Uster ushers new era in yarn clearing

Innovations were at the core of the USTER QUANTUM 3 development. For the first time, a yarn clearer went beyond normal expectations – with its ability to propose clearing limits and predict cut levels. Foreign matter clearing was dramatically upgraded, with the ability to see colored defects and remove selectively the faults likely to affect fabric quality. Polypropylene detection capability was also extended to cover count variation and periodic faults. Simple, error-free clearing was the aim, with the ultimate goal of helping spinners raise quality and productivity.

Initial reactions around the world were positive: customers were said to be quite impressed. Pre-launch testing had confirmed initial confidence in the product, but USTER determined to support this with practical evidence, visiting spinning mills to get first-hand feedback from customers across a wide range of mill environments, applications and quality requirements. Was the new clearer delivering the benefits customers needed? Feedback suggested it was, and that a new approach to yarn clearing was born

Hard facts can spring surprises

With half a million USTER QUANTUM 3 clearers sold – the facts have surprised even USTER's own experts. The clearers are now installed in over 10.000 automatic winders around the world, in textile hotspots like China, India, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Italy and Egypt, as well as in less-obvious markets such as Spain, Argentina, Guatemala, Tanzania, Russia and Uzbekistan.

Mills range from first-time entrants in automatic winding to sophisticated users with very high quality demands. They span environmental conditions from 10 degrees Celsius to 53 degree Celsius, from 20 percent relative humidity to 80 percent.

Over 300 fiber types were processed, including traditional cotton, polyester, viscose and their blends as well as flax, modal, Tencel, silk, cashmere, elastane and non-elastane core types. These facts prove USTER QUANTUM 3 is flexible enough to handle varying conditions, applications and expectations. But what are the customer benefits in terms of quality and productivity?

Optimal clearing limits: quickly and simply

Customers were united in their appreciation of the YARN BODY concept, which made the system much easier to use. It was easy and fast to arrive at an optimal clearing limit – a factor which was always a matter for debate – with users now welcoming the YARN BODY as an essential element in yarn clearing.

Many customers also reported the elimination of quality complaints, especially with more even yarns such as compact yarns. Previously, clearing limits had been unable to eliminate outliers for these yarns, as spinning mills often followed the 'class clearing' approach. The YARN BODY view made these faults much more obvious, and mills were able to adapt the limits accordingly. The yarn is a compact yarn, but clearing using traditional classes left some remaining outliers in the yarn, indicated by the dark green triangles – a special feature of the USTER CLASSIMAT 5 yarn classification system.

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