The R 37 produces 100% cotton knitting yarn with a yarn count of Ne 21 and a yarn delivery speed of 125 meters per minute.
China
Xiajin Taibai Textile is located in Xiajin County, Shandong Province, China. The company has been collaborating with Rieter since it was founded in 2005. Xiajin Taibai recently bought two semi-automated rotor spinning machines R 37 to extend its mill which already consisted of two BT 923, two R 923 and one R 36. Today, they have around 2 500 spinning positions in total. Xiajin Taibai focuses on the production of top-quality cotton knitting yarn. The main yarn counts are Ne 10, Ne 16, Ne 21 and Ne 32, which are used to produce fabric for T-shirts and sweaters. The company produces up to 500 tonne of yarn every month. It plans to expand its production capacity to 5 000 positions in the next few years and needs high-quality semi-automated rotor spinning machines.
The Challenge
Xiajin Taibai is mainly positioned at the top end of the 100% cotton knitting yarn market. It faces the following challenges which have led the company to invest in new machinery.
- The recent increase in raw cotton prices requires control of raw material and operating costs.
- Further improvement of yarn quality requires stability and consistency. This is important to maintain the company’s position at the top end of the knitting yarn market.
- React to lower prices of yarn from cotton growing areas.
- Compared with weaving, the demand for rotor yarn for knitting is still small. It needs time to develop this market.
The Solution
The semi-automated rotor spinning machine R 37 is the right solution to meet these challenges. The opening area of the spinning box is optimised to remove impurities and at the same time improves fibre guidance in the feeding and opening area. These performance improvements help to achieve high yarn tenacity while making full use of the good fibres in the sliver. Thanks to the high tenacity, the yarn twist can be reduced, resulting in a super soft yarn. This is perfect for knitting and expands the range of applications. At the same time, the more efficient impurity removal of the R 37 means that the cotton noil or waste mixing ratio can be increased. The R 37 has low energy consumption thanks to its design concept and efficient motors. The piecing technology AMIspin and the comfortable machine height improve work efficiency and reduce labour intensity.
The Customer’s Benefits
The R 37 produces 100% cotton knitting yarn with a yarn count of Ne 21 and a yarn delivery speed of 125 meters per minute. There are few ends down, the yarn quality is stable, and the machine has an efficiency of 99.4%. Xiajin Taibai also experienced that the R 37 is better at removing impurities. Compared to the R 36, it can adapt more easily to raw materials with a high trash content. The cotton noil or waste mixing ratio can be increased accordingly while maintaining the yarn quality. This effectively reduces raw material costs. At the same time, the spinning box supports stable spinning and consistent quality which additionally allows increasing the rotor speed. This increases the output and reduces the production and operating costs.
Customers in the downstream process praise the high-quality knitting yarn spun on the R 37. It delivers excellent performance in the knitting process with fewer ends down and high efficiency. The knitted T-shirt fabric has clean lines, is soft to the touch and comfortable to wear. For the customers of Xiajin Taibai, rotor spun knitting yarn has great potential and can become an alternative to ring spun knitting yarn in the future.
Rieter and Taibai have collaborated for over 15 years. We are not only partners, but family too. The performance of the semi-automated rotor spinning machine R 37 is great for top-quality 100% virgin cotton knitting yarn,†says Sun Jiafu, General Manager.