Indian Journal of .
Fibre & Textile Research
Vol. 37, June 2012, pp. 191-193
Short Communications
An innovative approach for energy
conservation in ring spinning
M R Srikrishnan1,a, M Parthiban1 & M Dhinakaran2
1 the cost of oil, which makes development of such
Department of Fashion Technology, PSG College of
Technology, Coimbatore 641 004, India
2 on the factors that affect labour and energy costs in
Department of Textile Technology, Kumaraguru College of
Technology, Coimbatore 641 004, India
Received 14 July 2011; revised received and
accepted 9 August 2011
An attempt has been made to modify the spindle system
drive for minimizing the energy consumption to a maximum
extent without compromising on the yarn quality, production and
machine performance. It is found that the novel modification
reduces the pulling load imposed on a prime- mover and leads to
10.8% power saving.
Keywords: Energy conservation, Jockey pulley, Ring spinning,
Spindle drive system
Energy is one of the most important ingredients in
any industrial activity. Several research works on
minimizing energy consumption for yarn winding in
ring spinning process are still going on. Global energy
crisis and high cost of fuels have resulted in more
activities to conserve energy to a maximum extent.
Amongst other industries, textile industry retains a
record of the lowest efficiency in energy utilization
and is considered to be one of the major energy
consuming industries. The earlier reports illustrate the
effect of yarn hairiness on energy consumption in
rotating a ring-spun yarn package1,2. As far as
spinning/weaving is concerned, power requirement is
high, while in chemical processing thermal energy is
considered as a very important requirement. It is
known that thermal energy in textile mill is largely
consumed mainly in two operations, namely heating
and drying of water. Fuel consumption in textile mills
is almost directly proportional to the amount of water
consumed. Hence, consumption of water can be
reduced to save the energy. Conservation of energy
depends upon the process and machine modification,
usage of proper chemical recipes, and implementation
a
To whom all the correspondence should be addressed.
E-mail: mrsrikrishnan@yahoo.co.in
of new technologies. The possibilities of utilizing
new energy resources like solar energy, wind power,
tidal power and nuclear energy, are yet to be explored.
The initial cost of production increases in step with
sources doubtful in terms of cost incurred. A study
ring - spun yarn production has been reported by
Kog and Kuscuoglu3.
An analysis on the results of second stage energy
conservation studies were carried over in a previous
attempt.4 The key to achieve this is through energy
efficiency, as it not only reduces the production cost,
but also reduces the amount of impact on the
environment.5 With this background coupled with the
fact that previous studies are only concerned with
certain types of energy conservation technology,
system and process, such as cogeneration, air-
conditioning, and dyeing processes, in this study an
attempt has been made to develop an innovative
method of modifying the spindle drive for minimizing
the energy conservation without affecting the quality,
production and machine performance.
Square rods, hexagonal bolts, nuts and plate
washers were used for fabricating the modified
bracket for one full ring frame machinery. The
fabrication work was carried out by a local contractor.
Guide jockey pulley and suitable nylon rings for
jockey pulley were used for the guiding purpose with
holding screw of dimension (18mm5mm) along with
spring and plate washer. Tension jockey pulley with
the nylon rings was also used for imparting sufficient
tension.
The modification was done for energy conservation
based on the following three criteria:
(i) Design factors, e.g. type of drive system and
selection of prime movers,
(ii) Process and production factors, e.g. count pattern
and speed, and
(iii) Maintenance factors, e.g. cleaning, lubrication
and overhauling.
Three types of drive systems like conventional
system, modified spindle drive system I and modified
spindle drive system II were framed and analyzed for
the consumption of energy. The machine particulars
and drive systems are discussed below:
192 INDIAN J.FIBRE TEXT.RES., JUNE 2012

Make of the machine: Lakshmi Rieter, Coimbatore, been done. The modified bracket system was fixed
Model: DJ5, No of spindles: 528 spindles, Prime on ring frame and the second phase trail was carried
mover: single motor (17.5 HP), Spindle drive system: out like the previous one. All the conventional types
tin roller, Ring diameter: 42mm and Gauge: 72 mm of tin rollers were removed and tin roller pulley
was fixed. The third phase trial was found to be
Conventional system same as that of the previous method. The results are
Prime mover is rotated by means of electrical shown in Table 2.
energy. The power is transmitted to tin-roller shaft or From the above set of observations, the
main shaft by means of pulley with the help of flat modifications I and II prove to be highly effective in
(or) V belt. The power is transmitted from tin- roller reducing the pulling load imposed by the prime
to 4 spindles group through nylon sandwich tape mover, the mechanical load on the bearings and the
with the help of tension jockey pulley. resistance offered to the tape drive system in terms of
Modified system I air drag and ending resistance.
In modification 1, the power is transmitted from The modified bracket system helps the power to be
tin- roller to 16 spindles group through nylon transmitted from tin- roller to 16 spindles group
sandwich tape with the help of tension jockey pulley through nylon sandwich tape with the help of tension
and guide jockey pulley. jockey pulley and guide jockey pulley which leads to
high energy consumption comparatively to the power
Modified system II transmission done from tin- roller to 4 spindles
In modification 2, the same power is transmitted group of the conventional spindle-drive system. It
from tin- roller pulley to 16- spindles group through also helps to reduce the vibration, noise level and tape
nylon sandwich tape with the help of tension jockey length. The spindle speed, empty cop, net yarn weight
pulley. and all other major findings are found to be closer
The modified specifications are listed in Table 1. with respect to the conventional system. Hence, the
Modified bracket sketch with their dimensions is above modification is found to be successful with
represented in Fig. 1. The spindle drive system is respect to productivity and machine performance.
represented in Fig. 2. The average time taken per doff is found to be
The conventional trial was carried out and all 4.30 h. The unit consumed in modified systems I and
performance quality and conservation analysis has II per doff is found to be 33.47 units which is
Table 1Modification details
comparatively less with respect to conventional
system having the consumption of 37.47 units;
Description Conventional Modification I Modification II this shows which brought considerable savings in
4Spdl(TR) 16Spdl(TR) 16Spdl(TRP)
units/ doff to four. The number of doff produced
No. of spindles/ 528 528 528 per day is 5.33 and units savings/ day/ frame is
machine
No. of tin rollers 14 14 -
used
Total tin roller - - 33
pulley
Total weight of 262.45 262.45 231.85
tin roller, kg
No. of jockey 132 231 231
pulley
Length of one 3000 10 5050 10 5050 10 Fig. 1 Modified bracket (Dimensions are in mn)
spindle tape, mm
Total length of 396 166.65 166.65
spindle, m
Reduction in - - 30.593
pulling load, kg
Reduction in tape - 229.35 229.35
length, m
TR Tin roller, TRP Tin roller pulley. Fig. 2 Spindle drive system
 SHORT COMMUNICATION 193

Table 2First, second and third phase trials results

[Count 30s, motor speed 1450 rpm, motor 17.5 HP, spindle speed 11420 rpm and time taken 4.25 h]
Process parameter Doff No. 1 Doff No. 2 Doff No. 3
I II III I II III I II III
cop weight 18 20 14 18 16 16 18 14 14
cop weight 51 54 45 52 52 46 52 53 43
Waste weight 0.8 1.0 0.6 0.7 1.3 0.8 0.8 1.2 0.8
Empty cop weight 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
cop weight 34 32 34 38 34 38 38 31 30
Full cop weight 61 65 66 70 65 70 70 65 70
Net yarn weight 33 33 33 35 34 36 35 32 35

around 21.32 units. The payback period details are Table 3Quality parameters
given below: Description Conventional Modification I Modification II
E.B. tariff/unit: Rs.4.10; Cost saving/day/frame: Count, Ne 30.44 30.54 30.96
Rs.87.41; Total modification cost/frame: Rs.52441.55; Lea strength, g 61.94 64.43 61.61
Payback period for the modification cost: 600 days CSP 1886 1968 1907
and No. of years: 1.68. The above observations TPI 23.48 24.05 23.42
clearly prove that the modified system is so effective CV% 2.93 2.97 2.38
with respect to energy consumption angle. RKM 13.98 13.34 14.13
The total end breakages are found to be on the
Table 4Overall cost benefit analysis
lower side in the modified systems I and II with
respect to the conventional system. Similarly, the end Description Conventional Modification Modification
I II
breakages/100 spindles are reduced in the modified
systems I and II as compared to the conventional E.B tariff/unit, Rs 410 4.10 4.10
system. From Table 3, it is inferred that a saving of Units/25000spdl/day 9450 8700 8450
nearly 1000 units /day is possible in the modified Total cost, Rs 38,475 35,670 34, 645
system which proves to be more economical for a Cost saving/day, Rs - 3,075 3,830
Cost saving/month, Rs - 92,250 1, 14900
capacity of 25000 spindleage mills. There is no
Cost saving/year, Rs - 10,91625 13,59650
significant difference found with respect to quality
parameters. Hence, the above modification is mover (main motor) is possible. Reduction in
successful with respect to quality angle. The total vibration and noise level and tape length is found to
material cost from tin roller to pulley conversion is be 58%. The method has an attractive payback period
estimated around Rs.40, 000 and the cost for the of 1.7 years. It can be incorporated easily in different
spindle drive system is estimated around Rs.11, 275. models of ring and doubling frames. There is no need
The total tape length requirement/528 spindle frame is of any major changes in the basic design of ring or
estimated around Rs.1166.55 and the grand total doubling frames and the total cost for 25000 spindles
modification cost is found to be Rs.52, 441.55. From per day for conventional system is Rs. 38,475 and for
Table 4, it is also inferred that an approximate saving modified system is Rs. 34,645. Hence, a total saving
of Rs.3830/ day can be achieved in all the spinning of about Rs.3830 per day is benefited.
mills which proves that both the modifications I & II
do not influence major changes in the cost investment References
for fulfilling the requirements with respect to the 1 Tang Z X, Wang Z & Fraser B, Text Res J, 74(2004)
conventional system. 1097-1103.
The above approach in ring spinning offers 2 Tang Z X, Chang L & Wang X, Text Res J, 73(2003)
949-959.
considerable findings with respect to energy
3 Kog E & Kuscuoglu R, Text Tech, 103(2005) 160-169.
conservation in par with the conventional system. The
4 Palanichamy C & SundarBabu N, Energy Policy, 33 (5)
above research analysis successfully proves that (2005) 603-609.
10.8% of power saving in the spindle drive system in 5 Roy M M, Air Conditioning Refrigeration J, 12(2005)
ring frame and reduction in pulling load to the prime 1003-1007.