against the smooth constricting wrapper; excessive treatment is apt to produce a thin, smooth, limp and slippery fabric, and may also impair the strength of wool itself. The feel and handle of the wool varies to a certain extent with the nature of the cotton wrapper or apron. When raised fabrics are blown or decatised it is essential that the direction of the nap should not be disturbed during the winding onto the cylinder as any such disturbances of the nap will be fixed by blowing. Kier decatising: The purpose of this process is to achieve maximum dimensional stability. In addition, volume, texture as well as the appearance of the wool and woolen-mix fabrics are all affected. The decatizing wrapper can be used several hundred times. This places enormous demands on the quality of our products. Just a knot in the surface of the wrapper would be impressed into the woolen material and result in 1B production quality. Since the wrapper is used several hundred times, many pieces of material would be affected by this fault. The same applies to yarn irregularities, stains and holes. So it is clear that the manufacture of decatizing textiles demands a high degree of sensibility with regard to production quality. Continuous decatising: This process improves wool and woolen-mix materials especially with regard to texture structuring and the appearance of the product. During this process either steam not under pressure and in a cooled-down state is brought into contact with the material or controlled humidity is introduced into the treating area and over the material and is then converted into steam by pressure and the effect of heat.

In the continuous decatizing process needle felts or silicone blankets are used. Furthermore, to protect the needle felts underwindings and fleeces are employed.

Needle felts: The calendering machines for continuous decatizing of fabrics and knitted materials are usually equipped with endless needle felting. The felts on offer from Hocks have been especially developed in order to guarantee faultless operation on the continuous decatizing machine through a high degree of stability and strength. The surfaces of our felts are very smooth in order to rule out marking on the fabrics or knitted material. Only special polyester fibres, which are accordingly hydrolysis-resistant, are used to avoid destruction of the blanket under extreme temperature and moisture conditions.

Silicone blankets: Thanks to endless belt production silicone blankets have a significantly longer life than similar products to be found on the market. Due to the absence of overlapping connecting pieces the endless composition makes a finish without marking possible. The

hand-ground, rub-resistant surface is a guarantee for a long-lasting, optimal decatizing quality. Finish decatising: The setting of the finished material in the boiler decatizing process is followed either by shrinking plus finish decatizing or only the latter. The purpose of this treatment is to remove the glaze (which is not set) on the surface of the material and then by this process to create a more attractive, dye-fast fibre sheen. Additionally thereby, the texture structure and the shrink- fastness of the finished fabric are favourably influenced.

Shearing The shearing process is also referred to as cutting and cropping. Fundamentally, the simplest machine operates in the same way as a lawn mower with revolving knives and an adjustable bed plate; very accurate setting is possible. The general purpose of shearing is to trim and level the surface pile produced by raising and to remove surface fibres in clear finished goods; obviously this is not done with fleece finishes as for blankets but for woolens and worsteds, shearing is rarely omitted. Striped patterns may be produces by a shearing machine with an indented bedplate. Drastic shearing may take place on fabrics such as garberdines and serges which require a clear cut finish, fairly sever shearing on suedes and a light cropping on velours. The amount of shearing depends on the length of the pile and for the pattern effects it is essential to have some pile to cut. The cutting is done gradually, for if the machine is incorrectly adjusted in the early stages of cropping, the fabric will be torn.

Multiple cropping and shearing machines are produced with upto five cylinders but for fine worsted and woolen fabrics 3 or 4 cylinder machines are commonly used. The process is continuous and speeds of 8-20 yards/minute are obtained.

References An Introduction to Textile Finishing by J.T. Marsh Textile Finishing by W.S. Murphy http://www.graziano.it/EN/TessutoTecnico_decatissaggio.htm http://www.thesmarttime.com/machineries/continuous-decatising1.htm http://www.hocks.de/ Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Clothing and Textiles. Mittal Publications Academic Press dictionary of science and technology. Gulf Professional Publishing The Wool textile industry in Great Britain. Routledge