With its expanded godet system, the new WINGS POY HD winder has been designed especially for the requirements of high yarn titers of up to 500 den polyester POY.
By Martin Fischer and Stephan Faulstich
The now 10-year success story of the WINGS concept continues unabated. Oerlikon Barmag revolutionized the conventional filament yarn spinning system with the idea of integrating the draw unit into the winder itself. The fact that the WINGS family is meanwhile available for all market-relevant textile processes proves its everyday usability.
The WINGS 1800 solution with 12 packages is today considered to be the standard. With more than 4,000 units sold since its market launch, this winding machine is one of the most successful products in Oerlikon Barmag’s history. Just under three years following the commissioning of the first pilot positions, it has been proven that the operation window, performance, package build and yarn quality are at the same high level as in the design with the 1,500-mm stroke length, which has been available since 2007. This guarantees superlative results in the DTY process.
With package weights of 15 kg (12-end variant) or 10 kg (16-end), the extended-stroke winding unit is extremely competitive. The production costs have been further optimized compared to concepts to date and competitors, while continually shortening the amortization period for systems. Special highlight: string-up for the WINGS 1800 is now even faster with its special string-up device. The technology saves around 30 precious seconds compared to its 10-end counterpart – hence making it considerably faster than its competitors. The result: less waste. A further benefit is greater efficiency, because compared to the 1500/10-end model, the WINGS POY 1800/12-end stands out with its lower space requirements per filament. The difference in the required space for the zigzag layout of the spin packs is even more noticeable, where the 16-end winder is able to reveal its advantages even better. Despite its lower package weight, its extremely low conversion costs make it particularly interesting for in-house further processors.
Cost-optimized production of polyamide POY and HOY
The WINGS technology is also available for the challenging polyamide process. The POY process window ranges from 20 to 150 den final – or up to 100 den final for PA66. When the 12-end spinning process is combined with a 1,500-mm chuck, the concept also permits cost-optimized production of the package weights commonly requested by the market. In conjunction with the new EvoQuench quenching unit for polyamide, the solution also enables the manufacture of polyamide micro-titers of 0.4 dpf and greater with outstanding yarn quality. This opens up entirely new areas of application for polyamide yarns, enabling yarn manufacturers to enter new markets.
Due to its relatively low market share, high-oriented yarn (HOY) is considered to be a specialty product; it makes up around 5% of all textile filament yarn production. HOY is considered a less-expensive substitute for FDY, but is comparable to the POY process in terms of its technology. However, it can be manufactured at around 10% higher production speeds than in the case of polyamide POY. Here, the process window ranges from 30 to 150 den final for winding speeds of up to 5,200 m/min.
Directly further processing the yarn requires the application of oil in excess of 1% for HOY yarn. Consequently, the HOY process requires more than twice the amount of spin finish compared to the standard POY process. This is precisely where the challenge of the HOY process lies. Oil is scraped off, and practically blown off the surface, at each point of contact between the yarn and the yarn guides and, of course, particularly in the tangling jets. The resulting process-typical oil mist in the air and the oil film in the area around the winder make this working environment unclean for operating staff and systems and no longer tolerable from an HSE (Health-Safety Environment) point of view. Precisely these considerations influenced the development of a WINGS solution for the HOY process. The result is that the WINGS HOY solution features an enclosed draw unit ensuring that the scraped-off and/or spraying spin finish does not contaminate the surrounding areas. Innovative solutions in the suction unit of the specially modified tangling jets as well as in the drainage channel directly underneath the draw unit also ensure safe removal of the surplus spin finish.
Housing the godets and the tangling unit has been made possible thanks to the compact design of WINGS. If equipped with a cover to their draw units, conventional POY/HOY concepts would be virtually impossible to operate; furthermore, the energy consumption of special suction devices used in conventional system layouts is considerably higher.
For > 300 den titers: WINGS POY HD
When spinning polyester, the WINGS 1800/12-end solution has been optimized for the production of POY yarns in the 30 to 300 den final range. But yarn manufacturers can also deploy the tried-and-tested WINGS concept for larger titers The latest member of the WINGS family – WINGS POY HD (high denier) – considerably expands the product spectrum: the 300 to 500 den final range – and here above all microfilament yarns such as 500D/576F – can be produced with optimum yarn properties. Standard end products are velvet fabrics for apparel and home textiles.
The WINGS POY HD draw unit is equipped with an additional energy-efficient godet designed to attenuate the (in the case of microfilaments) high yarn tensions generated in the spinning system, which are created by the considerably increased air friction resulting from the high number of filaments. This can lead to an up to twelve-fold increase in the yarn tension with consistent total titer at the WINGS draw unit’s entry godet (see chart).
Lower yarn tensions in the interlacing and winding zone for optimum yarn and package quality can be achieved with the new entry godet. A newly designed yarn collecting system ensures the removal of the increased waste volume flow.
The construction of the new WINGS-design draw unit comes with all the benefits offered by the WINGS concept. The space required is identical to the existing design and the string-up device is oriented on the one supplied to date. To this end, the familiar operator and maintenance friendliness is also retained in the case of the WINGS POY HD solution.
WINGS POY XS – the retrofit solution
Operators of older POY systems equipped with SW, CW and ACW winders can also benefit from the WINGS technology. With the XS series, Oerlikon Barmag is expanding into the market for upgrades and modernizations to answer the high demand for WINGS retrofit solutions.
Due to its extremely compact design, WINGS POY XS can be used for virtually any building concept. This stand-alone solution offers the usual benefits of a WINGS winder and is available for polyester as well as polyamide.
The series currently includes five models with 8 to 12 thread and chuck lengths of 1,200 to 1,800 mm. Despite its compact design, WINGS XS produces packages with a volume of up to 23.2 dm³.
For more information contact:
Oerlikon Barmag Zweigniederlassung der Oeriokon Textile GmbH & Co. JG
Website: www.oerlikon.com/manmade-fiber
