Rieter

Alternative cleaning possibilities

Index

Fig. 33 – Airflow cleaner

An alternative to the commonly used mechanical  cleaning was the airflow cleaner from the former Platt Company.

The ‘Air-stream-cleaner’ comprises two parts, a  Kirschner roller as opening assembly (and pre-cleaner) and the airstream cleaner itself, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 33.

The cotton passes from the Kirschner roller (in front of A) into duct A. The transporting air is subjected first to acceleration due to convergence of the duct bore, and to an additional airstream created by fan (V).

In region C, the whole airstream undergoes a sharp diversion (of more than 90°) towards E.

While the relatively light cotton tufts can follow the change of direction, the heavier foreign particles fly through an opening in the duct, beyond region C, into the waste chamber.

This is an extremely gentle cleaning technique, but it requires foreign matter significantly less able to float than the fibers, i.e. it must be substantially heavier than the fibers.

Unfortunately, this is no longer true for all cotton varieties, and therefore this good cleaning idea is not applicable today.