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Singeing Machines:

Singeing is a process to remove all the protruding fibers or pills over the surface of any fabric. This removal enhances the appearance and feel of the of the fabric by rendering a smooth and even surface for further processing. 

Singeing is purely a mechanical process with which the protruding hair like fibers are burnt with the help of gas burners. So a singeing machine is purely a mechanical device to feed the fabric continuously at a particular speed in front of a glowing flame at a particular distance. In order to avoid ignition of the fabric itself during the exposure of the same in front of the open flame, it is customary to make the fabric wet. So in this section we are going to see various type of singeing machines available in the market and its defects and benefits in the application.

Singeing Systems:

There are two types of systems in singeing, viz., Direct and Indirect.

Direct Singeing System: The action of burning away the protruding ends of the fibers is brought about by the direct action of the flame ensuing from the gas burners. In an alternative improved system, the fully combusted hot flue acts directly on the protruding fiber ends.

Indirect Singeing System: In this system, the heat, in the forms of diffused infra-red radiations, produces amore even singeing effect. Owing to the indirect character of the singeing effect, this system is quite suitable for fabrics having wavy selvedges, such as those occurring in the case of fabrics coming out from shuttle-less types of looms.

Flames produced by gas-burners: In the earliest singeing machines, the burner flame action used to be sidewise, which is a lower temperature region. The latest designs of singeing machines have overcome this drawback. The newly designed machines have burners positioned in such a manner that the singeing action is effected mostly by the upper higher temperature portions of the flames. Efficient and accurate gas-air mixtures now produces flames of superior controlled character.

The improved designs of the singeing machines are characterized by the following special features:

• The burners are provided with an arrangement for obtaining an excellent gas: air mixture of a constant specific composition. This aspect offers a consistent flame quality and hence a regular pre-determined temperature. In some burner designs, there is separate section, wherein the gas: air mixtures is allowed to fully combust. The fully combusted mixture is allowed to come out of the orifices, which are located near the fabric surface, during the passage through the singeing machine. This system offers a very high singeing temperature.
• The synthetics and the blends need a higher specific temperature for burning away these fiber ends. The fully combusted air: gas mixture imparts a consistent and reliable temperature, even up to 1300C.
• With proper controls, the synthetic melts formed at the tip of the fiber ends are carried away along with the exhausting flue gases.
• Fabric traction through the singeing machine is arranged over cooled cylindrical rollers. This construction offers an ideal protection to the fabric during optimum temperature singeing operation.
• The recent singeing machines have universal system of the flame-approach to the fabric surface. The singeing positions can be described as follows:
  • The flame passing through the un-backed portion of the fabric. This suits cotton fabrics
  • The singeing flame approaching the fabric in a tangential angle over the water cooled roller. This is better suited for synthetic with broken filaments.
  • The singeing flame approaching the fabric at a right angle over the water cooled rollers. This position is specially recommended for all blended fabrics, synthetics and fabrics with an open structure.

In the latest models of singeing machines, the above singeing potions can be arranged in and the same machine itself.

In order to produce the required singeing heat any other direct heat producing mediums can be used, such as, natural Gas, Liquid gas, Coal Gas, Petrol or Kerosene.

Singeing Speeds:

The fabric speed is the actual singeing speed. The usual speed ranges from 75m/minute to 150 m/minutes. The energy output for the desired flame intensity ranges from 25000 to 100000 K calories per hour. The flame outlet speeds may ne controlled between 12.5 to 50 meters per second.

The following points are to be attended, according to the requirements:

1. Flame intensity
2. Flame height
3. Cooling channels for the burners
4. Burner length ( usually 200mm more than the fabric width) - 1600mm is the most common fabric width and hence 1800 mm becomes the most common burner length.
5. An automatic burner extinguishing device for any untoward breakdowns and passages.
6. An automatic igniting system for burners,
7. An arrangement to conduct singeing of one surface of the cloth or both the front and back face of the fabric when so desired. In this type of a machine, one cloth surface comes twice in contact with the flame of the burners or both the cloth faces can be singed once.

Browse through the latest singeing machine links

www.mersan.com.tr/ singeing/singeing.htm

http://www.swastiktextile.com/gas_singening_machine.htm

www.btma.org.uk/members_ listings/farmer.htm

http://www.dfmg.com.tw/zushuang/%E7%87%92%E6%AF%9B%E6%A9%9F-e.htm

www.geenagarments.com/ strategic.htm

Nowadays Singeing serves as the final finish also to improve the glaze of smoothness of the finished product.

Singe Finish

SEM Image of a typical
'Singe Finish' (100 X Magnification)

Improves abrasion resistance of media where dust impacts on needlefelt.

The singeing process removes protruding surface fibres by using a flame that melts back fibre tips which in turn consolidates the fibrous needlefelt surface. The molten polymer does not impede airflow at all but the resultant finish provides a tough abrasion resistant media surface.

Glaze

This type of finish is recommended for demanding situations in dry filtration as well as liquid filtration where large areas of fibres are welded together to form a smooth, unbroken finish on the collection surface of the felt.

SEM Image of a typical
'Glaze Finish' (100 X Magnification)

Depending on the specific end use requirements, Webron Marling offers the following types:

Light & Medium Glaze for:

• Fine dust applications
• Improved particle collection efficiency
• Good dust release

Heavy Glaze for:

• Liquid filtration applications where high efficiency and smooth release surface is required
• Difficult dust situations where good filter efficiency is more important than gas flow rate

Superglaze

This revolutionary finish was developed in response to our customers' requirements for enhanced filtration properties in demanding dust situations.

Superglaze, thanks to its extra smooth surface offers superior dust release in a variety of applications.

The benefits of this finish can be listed as follows:

• In many applications effective surface filtration helps ΔP to be kept low over a longer period of time in comparison to media with a conventional surface finish
• Good level of air permeability, which is equivalent to that of a singed finish media, offers flexibility in a whole host of industrial applications
• Cost effective
• Smooth surface of Superglaze media prevents the formation of dust globules
• Can be applied to needlefelts manufactured from Polyester, Polypropylene, Acrylic and PPS fibres

SEM Image
of WML Superglaze
(50 X Magnification)

Dust agglomeration is a common problem
with filter media whose collection surface lacks
effective mechanical finishing

Combination

Mechanical and chemical finishes can be combined to give the optimum combination for efficient dust collection and filter performance.

The choice of finish will depend on the individual filter conditions; for example where there is a fine dust with some oil content in the dust, Superglaze finish media with UCF treatment will offer optimum performance in filter.

courtesy:andrewwebron.com