AFIS

AFIS stands for Advanced Fiber Information System.

AFIS works on the principle of aeromechanics of fiber processing.

The AFIS method is similar to opening and carding, followed by electro-optical sensing and then
by the high-speed microprocessor-based computing system and then reporting data.

Advantages
1. It can analyze process performance.
2. By this instrument, card wire grinding frequency is the judge
3. Sliver quality from carding and combing is tested by this instrument
4. This instrument will provide various fiber length data so that it will be helpful to control
the imperfections in the final yarn.
5. This instrument provides a testing result with a higher degree of accuracy and gave a
precise report
6. AFIS testing result is free from human and machine errors
7. It avoids laborious time work needed for the measurement of nep count.

Applications of AFIS:
(1) Card nep analysis:

Neps are created by mechanical handling and cleaning of cotton fibres. Due to fibre individualizer
provided inside the machine , we can analyze neps hence we can check nep in carded or combed
sliver.

(2) Card wire maintenance analysis:

We can judge the grinding frequency required for card wires by appropriate checking of sliver
quality on AFIS instrument.

(3) Length applications

This instrument will provide various fiber length data so that it will be helpful to control the
imperfection in the final yarn.

(4) Length analysis of comber and D/F:

This instrument provides the data on histogram i.e. in form of fibre distribution so it will give
accurate idea about the length.
(5) Trash application:

By using this instrument we come to know the exact amount of trash present in material so that
we can decide the material is suitable for processing or not.

Working principle of AFIS:

● A fibre sample of approximately 500 mg is inserted between the feed roller and the feed
plate of the AFIS-N instrument.
● The fibres are opened and cleaned using specially designed, pinned and perforated
cylinders, which are similar to open-end spinning beaters and stationary carding flats.
Opening rollers open the fiber assembly and separate off the fibers, neps, trash and dust.
Airflow into the perforations of the cylinder allows for thorough engagement and efficient
dust and trash removal. The fibres are combed and carded; dust is released and removed
through the perforations in the cylinder.
● The trash particles and dust are suctioned off for extraction. Heavy trash particles are
separated from fibres and transported out of the system, whereas, the smaller dust and
fibres are returned to the cylinder aerodynamically by the air drawn into the slot, thus the
term "counter flow slot"
● A secondary stationary flat is used to further clean and comb the fibres. They are then
directly transferred to a second cylinder. A second "counter flow" slot removes additional
 trash. Its counterflow air is used to transport fibres out of the system after a final combing
from a third stationary carding flat. The separated components (cleaned fibre, micro dust
and trash) are transported along three different production paths.
● On their way through the transportation and acceleration channels, the fibers and neps pass
through the optical sensor, which determines the number and size of the neps.
● The corresponding impulses are converted into electrical signals, which are then
transmitted to a microcomputer for evaluation purposes.
● According to these analyses, a distinction is made between the single fibers and the neps.
● The statistical data are calculated and printed out through a printer. The measuring process
can be controlled through a PC-keyboard and a screen.

Neps and Seed Coat Neps

The NC (Nep Classification) Module is the base module included in the USTER AFIS PRO. The
following test results are obtained measuring raw cotton, card mat and sliver:

Test Result Format Abbreviation

Nep Count per gram XXX Nep Cnt/g
Nep Size [micron] XXX Nep Size [µm]
Seed Coat Nep Count
XXX SCN Cnt/ g
per gram
Seed Coat Nep Size
XXXX SCN Size [µm]
[micron]

The amount of neps in raw cotton depends on the cotton variety or origin and harvesting method.
The table below just gives some general ranges for the amount of neps and seed coat neps in raw
cotton. These numbers change considerably during fiber
processing. This will be discussed further below:

Tab. 3.2 Ranges of Neps in Raw Cotton (Upland)

Neps/ g Description

< 100 Very Low

101 – 200 Low

201 – 300 Medium

301 – 450 High

> 451 Very High

Tab. 3.3 Ranges of Seed Coat Neps in Raw Cotton (Upland)

Seed Coat Neps/ g Description

< 10 Very Low

11 – 20 Low

21 – 30 Medium

31 – 40 High

> 40 Very High

Fiber Neps
Fiber neps are generally defined as entanglements of several fibers (fig. 3.1).
Mechanical treatment of the cotton fibers during harvesting, ginning and opening and
cleaning of the fibers in the spinning plant generate them. Neps are reduced at carding
and combing. The amount of reduction highly depends on the machine performance,
the production level and the overall quality that the spinning mill wants to achieve

General
The following figure 3.2 shows the general trend of nep development during processing.
Neps do not “grow” on the plant. Seed cotton does not contain any neps.

However, as soon as the fibers are picked – and especially when they are picked mechanically –
neps are introduced to the fibers. The amount of neps further increases in ginning and in
opening and cleaning of the spinning mill. The main reduction takes place during carding
and combing.

Carding
Carding is the “heart” of the spinning mill. It has the highest influence on quality and
spinning performance. Usually, a mistake made in carding, cannot be repaired in
downstream processes.

Another way to evaluate your cards is by monitoring the nep removal efficiency. The
nep removal efficiency shows the relationship of the incoming nep count of the card mat
to the resulting card sliver. This, generally, enables a better evaluation of your actual
card performance. Ideally, both, absolute nep levels and removal efficiency should be
monitored for your card room.

Calculate nep removal efficiency:

((neps in – neps out) / neps in) x 100 (%).
he nep removal efficiency should remain fairly consistent across a card line.

• Nep removal efficiency above 90% is generally considered high; a nep removal efficiency around
70% is considered low (fig. 3.9 below)
Combing
If you use combing in your spinning preparation process, the same applies for the
comber as for the cards. The nep content needs to be monitored at combing in order to
provide consistent quality sliver. Please, refer to page 3.26 of this chapter for further
information on combing.

Seed Coat Neps

Seed coat neps are fragments of the cottonseed that still have some fibers attached
(Figure 3.10). They are created mainly in ginning when the fibers are being separated
from the seed. The amount of seed coat neps in raw cotton depends on the quality and
the aggressiveness of the ginning process. Research indicates that some cotton
varieties tend to results in more seed coat neps than others.

The number of seed coat neps can slightly increase in opening and cleaning. They are
mainly reduced at carding. However, the removal of seed coat neps is very difficult
since the attached fibers tend to stick with the fibers in the process.
Seed coat neps generally follow the trend of regular fiber neps. However, their absolute
number is much lower compared to regular fiber neps. They are much harder to clean
during carding. The only other process to reduce seed coat neps is at combing.
However, whatever remains in the comber sliver will also show up in the yarn.
Unfortunately, seed coat neps are clearly visible in the finished gray fabric as dark spots
since they are of darker color than the regular cotton fiber (fig. 3.12).

The only way to cover these spots is by bleaching the fabric prior to dyeing and
finishing. This is an additional process that many finishing plants want to avoid today.

Opening and Cleaning

As mentioned above, seed coat neps are mainly created during ginning. In opening and
cleaning of the spinning plant, the amount of seed coat neps does normally not increase
much more – in opposite to regular fiber neps. The amount can somewhat increase if
they are crushed to smaller pieces by the cleaning equipment as shown in figure 3.16
below. The example also shows that many seed coat neps can, again, be extracted in
carding

The average fiber nep count of all cards is app. 90 per gram. The average seed coat
nep count of all cards is app. 5 per gram. Thus, the amount of seed coat neps is much
lower after carding compared to regular fiber neps.

Combing
If you use combing in your spinning preparation process, the same applies for the
comber as for the cards. The fiber nep and seed coat nep content needs to be
monitored at combing in order to provide consistent quality sliver. Please, refer to page
26 for further information on combing.

Further Processing

After combing there is no other major influence on the seed coat nep content in the
spinning process. There is a chance that remaining seed coat neps can be extracted at
the open-end spin box. However, in most cases and especially in ring spinning,
remaining particles cause yarn faults or decrease spinning efficiencies.

Length
The L&M Module measures fiber length and maturity in raw cotton, card mat and sliver.
The length is measured on single fibers in order to get a true fiber length distribution
within a cotton sample. The following test results are obtained measuring raw cotton,
card mat and sliver:

Test Result Format Abbreviation

Mean Length by [Link] (in)

L(w)
Weight XX.X (mm)

Length Variation by
XX.X L(w) CV%
weight

Upper Quartile Length [Link] (in)

UQL (w)
by weight XX.X (mm)

Short Fiber Content by

XX.X SFC (w)
weight

Mean Length by [Link] (in)

L(n)
Number XX.X (mm)

Length Variation by
XX.X L(n) CV%
number

[Link] (in)
5%-Length by number L(n) 5%
XX.X (mm)

Short Fiber Content by

SFC (n)
number

Fiber length is one of the most important characteristics of cotton. It defines the spinnability of
the fiber.

The AFIS measures every single fiber in a cotton sample. Three-thousand fibers are
counted in each sample, resulting in a true fiber length distribution by number. The
following parameters are reported on the AFIS:

L(n)
The mean length by number is the average fiber length of all the cotton
L(n) fibers in the sample.
CV% The variation of the fiber length around the average is expressed as length
variation by number or CV% (n).
L(n) 5%
The 5% Length by number is the length of the longer 5% of all fibers in a cotton
SFC (n) samples.
 The short fiber content by number is the percent of all fibers in a cotton
sample that are shorter than 0.5 inches or 12.7 mm.

Both length distributions are used in the industry today. The by number distribution
usually gives you more accurate results when optimizing your spinning processes. The
by weight distribution is used by mills that have experience with results of comb sorter
array methods such as Suter-Webb-Array. Also, the Upper Quartile Length is close to
the classer’s staple.
Four “ideal” fibers are shown with the same linear density or “weight”. For example, we
assume all 4 fibers weigh together 300g:
• By number, 50% of the fibers are short fibers

• By weight, 33% of all fibers are short fibers.

The by number distribution shows the true fiber length distribution in the sample. It is the
direct result of counting every single fiber during measurement. Short and long fibers
are treated equal.

The by weight distribution is always biased towards the longer fibers. The longer fibers
weigh more than the shorter fibers. Thus, the result is always looking a little “better”
than the by number results.

However, it is really up to the spinning mill to decide what values they prefer to work
with.

There are different definitions used worldwide for the different length groups. However, in
general, the following describes the approximate ranges for each:
Staple Code
Inches Millimeters
Description (32nds of 1”)

Short < 32 < 1” < 25.4

Medium 33 – 37 1 1/32” – 1 5/32” 26.2 – 29.4

Long 38 – 40 1 3/16” – 1 1/4” 30.2 – 31.7

Extra-Long > 41 > 1 9/32” > 32.5

The longer and finer the fibers, the finer yarn count can be spun and the more
expensive the raw cotton

Harvesting/ Ginning
The harvesting and ginning process puts a high stress on the cotton fiber and influences
the fiber length distribution considerably. On the cottonseed, all fibers first grow to the
genetically given length. Thus, theoretically, all fibers are having the same fiber length
at harvest time.
Using mechanical harvesting techniques, a first damage to fiber length can occur. The
ginning process, however, has the highest influence on the fiber length distribution. This
influence is expressed in the amount of short fiber content in the cotton lint after ginning.
Fiber length before ginning cannot be measured since the fibers are still attached to the
cottonseed.
Short fiber content is expressed as a percentage of all fibers within a sample that are
shorter than 0.5 inches or 12.7 mm.
The table below gives some general ranges for the amount of short fiber content by
number and by weight in raw cotton. Please note that the differences are smaller for long to extra
long staple cottons. Also, the SFC level is changing during processing,
which will be described below.

Short Fiber Short Fiber

Description
Content by number Content by weight

< 18 <5 Very Low

19 – 23 6–8 Low

24 – 28 9 – 11 Medium

29 – 33 12 – 14 High
> 33 > 14 Very High

The amount of short fiber content can vary considerably between different cotton types.
As already described in section 3.1.1 (page 3.3) of this chapter, different cottons are
ginned differently (roller or saw ginned). In general, saw ginned cotton have a higher
short fiber content – a well as a higher nep content – compared to roller ginned cotton.

Opening and Cleaning

The purpose of opening and cleaning is to clean and open the cotton. Short fibers can
be created by mechanical treatment of the cotton. Various beating devices and (spiked)
cylinders are used to achieve this. Fiber length can deteriorate if this process is too
aggressive.

Combing
The combing process is designed to reduce the amount of short fibers in the fiber
material prior to the spinning process. It is considered a “value adding” process since it
is usually applied for higher quality (and fine) yarn counts.
The purposes of the combing operation are as follows [2]:
• To separate long fibers from the shorter fibers with the longer fibers processed
into “combed” sliver and shorter fibers processed into “noil” (waste);
• To straighten and align longitudinally the fibers in the combed sliver;
• To remove the noil consisting of short fibers, trash particles and neps;
Stronger and more even yarn can be spun from combed sliver as compared to “carded”
sliver. In combed sliver the fibers have a more uniform length with longer average
staple. Further, yarns spun from sliver with straighter and more parallel fibers have a
distinct sheen or luster [2].
An example of short fiber content in combed sliver from different combers is shown in
figure 3.26 below.

Maturity/ IFC/ Fineness

The USTER AFIS PRO is the only instrument that measures the maturity of single
fibers, resulting in a maturity distribution within a cotton sample. The following test
results are obtained measuring raw cotton, card mat and sliver:

Test Result Format Abbreviation

Fineness [millitex] XXX FINE [mtex]

Maturity Ratio [Link] MAT

Immature Fiber
XX.X IFC [%]
Content [%]

The table below gives some general ranges of maturity, immature fiber content and
fineness in raw cotton. Again, this is designed just to give a basic overview of the
values. Specific varieties may not fall within these ranges.

Maturity IFC Fineness Description

< 0.75 <6 < 150 Very Low

0.76 – 0.85 6–8 151 – 160 Low

0.86 – 0.90 8 – 12 161 – 170 Medium

0.91 – 0.95 12 – 14 171 – 180 High

> 0.95 > 14 > 180 Very High

Trash and Dust

The T Module measures the amount and size of dust and trash particles in cotton fibers.
The following test results are obtained measuring raw cotton, card mat and sliver:

Test Result Format Abbreviation

Dust Count per gram XXX Dust Cnt/g

Dust Size [micron] XXX Dust Size [µm]

Trash Count per gram XXX Trash Cnt/ g

Trash Size [micron] XXXX Trash Size [µm]

Visible Foreign Matter

[Link] VFM [%]
[%]

The table below gives some general ranges for the amount of Trash, Dust and V.F.M. in
raw cotton. Again, these levels will change during processing the cotton in spinning.

Trash Dust V.F.M. Description

< 25 < 200 < 0.6 Very Low

26 – 75 201 – 350 0.7 – 1.2 Low

76 – 110 351 – 600 1.3 – 2.3 Medium

111 – 150 601 – 1000 2.4 – 3.0 High

> 150 > 1000 > 3.0 Very High

The V.F.M. or “Visible Foreign Matter” takes both, dust and
trash particles, as well as their size into account. It relates very well to gravimetric
measurement methods such as the Shirley Analyzer.
 .

The comparison shows the different amount of contamination of cottons from different
origins. In this example, the cottons from Zimbabwe and Chad show the lowest amount
in both dust and trash counts. The cottons from Central Asia, India and South Africa,
however, show very high contamination resulting in high V.F.M.%-values. Both dust and
trash counts are high for these cottons, which may indicate higher soil contamination
during harvesting and (maybe) not very effective ginning technologies.

Further Processing
As stated earlier, the purpose of opening and cleaning in the spinning mill is opening the
cotton and cleaning the trash out. Further cleaning can be achieved at the cards and the
combers. Most modern machinery today also includes suction systems to reduce the
dust emission in downstream processes, for example at the drawframes.
FIBRE LENGTH:

The "length" of cotton fibres is a property of commercial value as the price is generally based on
this character. To some extent it is true, as other factors being equal, longer cottons give better
spinning performance than shorter ones. But the length of a cotton is an indefinite quantity, as the
fibres, even in a small random bunch of a cotton, vary enormously in length. Following are the
various measures of length in use in different countries
 ● mean length
● upper quartile
● effective length
● Modal length
● 2.5% span length
● 50% span length

Mean length:

It is the estimated quantity which theoretically signifies the arithmetic mean of the length of all the
fibres present in a small but representative sample of the cotton. This quantity can be an average
according to either number or weight.

Upper quartile length:

It is that value of length for which 75% of all the observed values are lower, and 25% higher.

Effective length:

It is difficult to give a clear scientific definition. It may be defined as the upper quartile of a

numerical length distribution

eliminated by an arbitrary construction. The fibres eliminated are shorter than half the effective
length.

Modal length:

It is the most frequently occurring length of the fibres in the sample and it is related to mean and
median for skew distributions, as exhibited by fibre length, in the follwing way.

The Shirley comb sorter:

The m/c consists of a bed of which controls the fibres and enable the sample to be fractionalized
1 
into length groups. Nine bottom combs and eight top combs are used. Each set spaced 4 apart
3 
except the first two both combs which are 16 in apart. The distance form a raw of bottom needles
1 
to a row of top needles is 8

The sample is carefully drawn and doubled several times until the fibres are straightetend and
parallelised:
The method of sorting as follows:

I) Placing the sample on the comb- The sorter should be placed with the back
towards the operator and top combs should be lifted. The prepared sample
should be slightly twisted and placed in the lower combs, at the right hand side
of the sorter with a small tuft protruding.

II) Removal of loose fibres- The loose fibres are removed from the projecting end,
until a straight edge is formed as A

III) Combing and transferring to the left hand side of the sorter- The tuft is pulled
from the sample, and combed several times and transferred to the left hand side
of the sorter and straight at right angles of the comb.

IV) Repeating the process- The process is repeated until all the samples of lint are
transferred to the left hand side of the sorter.

V) Turning round the sorter- The sorter is now turned round so that the front faces
the operator and longest fibres projects towards to the operator.

VI) Lowering the top comb: The top combs shall be lowered and fitted in the rack
so as to grip the tuft.

VII) Dropping the lower comb- The lower combs shall be dropped successively until
the tips of longest fibres are seen.

VIII) Arranging the fibres on the velvet pad- The fibres shall be pulled out in tufts of
successively shorter length by means of the grip. The fibres shall be combed,
 straightened and laid down on the velvet pad with the straight edge against the
marked line as fig(b)

Analysis of comb sorter: After the simple fibre are arranged form longer to sorter ones,

a transparent paper is placed on velvet pad and a line diagram of the fibre arrange is drawn on
paper. The comb sorter diagram is below-

1
i) Q is the mid point of OA ie. OQ = 2 OA

ii) From Q draw QP´ parallel to OB to cut at P´

iii) Drop the perpendicular P´P

1
iv) Mark off OK equal to 4 OP and erect the perpendicular K´K

v) S is the mid point of KK´

vi) From S draw SR΄ parallel to OB to cut the curvature R΄

vii) Drop the perpendicular R΄R

 1
viii) Mark off OL equal to 4 OR

ix) Erect the perpendicular L΄L

Result:

i) Effective length: Effective length is the length of the main bulk of longer fibre.

 Effective length = LL

Area OAB
100
ii) Average length/ Mean length: OB

Sum of the base line reading divided by base line length

iii) Maxm Length = OA

iv) Modal length: LL΄

v) Percentage of short fibre: This the percentage of fibre less than half the effective length.

RB
% Short fibre = 100%
OB

vi) Dispersion: In fig L΄L is upper quartile and M΄M is the lower quartile where
OM = 3 OR
4

The difference between L΄L and M΄M, NL΄ is the inter quartile range.

NL
Dispersion = 100%
LL

vii) Staple Length = 0.91×LL΄ (American Upland cotton)

= LL΄ (Egyptian cotton)

For Indian cotton,

Indian cotton staple=0.85 x effective length