The Stork Brothers Galaxy Card & Spinning Frame
The heart of quality woollen yarn manufacturing lies in the carding department that prepares the raw material for spinning. Stork Bros have long recognised the importance of technology in the pursuit of the highest quality yarns and in pursuit of this the company has progressively invested in new equipment.
Today, the Stork Brothers carding and spinning facilities include the very latest in woollen yarn processing technology.
The 3m wide Galaxy Card is fundamentally important to the yarn production process. The machine incorporates a variable speed drive to key processing elements, thus enabling Stork's technical staff to fine-tune the processing parameters so as to meet the company's very exacting quality standards and to incorporate modifications affecting critical design aspects of the finished yarn.
The card has recently been completely refitted to include the very latest drive controls by leading supplier Garnett Controls Ltd. Garnett worked closely with Stork engineers to produce a fully integrated control package that combines sophisticated technology with ease of operation. During the refit key elements such as card clothing were also completely renewed.
The carding machine is fed using Garnett's Microweigh XLM system the most advanced system in its field. Also incorporating moisture control it provides an extremely accurate feed of fibre to the processing elements, thus ensuring unrivalled uniformity in the available count ranges.
To further enhance the machine a new Centre-Draw and Cross feed system, designed and built by Garnett Controls was installed. The new machine elements, streamline the passage of fibre from the scribbler section of the machine to the critical carder or finishing section. The Cross feed system incorporates fingertip control of key moving parts via keypad and thus facilitates easy adjustment whilst ensuring precision in fibre lay down.
The carded fibre is condensed onto bobbins and transferred to the spinning frame. With a central headstock controlling 386 individual spindles, Stork operates one of the longest woollen spinning frames in the UK woollen industry. The spinning machine is fitted with the latest variable drive technology including a sophisticated ring rail lifting arrangement which ensures consistent yarn tension and optimum package build.
The machines are monitored via a control room situated in an elevated position within the production room, which allows the entire operation to be controlled from one central location.