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THE JOURNATJ OF INDUSTRIAh A N I ) ENGINEERING C H E - I S T R Y
Vol. 14, No. 9
Science in t h e Textile Industry By E. D. Walen MANAGER, COTTON RESBARCH Co., INC., BOSTON,MASS.
T IS ONLY within the last few years that we have heard very much regarding the application of research or science to that branch of tevtile industry devoted to the actual manufacturing of yarn and fabric. The chemist has already made tremendous strides in the application of basic principles to the finishing and dyeing part of the textile industry, and since it is so well started there has been perhaps less discussion of its advantages. The textile industry is one of the oldest and although it is not quite clear that cotton manufacturing is the oldest industry, it is, nevertheless, an ancient art which has grown to be of tremendous economical importance. An examination of the ancient textiles, such as those of Peru by M. D. C. Crawford, indicates strongly that there is very little new in the design of cloth and the construction of fabrics and yarns. A comparison of the quality of these yarns with the present-day yarns indicates that the greatest strides in the cotton industry have been along the lines of increased production and ease of manufacture, and we sometimes wonder if the basic principles of manufacturing have E D not been lost sight of to some degree. The progress of science in the manufacture of textiles has been 'rather slow, and it is rather difficult, owing to the fact that the people engaged in the industry are hampered by the many generations of inertia ; and in addition, the industry depends so much upon the existing machinery that it is difficult to conceive of valuable results until these machines have been substituted by those designed on new principles. Progress in other industries, however, has led many manufacturers to believe that there are possibilities in the application of the laws of natural science to the textile industry. The governments of the severnl textile countries have maintained laboratories and scientific men for the investigation of cotton growing and to some extent cotton manufacturing, and much good has resulted from these studies. Perhaps the biggest research project that has gained any headway has been the British Cotton Industry Research Association, which dedicated its laboratories in the early part of this year. This association, we understand, is of a co6perative nature in that all British manufacturers are eligible to membership and the results are for their benefit. In this country the formation of a large research body has been somewhat along different lines. Apparently, each association interested in cotton has a research section which varies considerably in its conception of research and in its activities. The National Association of Cotton Manufacturers, which probably represents the majority of cotton manufacturers in the country, has for some time maintained a research committee which has branrhed out into a research department. This department is still in its infancy and it is attempting to justify its growth by actual accomplishments.
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The largest single project of individual research in this country was started in 1918 by the Lockwood, Greene & Company and the Pacific Mills interwls. The first organization consisted of a committee which served as a clearing house of ideas for the several mills. This committee developed the fact that it was necessary to have a laboratory study the various problems, and in July 1919 the Cotton Research Company was incorporated. The stock ownership of this company was shared by the Pacific Mills and Lockwood, Greene & Company. It was planned to allow the company to operate for a probationary period, in order to give the project a fair chance to prove its value. This period has passed and the project is believed to be worth while continuing. The company is essentially an industrial laboratory and it was not thought at first that it would be necessary to engage along the lines of pure research, but it has been interesting to note that as the work has progressed the demand for the solution of problems along basic lines has steadily increased and the practical mill man has becn iound to be more interested in knowWALEN ing the underlying cause than in knowing the immediate effect. The original equipment consisted of much textile machinery for conducting testq and very little laboratory equipment for the study of the samples prepared. Since that time about 50 per cent of the machinery has been disposed of and the laboratory equipment enlarged. The laboratory equipment available for the study of manufacturing is extremely limited, and it has been found necessary to design and construct all of it. The organization of the company has been built up around four groups : 1-The directors, who represent the financial interests and determine the policies along broad lines. 2-An advisory council, composed of mill agents and superintendents of the various mills interested, who convene a t intervals to discuss the policies and to determine the scope of the immediate problems. 3-A group trained along the scientific lines of physics, chemistry, and microscopy. 4-A group of practical men trained in the laboratory t o conduct tests who are familiar with the application of laboratory developments as applied to the study of manufacture.
The activities have been built u p around the study and maintenance of quality and the economy of manufacture, and all the developments are necessarily focused on the mills as soon as they become of value. The adaptation to the mill is carried on by the group of practical men and the advisory council. Jt has been necessary in a program of this sort to develop methods for accurately and quickly memuring the physical properties of the raw materials. The immediate application
