Raising and Napping Machines
topic
Raising machines use rotating drums covered with bent wire clothing whose wire hooks engage and pull fibre ends from the fabric structure to form a raised fibre pile on the fabric surface, with up to 24 rollers in alternating raising and counter-raising directions at speeds of 10 to 30 metres per minute producing flannel, fleece, and brushed fabric surfaces whose pile density, length, and lay direction are controlled by roller speed ratios and number of passes.
Role
Creates the raised fibre pile surface of flannel, fleece, and brushed wool fabrics that provides the thermal insulation and soft tactile handle of raised fabrics through surface fibre extraction from the fabric body, with raising intensity being the primary process variable governing the balance between pile density and surface coverage against fabric strength reduction from fibre extraction that governs the maximum raising achievable without structural damage.