The Secret to Achieving Best Sliver Quality - Draw Frame Maintenance and SERVOdrive Upgrade

Rieter’s new draw frame maintenance concept takes a comprehensive approach. It defines the machine as a system of components that need to work together as a team so they can deliver the best results. One of the key components is the levelling system. Replacing it with a new SERVOdrive not only improves the quality of the sliver. It also reduces overall maintenance costs as high-maintenance components such as the gearbox are eliminated.

Recognizing Signs of Fatigue

Draw frames improve the evenness of the sliver for the downstream spinning process. After years of operation and heavy use, the quality of the sliver shows minute variations. As parts slightly wear out over time, the machines can no longer run at high speeds which is why some operators choose to reduce the machine speed to achieve the same quality. In practice the quality monitor or control settings are often enlarged or bypassed to increase speed, resulting in lower quality. In these cases, maintenance restores the machine performance and reduces the number of warnings and standstills.

Engineered Parts as an Ideal Solution

Condition-based maintenance can be done for machines up to an age of six or seven years. After ten or more years, multiple components run out. This is when Rieter recommends its customers to integrate new technology components to enhance machine performance. Instead of replacing the old part one-to-one, a new, engineered part is the ideal solution. The levelling system of an auto leveler draw frame is subject to a high workload. The new SERVOdrive upgrade is a state-of-the-art replacement for the levelling system. A cost-effective and highly dynamic drive concept, it is used in the latest draw frame generation (RSB-D 50). SERVOdrive replaces four maintenance-intensive parts – motor, brake, coupling, gearbox – with just one that is maintenance-free. On top of the technological advantages, there is also an economical argument for a SERVOdrive upgrade: A collective single part replacement is more expensive over the long run than new technology. Hence, a SERVOdrive upgrade saves maintenance costs in the long term. The exchange of the levelling system is all about the right timing.

When to Exchange Motor and Gearbox