Customer feedback drives innovations for twist testing and conductive yarns
It’s the acknowledged global standard in testing, at the heart of the laboratory in every quality-conscious textile mill. And USTER® TESTER 6 – the latest edition of the legendary Uster Technologies instrument – still keeps on improving, with innovative solutions to keep pace with latest industry trends.
Two examples illustrate this progress: the facility for measuring conductive yarn through the Frequent Occurrences (FO) feature of USTER TESTER 6. And the high-speed assessment of twist and twist variation as part of a single yarn testing routine.
USTER TESTER 6 hosts USTER QUALITY EXPERT, the ultimate digital solution for integrated data-based improvements throughout the spinning mill, connecting and interpreting information from a range of different instruments in the unique Quality Management Platform. For the first time, spinners have access to all the possibilities for total mill optimization.
Sivakumar Narayanan, Executive Vice President Marketing & Business Development, says: “We are committed to innovating products, solutions and services which strengthen business sustainability for customers. The new features demonstrate this well. Working with USTER gives customers the peace of mind that can only come from strong partnerships, as well as adding extra impetus to our technological development efforts.”
“USTER TESTER 6 was launched in 2015 and has already been sold in 37 countries. As part of USTER’s continuous improvement strategy, we have collected personal feedback from every USTER TESTER 6 customer around the world. This, combined with field reports from our service engineers, led to the latest developments of USTER TESTER 6.”
Frequent occurrences: Quality evaluation for conductive yarns
Conductive yarns have become more important in the past decade in fast-growing markets such as protective wear, fitness clothing, and healthcare.
Manufacturers of protective clothing in particular need to deal with public institutions and tenders. In this competitive environment, the supplier’s reputation is crucial – and it depends largely on consistent quality to avoid costly claims.
Until now, it has not been possible to measure the quality of conductive yarns – a real issue for spinners in this field. USTER stepped up efforts to include measurement of conductive yarn in USTER TESTER 6. Sensor OM is now used to measure Frequent Occurrences (FO) in these yarns. It analyses neps, thin and thick places, yarn evenness, diameter, density and shape – all vital quality parameters for conductive yarns.
Twist and twist variation – in a single test routine
The manual and often subjective measurement of twist has been regarded by spinners as a task to be avoided if possible. But the twist level in a yarn is a critical quality parameter that affects both the look and performance of the finished product, as well as the productivity level, so spinners would benefit from integrating twist in their normal testing routine.
Now, this important parameter can be measured as a simple by-product of yarn testing for 100% cotton ring and compact yarn – giving producers information about all relevant parameters as part of one laboratory procedure. USTER TESTER 6 is the only yarn testing instrument on the market with the option to obtain Twist and Twist variation (Tu) data during yarn testing, at a speed of 800 m/min. This information enables spinning mills to react quickly to identify performance gaps such as low-speed spindles.
Developed by experts in the technology department of USTER, these innovations extend the capabilities of USTER TESTER 6 still further.
Correlation with USTER STATISTICS
Measurement data from USTER TESTER 6 correlates perfectly with USTER STATISTICS global benchmarks, essential for every yarn producer or trader. Available in an app for iOS, Android and Windows 10 since October 2018 – it is already one of the most successful apps in textiles.
Now the new app version 1.4 is in app stores – with an enlarged database of the most popular yarn styles, 100% cotton, compact yarns for knitting applications, extended FAQs and enhanced readability.