New users - splicing chambers
The active part of a splicer is known as a splicing chamber. The chamber is a small channel, with a carefully designed profile. Two yarns are laid into the chamber, and are exposed to a blast of compressed air. The air intermingles the fibres and joins the yarns together. The shape of the chamber profile controls the air flow, so that the splicing chamber is the most important part of the splicer. Most improvements of splicing performance have come from improvement of splicing chamber design.
Splicers are used throughout the wide spectrum of the textile business, so that different environments require different solutions. For this reason, splicers are fitted with interchangeable chambers; to splice different yarns, users simply have to fit new splicing chambers. Although the business of changing chambers is inconvenient, in general it is necessary and unavoidable, because no one splicing chamber can cover the whole range of yarns in use.
Some years ago, our company developed a new understanding of how splicing chambers work, and we have applied this research to reducing the frequency of chamber-changing. Our "ends-together" splicers were the first products to be improved, because their design is very simple. The first outcome of the work was the revolutionary Model 101. This was followed by the Model 102, the Model 103, and the Model 104.
Similar improvements have been made to our "ends-opposed" splicers, principally the Model 1-11. This range of splicers, which also incorporates the splicing chamber improvements, has been on the selling range for some time. Much larger splicing chambers have been developed for materials such as glass fibre tows.
Splicing chambers for “ends-together” splices - bath-tubs, and restrictor plates
All Model 101 splicing chambers are asymmetric in design; the nature of the asymmetry is the patented feature of the chamber, and gives the Model 101 its unique performance. The chambers come in two forms; those with a "restrictor plate" and those with a built-in "bath tub". Figure 9 shows three chambers. The two on the left are “bath-tubs”. A scooped section is machined out of one end of the chamber; this is the reason for the bath-tub name. The one on the right is a more conventional chamber, with a bowl, which is fitted with a “restrictor plate” to provide the asymmetry.
 |
Bath-tubs are the chambers which are fitted most commonly to the Model 101. The most common form of bathtub chamber is shown in the centre.
|
 |
The bath-tub chamber has the virtue of extreme simplicity, being a single element. It might seem that the simplicity should result in a limited range of performance. Not so; the bath-tub chamber covers an enormous range of yarns, and the other designs incorporating restrictor plates are used only in special applications. |
Bath-tub splicing chambers are usually identified by a ten character code. Examples are:
· 3485+44+16ER
· 3484-04-16SR
Bath-tub chambers do not have restrictor plates.
 |
Restrictor plate chambers are fitted occasionally to the Model 101 splicer - usually for relatively fragile yarns such as 100% wool. A typical restrictor plate chamber is shown opposite. The chamber itself is symmetrical, with a bowl in the shape of part of a sphere. The asymmetry is produced by securing a restrictor plate - a plate with a reduced cross section - to one side of the chamber.
|
The two yarns to be spliced enter the chamber through the V of the restrictor plate. The cutter knife is fitted at the end opposite to the restrictor plate.
This design is more complex than that of the bath-tub, but it does offer the opportunity to use a range of restrictor plates, each with different cross-sections. The restrictor plate is secured to the chamber with two screws, as shown here.