7/26/2017 Cost structures of comparable rotor-spun and ring-spun yarns - Rieter

Cost structures of comparable rotor-spun and ring-

spun yarns
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comparable-rotor-spun-andring-spun-yarns/

The economics of a spinning process are essentially defined by three major cost blocks: capital
costs and the interest burden on them, direct labor costs and energy costs. In order to compare
economics, manufacturing costs are usually related to the production of 1 kg of yarn.

In rotor spinning, capital costs account for the majority of manufacturing costs (Fig. 99), followed
by energy costs. Direct labor costs figure only in third place. This applies especially to countries
with low labor costs. In countries with significantly higher wage levels, labor costs are higher than
energy costs in the coarse count sector (but not in the fine count sector), due to the frequency of
manual can and package transport movements (Fig. 98).

With the ring spinning system, direct labor costs in countries with higher wage levels account
for a much greater proportion of the total and are almost identical to capital costs, followed by
energy costs. This order changes accordingly in countries with low labor costs. Ongoing spare
parts costs are a larger factor with rotor-spun yarn than with ringspun yarn, and space
requirements account for a smaller proportion of total costs. Regional differences result in
different weightings of the cost blocks.

The break-even point, up to which rotor-spun yarns can be produced more economically than
ring-spun yarns, has moved continuously in the direction of fine count yarns in recent years
due to the increase in output. The output advantage of rotor-spun yarns is now so large that
even the finest rotor-spun yarns (in the Ne 60/Ne 70 range) can be produced more economically
than ring-spun yarns, and even in countries with low labor costs the cost of manufacturing rotor-
spun yarns finer than Ne 40 is less than that for ring-spun yarns. Fig. 100 shows the
manufacturing costs of ring-spun and rotor-spun yarns as a function of yarn count with differing
regional labor cost levels.

The lower the share of the relatively high capital costs in manufacturing costs per kg of yarn, the
more economically rotorspun yarn can be produced. The importance of capital costs declines if
material throughput, i.e. the quantity of yarn produced per machine or spinning position, rises.
Coarser yarns (with higher material throughput) can therefore be produced more economically
than fine count yarns, both in absolute terms and also in comparison with ring-spun yarns.
The capital costs included the cost of purchasing the machine and all accessory equipment. Due
to the high degree of automation and the ancillary equipment for quality control and waxing, a
spinning position on a rotor spinning machine costs about 5 times as much as a spindle on a ring
spinning machine. This is offset by the cost benefits of the rotor spinning system due to the
elimination of sliver production, the possible saving of one drawframe passage and the
elimination of the rewinding process.
If the capital costs and the production potential of the different spinning systems are compared,
the situation given the current status of mechanical engineering is as follows:
7/26/2017 Cost structures of comparable rotor-spun and ring-spun yarns - Rieter

delivery speeds of the rotor spinning machine are a factor of 7 (fine yarns) to 10 (coarse
yarns) higher than those of ring spinning machines;

spinning-related ends down in rotor spinning are higher in proportion to spindle running
times (per 1 000 spindle hours), but some 75% lower than those of ring-spun yarns in
relation to a yarn length of 1 000 km;

machine efficiencies of up to 99% are not unusual in well-managed rotor spinning

installations; these figures are thus significantly higher than can be achieved with ring
spinning machines.

To a limited extent, longer machines can help to reduce the specific capital employed per
spinning position. Rotor spinning machines are currently being offered with up to 500 spinning
positions. However, the useful limits are defined by reliably operating and economical drive
technology.

Energy costs are becoming increasingly important worldwide. Limited resources mean that they
are rising almost continuously. Their share of the cost of manufacturing a yarn is in many cases
already on the same order of magnitude as labor costs. Close attention is therefore given to how
much energy has to be expended to produce a given quantity of yarn. Machinery manufacturers
make their contribution by working continuously and intensively to reduce the power input of the
major consumers i.e. the drives for the rotors and the fan for generating the partial spinning
vacuum as far as possible.

High rotor speeds can always be achieved when fine count yarns are being spun. In principle,
the energy required on the rotor spinning machine increases with rising rotor speeds (Fig. 101).
However, smaller rotors require less energy. For reasons of the mechanical stability of the rotors,
higher rotor speeds can only be achieved with small rotors. Energy consumption with small
rotors can therefore be entirely comparable with energy consumption using large rotors at much
lower speeds. Yarn twist only has to be increased slightly with rising rotor speeds, since
optimized spinning elements and improved spinning geometry contribute to improved spinning
stability.
By contrast, the increase in energy consumption on the ring spinning machine is directly
dependent on spindle speed. The diameter of the ring defines the weight of the cop and
therefore cannot be exchanged like a rotor.

Rotor spinning offers especially high benefits compared to ring spinning as regards direct labor
costs. High productivity, combined with the automation of the piecing and package changing
process, means that the personnel effort required per kg of rotor-spun yarn is much lower than in
ring spinning. Automated rotor spinning machines now require only minimal operator effort. Many
more machines can now be allocated per employee, less and less personnel are required to
operate a spinning mill. Automated solutions are available even for the remaining manual
activities, such as replacing spinning cans, introducing the sliver into the spinning box and
removing the full packages at the end of the machine (refer to section Machine and transport
automation).
7/26/2017 Cost structures of comparable rotor-spun and ring-spun yarns - Rieter

Fig. 98 Cost structure: rotor-

spun vs. ring-spun yarn (Ne 8
left and Ne 34 right) in countries
with higher wage levels

Fig. 99 Cost structure: rotor-

spun vs. ring-spun yarn (Ne 8
and Ne 34) in countries with
lower wage costs

Fig. 100 Comparison of

manufacturing costs/kg of yarn
for different yarn counts in low-
and high-wage countries

Fig. 101 Energy consumption

as a function of rotor speed and
rotor diameter