Hazards in Spinning Industry

Hazards in Spinning Industry

Jay Trivedi

Department of Textile Manufactures

Government Polytechnic,Nagpur,Maharashtra State, India.

Abstract:

Textile Industry is second largest employement providing sector after agriculture. As it is a huge industry manpower requirement is much higher. Different machines are used in order to manufacture material right from yarn to finished fabric. So in order to operate machines manpower is needed. Hence safety is much needed while working with these machines.In this article hazards related to spinning industry are explained in detail.

Departments in Spinning Industry:

• Cotton godown
• Blow room / Mixing
• Carding
• Combers
• Draw frames
• Speed frames
• Ring Frame

Cotton Godown:

• Cotton comes in the textile mills in the form  of compressed bales which are stored in the godown and released to the process as and when required.
• Average weight of cotton  bale is 200 to 250 kg
• Dimension of bale is 0.75 X0.75X1.25 meter
• Since the space is limited so bales are stacked as high as roof height. Either manually and in few cases mechanically.

Hazards in cotton godown

• Accidental falling of bales
• At the time of stacking ensure that the stack is in adequate equilibrium means it should be such that when one bale is disturbed for unloading the stack should not collapse this is usually achieved by  stacking them in along and across in alternate layers like bricks placed in the wall
• Accident by contact with sharp edges of the straps on the bales.
• Fire due to improper wiring
• Smoke in the godown due to moving of forklift
• Chance s of accidents by fork lift
• Cotton opening and blowing
• Bales are transported from godown to blow room either manually , or by means of
• trolleys or by means of forklifts.

Blowroom:

Blow room consists of

• Hopper openers
• Bale breakers
• Beaters and condensers
• Feeding unit assembly
• Through pneumatic line section lumped mass cotton in the form of bales is opened , beaten up, torn apart and converted into soft, fluffy lap of cotton.

Here major part is to remove

• Stalk
• Motes
• Some sand
• Dust Etc.

Hazards in Blowroom:

Transmission machine parts

• Belts
• Pulleys
• Gears
• Shafts
• Revolving
• Beaters
• Spiced lattices or apron
• Other moving parts

Generally blow room consists of units of hopper openers , bale breakers, beaters condensers and  feeding unit assembly and cotton is transferred from one unit to other by pneumatic section. Using these units the lump mass of cotton in the bales is opened , beaten up,  torn apart  and converted into a soft fluffy lap of cotton. In this process the major part of impurities such as bits of leaves, stalk, motes some sand , dust etc get removed from the cotton

Hazards in Cotton opening and blowing

• Sudden  opening of cotton bale results into sudden  disengage of steel strap and chances of accident.
• Since all the machinery consists of belts , pulleys, gears, shafts and they are rotating so as per The Factories act 1948 all the transmission machinery and other dangerous parts should be made inaccessible by proper guards.
• All gears and toothed wheels which do not required frequent adjustment should be fully enclosed. 
• Suitable and safe belt shifting device and emergency stopping device should be provided to all the machinery.
• On all these machines the beater covers and other openings which provide access to the dangerous parts should be effectively interlocked.
• Opening gibing access to dust chambers should be so fenced that while light is admitted to the chambers access to the beater guard is prevented.
• Chances of accidents while releasing chokes and removing dirt from under casing of beaters and such opening must be interlock effictively. 
• Absence of ladder for reaching on certain points of machine may result into falling of person.
• Improper housekeeping also may lead to accident and fire in the cotton textile industry.

Carding machine:

Carding Machine consists of

• Cylinder
• Doffer
• Licker in
• Calendar roll nip

Here cotton comes in the form of lap and leaves the machine as sliver.

Sliver rope is about an inch in diameter and made up of clean while fiber

Accident due to cylinder

Interlock guard to be provided to the stripping door on cylinder. Door cannot be open without cylinder stopping and cylinder can not be start without securely closing the stripping door.

Accident in licker in

• Access to licker in securely closed by panels
• Gauging clearance
• Clearance between cylinder, licker in or doffer or flat is done by using feeler gauges.
• AT the time of this activity following steps to be followed in order to prevent accident.
• Stop the machine before using filler gauge  and should never be done when parts of machine is in motion.
• Operator should not remove fluff, lint, from moving parts of machine specially from cylinder, licker in doffer and flat.
• In this process cotton in the form of ribbon laps is combed in short length of about 6mm by a series of needles placed on revolving cylinders.
• The fiber become longer, straighter and brighter as compare to those in card sliver.
• To provide guard to the  unguarded transmission parts and other gears
• To provide interlock arrangement in order to avoid contact with cylinder needles.
• To provide interlock guard to the nipper knife in order to avoid dropping of nipper knife.

Draw Frames:

Sliver from comber and carding machine are passed through series of rollers which draw the sliver and render the fiber more parallel and blending and mixing also accomplished.

• Head stock gears.
• Provide interlock arrangement to head stock gears such that machine can not be started without cover and covers can not be lifted without stopping the machine.
• Calendar gears to be guarded properly.
• Avoid jam to calendar  rollers.

Speed Frame:

Sliver is converted into roving in this process, sliver through two sets of rollers into a thick soft roving and also impart strength to it by twisting before the roving is wounded on the bobbins.

Gears.

There are large numbers gears which needs fencing on these machine

Lifter rack and pinion should be well guarded so that access to the nip is prevented both when rack lifts and fall.

Flyers

Injury by hitting the flyer at the time of removing fluff and cleaning work.

Inter locking to be provided at the rotating zone of flyers.

Hazards in ring frame:

• Accident while piecing broken ends, operators usually hold the bobbin at its bottom end between their left hand fingers to stop it.
• Chances of accidents due to sharp edges on bobbin come in contact with fingers causes accident.
• Provide finger caps
• Educate workers to hold the running bobbins
• Provide stopping mechanism such as breaks for individual spindles.
• Falling of bobbins from creel tops: - While creeling  average Indian workers may not reach to the bobbin holder easily and they step on the railing which expose them to the serious hazards.
• Accidents at the time of handling of Knife.
• To remove fluff or waste yarn on rollers operators do use knife.
• Improper use of knife result into serious cut injury to fingers.