GTW Developments Ltd - New company, new ideas.

102 detailed description

With the development of a multiplicity of different yarns for the carpet yarn business, the shortcomings of splicers began to become apparent by the mid-1990s.   So many different yarn counts and constructions began to be used that customer needs could only be met by manufacturing splicers with a wide range of different splicing chamber geometries.  


A need existed for a “universal” splicer, which could make satisfactory joints in a huge range of yarn constructions and counts.   Advances were made, and new designs for splicers appeared, which were much more flexible than those which had gone before.   Nevertheless, the new designs were limited, and certainly were by no means universal.   In particular, no splicer could handle different counts and different twist directions without modification or replacement of the splicing chamber.  

GTW Developments Ltd. undertook a research programme to address this problem, and as a result introduced the new Model 101.   The 101 was designed with unprecedented flexibility in mind, a consequence of the development of a wholly-new and patented form of splicing chamber, which could handle an unprecedented range of yarns without modification.

Moreover, the 101 was designed with durability and simple servicing in mind, and has proved its reliability over several years of service.   The 101 set a new standard as an effective and user-friendly tool for making extra-large splices in carpet yarns.   Its performance is such that it has been accepted as a carpet yarn splicer in countries across the world.   Moreover, its envelope of performance has been extended, so that it is also used widely to make joints in the fancy-yarn business. 
  1. Model 101 splicers have a simple straight-line string-up, and a simple and very strong construction, machined out of a solid block of alloy.
  2. The splicer’s yarn guide plates are much stronger than is necessary for their function as guides; the thick stainless steel plates give the splicer a strong box-like structure.
  3. The Model 101 can be kept in active service with a minimum of regular voluntary maintenance.
  4. Simple construction leads to simple maintenance; the splicer in its basic form can be completely dismantled and re-assembled in about ten minutes.
Some customers, however, needed a different form of splice.   In certain circumstances – 10th gauge carpet tufting, for example - the 101 made splices which had “tails” which were too long; the result was that the splices occasionally became caught up in the loops of the tufting needles.   Customers requested a variant of the 101 which yielded shorter “tails”.   The result of the development programme was the Model 102.

How does the Model 102 differ structurally from the Model 101?   How do the splices differ?   And what are the consequences for the performance of the 102?

The change to the Model 101 Series 2 splicer, leading the Model 102, is that a facility for a small degree of knife adjustment has been incorporated into the design.   This facility allows the Model 102 to make “tails” which are shorter than those usually made by the Model 101.   The splicer body of the Model 102 is identical to that of the 101, save for one small detail; the body of the 101 is machined so that the knife recess is much deeper. 

However, the modification from Model 101 to Model 102 is not entirely without risk:

  1. Reduction of tail length can reduce splice strength, particularly with heavy yarns.  
  2. Therefore the procedure is best used on fine yarns, where the length of the tail in proportion to the diameter remains acceptable.
  3. Alternatively, the procedure is suited to those yarns (such as some synthetics) where the standard Model 101 splice may be rather too well intermingled over too long a distance.
  4. Operators must not lose the spacer, otherwise the knife will be a slack fit in its recess
The 102 splicer has been designed so that, if customer needs change, and short tails cease to be a priority, the splicer can within seconds be converted into the more conventional Model 101.

The Model 102 is currently available in three forms, the Model 102 H, the Model 102 HW, and the Model 102 HWB.    Further variants will be added to the range soon.
 

Model 102 H Series 2 splicer.  

Shown here fitted with its protective cap, viewed from the left-hand side.

Model 102 Series 2 splicer.  

Shown here after removal of the protective cap, viewed from the left-hand side.

Model 102 HW splicer.

Shown here without its protective cap.   The splicer is fitted with a wedge-shaped accessory, which, together with its matching hanging clip, allows the splicer to be “parked” in any convenient place when not in use.  

This illustration shows the hanging wedge, together with its hanging clip, together with the screw used to attach it to the splicer.

Model 102 HW splicer.  

Shown here with the hanging wedge partly fitted into the hanging clip.   The hanging clip – or hanging clips if a number of storage positions is needed – is fixed to the textile machine in a convenient position, ready to receive the splicer when it needs to be stored safely after use.

Model 102 BW splicer.  

The 102 BW is a splicer which can be moved along a horizontal rail.   The splicer is fitted with a hanging wedge, like a 102 HW, but in this case the hanging clip is attached, not in a fixed position to the textile machine, but to a carriage, which itself can move along a rail.


Model 102 BW splicer.  

Another view of the splicer, the carriage, and the rail.


Model 102 BW splicer.  

Another view, in which the splicer has been removed, showing the hanging clip, the carriage, and the rail.

Model 102 H Series 2 splicer.   Shown here fitted with its protective cap, viewed from the right-hand side.   This is the simplest, hand held splicer.