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CERTIFICATE.

This is to certify that the report for

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

Submitted by

Mr. Bhavin Mehta

Embodies the bonafide work done at

RAYMOND TEXTILES (Worsted Suiting Division)

by him under my guidance and supervision

Date: Prof. Neela Nair (H O D)

This report has been examined as per the requirements at Mithibai

Date: Prof. Parshuram

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PREFACE.

I take an opportunity to present this synopsis report on production of worsted suitings and put before readers some useful information regarding my project.

I have made sincere attempts and taken every care to present this matter in precise and compact form, the language being as simple as possible.

I are sure that the information contained in this volume would be certainly prove useful for better insight in the scope and dimension of this subject in it’s true perspective and I have taken care of the fact that “God lies in detail”

I are trying our best in our task of completing this project and I hope due to our involvement, I will be able to carry it out successfully.

“Success is how high you bounce, when you hit the bottom.”

Mr. Bhavin Mehta.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS.

1. COMPANY PROFILE.

2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.

3. ENVIRONMENT.

4. PLANT LAYOUT.

5. PRODUCTION OF WORSTED SUITING.

COMBING.

SPINNING

WEAVING

DYEING

6. FINISHING DEPARTMENT.

7. INSPECTION & R&D

8. QUALITY CHECK

9. KAIZEN.

10. CONCLUSION.

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INTRODUCTION

Raymond is amongst the first three fully integrated manufacturers in the business of Worsted suiting in the world. It is recognised as the most respected textile Company of India. As the flag-bearer of the multi-product, multi-divisional Raymond Group, it enjoys over 60% share of Indian Worsted Suiting Market. It produces 25 million metres of high-value pure-wool, wool blended and premium polyester viscose suiting in addition to half a million blankets and shawls, all marketed under the flagship brand "Raymond" - a worldwide trusted name since 1925. It also produces and markets plush-velvet furnishing fabric in wide array of designs and colours including carpeting for the niche markets of India and Middle East.Manufacturing facilities include three world-class fully integrated plants in India, employing state-of-the-art technology from wool scouring to finishing stage and modern quality management (ISO 9001) as well as Environment Control Systems (ISO 14001). All the plants are self-sufficient in terms of providing educational, housing, recreation and spiritual support system for the employees and connected townships.Products are distributed through about 300 exclusive retail shops in India and surrounding countries, 30,000 multi-brand retail outlets and over 100 wholesale distributors. In addition to Middle East and SAARC countries, its products are sold to discerning customers in over 60 countries including premium fashion labels all over the world.

HISTORYAround the time the Singhania family was building, consolidating and expanding its various businesses in Kanpur, one Mr. Wadia, was in a similar manner engaged in fulfilling his dream: he set up a small woollen mill in the area around Thane creek, 40 kms away from Bombay. This mill was soon acquired by the Sassoons, a well-known industrialist family of Bombay, who renamed it as The Raymond Woollen Mills.

When the Singhanias were looking for new regions to establish their presence and new fields to venture into, they concurred that textiles appeared to hold promise. A piece of information that a woollen mill was available on the outskirts of Bombay clinched the issue.When the grandson of Lala Juggilal, Lala Kailashpat Singhania took over Raymond in 1944, the mill was primarily making cheap and coarse woollen blankets, and modest quantities of low priced woollen fabrics.

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The vision and foresight of Mr. Kailashpat Singhania helped greatly in establishing the J.K. Group’s presence in the western region. Under his able stewardship, Raymond embarked upon a gradual phase of technological upgradation and modernisation producing woolen fabrics of a far superior quality.Under Mr. Gopalakrishna Singhania, the mill became a world-class factory and the Raymond brand became synonymous with fine quality woolen fabrics. At Raymond, quality did not rest on its laurels. When Dr. Vijayapat Singhania took over the reins of the company in 1980, he injected fresh vigour into Raymond, transforming it into a modern, industrial conglomerate. His son Mr. Gautam Hari Singhania, the present chairman and managing director has been instrumental in restructuring the Group. With the divestment of the Synthetics, Steel and Cement divisions he initiated, the Group has emerged stronger with a better bottom line, more focused approach, become market oriented and achieved a consolidated position.Today, the woolen mill by the creek has turned into a Rs. 1400 crores conglomerate and is India’s leading producer of worsted suiting fabric with 60% market share. It is also the largest exporter of worsted fabrics and readymade garments to 54 countries including Australia, Canada, USA, the European Union and Japan. The Raymond group is also the leader among ready-mades in India with a turnover of Rs. 2000 million with its three brands – Park Avenue, Parx and Manzoni.

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ECO-FRIENDLY

One of the theoretical aspects of production, which we have learnt but is not considered much in the textile industry, is the pollution control. In Raymonds, I have learnt that huge companies do not only think of filling they pockets but are very much in the unsaid code of conduct. The Raymonds factory has been made environmental friendly where they keep a track of the pollution created by the factory. They have the most advanced machineries to provide them a better efficiency less wastage and contrary less pollution is created. Here below is one of the charts that show the pollution level of the company.

ENVIRONMENT CHECK

Parameters(As per Govt. Norms)

Units Average1 2

PH 5.5 – 9 7.65 7.9TSS 10/MG LT 22 18COD 250/MG LT 181 172BOD 100/MG LT 66 40OIL & GREESE 10/MG LT 3.3 1.0TOTAL URANIUM 2 0.3 NILSULHPHIDES 2 NIL NILPHENOLIC COMPD 1 0.17 .43

Some harmful chemicals created during the process are dumped at THANE CREEK under the supervision and in lawful measurement. Raymonds has quite a big infrastructure created at THANE. The ceilings are at a quite a long range to provide enough space for fresh air to come in. There are trees being grown in the surrounding to keep the temperature controlled. They have the best of machines which help them on high noise elimination. In my trip I have come to an observation that Raymonds do believe in “Getting the Best Technology”. The machines that Raymonds are presently using are the most efficient and updated machineries. The have they laboratories where process innovation is the main criteria.

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PLANT LOCATION

Raymonds has selected the plant location in THANE. According to me this is an ideal location as it has the following benefits.

Easy Access for the workers and factory member as the plant is located near the highway and few minutes from the railway station.

Transport facilities are easy hence benefiting the people at work, transportation of raw material, finished goods etc.

The raw materials are mainly imported from outside and Mumbai being the import port it has easy access of material.

It is easier to provide the finished goods to Raymond outlets as the transportation facilities are excellent.

The waste material dumping is done at Thane Creek; it is nearby hence it is more cost effective.

Mumbai is the ideal place for worsted suiting as Mumbai has one of the ideal moisture levels for the production.

Skillful and unskillful laborers are available at affordable salary packages in Thane.

Mumbai being a cosmopolitan market it becomes favorable for the company to get inputs faster and create a market of the product.

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PRODUCTION OF WORSTED SUITING

The Production System of Raymonds is divided into mainly four division viz. Combing, Spinning, Weaving & Dyeing

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COMBING DEPARTMENT

RAYMONDS-PRODUCTIO

N SYSTEM

DYEING DEPARTMENT

SPINNING DEPARTMENT

WEAVING DEPARTMENT

COMBING DEPARTMENT

In the Combing Department, the process starts with the Greasy wool which is more furnished and tends to convert into tops which is taken to Dyeing department. This process is diagrammatically explained below.

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WOOL

SCOURING

DRYING

OILING

GILLING

COMBING

WOOL TOPS

TOP DYEING

RAW MATERIAL

WOOLThe processing of wool involves four major steps. First comes shearing, followed by sorting and grading, making yarn and lastly, making fabric. The wool used in making suiting in mainly imported from different countries like New Zealand, South Africa and major wool is imported from Australia (90%). In the suiting process Marino Wool is used at a very large extent. It originated from Spain and it was declared a priced possession by the Spain that it was a capital offense to export wool. Marino sheep produces the best wool. The staple is relatively short ranging from 1” to 5” but fiber is strong. The wool is tested before export by Australian Wool Testing Authority (AWTA).

Characteristics: Natural, Animal Fiber Comfortable Versatile Lightweight Good insulator Washable Wrinkle-resistant Absorbent Easy to dye Warmth Effect

Wool Quality Check

Length : 50-70mmAverage Length : 60 mmFineness : 17.5-24.5 micronsAverage Fineness : 21 micronsCrease Content : 12.37%Vegetable Matter : 1-2%Moisture : 16-18%Bale Weight : 450 Kg’s ApproxBale Size : 56” by 30” by 30”.

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CAMEL HAIRCamel hair fabrics can be said as an ideal comfort, particularly when used for suiting fabrication, as they are especially warm but light in weight. Strength, luster and smoothness characterize camel hair. The best quality is expensive when used alone so it is often mixed with wool, thus raising the quality of the wool fabric by adding the fine qualities of camel hair. In some fabrics, which tend to be of high quality have 100% camel hair other than that it is mixed to be in an affordable price.

MOHAIRMohair is the hair of an Angora goat, which used to be native of Angora where it got its name but now it is found in abundant is South Africa and the United States mainly in California and Texas. The Texas mohair is regarded as an excellent quality raw material. It’s a long staple, 9-12 inch [230-300mm] long and represents a full year’s growth . The domestic fiber has a goat amount to coarse, stiff hair, known as “Kemp” which does not process readily or allow through penetration of dye. Mohair is a smooth, strong and resilient fiber. It does not attract or hold dirt particulars and tends to absorbs dye evenly and permanently. It’s used in giving fine decoration. Mohair fiber is more uniform in diameter than wool fiber. They are wrinkle resistant and is stronger that wool of other fibers. CASHMEREThe Cashmere goat has originated from the great Himalayas mountains region of Kashmir in India, Mongolia and china. The fleece of this goat has long, straight, coarse outer hair of little value, however, the small quantity of under hair or down is made into luxuriously soft wool like yarns with the characteristics highly napped one of its characteristics is that it is not sheared from the goat but is obtained by frequent combings during the shedding season. It has all the qualities of mohair and is used as an add-on with mohair hair.

ALPACAIn the higher regions of the Andes, 14,000 ft (4250mt) above sea level, is found another fleece bearer, Alpaca, and a domesticated animal that resembles the llama and is related to the camel. The fiber is valued for its silky beauty as well as for its strengths. The hair of the alpaca is stronger than ordinary sheep’s wool is water repellent, and has a high insulative quality.

The staple is relatively long, ranging from 6 to 11” (150-250 mm) yet it is as delicate, soft and lustrous as the finest silk. A more highly selected type of alpaca is “suri”, a super breed just as the Merino is the highest type of

sheep. It is used in the making of the finest fabrics like the presidential collection.

ANGORAThen Angora rabbit produces long, fine, silky white hair that is clipped or combed every 3-4 months. The finest Angora comes from France, Italy & Japan. The rabbit is also raised in many other parts of the world, including the U.S. The fiber’s smooth, silky texture makes it different to spin and the fibers tend to slip out of the yarn and shed from the fabric; nevertheless the fiber is desired for its texture, warmth, light weight, and pure white color, although it is sometimes dyed in pastel shades.

SILKSilk is the very fine strand of fiber. It is a solidified “Protein” secretion produced by certain caterpillars to encase themselves in the form of cocoons, silk and wool is usually blended on a worsted system, producing a fine, tong yarn. It is one of the important materials used in the process. The fabric may have a soft sheen. They are light weighing, resilient, durable and drape well, silk wool blends are used for such apparel as suits, particularly summer weights. Silk provides strength and absorbency. Silk reduces weight and adds good hand.

MAN-MADE FIBRES USED: VISCOSE RAYONA rayon fiber is composed of pure cellulose, the substance of which the cell walls of such woody plants as trees and cotton are largely comprised. We are more familiar with cellulose in the form of such product as paper.

Rayon fibers are made from cellulose that has been reformed, or regenerated; consequently, these fibers are identified as regenerated cellulose fibers.

POLYESTER Polyesters are made from chemical substances found mainly in petroleum. Polyester fibers are strong, tough materials that are manufactured in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. They are mixed with wool to make the fabric more cost effective.

They are found mainly in 2 categories

Normal Polyester : The variety of polyester has good tenacity and moderate luster

Low Pill Polyester : Due to its low tenacity this variety show lower pilling tendency in fabrics

Polyester is supplied from two major companies.

Indian Organic Chemicals limited (IOC) Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)

GENERAL INFORMATION

1 Bale weight (Kg)=180-2002 Density (lb/ft3)=17.6

3 Average length=68 mm 4 Package size (inch) =36*30*30 5 Average finest = 22.5 6 Grease content= 22-30% 7 Yield%=65-70 8 Vegetable matter= 2.0-0.5% 9 Scales/inch= 4200-4800 10 Moisture content= 18% 11 RI (µ)= 1.54

SORTINGSorting can be defined as dividing the fleeces of wool manually into various qualities according to the process requirement. Sorting divides the fleeces of wool into various mixtures on the basis of the fineness of length.This process of sorting is no longer carried out in Raymond since it is not economically viable and also manpower is needed more and it is very time consuming.

Earlier the sorting operation was done in Raymond only. But now the bales that are imported are sorted already and the sorting department is eliminated permanently. The bale number, weight of bale, quality is written on the bale cover and when bales are come they are weigh and taken to store in the scouring department and storage. So the bales are now directly fed to scouring (wool washing) machines.

SCOURINGThe principles underlying the scouring of wool or other material is purifying substance under the conditions employed with a minimum harmful effect on the textile material. Wool scouring is the process of washing wool in alkaline solution, soda mixture and hot water to remove the non-wool contaminants and then drying it. It has always been an important step in the wool processing train.

A growing concern for the environment has led to increased demands on the scouring process. Pollution load associated with conventional emulsion scouring of greasy wool is extremely high entanglement or felting results in fiber breakage during carding, gilling, and combing and has two bad effects: it reduces the mean fiber length in the resultant top and decreases the combing tear or the ratio of top to noel.

The tanks are allocated in such a position that the procedure is done on an automatic base and are allocated on a permissible distance and attached to each other. The first tank consists of soda mixture and alkaline solution the other two tanks preceding the first tank are of detergent. Silvotex A is mainly used in the procedure.

Here the wool is cleaned intensively to reduce the maximum amount of impurities present in the wool. The last two tanks are extensively used for rinsing, in this procedure the detergent used in the previous tank is washed away and the wool tends to float above the water. During the process the wool tends to turn whiter and whiter while the impurities are separated.

DRYINGAfter the scouring process is done the drying process comes into phase here the rinsed wool tends to dry but is not allowed to become absolutely dry. Usually about 12 to 16% of the moisture is left in the wool to condition it for subsequent handling. On an overall there are 8 dryers to do the process. One subsequent process takes around 12 minutes.

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF WOOL WASHING MACHINETANK NO.: I – V

DUST,

SODA ASH-REMOVES OIL AND SUINT DET-DUST, DIRT, FOREIGN MATTER, SAND WATER-RINSING AND REMOVAL OF DET

Technical Inputs Efficiency of the machine tends to differ anywhere from 40%-80%. Production around 400 - 450 kgs/hr. Dirty water drainage is after every 15 min’s. Maximum capacity around 6000lts. Water Temperature around 55 to 60 C. Dryer Temperature around 85 to 110 c Impurities removed around 25% to 28% Moisture Content removed around 25% to 30%

OILINGAs wool is unmanageable after scouring, the fiber is usually treated with various oils such as 60% wool oil and 40% antistatic agent to keep it from becoming brittle and to lubricate for spinning operation. As for these process is very important oiling tends to help the fiber from not becoming hard or else it tends to break faster.

CARDINGOnce wool has been scoured, it will have been carded before it can be spun into yarn. Carding is a process that passes the wool through a series of rollers covered with fine bristles or fine wire teeth. This process is to remove impurities such as burr, vegetable matters, dust, dirt (heavier than wool), to enable blending of various fibres and evening it out and to convert random bulk of fibres into rope like form called a sliver. It separates the wool out from tangles, clumps and staples and lays the fibers parallel and formed into a fine web. Sliver wrapping is checked after every 2 hrs.

FEEDING UNIT BALE BREAKER

ISoda Ash

IIDET

IIIDET

IVWater

VWater

Dryer Delivery

This process is mainly done resulting to the following:

Opening of flocks to individual fibres Elimination of remaining impurities (trash particles) Elimination of short fibres Untangling the fiber Dust removal High degree of longitudinal orientation of the fibres

GILLINGGilling has three main functions:

It aligns the fibres approximately parallel in the sliver; It thins down a thick sliver so that it can be handled in a spinning

frame; and, It blends the wool by combining several slivers into a single one.

Gilling is mainly done to paralyze the fibre so that the fiber tends to become more thinner. As of this process the weight reduction occurs in the sliver. A needle tends to penetrates through material it paralyses the material and the material becomes parallel its done 5 times to remove knots.

There are several types of gill box. However, very simply, a gill box has two sets of rollers and the slivers are dragged from one to another through a series of moving combs. The feed rollers pick up the slivers and the delivery rollers rotate at a far faster speed, drawing out the combined slivers into a thinner single sliver.Pins are pushed into the sliver and move forward at an even speed with the fibres to control the acceleration of the fibres between the sets of rollers. When the pins are first thrust into the sliver, the feed rollers are still gripping the fibres. The pins are drawn through the fibres and comb them.

COMBINGHere Worsted yarns are spun from longer (three inches and longer) fibers that have been carded, combed and drawn. Combing machines further straighten the Wool sliver making the individual fibers lie parallel. The combing process also eliminates “noils” or shorter fibers which grow mostly on the belly of the sheep. (Noils are used in the production of less expensive woolen fabrics and for the manufacturing of felt, a non-woven wool fabric). The wool tops created after these weigh around 8.5kg.

This process mainly tends to do the below:

During the process of the wool undergoing the procedures of combing and gilling simultaneously the PET FIBER and PET TOW undergo the same procedure as seen in the below flow chart the procedure is done frequently as at Raymond’s they have a motto of creating they material at perfection.

RELIANCE – Polyster (PET)

Polyester TowPolyester tow can be broadly defined as a bundle of filaments that are continuous in length. These filaments are essentially non-annealed. The worsted mills process the polyester tow on a machine called 'Tow to Top Converter'. This cuts the tow into variable cut length fibres in the form of sliver.

Followed by a gilling process that yields a more uniform sliver which is then packaged in the form of a ball called Polyester Tops. These polyester tops are then blended with wool tops and spun to produce polyester woolen blended yarn, which are subsequently woven into polywool-blended fabrics.

CONVERTERThe continuous filament tow is fed to a converter and is cut into staple form as per requirement so that it can be used to spun a staple yarn or a sliver can be used for blending with other fiber so the tow is than converted into a staple sliver coiled in can. These can further be used for blending with other fibers.

Straighten up the fibres; Lay the fibres parallel; Remove tangles (neps); Remove short fibres around

8 to 10% Remove vegetable matter. To lay the sliver into cans.

COMBING DEPARTMENT – FLOWCHART

-Greasy wool

Direct Bale Blending

Scouring

Grey Combing

Wool Bump Top

Hydro Extractor

R. F. Dryer

Top Dyeing

Defelting

Grey Combing Grilling ( 4 )Grilling ( 5)

Back Washing

Opening Gilling

Carding

Gilling (1)

Gilling (2)

Gilling (3)

Gilling (4)

Gilling (5)

PET Fiber

Carding

Gilling (1)

Gilling (2)

Poly Bump Top

PET Tow

Converter

Gilling (1)

Gilling (2)

Gilling (2)

Poly Bump Top

Final Recombed Bump Top (Delivery to Spinning

Department)

Defelting

Gilling(1)

Gilling(2)

Gilling(3)

Gilling(4)

Gilling(5)

TOP DYEING PROCESS (POT DYEING MACHINE)

Dyed loose tops may have to withstand both scouring and gilling. Since these are drastic processes, the dyes that can be used are limited to those possessing a high degree of fastness to wet treatments. Piece dyed materials have usually only to withstand relatively mild finishing processes, so the dyes used need not be especially fast to wet treatments, and light and bright shades can be produced.

Brightness of shades, fastness to light and ease of application can be obtained fairly cheaply, but bright shades possessing all-round fastness usually require more expensive dyes which are less level dyeing and so are best applied at an earlier stage, Piece dyeing may also be impracticable on other grounds. Thus, with heavily milled materials, e.g. naval over coatings, piece dyeing would not give satisfactory penetration and permanent creases might be produced, so loose wool dyeing is necessary.

Dyeing in the loose state is also necessary for mixture yarns or cloths, although for the latter the wool may be dyed in yarn form. When dyeing loose wool (and slubbing) perfectly even distribution of the dye is not essential, because the subsequent carding operation produce an even mixture of fibers, so less dyeing dyes with high fastness to wet treatments can be used. Loose wool dyeing is preferred in case where there is no special demand for high fastness to wet treatments.

In the dyeing procedure first the material is loaded and water is fed to the machine. The chemicals are added and the machine runs for 10 min. Pre-dissolved dyestuff is added and the machine runs for another 10 min.The temp is raised to 98 ºC at the heating rate of 1.5 ºC/min. At 98 ºC after half hour acetic acid or formic acid is added for complete exhaustion of the dyestuff. Dyeing process is continued for another half hour. The remaining liquor is allowed to drain the material is cooled by circulating water than the material is taken out kept for drying and taken for color matching.

HYDROEXTRACTORThe use of thermal energy in drying is expensive and a pre-requisite to any thermal drying process is mechanical. The common principles involved for removing moisture are centrifuging or suction. Hydroextractors with gliding supports can be used for all forms of wool textiles.

R.F.DRYER

After hydroextractor, the dyed tops are sent to the Radio frequency Dryer or Back-washing. A radio frequency heating system the RF generator creates an alternating electric field between two electrodes. The material to be heated is conveyed between the electrodes where the alternating energy causes polar molecules in the material to continuously reorient them to face opposite poles much like the way bar magnets behave in an alternating magnetic field. The friction resulting from molecular movement causes the material to rapidly heat throughout its entire mass.

The main objective of Radio Frequency dryer is used to dry the top dyed material. It is used for light and medium shades of polyester material and light shades of wool after the hydroextractor. The dryer has a top plate, which acts as an electrode, and it generates radio frequency energy, which splits the water molecules from the dyed tops into H+, and OH-ions and they begin to oscillate. This causes evaporation of water and drying is carried out. The speed at which the conveyor in the dryer runs is different for both wool and PET.

Technical InputsFor wool, speed of the conveyer is 4 m/min.For PET, speed of the conveyer is 5 m/min.After Hydroextractor Moisture content=6%After RF dryer Moisture content=4% (For wool and polyester)Hydro extractor: It is used to remove excess water.

COMPUTER COLOR MATCHING: As the sample is ready it is taken to the sample department where the color matching process is done. Here computer color matching system is followed SPECTROPHOTOMETER. It is used to know the details about the fiber /fabric. SEQUENCE FOLLOWED FOR COLOR MATCHING:

Dyeing

Colour Matching

Approved by Deputy Manager of Dyeing

Approved by Senior Manager of Dyeing

Combing

Final combed Samples

Colour Matching

Approved by Deputy Manager of Dyeing

Approved by Senior Manager of Dyeing

Final Sample Is Checked by Dyeing General Manager (Combing) & Senior Manager of Quality Control

Final Sample

Spinning

CENTRAL LABORATORYThe central laboratory mainly functions for all kinds of testing, both physical and chemical. Testing of the material is done in the fibers & yarn.

DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENTFour samples are made according to the requirement and the one, which matches the most, is sent to the party for their approval. However to cater to the needs of the

domestic market designated as civil market colour of the dyed fibers are matched with that of the fabric.

Steps Followed

Imported samples is checked for count, shade etc… (Generally two warp and two weft yarns are taken)

Accordingly four samples are prepared i.e. A, B, C, D. The samples, which matches with the sample sent, by the party is send back

for the approval. DYES USED IN TOP DYEING

ACID MODERANT DYES:These are sodium salt of sulfonic acid. They are generally applied in presence of organic & inorganic acids. Hence they are called acid dyes. These dyes used when good washing fastness is considered. These are mainly used for wool, silk & protein fiber.

METAL COMPLEX DYES:Metal complex dyes contain metal complex in their structure, hence they are called metal complex dyes. These dyes need not required any chemical salt during application.

In RAYMOND mills two types of metal complex dyes are used:1) 1:2 metal complex dyes.2) Modified metal complex dyes.

CHROME DYES:These dyes are capable of forming co-ordinate complex with heavy metal. These dyes are related to acid dyes but during application oleum salt are added as a mordant. In this mill sodium bicarbonate can be used as moderating agent. These dyes are used in wool dyeing only.

TOPS FROM COMBING DEPT.

Conditioning 24 – 48 hrs

SPINNING DEPARTMENT

CONDITIONING ROOM:The material from the combing department i.e. the recombed tops come to the conditioning room. In this room, humidity and temperature are maintained. Humidity = 85%. The tops are conditioned for 3-4 days to remove static charges in the material. After conditioning the materials is taken for spinning process.

To avoid flying fibers as some fibers absorb moisture, they tend to stick together making the handling easier.

To prevent loose fiber from combing out. The forces of friction are absorbed to a certain limit by the water in the fibers

avoiding damage to the parts of the machine and the fibres themselves.

SPINNING

COUNT THE

SPUN IF FINER

Gilling 1,2,3,4 Gilling 1,2,3,4

RubbingFM –7N

RubbingFM –5P

Spinning Frame

RovingFrame

NO YES

Steaming

Winding

Yarn Room

Ply Winding

After conditioning, 4 gilling passage are given to the material. RUBBING FRAME (FM-7N):There are two types of rubbing frames in the spinning section i.e. FM-7N and FM-5P. The coarser material goes to rubbing frame (FM-7N) and directly goes to the ring frame. The finer material goes to the intermediate rubbing frame (FM-5P), then goes to roving frame and then to the ring frame.

PROCESS SEQUENCE:Two ends are fed to the rubbing frame and these two individual ends are wound on the single package, which reduces material handling. The sliver is passed through the feed rollers and through the drafting system. Drafting part is of the double apron type. The bottom apron is plain rubber rolling along a cast iron table. Top apron is also of the same type and the fiber control is sit weighted. As the slubbing emerges from the nip of the rubbing rollers, each of which runs on endless leather bands, from the rubbers the roving passes through a funnel is then wound on the bobbin.

RUBBING FRAME (FM 5P):It is a modern machine that eliminates the intermediate fly frame maching. The object of this frame is to deliver the slivers of less wrapping by drafting.

ADVANTAGES OF INTERMEDIATE RUBBING FRAME (FM 5P) The delivered material is in the sliver form; it can be collected in cans. So

winding & twisting are eliminated. Due to zero twist in the sliver, fly frame runs at a higher speed

ROVINGThe finer material is passed through the roving frame from which the roving is fed to the ring frame. Before the roving frame the finer material is passed through intermediate rubbing frame FM5.

PROCESS SEQUENCEThe sliver from the can is passed over the guide & then through the drafting system. The drafting system comprises of 2/2 (2 over 2) system as shown in the figure. The slivers are passed through the draft system taking care that a small tuft project beyond the draft roller. Delivery container is place between the draft apron and the front roller. Then the roving is passed through the hollow flyer arm and through the pressing finger on the bobbin. On the roving frame BM 14 there is an automatic cycle which consists of:

Auto resting i.e. the winding up variation and programmer. Positioning the flyer for easier removal of the bobbin. Forming a reverse of the roving for picking up of the new bobbin. Separating the bobbin from the spindles so as to remove them from the

machine.

RING SPINNING

Objective of Ring Frame

To draft the roving into a yarn of specified fineness as indicated by the count no.

To insert sufficient twist in the yarn to bind the fibres together so that it can withstand the strain in later processes.

To wind the twisted fibres on a bobbin to form a compact package.

MAXIMUM SPINDLES SPEED IS FOUND BY USING THE FOLLOWING FORMULAE:

Spindle speed (rpm) = Traveller Speed (Inch/min.)

Ring Dia (inch) X 60 X80

STEAMING To allow stress and relaxing and twist setting in the yarn. So the bundle of fiber is twisted about its longitudinal axis. Due to its elastic nature it set back and thus becomes live which can snarl when tension is released. So, by steaming at high temperature these tensional forces are neutralized and yarn is heat set so that it can be processed without trouble. For steaming, ring bobbins are kept in an aluminum trolley and placed in an autoclave as per yarn quality.

AUTOWINDING

Removal of yarn faults such as thin and thin places and to improve the yarn quality and subsequently reduce yarn breakages.

Rewinding of ring frame bobbins to a larger package, which is useful for further processing.

QUALITY CHECKFour bobbins from each machine are taken and checked for X% and wrapping. For wrapping 1 meter of roving is taken. Along with this TPM is also checked. By stretching the rove between the two points, it is required that fiber must be separated or come out without applying high tension. This is the sign as that required and optimum twist X% is between 4.0-4.2%

PLY WINDINGAs at least two parallel yarns are required at TFO for twisting and winding package has only a single end. At ply winding the two or more single yarns are taken from those many numbers of package and are wound on a package, which can be fed to Two For One Twister(TFO).

TWO FOR ONE TWISTER

AT FABRIC STAGE

To obtain higher stability against wear. To obtain improvement in the fabric roller. To obtain good handle and visual characteristic.

AT YARN STAGE To improve the evenness. To improve the strength and elongations. To improve buster and abrasion resistance

Textile Engineer performing Quality Check.

YARN ROOM

After twisting & steaming, the yarn from the spinning department comes to the yarn room. The object of the yarn room is: -

To store the yarn. To note the necessary data about the stored yarn. To provide warp yarn for warping. To provide weft yarn for weaving. To store the remnants of the weaving department.

ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT IN THE YARN ROOM After spinning & doubling the yarn, the PPD department & yarn room in charge checks the yarn particulars. Only the correct yarn is given entry in the yarn room according to the correct shade no., lot no. Etc. The yarn is weighed & entered in the computer.

There are in all 7 bins for storing the yarn. The yarn bundles are kept on the trolleys & the trolleys are kept in a particular bin. The humidity in the yarn room is the same as in TFO twister. The quantity of yarn required for warping is given to the yarn room by the warping section. The yarn is weighed and a receipt is given to the yarn room. For the warp yarn a white dispatch receipt is used while for the loom shed a yellow dispatch receipt is used. A total of 300 – 400 kg of yarn is to be sent to the warping section.

WEAVING DEPARTMENT

WARPINGWarping is carried out to convert the predetermined package such as a cone or cheese into a sheet of yarn of specified length and width. This process is done to convert cheese cones into weaver beams. Weaver Beams are particularly used in warping process.

MATERIAL HANDLINGTrolleys to warping department carry the cheese or cones, which are taken from yarn room as per requirements. After reeling and when beam is produced it is carried on a trolley and stored in the department. Only the remaining packages are again carried to yarn room by trolleys and are stored there.

Individual ends in the warp are uniformly spaced across the spaced width. Warping can be done in 2 ways.1. Sectional Warping.2. Direct Beam Warping

In RAYMOND (Worsted mill), sizing operation is omitted, as all the yarns are doubled and have got a good resistance and are strong sufficiently. To get resistance wax is applied at warping. There are some another advantages of doing sectional warping, which are followed here over beam warping.

Space required is less as compared to beam warping. Yarn breakages can be easily located. Time required is less due to the less no. Of ends. Fancy structures like rib; stripes etc. can be produced in the cloth.

For e.g. in sectional warping, if we want to produce a beam of 4000 ends then 10 sections each of 400 ends can be made so as to get the required total of 4000 ends.

DRAWING INIn weaving, it is necessary to space the warp threads properly in order to get the required compactness of the cloth. This is affected by passing the warp yarn through the dents of the reed of appropriate count so that the cloth woven from the warp may contain the required no. of threads. Passing the warp threads through the drop wires 9warp stop motion), a process known as “DRAWING IN” carries out heald wires and the dents of the reed.

WEAVING PROCESSWeaving is the basic department for preparing a fabric by interlacement of warp and weft yarns. There are various looms for weaving available in the textile industry. In RAYMONDS LTD., there are two types of looms- projectile (SULZER RUTI) and rapier looms (RIGID DORNIER/ FLEXIBLE NP)About 31000 meters of linear fabric is produced per day. There are total 112 looms working in three shifts. That means each loom is producing about 92 meters of fabric per shift. The number of machines according to make model and loom speed as given below:

SULZER-RUTI The Sulzer- Ruti i.e. projectile looms Are used for producing medium weight and heavier fabric such as trovin, supphire etc. while rapier looms are used for light weight and finer fabrics of finer count upto 150 Nm. Raymond produces a wide range of suit fabric so it requires such a peculiar combination.

The robust, practical, technologically advanced machine design has several key advantages:

Gentle yarn handling - outstanding fabric quality Low weft wastage - substantial cost savings Short style-setting times - higher productivity Less maintenance - higher efficiency

RAPIER WEAVING MACHINEIn Rapier looms, the weft insertion element resembles a rapier or a thin bladed straight sword; hence the name Rapier Weaving. There are many varieties of Rapier systems such as single, double, flexible, rigid, and telescopic and two phases. A Rapier in its simplest form consists of a single rigid bar, solid or telescopic and a

device called gripper head screwed at its feed end. Here the control over the weft is positive during the whole pick insertion cycle. The rapier may be also be of the rigidrod type or flexible, made of metal or plastic tapes. Flexible tapes invariably need guide meters inside the shed which emerge during the pick insertion and sink back into the sley before beat-up. The Rigid rapiers which include telescopic type remain suspended from the fulcrum and may get help from right upper warp sheet.

FEATURES OF RAPIER WEAVING MACHINE Electronically controlled weft tensioner reduces the yarn tension especially

during insertion. Automatic package switching device prevents the machine from being

stopped in the even weft break between the package and weft feed. The weavers can repair the fault while the machine is running and reactivate the unit that has been stopped.

Electronically controlled warp let-off and cloth take up units ensure a high degree of fabric regularity and prevents all kinds of start and stop marks.

Grippers are redesigned to ensure better clamping of the yarn and prevent rubbing against the warp yarns.

Electronic monitoring control systems have simplified the communication with the machine and facilitated its easy handling by any one concerned with the operation of the machine.

FABRIC DYEING DEPARTMENT

FLOWCHART OF THE DEPARTMENT - PIECE DYEING

GREY PERCHING AND MENDING

PIECE DYEING

HYDRO EXTRACTION

STENTERING

PERCHING

FINISHING

GREY PERCHING AND MENDING:After weaving, the fabric is to be taken for perching to find out the faults like broken ends, picks, floats etc. These faults are then rectified on the mending machine.

GENERAL INFORMATIONNo. of tables for perching and mending: 2No. of workers for perching and mending : 1/machine

PIECE DYEING

The fabric after grey perching and mending is taken for dyeing process. In this mill, there are various piece dyeing machineries to dye the fabric. These machineries are as follows:

JET DYEING MACHINEThey are four types of Jet Dyeing Machines in Raymonds

Brazzoli jet dyeing m/c Sanjay jet dyeing m/c Antares jet dyeing m/c. Calico jet dyeing m/c

There are two types of piece dyeing: Open width form: Beam dyeing and Jigger dyeing Rope form: Over flow m/c

In the case of open width form, piece is moving while in the rope form, both the piece and the liquor are moving and in the case of the jet overflow dyeing, the liquor is stationary and the piece is circulating.

JET DYEING MACHINE

BRAZZOLI JET DYEING MACHINE:In Raymonds, there is one Brazzoli dyeing m/c, which is used to dye all wool and poly wool only. Here acid dyes, metal complex dyes and chrome dyes are used for all wool whereas disperse dyes are used for polyester only.The fabric piece has to be stitched together and fed to the machine. After completion the dyeing, the pieces are unstitched, collected in a trolley and then carried to the next machine i.e. rope opener and hydro extractor.

Technical Inputs

Speed of Cloth : 60m/minLoading Capacity : 300kg.Volume : 3000-4500lt.

PROCESS:In this process, before feeding the material into the machine all the required chemicals are mixed in the side tank as per requirement and stir it very well with the help of stirrer. Then material starts to feed into the machine that is called batching of material. During batching insert into the machine and the material in chemical for 10 min. at room temp. Meanwhile take all the required dyes in dissolution tank and

dissolve it by constant stirring. After that insert the prepared dye into the machine and start the program. There are various program numbers that are done for different type of material at different temp.

SANJAY JET DYEING MACHINE:There are four jet dyeing machines in Raymonds mill, which are used to dye All-wool, poly-wool and sometimes poly-viscose too. The process carried ouy on Sanjay jet dyeing machine is same as Brazzoli jet dyeing machine. But the program numbers for different qualities are different. These are as follows:

M:L RATIO 1:14WEIGHT OF THE MATERIAL 150 KgVOLUME OF LIQUOR 2400 lt

ANTARES JET DYEING MACHINE: This machine is same as Sanjay jet dyeing machine only with the difference as:

M:L RATIO 1:12WEIGHT OF THE MATERIAL 150 KgVOLUME OF LIQUOR 2200 lt

CALICO JET DYEING MACHINE: This machine is generally used for dyeing polyester part of a blend. The M:L Ratio used is 1:9. This machine consists of a venturi effect.

BEAM DYEING MACHINEThe fabric to be dyed has to be wound on the beam, which is done on batching machine. So batching is the preparatory process for beam dyeing.

BATCHING MACHINE: Batching machine carries two functions:

LOADING UNLOADING

LOADINGIn loading, a perforated stainless steel beam is placed on its stand, which is rotated; in clockwise direction and the fabric is wrapped o it. The grey finished fabric that is to be dyed is first passed over various guide rollers in fully open width and then through the trough containing boiling solution of the wetting agent, which decreases the water repellency of the grey fabric and improve its absorbency. The fabric to be dyed is then stitched with about 5-10 m of cotton fabric. Then it is inserted in the beam dyeing machine.

UNLOADING After dyeing, the beam is taken out and it is then unloaded in the trolley to follow the further process. The fabric to be dyed is stitched with about 5-10 m of cotton fabric which serves the following functions:

If the fabric is directly wound on the beam we will get the impression of the beam on the bottom layers of the fabric with dark spot.

The grey cotton fabric acts as a filter for the dye liquor and thus protects the inside fabric from uneven dyeing.

JIGGER DYEING MACHINEThis machine is most suitable for dyeing of poly-viscose fabric where hot dyes are used for dyeing. It is also suitable for dyeing of cellulosic material because the dyes generally don’t exhaust well and the jigger works with an exceedingly low liquor ratio. This machine consists of a trough (stainless steel) above which two rollers are mounted.In Raymond’s woolen mill, there are two types of jigger machines:

Open jigger machine Closed jigger machine

In both the jigger machines, the cloth to be dyed is wound in the open width on one of the rollers. About 450-600 m of cloth can be dyed at a time. The pieces of the cloth (about two pieces) are stitched at a time at the two ends of the batch of the cloth. These are called end pieces. The batch is unwound around small guide rollers and wound on the other rollers. The dye solution is placed in the trough, which is provided with the means of heating (closed or perforated steam pipes) as well as water inlet and outlet tubes.

FINISHING

CHECK ROOM The check room is provided to check the fabric structure and faults in the fabric according to the piece tick to pass further. The fabric width which is less than 10mm of the reed length is tolerated. A Max half hour is required to check the sample. If any fault occurs in the fabric then a memo is send to the quality control department. Workers: 3 workers/shift (3 shift) 1 in-charge of the check room.

MENDING & PERCHINGAfter weaving the Fabric, it is to be mended & perched before finishing. In the mending section, mendable faults like broken end, picks, floats etc. are rectified. After mending & perching, the fabric is sent to the grey house where the finishing processes start. There are 153 tables for mending & 6 machines for perching. In 1 shift, one piece is mended per table. FINISHING PROCEDURE AFTER DYEINGTextile finishing is a term used for a series of processes to which all bleached, minted & certain grey fabric are subjected before they are put in the market. Finishing includes the final treatment of every kind of fabric.

ObjectiveFinishing processes are carried are carried out to improve the natural properties of the fabric. The primary object of finishing is to enhance the quality of the cloth, imparting the woven fabric a specific appearance a specific appearance & handle in order to make it attractive.

The finishing department receives the fabric from the fabric dyeing department. The processes of the finishing treatment differs according to the blends, shades etc. Finishing is carried out in two ways:

BRUSHING The material either from weaving section or from dyeing section comes to the dry finishing section for finishing purpose. For this material has to be through the brushing machine first.

ObjectiveThe fabric is in the grey condition before finishing and to remove the dust particles from the fabric, it is passed through a brushing machine. Brushing can also be termed as raising. Raising or brushing can be carried out to raise fibres surface termed as “PILLS”. Generally, the fabric is in the grey condition before finishing and to remove the dust particles from the fabric, it is passed through a brushing machine. In this machine, the fabric is passed through the brush rollers.The distinctive feature given to the cloth by raising is:

Fibrous surface. Increased softness and fullness of handle.. Concealment of the threads and weave effects. Subduing of the colours. Softening the outline of the pattern in figured styles.

STENTERThe stenter can be used for heat setting, drying and resin treatment. Before passing the fabric through the heating chamber, it is passed through a tank containing water and a softener. Pins on the conveyor grip the fabric properly before entering into the chamber. The drying chamber is heated by 10 coils. There are 10 blower fans to enhance the drying operation. Suction is provided for extracting the moisture. For heat setting, the temperature of the chamber is kept about 185ºC and for drying it is around 140ºC.

After hydro extraction of the fabric, it remains about 30% moisture. If this type of fabric is taken for perching and mending, then it will be very difficult to search very small defects from the fabric surface and will be very difficult to rectify certain defects. Hence stentering must be carried out to dry the fabric 100%. Stentering of the fabric is carried out on stenters only. ADVANTAGES

Imparting dimensional stability. Reducing tendency to creasing. Improving resistance to pilling. Achieving level dyeing and eliminating stain in the fabric.

INSPECTION

Before dry finishing, the fabric is semi-inspected i.e., the faults in the fabric are mended after wet finishing. There are 3 perching machine in the wet section. The machine used for inspection is known as perch. Perching consists of examining the cloth and marking with colored chalks. All imperfection should be eliminated in subsequent processes. The modern perch is designed so that the operator may give the cloth careful and through inspection with minimum efforts. The machine that is controlled either by a foot switch that can either start or stop the cloth instantly. The cloth passes before the operator at full width and free of wrinkles.

Inspection is made in two ways: The goods between the light and the inspection examining against the light. Inspecting the surface of the goods only, with light on the goods. The

importance has been given to perching for inspection purpose much more commonly and regularly in Raymond’s mill.

DRY FINISHING

SHEARINGThe object of shearing is to remove protruding fibres from the cloth surface and to even out or level the fibre or neps which has been previously been rose. The amount of fiber to be cut from the surface of the fabric depends on the type of finish desired. This dry finishing operation is used on all woolen and worsted goods. The general aim of shearing is to clear the surface of the cloth of surplus fibre and thereby bring out certain characteristics such as the design or colour pattern. Shearing is the most important process in the dry finishing department. This process makes further process very easier and imparts goods sharpness on the surface.There are three shearing machines in Raymond’s mill in the dry finishing section.

RELAXINGIt is the process of artificially altering the moisture content of the fabric. In variably consist of addition of water in the form of liquid or vapor. Most of the textile fabric can be plasticized by the presence of water vapour and unless they are so plasticized, most dry mechanical finishers are relatively ineffective. As the physical properties of the entire textile material varies largely with moisture content of the fabric. It is very important that conditioning and damping of the fabric should receive attention before the fabric is subjected to an mechanical operation which depends on the pressure, friction and other forms of slight deformation for the material for its effect. It is done by blowing steam to the fabric.It is carried out for the following reasons:

To bring the material to commercial standard regain. To improve fabric quality by eliminating stain and improving the handle.

DAMPINGDamping is done for steaming and wetting purpose at 100ºC. The fabric is in the dry condition. To make it moist and smooth damping is carried out. Speed of the machine is 15-20 m/min. In the damping machine steam is passed to the drum

through the valve wrapper. Tension is adjusted for different qualities of the material. It is necessary to wind the fabric on the cylinder i.e. selvedge to selvedge.

In Raymond’s mill there are two types of pressing machines:1 NIKKI PRESS2 ROTARY PRESS

The aim of pressing is to give the fabric the smoother and brighter surface, with some degree of performance and this is done by subjecting the fabric to the strong compression against a polish and heating surface.Object of pressing are aesthetic and partly commercial. Many times the finishing operation disturbs the surface of the yarn and the fabric. The unevenness and the impurities cannot be reduce till it is blown and pressed. Pressing can be considered as mild treatment.

The three physical factors which are involved in pressing are temperature, pressure and time. Pressing of woolen and worsted material is applied to all clear cut finishers in order to make them firm, smooth and slide. The individual yarns are flattened and wild fibres are compressed into the texture of the material. There is thus increased smoothness, luster and due to this an improve reflection of light, resulting in better of the details of weave design. Pressing can be considered as mild, mainly cohesive setting treatment. In Raymond’s pressing is carried out on Nikki press machine and Rotary press machine. Nikki press machine is more advantageous then Rotary press machine. On Nikki press m/c we can press 4 types of the fabric at a time. Here we can press the material of different shades, different qualities etc. But in case of Rotary press m/c, we can press 1 piece at a time.In Nikki press machine a particular fabric is pressed for 5 times.

ADVANTAGES OF NIKKI PRESS:1 Reflection of light is improved.2 Creases are removed.3 Fabric is flattened.4 Good displays of weave and design are observed.

ROTARY PRESS:This is also a pressing machine. The fabric is passed in between the gap of the steel plate and roller by which a shiny appearance is imparted to the fabric.

SUPERFINISHThis machine is used to give special type of shine and luster to the fabric. Here temperature, pressure and steam are maintained according to the quality of the fabric. So, decatising process also occurs in this machine. After passing the fabric at required temperature the fabric is collected in a trolley and then taken for folding.

FINAL PERCHING (GRADING)Faults are classified in final perching. If there are more faults in the material it is sent to the mending and perching section where the faults are mended and the fabric undergoes final perching. Grades like A, B, C etc are given to the fabric depending on the number of faults, tries etc.The following is a classification of the grades:GRADE “A”1 Thick weft and uneven yarn2 Broken picks3 Loose twists4 Single end floats5 Broken ends

GRADE “B”1 Dobby Mistake2 Two Wrong ends3 Let-off Bars4 Double light ends5 Tight weft bars

GRADE “C”1 Shaft holds2 Yarn abrasions3 3-4 Wrong ends4 Prominent section marks5 Shade bar

GRADE “D”1 All damages2 Chemical damages3 Mildew

FOLDINGThe fully finished fabric from the finishing department is being folded in the folding department. The folding of the fabric is carried out according to the requirements of the civil and exports market.

FLOW CHART FOR THE FOLDING OF FINISHED GOODS

MEASURING

FOLDING

CUTTING

SELVEDGE STAMPING

WEIGHING

HAND ROLLING

TOP END STAMPING

PASSING

COMPUTER DELIVERY

PACKING

WAREHOUSE

FLOW CHART FOR THE FOLDING OF EXPORT GOODS

MEASURING

TUBE ROLLING

WEIGHING

PASSING

DELIVERY

PACKING

WAREHOUSE

CENTRAL LABORATORY

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTIn R & D various tests are performed for the testing of dyes (Disperse dyes, acid dyes and metal complex dyes). Chemical oil and detergents used in the Raymond Ltd. The report of these tests is send to the stores and concerned department. Raymond’s believes in giving the best material in the market so they put a lot of cost and the best of technology in R & D.

QUALITY CONTROLQuality control is an ongoing process, which starts right from the initial stages of fiber or yarn right upto finishing & final packing of the fabric.

OBJECTIVES Setting up standards by which strict quality check-up can be maintained. Co-ordination with departmental people for ensuring quality standards. Implementation of quality standards among the departments. To take preventive measures for maintaining the quality Along with all the above functions, to provide the management with

production of high quality or with defects within the tolerance limit.

QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEM IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.

COMBING:

1. Fineness testing (micron)2. Length3. %Grease4. Foreign matter5. Moisture content at different stages6. Oil + total fatty matter (TFM)7. Neps8. Blend composition9. Unevenness% (u %)

SPINNING: Testing of sliver, roving, yarn for evenness Twist testing (TPM) Count testing (Nm) Moisture content testing Single yarn strength testing Lea strength testing Hairiness testing

WEAVING: Detection of faults usually on a running loom EPI & PPI in a grey fabric Study the causes for loom stoppage in different quality materials. Detection of faults like missing ends, missing picks, curly selvedges, temple

marks & cuts, floats, wrong denting. Mending of all theses faults is done in the perching department.

DYEING: Approving the shade by visual checking 1st & then with the help of computer

colour matching. Identification of visual faults in a piece dyed fabric on a perching table &

retreating the fabric to remove the faults. Checking the dyed fabric for washing fastness, light fastness, sublimation test

(only for polyester material) etc.

FINISHING: Width of the full finished fabric. Weight of fabric per sq. meter. Weight of fabric per linear meter. Piling test. Drape coefficient of fabric. Tensile strength testing. Seam slippage test. Washing & ironing test. Blend composition. Water repellence, oil repellence. Flame redundancy.

All the tests carried out in the quality control department help in giving the fabric an optimum quality as desired. They have the right to alter a particular process & take corrective measures in order to get an optimum quality fabric.

KAIZEN - Raymonds

Kaizen is a Japanese term that means continuous improvement, taken from words 'Kai' means continuous and 'zen' means improvement.

Raymonds Ltd has roped in Japanese management consultant Kaizen Institute for revamping operations at its various manufacturing units. Kaizen is currently working on business process improvement projects at the company's textiles and files & tools units.

The company has introduced the Kaizen programme in other units as well. Kaizen's founder Masaaki Imai has is flyed down from Japan to visit Raymond's units for monitoring the progress of the projects.

The programme, expected to run for atleast one year, is mainly targeted at the middle-level employees. The programme starts with a workshop for 4-5 days that identifies some major problems and their root causes. Methods are, then, worked out to eliminate the root causes through discussions with employees. Kaizen's India office in Mumbai is coordinating the programme for Raymond.

The projects have so far produced results where it's been tried. It has helped to reduce cycle time at the Thane textile unit. The programme has resulted in inventory reduction at the company's Chinchwada textile unit in Maharashtra.

Kaizen is a culture of sustained continuous improvement focusing on eliminating waste in all systems and processes of an organisation. The Kaizen strategy begins and ends with people. With Kaizen, an involved leadership guides people to continuously improve their ability to meet expectations of high quality, low cost and on-time delivery. Kaizen transforms companies into “Superior Global Competitors”.

Kaizen's process improvement programme is mainly implemented in strategically important area. It mainly takes into account data for arriving at solutions. It covers concepts such as total quality control, productive maintenance, zero defects, small-group activities and productivity improvement.

CONCLUSION

I would like to conclude my project with a sense of satisfaction that whatever knowledge I have gained in this semester of my curriculum can be indeed used in the real life situation and enhanced my view at looking towards things in a wider perspective, of-course the in –depth analysis has to be done in the classrooms, but the report writing gives the student, a chance to know him about the latest developments in the concerned field. The project not only imparted me the practical knowledge but also gave me an idea of working in an organization with perfect teamwork. I came to know about a fact that I like to share with the reader

“All men like to think they can do it alone, but a real man knows there’s no substitute for support, encouragement or a crew.”

It makes the student use his theoretical knowledge in practice and gives human insight into the working of a firm.

Personally, my own opinion is that such type of report writing should be included as a part of curriculum for all other courses.

Last but not the least I would like to thank all the concerned staff of Mithibai College and the management of Raymond Textiles and would like to thank personally Mr. Pradeep Nair for his contribution to make the project success.

Although meticulous care has been taken to check the mistakes and misprints, yet it is difficult to claim perfection. In conclusion, constructive suggestions are Welcomed.

“Great successes are built on taking your negatives & turning them around.”

Mr. Bhavin Mehta.