Comparison Between Automatic and Semi-Automatic Yarn Splitter Machine
At present, there are two mainstream types of yarn splitter machine on the textile machinery market: semi-automatic yarn splitter machine and fully automatic yarn splitter machine. Many textile factory owners and production managers will hesitate when selecting models. They are not sure which type is more suitable for their own production conditions. The core difference between the two types lies in the degree of automatic control of tension adjustment, yarn breakage detection, automatic stop and parameter storage, and there are obvious differences in investment cost, labor demand, operation difficulty, production stability and applicable production scenarios. Enterprises need to combine their product positioning, order structure and factory staffing to make a reasonable selection.
The semi-automatic yarn splitter machine is the relatively mature and widely used type. The basic feeding, splitting and winding actions of the equipment are driven by the main motor, but most of the tension adjustment, yarn breakage inspection and fault judgment rely on manual completion. The tension structure mostly adopts mechanical spring tensioner. The operator needs to adjust the spring compression degree manually according to the yarn type at the beginning of each batch of production, and check the tension uniformity of each yarn strand regularly during the running process. When yarn breakage occurs, the equipment will not stop automatically. The operator needs to patrol multiple machines to find the broken yarn position, stop the machine manually and re-thread. The advantage of semi-automatic yarn splitter machine is that the purchase price is relatively low, the structure is simple, the maintenance threshold is low, the spare parts are easy to buy, and the maintenance cost in the later stage is low. It is very friendly for small textile processing workshops, small batch multi-variety processing factories and enterprises with limited initial investment budget.
However, the shortcomings of semi-automatic yarn splitter machine are also obvious. It has high requirements on the proficiency and patrol frequency of operators. If the operator is responsible for managing too many machines at the same time, the broken yarn cannot be found in time. The broken yarn will continue to be wound, forming messy yarn rolls, increasing the waste rate of raw yarn. The mechanical spring tension will gradually drift with the vibration of the equipment and the change of spring fatigue, so the tension state needs to be readjusted frequently. The consistency of products depends heavily on the operator’s experience. Different operators may set different tension parameters for the same yarn, resulting in quality difference between batches. Therefore, semi-automatic models are more suitable for products with moderate quality requirements and sufficient on-site operators.
The fully automatic yarn splitter machine integrates frequency conversion control system, electronic tension sensor, photoelectric yarn breakage detector and PLC data storage module. The tension of each yarn strand is detected in real time by the sensor, and the system automatically adjusts the tension executing mechanism to keep the tension value stable within the set range. Once the photoelectric probe detects yarn breakage, strand loss or wrong splitting, the control system will send a signal to stop the corresponding station or the whole machine, and send out sound and light alarm to remind the operator. The equipment can store the process parameters of different yarn varieties in the system. When switching orders and changing varieties, technicians only need to call the stored parameter formula, without repeated debugging, which greatly shortens the time of model change. Some high-end automatic yarn splitter machine can also connect with the factory MES system, upload production data such as running time, output, alarm times and defective quantity to the production management platform, which is convenient for managers to count the production efficiency of each equipment.
The disadvantages of fully automatic yarn splitter machine are the high one-time procurement cost and higher technical requirements for maintenance personnel. The electronic sensors, photoelectric detection elements and PLC modules are precision components. If they are polluted by a large amount of fly yarn dust for a long time, false alarm or signal failure may occur. Maintenance personnel need to master basic electrical knowledge and sensor calibration skills. The spare parts price of the control components is higher than that of the mechanical parts of the semi-automatic machine. In addition, for some special superfine yarn and brittle fiber yarn, the photoelectric detection signal is weak, and the detection sensitivity needs to be debugged repeatedly, which puts forward higher requirements for the supplier’s after-sales technical support ability.
From the perspective of labor allocation, a skilled operator can generally manage 3 to 5 sets of semi-automatic yarn splitter machine, while under stable working conditions, one operator can manage 8 to 12 sets of well-configured automatic yarn splitter machine, which can effectively reduce the labor cost per kilogram of yarn. This advantage is more prominent in areas with rising labor cost. For large factories with long-term large-batch single-variety orders, stable product quality requirements and perfect workshop information management, automatic yarn splitter machine is more in line with the long-term development direction.
It is not to say that automatic type is absolutely better. For some small processing factories that often receive small orders and frequently change raw yarn types, the flexible adjustment advantage of semi-automatic yarn splitter machine is also very prominent. When the order quantity is small, the time spent on setting parameters and calibrating sensors of automatic equipment may not save much time compared with manual adjustment of mechanical tension. In the selection, enterprises can also consider the mixed collocation mode: use automatic yarn splitter machine for large-batch main products to stabilize quality and improve efficiency, and retain semi-automatic equipment to deal with scattered small orders and trial production of new yarn varieties.
No matter which type of yarn splitter machine is selected, the core is to match the production demand. Before purchasing, it is recommended to send the raw yarn sample to the equipment supplier for machine trial test, record the yarn quality index, waste rate and operation stability data under the two schemes, and make a decision combined with the budget and labor plan.
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