Air Vortex Spinning

Prof.Dr.S.Kathirrvelu
Professor-(Text.Tech)
EiTEX, BDU

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Vortex Spinning

Vortex spinning technology was introduced by Murata Machinery

Ltd. Japan in 1997. This technology is best explained as a

development of air-jet spinning, making use of air jets for yarn

twisting. The main features of Murata vortex spinning (MVS) are

Ability to produce yarn at 400 m/min. which is almost 20

times greater than ring spinning frame production .

1. Low maintenance costs, a fully automated piecing system and

elimination of roving frame.

2. The yarn and the fabric properties of MVS yarn are claimed by

the manufacturer to be comparable to those of ring spun yarn.

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VORTEX yarn is made by the "VORTEX spinning machine"
of Murata Machinery (MURATEC). The VORTEX spinning
machine spins yarns in a unique way using an air vortex
which was developed and is manufactured only by Murata
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Machinery.
Principle of operation

The basic principle of operation is shown in Figurs 1 and 2. The

sliver is fed to 4-over-4 (or a four-pair) drafting unit. As the
fibers come out of the front rollers, they are sucked into the spiral-
shaped opening of the air jet nozzle. The nozzle provides a
swirling air current which twists the fibres . A guide needle within
the nozzle controls the movement of the fibres towards a hollow
spindle. After the fibers have passed through the nozzle, they
twine over the hollow spindle. The leading ends of the fiber bundle
are drawn into the hollow spindle by the fibers of the preceding
portion of the fiber bundle being twisted into a spun yarn. The
finished yarn is then wound onto a package.
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Figure 1 : Feed material Passage
Through the machine

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 Figure 2: Expansion of fibre
edges due to whirling force of the
jet air stream
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 The drafting unit is
alsoa very
important element
in Air-jet spinning.
High drafts have
to be performed,
with good
evenness of the
fiber flow and
excellent
orientation of the
fibers, at very high
production speeds.
Both suppliers
have equipped the
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machines
As a comparison with the above-described wrapping
mechanism with tandem jets, it is useful to consider
the effectiveness of wrapping with only one jet. In this
situation, the Ztwisting action of the jet is not
nullified, and the core is therefore Ztwisted. The
edge fibers will, as described above, wrap the core
with a Zdirectional helix. Being that the core twisting
is now in the same direction as the wrapping action,
some edge fiber may become caught and twisted into
the core, thereby reducing the number of them
available to wrap the core.
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One approach to increasing the number of edge

fibers is to increase the length of the spinning

triangle so that the twist insertion point is farther

from the nip line of the front rollers. This results

in edge fibers having to travel farther toward the

twist insertion point at the apex of the spinning

triangle. The effect of doing this can be

demonstrated in conventional ring spinning by

partially restricting the twist flow toward the nip

line of the front drafting rollers. The result is an

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Figure 6.29 is a diagram of the single-jet design of the

Murata Vortex system, which is a single air-jet

spinning system. Compared with the tandem jet

system, it incorporates a modified jet inlet. Little

technical information is available on the working

principle.

Much independent research has yet to be done to gain

a detailed understanding of the wrapping

mechanism of the Vortex system. However, it is

possible that a partial blocking of the twist flow may

occur above the jetI MSc (TM)-TOS-AVS

nozzles 11
to enable the formation
One problem with the vortex system is
significant fibre loss during the yarn formation.
This is related to the problem of variations in
yarn quality which are not detectable by
conventional evenness testers and sometimes
only identified by weak points in the finished
fabric. The path followed by the fibre in the
currents created by the air jets play a crucial
role in yarn quality. Most structural defects are
caused by the deflection of fibres in the air jet
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 Both delivery speed and yarn count are significant

factors for yarn evenness and imperfections. An

increase in delivery speed results in deterioration of

yarn evenness. This is the result of decreasing

efficiency of the air jet stream at higher delivery speeds

because there is less time for the wrapper fibres to

wrap around the parallel core properly. This particularly

affects finer yarns and means that vortex spinning is

best suited for coarser grades of yarn. Nozzle pressure

also has a significant effect on yarn properties.

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The structure of vortex yarn compared to other
yarns
Vortex yarn has a two-part structure: a core surrounded
by wrapper fibres. The number of wrapper fibres
compared to the fibre core is higher compared to the air
jet spinning. During yarn formation, the leading ends of
the fibres are directed towards the yarn core and the
trailing ends wrap around the core fibres. Such a
structure provides the necessary fibre orientation and,
at the same time, the required yarn strength.
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This particular structure of the Air-vortex spun yarns
influences the yarn properties, of course. These
properties are mainly determined by 2 parameters:

1. the percentage of wrapping fibers;

2. the twist level of the wrapping fibers.

The percentage of wrapping fibers can be influenced

by the

spinning draft and by the distance L (Fig. 35), and it

is also

a function of the yarn count.

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Spinning nozzle

The spinning nozzle is basically the yarn formation

element, i.e. the heart of the Air-jet spinning process.
Compressed air at up to 0.6 Mpa enters the actual
spinning chamber through 4 small bores, thus creating
a very strong air vortex (see Fig. 36). At the outlets of
the bores, this air vortex has a rotation speed of up to
1 000 000 rpm. The vortex performs 2 functions
through this high speed:

1. generation of a vacuum and thereby an air flow

through the fiber feed chanel;
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2. rotation of the free fiber ends around the spindle tip.
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A higher pressure can improve strength
because wrapper fibres wrap more tightly
around the core. However, it can also lead to
more lost fibres. This creates potential weak
points and increases unevenness in the yarn.
A low pressure leads to improved evenness
though strength is reduced. The distance
between the front roller nip point and the tip
of the spindle (indicated by L in figure 2)
also affects yarn structure. The greater the
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 In Vortex yarns, the centre of the yarn is not twisted. Twisting

occurs at the outer sides of the yarn, as shown inFigures 3

and 4. Fibres at the centre of the yarn remain loose while those

at the outer side are fully twisted. In ring spun yarn, twist is

given to the entire yarn from the centre to the surface of the

yarn (Figures 5 and 6). The yarn thickness in vortex yarns is

uneven. Twisting is concentrated at the thinner sections, while

twisting is loose at the thicker section, leading to greater yarn

hairiness. In the case of rotor yarn all the fibres are twisted

from the centre to the outer side(Figures 7 and 8). Twisting is

more uneven for fibres near the surface of the yarn. Table 1

provides a comparison between the three types of yarns.

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 Figure 3 : Vortex yarn cross- section

Figure 4 : Micrograph of vortex yarn structure

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 Figure 5 : Cross-section of the ring yarn

Figure 6 : Micrograph of ring yarn structure

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Figure .7 : Cross section of the rotor yarn

Figure 8 : Micrograph of rotor yarn structure

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 Property Ring Yarn Rotor Vortex
Yarn Yarn
Parallelization and Max Min
Fibre orientation
Hairiness Max Min
Pilling Max Min
Strength Max Min
Unevenness Max Min
Surface smoothness Max Min
Core fibres Max Min
Neps and Thick places Min Max

Bulkiness Min Max

Table 1: Comparison in yarn characteristics

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Figure 9 : Difference in
twist distribution in
vortex, rotor and ring
yarns
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The overall advantages of vortex yarn over the ring and rotor yarns

are :

- Better resistance to pilling and abrasion: this gives longer-lasting

fabric performance through a greater number of washing cycles.

- Less hairiness: this reduces potential problems in fabric

production and gives a smooth appearance to the fabric.

- Less shrinkage: unlike ring spun yarn, the structure of vortex

yarns means they are less prone to shrink

- Moisture absorption and drying: the looser structure of fibres at

the cenre of vortex yarns means that they absorb moisture and

dry quickly

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The above figure shows vertically the tightness of twisting, and Z-
twist and S-twist indicate the directions of twisting centering on
0. The horizontal axis in the graph shows the distance from the
center in a cross section of the yarn. The image chart of each
type of yarn shows the yarn-twisting structure seen from the side.
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 Twist is There is no
prominent untwisted part.
toward the Twist of some
outside of the degree is present
yarn, while at in the entire yarn
the center of from the center
the yarn, fibers to the surface. In
are parallel. areas of uneven
yarn thickness,
Micrograph of the yarn structure the twist will be
high at the
thinner sections,
and low at the
thicker sections
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where hairiness
 All fibers are twisted from the center to
the outer side. For fibers near the surface
of the yarn, twisting is uneven. Some
fibers are twisted in the opposite direction
of the main bundle.

Micrograph of the yarn structure

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THANK YOU VERY MUCH

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