Rieter

Classification

Index

If we consider not only the short-staple spinning mill, but all fields in which card clothing is used, thousands of variations are currently on offer. They can be divided into three groups.

Flexible clothing

This features hooks of round or oval wire set into elastic, multi-ply cloth backing. Each hook is bent into a U-shape and is formed with a knee that flexes under bending load and returns to its original position when the load is removed. In short-staple spinning mills this clothing is now found, if at all, only on the  card flats (Fig. 120).

Semi-rigid clothing

In this, wires with square or round cross-sections and sharp points are set in backing which is less elastic than that of flexible clothing. This backing is a multi-ply structure with more plies than the backing of flexible clothing, comprising layers of both cloth and plastics. Flat wires are not formed with a knee, but round wires may have one. The wires cannot bend and are set so deeply in layers of cloth, and possibly foamed material, that they are practically immovable. When subjected to bending loads, they are therefore much less capable of yielding than flexible clothing types. They are also found only on the flats (Fig. 121).

Metallic clothing

These are continuous, self-supporting, square wire structures in which teeth are cut at the smallest possible spacings by a process resembling a punching operation. If the teeth are relatively large, for example as in the  licker-in, the clothing is referred to as saw-tooth clothing. (The terms saw-tooth clothing and metallic clothing refer to the same thing.) Nowadays, the licker-in, main cylinder and doffer use metallic clothing without exception (Fig. 123).