Determining Raw Cashmere Fibre Micron Profiles in Scoured Bales
Determining raw cashmere fibre micron profiles in scoured bales requires core sampling, lipid extraction, and truncated bimodal histogram distribution analysis.
Spin Limit
Spinning Boundary
The finest yarn count that can be successfully produced from a given fibre population depends on the physical properties of the raw material. This spin limit defines the threshold where the spinning process becomes unstable or impossible due to excessive yarn breakage. It dictates the maximum yield from a wool or cotton shipment.
Fibre Fineness
Yarn diameter decreases as the yarn count becomes finer, which means fewer fibres are present in the yarn cross-section. Reaching the spin limit requires a minimum of forty to seventy fibres in the yarn cross-section depending on the spinning method. Finer fibres allow spinners to produce much finer yarns because they can pack more individual fibres into the same thin yarn strand.
Process Stability
Spinning machines operating close to the technical boundary suffer from high end-breakage rates that lower factory productivity. When a mill attempts to spin yarn beyond the spin limit, the tension in the spinning triangle exceeds the cohesive strength of the untwisted fibres. The frequent thread breaks increase waste and require operator intervention to re-piece the broken yarn.
Yarn Strength
Garments woven or knitted from yarns spun too close to their spin limit often exhibit low tensile strength and uneven surfaces. In worsted spinning, if a manufacturer exceeds the spin limit, the resulting yarn will have high hairiness and a high frequency of thin places. Spinners utilize fibre tests like micronaire and length uniformity to calculate this boundary before setting up their spinning frames.
This ensures that the yarn meets the minimum strength requirements for downstream knitting or weaving.