Yarn Testing Equipment Lab Equipment Manufacturer, Supplier and Exporter in India

Yarn Testing Equipment

Count, Twist, Strength: in that order

This is the sequence we recommend to every laboratory setting up a yarn testing bench, and it is also the order in which arguments with customers get settled.

Count first. Count is the measure of fineness, and every other yarn property is reported against it. A yarn that breaks at a given load is strong or weak only relative to how much material is in its cross-section. Two laboratories can run the same lea strength test on the same yarn, report honest numbers, and still disagree completely because one of them never established the count.

Twist second. Twist is what makes a bundle of fibres behave as a yarn at all, and it is the variable most often changed silently in production. Twist per unit length and twist direction are both part of the specification. Twist also moves strength in a curve rather than a line: adding twist increases strength up to a point and reduces it beyond that point, so a strength complaint is frequently a twist problem wearing a strength label.

Strength third, and reported as the product. On the lea test the convention is to multiply count by lea breaking load in pounds and report the count-strength product, because that number is comparable between counts and the raw breaking load is not. A laboratory that reports only the load is giving its customer a number that cannot be checked against anything.

We call this Count, Twist, Strength, and the practical consequence for a buying decision is simple: a bench that can measure strength but not count is not a yarn testing bench. If the budget covers two instruments, buy the count pair - a wrap reel with a balance of adequate resolution - and a twist tester, before the strength tester.

The standard atmosphere is part of the apparatus

Textile fibres are hygroscopic. They take up and give off moisture with the surrounding air, and their mass, dimensions and breaking load move with it. This is why textile test methods specify a standard atmosphere for testing and a conditioning period in it before the test, and why a yarn laboratory in an un-conditioned room is producing numbers that describe the weather as much as the yarn.

There is a point to settle here before you buy anything, and it is one we would rather raise at the enquiry stage: the temperature in the standard atmosphere is not the same in every standard. Temperate standards and tropical standards specify different temperatures at the same relative humidity, and national standards in warm countries commonly adopt the tropical figure. Tell us which standard your customers name, because it decides the conditioning cabinet or room specification, and a laboratory that conditions to one figure cannot report results against the other.

The second practical point: conditioning takes time, and the specimen must reach equilibrium from the dry side. A laboratory under pressure that tests a specimen after twenty minutes in the room is not conditioning it. Build the conditioning period into the turnaround you promise.

Twist: direction, amount and method

The YTE-0001 Twist Tester determines how much twist is present and in which direction. Three things have to match the method you are reporting against.

• Direction. Twist is S or Z according to the direction of the surface helix. It is a descriptive result, not a number, and it is the one most often omitted from a test report. A plied yarn normally has the opposite direction in the ply from the singles, and getting that wrong in a specification produces a yarn that untwists in use.
• The unit. Twist per metre and twist per inch are both in use, and a figure quoted without the unit is ambiguous by a factor of about forty. Decide which your reports use and put it on the form.
• The method. Direct counting untwists the specimen until the fibres are parallel. The untwist-retwist method untwists and then continues into the opposite direction until the original length is recovered, and it is used where direct counting is impractical. The two methods do not necessarily give the same figure on the same yarn, so the method belongs in the report alongside the number.
• Gauge length and pretension. Both are specified, and both change the answer. A specimen held too tight reads differently from one held at the specified tension.

Count: two instruments for two situations

Count can be determined by length and mass, or read directly from a short specimen. The two routes exist for different reasons, and most laboratories need both.

YTE-0003 Wrap Reel reels a known length of yarn so that it can be weighed. It is the reference route, and its accuracy has two halves that buyers often treat as one. The reel delivers the length, and the balance delivers the mass - so the resolution of the balance you already own decides whether the count determination is any good. On fine yarns a balance that reads to a hundredth of a gram is not enough. Ask us what resolution the counts you test require before you assume your existing balance will do.

YTE-0013 Beesley Balance reads count directly from a short thread, with no weighing step. Its real use is fabric analysis: when a thread is withdrawn from a finished fabric there is no way to obtain the long reeled length the wrap reel route needs, and this is the instrument that handles that case. It works with a set of templates, each cut for a particular count system and specimen length, and the result is only as right as the template matching the system you are reporting in. Keep the templates with the instrument and label them.

Evenness, and what buyers actually argue about

The YTE-0002 Yarn Evenness Tester measures variation in mass along the length of the yarn and reports it as a variation figure. That figure is useful for comparing one lot against another, but it is rarely what a complaint is about.

What customers complain about is imperfections: thin places, thick places and neps, counted per unit length. Those counts depend on the thresholds set in the instrument, which are expressed as percentage departures from the mean. Two laboratories running the same yarn with different thresholds will report different imperfection counts and both will be correct. Agree the thresholds, the test speed and the test length with your customer in writing before the first consignment, and record all three on every report. This single piece of housekeeping prevents more disputes than any instrument specification.

Crimp, and why pretension decides it

Crimp is the waviness in a yarn, and it is measured as the difference between the yarn straightened and the yarn relaxed, expressed as a percentage. The YTE-0009 Crimp Tester and the YTE-0010 Crimp Rigidity Tester cover this range, the second being used on textured yarns where the recovery behaviour, rather than the bare crimp figure, is the property of interest.

The number that decides a crimp result is the pretension used to straighten the specimen. Straightened is not an absolute state; it is whatever the specified load produces. Too little and the yarn is not straight, too much and you are stretching it, and in both cases the crimp percentage moves. The specified pretension is usually a function of the count, which is one more reason count comes first.

Lea strength

The YTE-0006 Lea Strength Tester breaks a lea - a skein of specified wrap length and number of wraps, prepared on the wrap reel - and reports the breaking load. Points to settle:

• The lea is prepared, not improvised. Wrap length and number of wraps are part of the method, which is why the wrap reel and the strength tester belong on the same bench.
• Report the count-strength product, and state the count you used. A bare breaking load is not comparable between counts.
• Rate of traverse is specified. A faster break gives a higher load, as it does in every other tensile test.
• Conditioning is not optional here. Of all the yarn properties, breaking load is the one that moves most with moisture. A strength result on an unconditioned specimen is not a result.

For single-end tensile work, and for fabric strip and grab tests, the instrument range sits with our fabric testing equipment rather than here.

A second range inside this listing: carpet testing

We would rather state this plainly than let you discover it after an enquiry. Five of the thirteen records in this listing are not yarn instruments at all - they are carpet and floor covering testing instruments: the tuft withdrawal force tester, the carpet thickness gauge, the carpet abrasion tester, the rotary platform double head abraser and the inclined plane flammability tester. They are genuine products and we supply them; they are simply in a category named for something else, and we have flagged that to be split out. If you arrived here looking for carpet testing, you are in the right place.

YTE-0004 Tuft Withdrawal Force Tester measures how firmly a tuft is anchored in the backing. On cut pile it is a durability property; on loop pile it is closer to a safety property, because a loop that pulls out is a snag hazard. The result depends on the clamp design and the rate of withdrawal, both of which are specified by the method.

YTE-0011 Carpet Thickness Gauge and YTE-0005 Digital Thickness Tester read thickness under a defined load. There is no such thing as the thickness of a compressible material on its own: the presser foot area and the applied pressure are part of the measurement, they are specified in the method, and a gauge set up with the wrong foot gives a number that cannot be compared with anyone else.

YTE-0007 Rotary Platform Double Head Abraser and YTE-0012 Carpet Abrasion Tester wear a specimen under controlled conditions. The point buyers miss is that the abrasive wheels are a consumable and their condition is the test. Wheels load up with debris and change grade as they are used, so the method prescribes refacing at intervals, and a laboratory without a refacing disc and a record of refacings has an abrasion tester that drifts. Budget for wheels and refacing discs as a running cost, not a one-off purchase.

Flammability: read this before ordering

The YTE-008 Inclined Plane Flammability Tester holds a specimen at a defined angle and exposes it to a specified ignition source. Two things need to be said about it.

• It is a fire test, so the apparatus is standard-specific. The angle, the chamber, the ignition source and the specimen size are all fixed by whichever standard the test is run to, and an apparatus built to one national standard does not satisfy another. Tell us the standard your market requires before you order; we will not assume one.
• Owning the apparatus is not the same as being able to certify. In many markets a flammability result that carries legal or contractual weight has to come from a laboratory accredited for that method. The apparatus lets you develop, screen and control your product; the certificate that accompanies a shipment may still have to come from an accredited laboratory. Confirm what your buyer requires rather than discovering it at the border.
• It burns specimens indoors. It needs extraction, a clear bench, no stored solvent nearby and a fire extinguisher within reach. Specify the extraction at the same time as the apparatus, not afterwards.

The thirteen instruments, and what decides each result

What to tell us when you enquire

• The count range and count system you work in, and whether you test singles, plied or textured yarn. This sets the wrap reel specification, the balance resolution and the pretensions.
• The standard your customers name, and which standard atmosphere it specifies. Temperate and tropical conditioning are different specifications.
• Whether you need to report imperfection counts, and the thresholds your customer has agreed.
• For carpet work: the backing construction, and the standard the flammability and abrasion results have to be reported against.
• Your supply voltage and frequency, and whether the laboratory has extraction.

Related ranges: fabric testing equipment, coated fabric testing equipment, footwear testing equipment, and the wider testing machines range including metal testing machines and general testing equipment.

Frequently asked questions

Can I report a yarn strength result without determining the count?

You can report the breaking load, but it is not comparable with anything. The convention on the lea test is to report the count-strength product, count multiplied by lea breaking load in pounds, and that requires the count. In practice a laboratory that reports load alone will be asked for the count by the first customer who tries to check the figure.

Do the two twist methods give the same number?

Not necessarily. Direct counting and untwist-retwist are different procedures and can give different figures on the same yarn, which is why the method is reported with the result. Decide which method your laboratory uses as standard, and state it on the report form rather than leaving it to the operator.

My laboratory is not air conditioned. How bad is that?

For count and strength it is the dominant error, larger than anything to do with the instruments. Fibres gain and lose moisture with the room, and the mass and the breaking load move with the moisture. If a conditioned room is not possible immediately, a conditioning cabinet for specimens is the useful intermediate step, and results should carry the conditions they were obtained under. Tell us the constraint and we will quote accordingly.

Is a Beesley balance a substitute for a wrap reel and a weighing balance?

No, they answer the same question in different situations. The wrap reel and balance route is the reference method for yarn supplied as yarn. The Beesley balance exists for threads withdrawn from finished fabric, where a long reeled length cannot be obtained. A laboratory doing both yarn testing and fabric analysis needs both.

Why does the abrasion tester need a running budget?

Because the abrasive wheels are the test surface and they change with use. They load with debris and lose cut, so the method prescribes refacing at set intervals, and wheels are replaced when they reach the end of their useful life. A laboratory that treats the wheels as a permanent part of the machine will see its abrasion results drift in one direction and will usually blame the specimens.

Can I use the flammability tester to certify carpet for export?

That depends on your buyer and the destination market. The apparatus is built to a specified standard and gives you development, screening and quality control capability in your own laboratory. Where a flammability result carries regulatory or contractual weight, the destination market often requires it to come from a laboratory accredited for that method. Confirm the requirement with your buyer in writing before shipping, and tell us which standard you need the apparatus built to.

Key takeaways

• Count before strength. A breaking load without a count cannot be compared with anything; the reportable figure from a lea test is the count-strength product.
• Conditioning is part of the method, not a nicety. Yarn mass and breaking load move with room humidity, and the standard atmosphere differs between temperate and tropical standards. Settle which one applies before buying.
• The twist report needs three things: the amount, the unit, and the direction - plus the method, because direct counting and untwist-retwist can disagree.
• Imperfection counts depend on thresholds you choose. Agree thresholds, test speed and test length with your customer in writing, and print all three on the report.
• Thickness is meaningless without the load. Presser foot area and pressure are specified by the method; the wrong foot produces a number nobody else can use.
• Abrasive wheels are a consumable and a source of drift. Buy refacing discs with the abraser and keep a refacing record.

About this page

Ray Export is a manufacturer and exporter of laboratory, scientific and educational equipment based at Plot No. 449, HSIIDC Industrial Area, Saha, Ambala, Haryana 133104, India. Enquiries: [email protected], +91-9817319615.

Written by Palak Mall, Senior Content Writer. Technically reviewed by Arvind Kumar, Lab Equipment Specialist, 12+ years in laboratory and testing instrumentation. Last updated: 17 October 2026.

Notes on this listing, published rather than hidden: the code YTE-008 is not padded to four digits as the rest of the range is, and we are correcting it. The record shown as "Rotary Platform Double" is a rotary platform double head abraser; the name is truncated. Five records in this category are carpet and floor covering instruments rather than yarn instruments, and we have flagged the category to be split. Standards references on this page are described generically because the applicable standard differs by market; we will confirm the exact standard an instrument is built to, in writing, at the quotation stage. Specifications are confirmed in writing on the quotation; for certifications, contact us for the latest copies of the relevant certificates before tender submission.