In general, there are three stages in the production of machine-made carpets, including spinning, weaving, and carpet finishing. The spinning stage prepares raw materials for machine-made carpets. Then, the carpet is woven and prepared for the market through the second and third stages.

This article introduces the spinning stage briefly to give readers a general view of the carpet production stages. The first step in the production of machine-made carpets is the preparation and supply of carpet yarns, performed using natural or synthetic fibers in all textile industries. In fact, yarn is made by twisting thin fibers together by different machines in the spinning stage. In general, there are three types of yarn, including warp, weft, and pile in the production and weaving of a machine-made carpet. The pile yarn makes the largest volume and weight of a machine-made carpet, followed by the weft and warp yarns.  Each of these yarns is made by different machines and equipment in the spinning unit and finally sent to the carpet weaving unit to produce the carpet.

Different operations are performed on the fibers in the spinning stage, each of which requires its own machinery and equipment. Fibers should have special features for the type of spinning used; therefore, the length, diameter, and crimp of the fibers should be considered. Several popular and widely used types of spinning in the textile industry include cotton spinning, worsted spinning, and semi-worsted spinning.

Cotton spinning

This type of spinning is related to spinning synthetic fibers that are spun alone or with cotton. In cotton spinning, fibers undergo slight crimping and are then cut into specified sizes.

Worsted Spinning

The first spinning machines were designed to spin wool fibers, but they gradually underwent fundamental changes. Like cotton spinning, worsted spinning uses synthetic fibers along with wool. This method of spinning can also spin fibers that are very similar to wool.

Semi-Worsted Spinning

Semi-worsted spinning uses softer and more delicate yarns, which have a higher potential for plying because they are less crimped and untwist easier. On the other hand, they are not much coarse for twisting.

After spinning, the dyeing unit produces yarns with different colors and qualities based on their quality rating. The heat set unit is recently added to the spinning unit to increase the quality of the yarn. The heat-set process can be applied to different fibers such as acrylic, polyester, and polypropylene, among which acrylic heat-set yarn has the highest quality. Part of the heat-set process includes steaming the yarn, which increases the strength and stability of the yarn and reduces the yarn fluffing (acrylic yarn). It also increases the dyeability, uniformity, and softness of the yarn. The internal texture of the heat-set acrylic yarn is stabilized by heat and steam; therefore, it is less fluffing, more stable, and high-quality.