The University of New England is licenced by the Trust to deliver this module as part of its formal curriculum. Students from other Universities may also enrol.
Educational Institutions. other than the University of New England, wishing to utilise these resources as research and/or reference materials will be provided a copy of all the materials, including source documents in Microsoft Word format, subject to their acceptance of a licencing contract with the Australian Wool Education Trust. This contract spells out their obligations to AWET and the limitations in the use of the materials. Such institutions must have an appropriate licence with the Copyright Agency Ltd.
Institutions or individuals who wish to utilise the materials as references or for self education will be provided access to the source documentation in PDF format only, subject to their acceptance of the terms and conditions. They can request modules and/or topics.
Any questions or requests for additional information should be directed to: wool.education@woolwise.com
WOOL-482-582 was originally issued in 2008. It was created with funding provided by the Sheep CRC supported by AWET.
Funded by AWET the original version of this module has been substantially edited and reduced to 16 topics. This has removed a considerable amount of detail in order to provide a broader overview of this important topic.
This topic provides an overview of the steps involved in the early stage processing of wool (ESP), ie, the conversion of greasy wool into yarn. Subsequent topics in this unit provide more details on each processing step in early stage processing, as well as the steps involved in late stage processing.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
This topic covers the wool scouring process, presenting the principal objectives and functions of the modern industry. Wool scouring is the only operation, other than carbonising, which is unique to the early stage processing of wool fibre. Synthetic fibres are not contaminated to any significant extent, and therefore are not scoured.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
This topic looks at the full range of certificated tests that are routinely carried out on scoured wool consignments in Australia and New Zealand. These are: yield, vegetable matter content and solvent extractables, fibre diameter, colour, regain and length after carding. In addition, the in-scour tests for quality are included; the rapid tests for grease (solvent extractables) and regain, and the use of NIRA technology.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
This topic looks at Carbonising, the chemical process used to remove vegetable matter (VM) from wool. The VM, which may be seeds, twigs, burrs, grass etc., is predominantly made up of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin whereas wool is principally protein. The carbonising process exploits the difference in the stability of proteins and cellulose to the effects of mineral acids.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
Irrespective of which of the three routes (woollen, worsted or semiworsted) is used to process wool into yarn, the card (or carding machine) plays an essential part. It separates the entangled clumps of fibres into a web of individual fibres by working them between a series of closely spaced, moving roller surfaces which are covered with pointed wire, pins or teeth (the card clothing). Important considerations in carding are the processes of fibre individualisation, formation of the web, the extent and configuration of the fibres in the web, and the degree of fibre damage occurring during carding. These are important because, in processing stages after to carding, excessive fibre breakage and poor fibre configuration (i.e. straightness) may lead to unacceptable yarn irregularity and imperfections.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
In wool yarn manufacture, an integrated series of operations is required to convert disorganised tufts of staple fibres into an organized twisted strand. Carding commences the process, but further steps are required before the yarn can be spun. The fibres are delivered to the next processing stage by a worsted and semiworsted card in the form of a sliver. Gilling improves the straightness and alignment of the fibres in a sliver, while drafting reduces its linear density (or count) by the desired amount.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
Wool combing is a comprehensive term when used in its widest sense, and it embraces all the operations carried out in a topmaking plant. It includes the processes of raw wool scouring, drying, carding, backwashing and preparer gilling. Then follows the actual combing operation and the sequence of topmaking processes concludes with two gilling steps called top finishing (or finisher gilling). Combing is not included in the semiworsted or woollen processing routes.
Wool combing, the single process, is indispensable in the manufacture of a worsted yarn. The card has disentangled the fibres in the mass of scoured wool and has mixed them in a roughly parallel formation. However, during the carding process many fibres will have been broken, and the card sliver will consist of a variety of fibre lengths. Some vegetable matter will have been removed but fragments remain.
Gilling is able to mix, align and straighten fibres but a gillbox has no capability to remove short fibres or vegetable matter from sliver. Combing enables finer, stronger, more uniform and less hairy yarns to be spun at higher efficiency.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
Carbonising is the chemical process which is used to remove vegetable matter (VM) from wool. The VM, which may be seeds, burrs, grass etc., is predominantly made up of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin whereas the wool is principally protein. The carbonising process makes use of the difference in the stability of proteins and cellulose to the effects of A yarn is a relatively strong and flexible assembly of fibres or filaments, with or without twist. It is an important intermediate product between fibres and fabrics. Yarn technology deals with the manufacture of various types of yarns consisting of different fibres and fibre arrangements, and the properties of these yarns. The fundamentals of yarn technology cover basic topics on yarn count, twist, yarn structures, and yarn types.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
While the term ‘spinning’ is commonly used to describe the entire yarn-making process, in this topic the more specific meaning applies, i.e. the formation of yarn by drafting a strand of fibres, inserting twist and winding the yarn onto a package. The ultimate aim of spinning is to produce a continuous, cohesive strand of fibres (i.e. a yarn) of the required linear density (count) and which has good evenness, tensile properties and a minimum number of faults.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
Ring spinning (which is discussed in Topics 1 and 9) remains the dominant form of spinning wool into yarn, primarily because it is regarded as producing a superior yarn to alternative spinning systems. However, a number of modifications to long staple ring spinning have been developed in recent years to provide more versatility and to reduce costs. These include methods of eliminating two-folding (or plying) in the production of weaving yarns, with the ultimate aim of producing as a yarn as possible on a spinning frame without resorting to two-plying or sizing.
The manufacture of nonwoven fabrics involves converting fibres into fabric, eliminating the need for yarn to be spun as an intermediate step. The ability of wool to felt has enabled nonwoven (ie, felted) products to be made for centuries. However, more modern processes involving needle punching and stitch bonding enable a range of nonwoven products by mechanical means.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
While the term ‘weaving’ is mostly used for the process of interlacing two sets of yarns (warp and weft) on a loom to form a woven fabric, it is actually a series of processes which converts yarn into a fabric that is suitable for tailoring.
Shuttle looms have been the traditional machines for weaving over many centuries, and are still widely used around the world today, especially in developing countries. However, over the past three decades, shuttle-less looms have taken the lead position in weaving machinery. Speed and versatility have been the main thrust of the developments.
By the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
Knitting as a method of converting yarn into fabric begins with the bending of the yarn into loops. These loops are then intermeshed with other loops of the same open or closed configuration in either a horizontal or vertical direction. These directions correspond respectively to the two basic forms of knitting technology – weft and warp knitting.
On completion of this lecture you should be able to:
A carpet is a textile floor covering that combines an attractive appearance with warmth, and comfort for standing, walking or reclining on. Carpets bring many diverse benefits to homes and public spaces. The top layer of the carpet, which is subjected to foot traffic, is called the pile. It composed of millions of yarn segments, arranged in a compact formation as short loops or upright tufts. Today there are three main methods of making wool (and wool rich) carpets and rugs: hand-knotting, weaving and tufting.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
The physical and chemical properties of wool vary greatly between breeds, the environment in which the wools are grown and the diet and health of the sheep. The physical properties vary in terms of fibre diameter, length and crimp whereas the chemical properties exhibit variety in terms of amino acid content. In addition, wools also vary in their base colour and have differences between the tip and root that affect both the dyestuff diffusion rate and mechanical properties. It is common to blend wools with different physical and chemical properties, and these blends may display markedly different dyeing properties. Therefore, careful selection of dyestuffs and auxiliary dyeing chemicals is important if the desired, stable colour is to be achieved on completion of the dyeing process.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
The objective of wool fabric finishing is to develop the desired properties in woollen and worsted fabrics that meet the specified end use requirements of consumers. Finishing is a sequence of dry and wet processes that is carried out in a logical order. This lecture provides an overview of the principles of wool fabric finishing. The topic of wool fabric finishing is a very extensive one, and therefore can only be dealt with quite briefly here.
On completion of this topic you should be able to:
This topic describes the effect of fibre properties on performance in the conversion of greasy wool through to top, and into worsted yarn. The spinner’s requirements drive the specification of top properties and ultimately what wool is purchased and, together with supply and demand, the price relativities. The potential performance in spinning and the yarn properties are determined or limited by the fibre properties and so it is possible to predict expected performance and establish a firm basis for the relative importance of fibre properties.
On completion of this topic you should be able to: