Blending

BLENDING
Prof.Dr.S.Kathirrvelu
Professor-Textile Technology
EiTEX-Bahir Dar University
I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 1

BLENDING
4.1. The purpose of blending
Raw materials used in the spinning mill are

always inhomogeneous in their characteristics.
In part, this is inevitable owing to the different
cultivation conditions of natural fibers and the
different production conditions for manmade
fibers. Partly, it is deliberate in order to
influence the end product and the process.

The basic objective of fibre blending is to
assemble
and combine together the correct proportions of
components so that the relative amounts of each
kind fed to the succeeding process (e.g. carding)
remain constant throughout the whole batch of
material.

It is clear, therefore, that the product of a
blending
process is not an intimate mixture of fibres,

but
rather a fibre assembly (of slivers, tufts, or

bundles)
in the required proportions and dimensions

to enable the following process to bring
about the necessary fibre-to-fibre mixing.
Fabrics made from blends of different fibre types
are unlikely to be superior in any one property to
fabrics produced from an individual fibre type, but
fibre blending does enable fabrics to be produced
with combinations of porperties which would be
unattainable by using only one fibre type.

Blending is performed mainly in order to:
give the required characteristics to

the end product (e.g. blending of man-
made fibers with natural fibers produces
the desired easy-care characteristics);
compensate for variations in the

characteristics of the raw materials
(even cotton of a single origin exhibits
variability and must be blended);

hold down raw material costs (blending-in
of raw material at low price level);
influence favorably the behavior of the

material during processing (improve the
running characteristics of short staple
material by admixture of carrier fibers); and
achieve effects by varying color, fiber

characteristics
and so on.
Evaluation of the blend
The evenness of the blend must always be assessed in two

directions: the longitudinal direction and the transverse
direction. Where there is unevenness in the longitudinal
direction, yarn portions exhibit different percentage
distributions of the individual components (Fig. 30).
These
can lead to stripiness. Where there is unevenness in the

transverse direction, the fibers are poorly distributed in
the
yarn section (Fig. 31). This irregularity leads to an uneven

appearance of the finished product.
The determination of the evenness of
a blend, e.g. of synthetic and natural
fibers, is costly and not simple. One
component is usually dissolved out or
colored differently.

De-blending
The spinner aims to distribute the different fibers evenly in
the yarn. For this purpose, he must firstly produce a good
blend at some stage of the process, and secondly be able
to maintain the blend up to the stage of binding into the
yarn. It is a well-known fact that meeting the first of these
requirements is not always easy; sometimes the second is
harder still.

Fibers of different length, surface structure,
crimp, etc., also behave differently during
movements as individuals. A de-
blending effect can very often arise.
During rolling of fibers in hoppers (bale

openers, hopper feeders), migration of the
components occurs where the fibers have
different structures (e.g. cotton and man-
made fibers). A similar effect is found
during drawing in (TM)-Theory
I Year M.Sc drafting arrangements.
of Spinning 13
Fibers with large differences in length or surface
form (smooth/rough, dyed/undyed, etc.) do not
exhibit the same cohesive contact with each
other.
When a drafting force is applied, they move

differently
this leads to clumping of fibers into clusters and

finally
to de-blending.
Pneumatic transport can also cause de-blending.

Types of blending operations
Possibilities
Blending can be carried out at various

process stages, by using various
methods, equipment, machines, and
intermediate products. The following
can be distinguished:

In addition, a distinction must also be made
between controlled and uncontrolled
blending. In uncontrolled blending, the
components are brought together at random
and without a mixing system (e.g. often in
bale mixing). In controlled blending, the
individual components are supplied to the
machines in an ordered fashion and precisely
metered (e.g. in weighing-hopper feeders).

The various blending processes often differ
widely from one another with respect to
capital cost, labor-intensiveness, precision
of blending, liability to error, and simplicity.
Each method has advantages and
disadvantages. It is therefore not possible
to put forward patent recipes for the use of
one or another blending principle.

Bale mixing
This is carried out at the start of the process for both natural
fibers and man-made fibers, since even man-made fibers exhibit
variations in their characteristics.
From 6 to 60 bales are laid out for simultaneous flock extraction.
With careful use, this enables the yarn characteristics to be kept
almost uniform over several years. Blending conditions are very
favorable if controlled mixing is carried out, i.e. if the bales are
selected and laid out within tolerance limits so that, for all the
bales taken together, the same average values of fiber length,
fineness, and/or strength are always obtained.

Since it is followed by many other processing
stages, bale mixing gives a good blend in the
transverse direction (cross section). With
widely differing raw materials (e.g. blends of
natural and man-made fibers), the blend is
often unsatisfactory in the longitudinal
direction owing to uncontrolled extraction of
flocks from the bales and the danger of
subsequent de-blending.

Flock blending
This is already substantially finer than mixing of bales
and is becoming steadily more important because of
the use of automatic bale-opening machines (not
always a sufficient number of bales in the mix). Flock
blending takes place in an uncontrolled manner,
inevitably and to a small degree, at each blowroom
machine. It occurs in a controlled manner and to a
greater degree at weighing-hopper feeders and
blending machines.

It normally has the same advantages and
disadvantages as bale mixing, but in these systems
both the longitudinal and transverse blends are
mostly satisfactory because of the possibility of
metering. However, the longitudinal blend can be
substantially improved if blending is carried out
immediately before the card, since hardly any
rolling movement, and consequently de-blending,
occurs thereafter. Flock blending is becoming more
important in many countries nowadays.

Lap blending
This is hardly used now but was previously used

occasionally, e.g. for blending cotton with man-
made fibers. A doubling scutcher is required in
this case; this has a conveyor lattice in the infeed
on which four to six laps (L) could be laid (Fig. 32),
and jointly rolled-off. The lap-sheets from these
laps passed doubled through a beater position
followed by a pair of cages and a lap-winding
device.
Lap blending produces very good transverse blends
and also a good longitudinal blend, because
subsequent rolling movements are also excluded
here. In addition, it has the advantage of all
scutcher installations: a high degree of flexibility in
operation with a variety of feed materials.
This flexibility, however, is achieved at the expense

of uneconomic operation and complication, since an
additional processing stage must be included.

Web blending
Web blending (Fig. 33) has been used for a long time at
the ribbon-lap machine, admittedly not to bring
together different components but rather to provide a
very even lap as feed material for the comber.
Another development was a draw frame which
enabled controlled blending to be achieved by
bringing together components in web form (after
drafting on four drafting arrangements), instead of
doubling in sliver form.

This gives a good longitudinal blend and also a
slightly better transverse blend than is obtained
with sliver blending. but with higher costs and more
effort, mainly in maintenance, adjustments etc.

Sliver blending
For the most part, blending of natural and man-made

fibers
is still carried out in sliver form on the draw frame. This
provides the best blend in the longitudinal direction.
Up to the draw frame, each raw material can be

processed separately on the machines best suited to
it. However, an additional blending passage must be
inserted preceding the two usual draw frame
passages in the cotton-spinning mill.

For a 67/33 blend, four slivers of one component
are fed in together with two slivers of the other
component assuming equal sliver hank (Fig. 34).
The main disadvantage, aside from the necessity
of a third draw frame passage, is poor transverse
blending in the product. Since a machine which
performs further blending does not follow the
draw frame, the individual components remain as
adjacent fiber strands in the yarn. This can
produce stripiness in the finished product.

Fiber blending
Without any doubt, the most intimate blend is obtained if
individual fibers are brought together. This can be achieved
only on the cotton card (to a small degree), on the woolen
card (sometimes fairly intensively), and in rotor spinning
(over short lengths only).
Controlled, metered blending cannot be carried out on these

machines, but can only make a previously produced blend
more intimate.

Roving blending
This is not common in short-staple spinning mills. Some use is
still made of the process in wool spinning for producing
fancy yarns. Two rovings of different colors are fed into the
drafting arrangement of the ring spinning machine.
Since the single fibers do not blend in the drafting
arrangement, but the fiber strand is twisted directly after
passing the drafting arrangement, either one or the other
color predominates over short lengths of thread. The yarn is
called jasp yarn. Another application is the production of
SIRO yarns (two-ply replacement).

Blending procedures
. Stages in the blending operation
Blending is carried out in three stages [17] (Fig. 35):
metering, determination, and precise establishment
of the quantities of the individual components;
mixing, i.e. bringing together the metered quantities;
intermingling, i.e. distributing the components evenly
in the body of fibers.

Each stage is as important as the other.
However, difficulties arise primarily in
intermingling and in maintaining the blend
once it has been achieved. The latter is very
difficult with fibers of different surface
structure and varying energy absorbing
capacity on stretching, because de-blending
tends to occur at various processing stages.

Metering
The following methods are distinguished [17]:
Random mixing, for example, as occurs within blowroom
machines, cards, etc.
Metered but intermittent mixing, for example, as occurs in
weighing-hopper feeders, where the components are fed
intermittently in batches.
Metered and continuous mixing, for example, in the A 81
UNIblend (Rieter), the Flockblender (Trtzschler), and the draw
frame. Formation of batches does not take place in the draw
frame, but the individual components probably remain as
strands throughout the whole product.

Blending of fiber material is an essential preliminary in the
production of a yarn. Fibers can be blended at various
stages of the process. These possibilities should always be
fully exploited, for example by transverse doubling.
However, the start of the process is one of the most
important stages for blending, since the individual
components are still separately available and therefore
can be metered exactly and without dependence upon
random effects. A well-assembled bale layout and even
(and as far as possible simultaneous) extraction of fibers
from all bales is therefore of the utmost importance.
Simultaneous extraction from of

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory allSpinning
bales, which used to 37be
Accordingly, intensive blending ina suitable
blending machine must be carried out after
separate tuft extraction from individual
bales of the layout. This blending operation
must collect the bunches of fibers arriving
sequentially from individual bales and mix
them thoroughly (see Fig. 6, and description
1.4.4.3. The Rieter B 70 UNImix).

Creel blending
6.4.1 Basics of drawframe blending
Drawframe blending is used to improve the uniformity of
the blend and this applies no matter whether the slivers
being ingested are similar or are completely different.
Slivers of each single component are blended at the
draw frame; this avoids difficulties in carding fibers of
widely different characteristics. The idea is to combine a
number of slivers as they enter the drawframe and this
very process of doubling blends the fibers.

In the first passage of drawing, each ribbon could be of
a specific type of fiber. In this case, we use a deviation
in blend rather than a deviation in linear density for our
calculations. Suppose a spot in one of the slivers has
only 40% of fiber A instead of 50% and the difference in
mass is made up by fiber B. This is 80% of the
expected value for fiber A, which makes the blend ratio
40/60 in the bad spot and 50/ 50 elsewhere. Assume
that the linear density of each input sliver is 4 g/m and
there is normally 2 g/m of both fibers A and B.

At the bad spot the linear densities of fibers A and
B in the one bad sliver are 1.6 and 2.4 g/m. The
theoretical blended eight-sliver totals are now (7
2) + 1.6 and (7 2) + 2.4 g/m giving the
proportions 15.6/16.4. This represents 97.5% of
the perfect value for fiber A instead of 80% in the
bad spot. Thus, not only does the doubling
reduce the error in linear density, it also
improves
the blend evenness.

In order to produce a large quantity of uniform blend
of the required component proportions it is
necessary to divide the total batch into smaller
portions and to weigh the components of each small
portion to the required accuracy. It is also necessary
for each component to have a known uniform
moisture content at the time of weighing and each
component mass should allow for the application of
its respective official regain allowance.

Blending is best carried out from a maximum number
of bales and early in the sequence of processing so
that maximum benefit can be obtained from the
mixing involved in the subsequent processes.
The tangled mass of fibres should be reduced to a
small uniform tuft size to improve accuracy of blend
proportions; this is particularly important when
diverse components are to be blended as otherwise
component separation might occur subsequently.

Blending Systems
Blending can take place before or after carding.
Pre-card blending takes advantage of the

opening
power of the card and therefore gives the most
intimate mixing of fibres, which in turn may

improve subsequent drafting. Various blending
systems have been developed for different
fibres

classified into the following groups according
to the principles involved:
(1) stack blending (also known as pile,

sandwich,
or layer blending),
(2) blending hoppers,
(3) batch blending using bins,
(4) continuous blending, and
(5) sliver blending.

Stack blending
This is the oldest and simplest method which is still used

where small total quantities are involved. The total
masses of each component required are first weighed and
assembled together before being spread out in horizontal
layers, each about 150 mm thick, over a large floor area,
to build up a deep stack. Oil and other additives may be
applied evenly between some of the layers, the necessary
total mass of each additive having been determined
previously. The stack is manually broken down into
vertical 'slices' before being fed to an opening machine.

Blending hoppers
Each of several automatic weighing hoppers
delivers a pre-determined mass of the respective
blend components simultaneously on to a
transverse conveyor which feeds the combined
components to a further opening machine. This
system has been widely used in both cotton and
jute processing, and may form
the feed to a continuous opening unit.

Batch blending using bins
The total blend is divided into smaller representative

batches of bales from which fibres are fed
simultaneously to opening machine no. 1 (Figure
3.1) before being conveyed pneumatically to a
rotating exit point called a rotary spreader
mounted over the first blending bin (la), which, like
the other bins is preferably circular in plan. When
bin la is full , the delivery of opening machine no.l
is diverted to an alternative first bin (lb).

Thin vertical wedge-shaped slices of fibres (like
slices from a circular cake) are then removed
fromthe first full bin la, and fed pneumatically to
a rotary spreader mounted over a second bin
(2a), forming horizontal layers.
Fibres removed in vertical slices from the

alternative second bin 2b are fed pneumatically
to opening machine no.2 at the delivery of which
oil or other additive may be applied to the fibres.

Tuft Blending Systems
Blending of tufts is carried out either gravimetrically
(weight blending) or volumetrically (volume blending).
Therefore, with respect to tuft size, it is important to take
into account the density and moisture regain of the fibers.
Tufts are often transported between machines of an
opening line by airflow through ducting, and the uniformity
of the tuft flow depends on the specific volume of the tufts.
This parameter is a function of fiber density, moisture
content, and the degree of openness of the blend
components.

There are essentially four methods of
tuft blending that follow the basic
principle outlined in BLENDING,
a. Stack blending
b. Hopper blending
c. Batch blending
d. Continuous blending

The first two methods are gravimetric
procedures, and the last is volumetric; method
c is a combination. Continuous blending is the
more advanced technique and is widely used
in short-staple mills, whereas all four systems
can be found in the processing of longer
staples. This is particularly so in woolen mills,
where muchsmaller batches of material are
often processed.

Irregularities in yarn arising from inadequate
blending and mixing may be classified in three
groups:
(1) Irregularities due to variations in the number of

coloured and white fibres in the corss-section of
the yarn.
(2) Irregularities due to an uneven arrangement of
coloured and white fibres in the yarn
crosssection.
(3) Very long-term irregularities.

Continuous Blending
Figure 2.22 illustrates a four-stack continuous tuft blender. Tufts
are pneumatically
fed into the top of each of four vertical parallel chutes. The chutes
are filled
successively, and the material is removed simultaneously from
the bottom of all
four stacks and dropped onto a belt conveyor, thereby producing
a sandwich formation.
The blend then may be pneumatically conveyed to a second such
stack blender and /or onto a fine opener/cleaner prior to being
fed for carding. There are various designs of continuous
blending units some with

I Year M.Sc up tooften
(TM)-Theory stacks. Others include 60
Spinning a
The mixing battery (Fig. 49, 50) This was once the most common type of
mixer and it is still used. The mixing battery represents the conventional
method of mixing at the start of the process: 2 - 5 mixing bale openers
(Fig. 49, 1) operate together; usually one of these openers is a waste
feeder (w). A good blend is obtained because each opener can be
supplied with a plurality of bales (b), and the opened material from all
bale openers fl ows together onto a common conveyor belt (2).
If the bale openers are provided with weighing
equipment (weighing hopper feeders), then
blends of different components, e.g. cotton
and man-made fibers, can be formed in a
predetermined and metered manner.
Modern blowroom lines operate with automatic

bale openers instead of mixing batteries, but
special blending machines are required in the
lines, two of which are presented below.

The machine (Fig. 51) comprises several (6 - 8) adjacent
chute chambers into which the material is blown from
above. The chutes are fi lled successively and material
is removed from all chutes simultaneously. This gives a
good long-term blend.
Ejection of tufts onto a collecting conveyor is performed
by take-off and beating rollers under the chutes. The
filling height in the chutes is held fairly constant by
sensors. At the end of the machine a simple suction
system or a cleaner can be incorporated.

The Rieter B 70 UNImix
The machine (Fig. 52, Fig. 53) is made up of three parts: a storage
section, an intermediate chamber and a delivery section. Tufts are fed
pneumatically and simultaneously into eight chutes (Fig. 52, 2)
arranged one behind the other in the storage section. A conveyor belt
feeds the stock through the intermediate chamber to the spiked lattice
(3). The material columns are thus diverted from the vertical into the
horizontal. In addition to a condensing effect, this 90 deflection in the
material flow also produces a shift in the timing and spatial distribution
of the fiber packages from the first to the last chute. This special
construction with a deflection of 90, and thereby different distances
from the individual chutes to the lattice (at chute 1: short distance; at
chute 8: long distance) in turn results in good long-term blending.

Thereafter, as in a blending opener, material is
extracted from the intermediate chamber and
subjected to a further opening step between an
inclined spiked lattice (3) and an evener roller (4)
(short-term blending). An optical sensor ensures
that only a small quantity of fiber stock is held in the
mixing chamber in front of the lattice (3). Behind
the spiked lattice there is a take-off roller and a
simple pneumatic suction feed to the next machine.

Metering and blending on one machine
The blending machines mentioned above create

random blends. They are excellent machines for
blending one type of material (although with some
varieties), e.g. cotton, or only one color shade.
However, they are insuffi cient when blends of diff
erent materials (e.g. cotton/polyester) or diff erent
colors are required. These blends are produced
mainly on draw frames, but can also be produced
on the blowroom line.

As with the UNImix, several chutes are
arranged side by
side, but every chute has its own, separate

feed (for the different types of material).
Every chute ends at the bottom with an
independent metering device (Fig. 55).
Each chute therefore drops a precisely
measured quantity of material onto the
collecting conveyer belt, which again
Fiber blending
The card scarcely improves long-term

blending, since the time spent by the material
in the machine is too short. However, it
improves transverse blending and fiber-to-fiber
blending because, apart from the OE spinner,
the card is the only machine to process
individual fibers. Intimate fiber-to-fiber mixing
is achieved in the formation of the web.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

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BLENDING

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 1

Raw materials used in the spinning mill are

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 2

and combine together the correct proportions of

components so that the relative amounts of each

kind fed to the succeeding process (e.g. carding)

remain constant throughout the whole batch of

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 3

process is not an intimate mixture of fibres,

rather a fibre assembly (of slivers, tufts, or

in the required proportions and dimensions

are unlikely to be superior in any one property to

fabrics produced from an individual fibre type, but

fibre blending does enable fabrics to be produced

with combinations of porperties which would be

unattainable by using only one fibre type.

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 5

give the required characteristics to

compensate for variations in the

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 6

influence favorably the behavior of the

achieve effects by varying color, fiber

The evenness of the blend must always be assessed in two

can lead to stripiness. Where there is unevenness in the

yarn section (Fig. 31). This irregularity leads to an uneven

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 11

The spinner aims to distribute the different fibers evenly in

the yarn. For this purpose, he must firstly produce a good

blend at some stage of the process, and secondly be able

to maintain the blend up to the stage of binding into the

yarn. It is a well-known fact that meeting the first of these

requirements is not always easy; sometimes the second is

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 12

During rolling of fibers in hoppers (bale

When a drafting force is applied, they move

this leads to clumping of fibers into clusters and

Pneumatic transport can also cause de-blending.

Blending can be carried out at various

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 15

between controlled and uncontrolled

blending. In uncontrolled blending, the

components are brought together at random

and without a mixing system (e.g. often in

bale mixing). In controlled blending, the

individual components are supplied to the

machines in an ordered fashion and precisely

metered (e.g. in weighing-hopper feeders).

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 17

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 18

fibers and man-made fibers, since even man-made fibers exhibit

variations in their characteristics.

From 6 to 60 bales are laid out for simultaneous flock extraction.

With careful use, this enables the yarn characteristics to be kept

almost uniform over several years. Blending conditions are very

favorable if controlled mixing is carried out, i.e. if the bales are

bales taken together, the same average values of fiber length,

fineness, and/or strength are always obtained.

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 19

I Year M.Sc (TM)-Theory of Spinning 20

This is already substantially finer than mixing of bales

and is becoming steadily more important because of

the use of automatic bale-opening machines (not

always a sufficient number of bales in the mix). Flock