Insan Sandang Indonesia becomes the First Company To Go For Sustainable Carbon Utilities for Twisting

Insan Sandang has chosen to use the Carbon Utilities for their Twisting Department in their new spinning project.

Mr Teddy, the Director, wants " Sustainability" as an integral part of his new venture and therefore chose the Carbon Tubes against Plastic Tubes for the Twisting Unit. Further, he awaits the standardization of the Ring Tubes in Carbon and would switch to these to make the complete plant free of Plastics.

Mr Mitra, the CEO of the company claimed that besides the " Sustainability" factor, the company will be to get 2.5 kgs knotless packages on TFO with the Carbon Tubes and this gets them 4% advantage over conventional utilities.

Insan Sandang becomes the first Textile company in the world to go the Carbon Utilities way . It will lead the Industry into a new era of Micro- structures for Materials in Motion with sustainable and cost efficient Advanced Materials.

I hope within the next 5 years, this becomes viral and a standard industry practice. The textile Industry will then enter the new era of Advanced Materials.

Twisting With Small Pots : Less Capital, Lower Operational Cost : Thx To My Patented Carbon Tubes

Never Twist with a pot dia of more then 120mm again. Kiss the bigger pots a good bye. And if you have larger pots on TFO, time to change the spindle to 120mm pots.

Till now, the 120 mm pot could hold only 850 gms of yarn and hence was non compliant with the market requirement of 1.89kgs cones with one knot.

Precision Assembly Winder with Mantex Carbon Tubes

  But this gets resolved with two solutions.

1. Using a Precision Winder to getting a better density of the yarn.
2. Using Carbon Tubes , which shaves off 5 mm thickness of the plastic tubes and give the extra room to give higher content.

Now you can get 1.1 kgs with 38 mm tubes on Precision Winder for 120mm pot diameter. Thereby giving 1.89Kgs++ packages with one knot, which are standard in the market. Though, if you are a little smart, you can get 1.2 kgs knot less on the 38mm tubes, but will need to manipulate the traverse to be around 160mm or a little more.

In fact, it given an opportunity for the machine maker to go down on the spindle size to be only 115mm, with a pot of 120 mm, which will give 950 gms as the pay load.

For Sewing Thread makers, this is a boon. They can take one to one 1200 gms knotless dyepackages directly on the TFO and no need to rewind on soft cone winders.

This practically means, the Investment in TFO project comes down by 25%.
Because, when you use a smaller pot of only 125mm ( VTS 10), the speeds go up by 25%. 

Say, if you want to put a plant of 40 TFOs, then one would actually get the same production as that of 150mm pot dia with only 30 TFOs of  125mm pot dia. And not only that, since, the pot is smaller, the operational cost comes down by 20 to 25% . Eg 40 TFOS of 160 mm pot dia will need USD250 per spl x 160 spls per machine x 40 machines = USD1.6 Million. And investments in drum assy winders : USD600 X 160 Spls x 4 machines ( Taking 1 spl of assy winder = 10 spls of Drum winder ) say USD400k. Total of TFO + Assy Winder = USD 2 million.
Now, take a 120 mm pot TFO, the nos of machines required only 30 for exactly the same production : 30 x USD 200 per spl x 160 spls = USD 960K, Plus Precision Assy winder : 4 machines x 100 spindles x USD1600 =  USD 640K. Total of USD 960K+ 640k = USD1.6 million Against USD2 million of large pot dia machines.  Which is 25% lower overall investement, besides the savings on the knotters, blowers, cables, space etc etc.

Now, if you have 40 TFOs , then all it takes is replacing the pot to 120 mm from , whatever pot size is there on the current TFO, And you sell off 10 machines and from the sales proceeds , fund the conversion of the other 30 machines to 120mm pot .

Power is a function of spindle size and the balloon in TFO. However, one has to find an optimum speeds for power savings as beyond a certain speed the power again goes up exponentially. Therefore, technically though 120 mm pots can go upto speeds of 14500 rpm. But the best speeds would be around 12,500 rpm. Which is still 25 to 30% against the big pots speeds of 9000 rpm.

Lower Capital For Same Production

As per above chart, the total investment comes down by 25%. Infact, the investment in TFO comes down to almost 66% of the original investment. However, one has to invest a little higher into Precision Assembly winders against Drum Winders. If you can get a good deal for the precision winders, then the investement becomes almost 40% lower then the large pot TFO with drum winders.

The savings are 

Power savings upto 25%.
Labor saving
Space Saving
Utility Saving
Trolleys, knotters, etc etc

Changing from large pot to 120 mm pot is very simple. Needs only spindle change. However, to get the real deliverable, one needs to have a precision winder or invest into a new precision winder.


This marks the end of Drum Assembly winders and opens the new chapter of small pots for Twisting. However, to get 1 kgs payload on the tube, only would be possible with my tubes. Thereby giving more then 1.89 kgs with one knot.

My 3rd Patent : Eco centres for Yarn Dyeing

Frome Cones To Eco Centres . From 19th Century to Digitial Age.

Plastic Out, 

Eco Centres

 15 to 25% Less Water Usage in Dyeing

Eco Centres For High Temperature Dyeing

Eco Centres In Action 

If you care for Enviroment, you will choose Eco Centres For Dyeing.

70,00 Kilo litres of Water Saved Per Year in 10 TPD yarn Dyeing Plant with Eco Centres

The mindless usage of water in the Yarn Dyeing Industry is more on account of incompetence in the Industry rather then the need of the Industry. Like I have written earlier in my blog on " Yarn Dyeing Machines : Fraud of the Century ". Where most dyers refused to use their knowledge of technology and simply follow the practices of 19th century.

Let us see, how a simple product, where in the potential energy changes to kinetic energy on compression brings about 15 to 25% reduction in water and hence all the related savings of power, chemicals, labor, space etc etc.

The compression of the Eco Centres provides room for additional loading of yarn onto the same spindle. Thereby using the same water, chemicals, energy, labor, you are now dyeing additional 25%. This translates to profit of USD1 Million per year for 10 TPD yarn dyeing plant.

The New Patented Eco centre licks away all the issues of the old metal dyesprings.

1. It provides covers to the ends, so no yarn slippage on the ends and hence no wastage.
2. It protects the ends of the dyesprings, so longer life of a dyespring.
3. It gives room for the dye centre on the winding machine so the drum and the dyecentre do not foul with one another.
4. It provides uniformity of compression.
5. The slip clips on the dye centre ensures that the initial winding of the yarn is perfect.
6. The Unwinding Caps ensure that the yarn unwinds till the last layer.
7. The Life of the eco centre is 5 years with the right kind of hydro.
8. The open space provides the free flow of liquor. So , no poor dyeing in the initial layers
9. The compression provides the uniformity of dyeing by equalization of density.
10. For coarser counts less then 20s, there is no other way, but to use mantex eco centres for dyeing. Even after precision winding.

My 2nd Patent: Physics of Yarn Dyeing/ Density Measurement And Sorting of Soft Packages.

Because Yarn Dyeing is a Physio-Chemical Process. The Physics of Dyeing is as important as Chemistry of Dyeing.

The Physics of Dyeing Comes by managing the Uniformity of Density achieved by:

1. Angle of Wind, which ensures the same number of layers from top to the bottom of the package.
2. The Shape of the package, which has to be cylindrical and compressible. Compression is the only phenomenon which ensures that the unevenness of the soft packages from precision winder is neutralized.

However, there is still no such practical system, which measures and sorts out the density range of the soft packages as required for good dyeing.

Herein my Solution

Co-ordinates For Volume

The imaging technology captures the volume if the soft package via a camera.

The Soft Package is placed in position and the machine started. The Pusher arm pushes it under the DMS, where the camera captures the volume and the weighing machine under, captures the weight.

The Density is then worked out by the computer and the sorting program pushes the soft packages into bins.

The Off Density packages , viz above are pushed into one bin, the below in another bin and those within the range come straight to the end bin.

This way the dyer can then dye, the above range soft packages together and the below in another lot, without the need of rewinding. Also, the RFT percentage improves on account of the correct physics of yarn dyeing.

DMS In Action At Sewing Thread Plant.

The production rate is around 6 nos per minute or say around 10 tons per day.

Currently under Beta Testing and should be available to market in another 3 months time. Expression of Interest is welcome.

My 3 Patents This Year : Carbon Spinning Tubes; Spinning will never be the same Again.

This year, I took 3 patents, two in area of dyeing and one in spinning. Let me start first with the Mother of all the 3 patents viz : "Carbon Spinning Tubes "

What happened to Light Bulbs in the last decade will be the same model, which will take place for Ring Tubes with my invention. Ten years from now, there will be only my tubes for ring spinning and no other tubes. This will be my legacy, the world will remember for a very long time to come. InshaAllah!

For the last 3 years, I had been struggling to make carbon composite spinning tubes and then with the help of a Japanese company ( Which does not want to be identified at this stage ) the product was Prototyped.

Patented Carbon Composite Spinning Tubes

What is the difference between the Normal Ring Tube and Carbon Spinning Tubes

Carbon Ring Tubes in Action

There are 4 very Significant changes that take place in the spinning industry with my this patent.

1. The weight of the tube comes down from 42 gms to only 8 gms on a 7 inches tube giving major power saving upto 9%
2. The wall thickness of the tube is only 0.5mm against the wall thickness of 2.5 mm of current tubes. Which means, practically you take 40 to  55% higher content per tube and therefore higher efficiency on the Ring Frames and and higher efficiency on the Auto Coner.
3. The wall thickness allows a yarn spinning on 42mm ring dia to change to 38 mm ring dia and take 11.5% minimum higher productivity.
4. Which also means, that, if the machine is now with 38mm ring dia, the pitch of the spindles reduces and hence in the same space, one gets more number of spindles and hence higher productivity per ring frame and lower utility cost of suction and blower fans and humidity fans. A gain in 10% spindles per ring frame means for each 10 machines, one machine is already less .

The tubes are now under Beta Testing in 3 countries and the first results are  very encouraging. I got my patent in Feb 2014 and the PCT has been filed for the Global Patent.

This would mark the first ever carbon composite product to be brought into Textile Industry by someone. 

The next product being tested by me is the tube for TFO, wherein the 38 x43x 170mm Tube is being changed to only 37.5mm OD. Giving a room of 5 mm for the extra yarn. This will change the whole concept of TFO and the spindle size of 100 mm and 120 mm will become the universal pot size with contents as same , which now goes into 135 mm and 145 mm pot dia. Look for my next post on these trials.

Spinning and Twisting will never be the same. One small step for Atul, one big leap for Spinning.

Airplane Parachutes : Lesson from Malaysian MH 370

Someday, the black box will be recovered and they mystery of the flight landing in middle of nowhere resolved. Having taken more then a 1000 flights in my life, I have never felt very safe in a plane and always took the emergency seat or the seat next to the front door. There are many a flights, where I felt, I had to kiss good bye to everyone and luckily nothing happened. But in flying, as soon as the plane rocks, the first feeling is that of the last stage, as the chance of survival is minimal.

Here as a Textile Expert, I cannot stop myself designing a solution for falling planes.

All, it takes a a parachute of the size of Boeing/ Airbus or whichever plane, embedded on the top of the body of the plane, which can either be manually opened or programmed to automatically open against certain set of failures.

Which means, there will be two very large parachutes, one on the wings and another one on the top body running parallel to it and secured in place with hooks. The two parachutes , like a plus sign, will keep the plane in balance while floating down.

Though, planes are already designed to glide for around 30 to 40 mins, in case of an engine failure, yet the mechanism of its safe landing during accident is altogether missing. For air force jets, parachutes are fitted behind for fast braking, the same principles applies for slow landing of a failed plane in mid air.

The parachutes can be made out of simple carbon fabric to keep the weightlessness. Same for its ropes. The whole parachute will not be more then 50 kgs, but a very key part of safety in aviation. The cost of this will not be more then a few thousand dollars per plane.

The plane of course, if it lands on sea, should have the equipment to move as sea planes. And if it lands on ground, then to have cushion padding on the bottom part of the body. This can be a simple non woven material as that of polyurethane. Infact, the padding itself will allow the plane to float on sea, then to sink, so it acts as a double purpose.

Another issue is about the plane rocking in turbulence. Actually, if you see outside the window, there is no turbulence around. But the plane still rocks. The reason is the density of the air changes suddenly and the plane struggles to move in the changed density. Same as you were to drive a car on sandy road. However, if there were equipment's, which could monitor the density of air for the next 50 miles or whatever miles required for the plane to maneuver itself. The plane can accordingly steer itself above or below that air pocket. This simply need a electromagnetic wave to pass through air as in case of a radar and capture the distortion.

The big challenge is still to make it land at a slow speed. The current speeds of landing have been a cause of many an accidents ,as more accidents have been seen on ground then in air.
The landing speeds simply cannot be more then 50 to 60 miles per hour. While for a take off, it is understandable, that it needs high speeds to get the winds to follow Bernoulli`s equation. But for landing, the plane has to get into the gliding mode in its last phase of landing.

On the fire on the planes, it should be mandatory to have all the inner-walls and upholstery made out of Flame Retardant Fabrics. The fuel tank should be detachable. 

Rest, I hope, soon there will be a textile band, which will be fitted on the head of the pilot and will monitor his mind in real time, lest he takes it for a joy ride into middle of sea. Any deviation from the normal route should automatically alert the ATC .

At the end, what  is a plane, simple two engines on a wing. Rest is all like a bus. Canadian University has now designed a plane, which you can pedal and fly it up in air. No engines.

Hope, we see the changes coming soon.

Carbon Comes : Carbon Conquers.

Organic Chemistry has only three elements viz Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. How nature manipulates these three elements to offer mankind innumerable such products, which are coherently and incoherently embedded in everything around us. It is only in Textiles now for the first time that the importance of these three as individual elements is being exploited to render products, which will shape the world around us.

Whether individually or compounded with a resin, each of these will form the basis of High Technology in the coming years.

Du Pont was the only company, which kept investing into Life Sciences products and exploited symmetrically the carbon chains bonded with other elements to make unique products, whether it was polyesters or fluropolymers. 

When I first learnt about Carbon fibres at University, I could never relate anything around me which was made out of these fibres. It was therefore thought to be a impractical technology. But after 25 years, it has suddenly taken the world by a storm.

Look at aircraft engines, car bodies, wind mills, sports equipment's, helmets and wherever weight is an issue.

It is only another 5 years, when I see that almost all machines will be 50% composite by weight and most of it will be simply carbon fibre. And the biggest breakthrough will happen , when the transmission gears, cams and belting etc gets converted to a carbon composite.

Imagine your huge Ring Frame of 1080 spindles will not weigh more then 100 kgs, with carbon body, carbon spindles, carbon drafting systems and in place of aprons and cots, the carbon nano tubes. Further imagine the traveler will not slide on the ring, but will have magelev drive to have speeds beyond imagination. The Dyeing machine of 2  tons capacity will weigh less then 100 kgs with carbon laminate body. A complete sulzer weaving machine with carbon body, carbon healds, carbon take up beams will weigh less then 100 kgs and in all the above cases, the power consumption will be fraction of what is it now.

The simplest solutions will come in Civil Engineering, where a house can built with carbon laminates, windows, doors etc within few hours and the roofing will be from ETFE film. All you need is to take with you one roll of ETFE film to a disaster zone, put in some carbon rods and cover it up with ETFE film and your house is ready. Further, if the ETFE film is embedded with silicon solar cells, then use your lap top and if you know, how to manipulate frequencies, set up a free internet connection and stream with the world.

Invest into your carbon composites now or be left behind. It is time to seriously study carbon fibre and its downstream.