Visitors to ITMA 2019 will see the present and future of textile quality management. A world in which substandard quality is actually prevented – instead of just being monitored and removed. This new reality for mills enables data-based preventive control. It is delivered exclusively by Uster Technologies through USTER® QUALITY EXPERT, the ultimate Quality Management Platform. The system connects, integrates, analyses and interprets vital quality information from every stage of the fiber-to-yarn process. This analysis is based on USTER® application know-how and produces alerts about exceptions and suggestions for fixing them, as well as improvements when necessary.
At ITMA, five ‘Value Modules’ for USTER® QUALITY EXPERT will be launched, after successful testing by customers around the globe. These modules will give spinners an objective and accurate view of the entire spinning process, leading to higher yields and consistent quality: ‘Managing a textile mill with quality in mind’ in practice.
Optimize ring spinning, control contamination and much more
The five Value Modules will give tangible benefits to operators, quality managers and mill managers.
Ring Spinning Optimization (RSO)
RSO focuses on the most expensive part of yarn making, ring spinning, using data from USTER® QUANTUM 3 yarn clearers at winding and USTER® SENTINEL in ring spinning to ensure yarn quality stays constant, even at high speeds. Spinners can correlate end-breaks with winding data, as well as with fiber properties, in a single system. This results in an improved cop build-up quality, fewer quality variations and a reduction in alarms, delivering significant profitability increases to yarn producers.
USTER® RSO 3D extends this functionality to quality mapping of the ring frame, based on individual quality data for each spindle. This helps to identify outlier sides, sections or spindles. Through seamless collaboration with Muratec QPRO EX/FPRO EX spindle identification, USTER® QUANTUM 3 and USTER® SENTINEL, the system can stop faulty spindles or poor quality cops and so prevent poor quality. This reduces the workload for operators, while increasing quality assurance.
Total Contamination Control (TCC)
The double protection by USTER® JOSSI VISION SHIELD and USTER® QUANTUM 3 gives spinners control over balancing quality and productivity, a transparency that enhances cost efficiency and maximizes profits. It means they can make good choices about raw cotton purchases and reduce waste of ‘good’ fiber. Optimizing ejections and cuts gives precise control over levels of contamination, ensuring the yarn meets customer demands.
Alarm center
This provides direct guidance to machine operators, alerting the appropriate personnel and pointing them to the exact location of an issue. Knowledge from these alarms is stored and used for future reference, enabling even faster reactions.
Mill analysis
Intelligent, data-based analysis by USTER® QUALITY EXPERT provides customers with an excellent overview of mill operations. Information is stored centrally, for easy access and total transparency. The result is savings in both time and money.
Yarn prognosis
Accurate forecasting of how yarns will perform in downstream processes brings security and confidence to both spinners and their customers. It means spinning mills can isolate below-par quality and remove it, sending out only yarn which meets customer specifications.
Quality Management Platform for long-term business success
By increasing productivity, the Quality Management Platform contributes directly to improved business security for textile producers. “The profitability and future sustainability of a textile mill depends a lot on the optimization of production and the predictability of produced quality. Our customers are partners and we want to support them to stay successful and tackle challenges, by providing the best services and systems” says Thomas Nasiou, CEO of Uster Technologies.
Quality partner for fabric producers
USTER® Fabric Inspection presents top technology and quality management expertise at ITMA
Since 2018, the world-renowned USTER quality systems include fabric inspection and ITMA 2019 will see the launch of the first major innovation to be developed since the acquisition of automatic vision inspection company Elbit Visions Systems (EVS).
Fabric makers will already be familiar with the successful, industry-proven solutions USTER®EVS Q-BAR, FABRIQ VISION and FABRIQ SHADE, which today are used worldwide to inspect upwards of 60 million meters of fabric per day. At ITMA in Barcelona, USTER® Q-BAR 2 and USTER® FABRIQ EXPERT are launched and explained to show visitors.
For fabric manufacturers, the competitive nature of the textile market means that reliable quality is a requirement, and defects are unacceptable to their customers. USTER® FABRIQ EXPERT and USTER® Q-BAR 2 aim to support textile mills in guaranteeing the delivery of the desired roll quality, using the best technology available for monitoring and improving production at the earliest-possible stage.
That includes locating any defects quickly, supporting identification of the root causes and initiating corrective action. The expertise of EVS technology, with intelligent visual detection and fault-recognition algorithms, is now enhanced by USTER’s overall experience in quality management systems for the wider textile industry.
Fault detection with direct impact on business success
USTER® Q-BAR 2 represents the next generation of the original on-loom monitoring and inspection system, offering user-friendly design and operational improvements for weaving. An inspiring USTER design built on years of EVS experience brings many advantages, including indication of the defect location, and better access to make maintenance tasks easier.
The USTER® Q-BAR 2 is positioned immediately behind the reed on each machine, the ideal location for earliest detection of fabric defects. This means the operator can respond quickly to alarms and stop signals, to correct problems immediately and prevent quality issues from continuing, thus minimizing material waste. A red LED guides the operator to the exact position of defects, and lights at the side of the unit show system status. Fabric faults are categorized and saved, creating a ‘defect map’ for each roll which can be recalled and reviewed later via the intuitive touchscreen. The system reduces the need for postweaving inspection for most applications.
USTER® Q-BAR is already making a significant impact on the business success of users. In one example, a US technical textiles producer reports that it has increased sales volumes through the ability to guarantee seamless fabrics to its customers. This firm produces base-layer material for coating, an application in which defects larger than 9 inches are unacceptable, as they would require cutting and seaming.
The advantage of USTER® Q-BAR 2 here is the rapid stop of weaving when it identifies a defect before it reaches the critical size for the subsequent processes.
Full on-loom quality transparency
USTER® FABRIQ EXPERT is the key to early detection of quality issues, based on comprehensive quality data gathered during on-loom inspection of fabrics. It provides weavers with an overview of their entire installation, via USTER® Q-BAR 2 systems fitted over each machine. The quality data can be used to compare the performance of the same styles on different machines, for example. Another benefit is an indication of when to replace spare parts, preventing faults which could occur with worn-out parts.
Importantly, this knowledge is a considerable scale-up on the ‘normal’ weaving operator’s ability to feedback observations over several looms. The whole-mill picture from USTER® FABRIQ EXPERT makes the results more representative of the true picture in the mill. It follows the USTER ‘Think Quality’ concept – supporting customers to make informed decisions for long-term business success through increased productive efficiency and effective quality management.
Quality partner for fabric producers
Combining the industry-leading technology of automated vision-based inspection with USTER’s unrivalled stature in quality management systems and services creates the perfect ‘dream team’ for fabric manufacturers. They can now have access to highly-effective automated fault detection, as well as total transparency of weaving quality performance, provided during on-loom inspection. USTER® Fabric Inspection offers real benefits for weavers in terms of both customer satisfaction and their own long-term business success.
Major advances with USTER® TESTER 6: two new features – and total mill optimization through the Quality Management Platform
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.
Mr. 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.US TER® 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 in 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.