Yarn strength testing machine
Category
Machinery and industrial devices
Date
Unknown
Materials
Order this imageCollection
Quarry Bank, Cheshire
NT 1454140
Summary
Testing equipment with weight at the side, microscope, wheel and chain (for strength testing), counter, gauge, adjustable electric light overhead. A Rock Bank single thread twist tester with a weight at the side, microscope, wheel and chain (for strength testing), counter, gauge and adjustable electric light overhead. Twist was an essential factor for yarns. Twists per inch was a term used to measure how many twists a yarn had. It was calculated by counting the number of twists in each yarn. Twist was needed to hold fibres together, and was added by spinning and plying. Without twist, fibres would not be held together and yarn would be very weak, as twist binds fibres together giving sufficient strength. The Rock Bank Single Thread Twist Tester was convenient for quickly determining a large number of twists on short test lengths of yarn. Twist was determined by two clamps through which the yarn passed that were 1/3 of an inch apart. It usually took around 50 tests to balance inaccuracy, but this could be done in 4 minutes. The instrument was set up differently to the ordinary twist tester. In the Rock Bank tester, the untwisting was viewed through a small but powerful microscope, which could be quickly moved along the length of the yarn being tested. This model is electric, with a light for ease of viewing. The Rock Bank Single Thread Twist Tester was convenient for quickly determining a large number of twists on short test lengths of yarn. The instrument was set up differently to the ordinary twist tester as untwisting was viewed through a small but powerful microscope, which could be quickly moved along the length of the yearn being tested to count twists. This model was electric, with a light for ease of viewing. Charles Baker was established in 1765 in Holborn, London. The company was a member of The Fine Spinners and Doublers Association, a major cotton spinning group based in Manchester.