Textile & garments machines, step by step

The machines are in the order they work in the process. Ask us about any of them: we check feasibility and the import rules before we quote.

Opening and carding

Bales are opened and cleaned, and the fibres are combed into a soft rope called sliver.

Bale opener
Plucks small tufts from the tops of many cotton bales at once and blows them on, mixed, to cleaning.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Carding machine
Wire-covered cylinders comb the tufts into single fibres, take out short fibres and trash, and form a soft rope called sliver.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Slivers are drawn out thinner and twisted into yarn, which is wound onto cones.

Draw frame
Combines several slivers and draws them out between rollers, so the sliver becomes even and its fibres lie straight.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Ring spinning frame
Long rows of spindles draw roving thinner and twist it into yarn, winding it onto bobbins.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Winding machine
Unwinds yarn from small bobbins, clears out faults and winds it onto large cones ready for knitting or weaving.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Yarn becomes fabric, either knitted in loops for T-shirts and sweaters or woven for shirts and denim.

Circular knitting machine
Needles set round a turning cylinder knit yarn from many cones into a continuous tube of fabric.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Weaving loom
Lifts some warp threads and lowers others, then shoots weft yarn across and beats it in, to weave woven fabric.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Fabric is cleaned, bleached and dyed; the used water must be treated before it leaves the factory.

Fabric dyeing machine
A closed vessel where fabric circulates in hot dye liquor, driven by a jet of liquor or a turning winch, until the colour is even.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Effluent treatment plant
Tanks that balance, treat and settle the coloured waste water from dyeing before it is released.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Fabric is dried, pulled to the right width and compacted so it shrinks less after washing.

Stenter
Clips hold the fabric edges and carry it through a long hot-air oven, which dries it and sets its width.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Compactor
Presses knitted fabric between a heated roller and a felt blanket, so it shrinks less after the garment is washed.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Layers of fabric are cut to pattern and the pieces are sewn into garments on a production line.

Fabric cutting machine
A knife on a heavy base, or a computer-guided cutter, that cuts many layers of fabric at once along the pattern.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Industrial sewing machine
A sewing head on a table, driven by a motor beneath, that runs fast all day; lockstitch, overlock and other types each do their own seam.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Garments are pressed, checked for stray needles and faults, folded and packed for shipment.

Steam press
A steam iron on a vacuum table, or a steam press, that takes the creases out of finished garments before folding.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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Needle detector
A conveyor through a detection tunnel that stops the belt when it senses a broken needle or other metal in a garment.
Availability subject to feasibility check
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