End Breakage Rate and Causes
topic
End breakage rate (EBR) is measured in breaks per 100 spindle hours (b/100 s/h); world-class mills achieve 1–3 b/100 s/h for medium counts. Causes include: weak places in yarn (thin places, neps), excessive balloon tension at high spindle speed, traveller fly-off, drafting faults, roving defects, and spindle vibration. EBR increases with spindle speed (approximately as speed²) and is inversely proportional to yarn tenacity CVT%.
Role
End breakage rate is the single most important productivity and quality metric in ring spinning. Each break requires piecing (manually re-threading), causing 2–5 minutes of productive spindle time lost per break. At 1000 spindles, reducing EBR from 10 to 3 b/100 s/h recovers 70+ spindle hours per shift, directly improving production output and reducing labour costs.