Application of Laser Slit Beam to Characterize Yarn Irregularity

The surface evenness and texture of textile products are closely related with the irregularity of yarn thickness which has an important role to influence the quality and the process efficiency. For measuring yam thickness the capacitive method is known to dominate the market, delivering results that are in a close relation with the mechanical properties of yarn, while the optical method offers information that seems related rather with the apparent quality of yarn. If a thin light beam is applied for the optoelectrical measurement, it is very possible that this method can provide us with important information which is not obtainable from the capacitive type measurement. This paper reports the results of a study about the yarn thickness and its variation on the basis of a new measurement system using a laser slit beam. Analysis of the new system confirms that we can extract new information on the yarn irregularity ranging into much short wavelengths. Even the visual shade created by the yam doubling and twisting can be measured and represented well. Depending on the yam types, the thickness measurements show their own characteristics.