Peeling Assessment
Fiber separation occurs at the terminal ends of flax strands during the mechanical cleaning of scutched material. Endwise peeling describes the condition where fibers split longitudinally along the primary stalk axis under the influence of intensive beating or combing. This degradation creates unwanted short fibers that decrease the total yield of long line flax during spinning preparations.
Documentation of this frequency appears in the mill processing report under the raw material quality header.
Extraction Mechanics
Mechanical rotors apply force against the flax bundle to remove woody shive residue from the bast fibers. High rotational speeds at the feed intake points trigger the endwise peeling of the primary fiber bundles if the settings exceed the structural limit of the plant material. Proper adjustment of the turbine speed mitigates this damage by controlling the impact duration upon the fiber ends.
Operators verify these adjustments through the inspection of the waste collector bins where the accumulation of shredded fiber tips reveals the intensity of the force applied. Reducing the impact velocity preserves the integrity of the long fiber strands for subsequent weaving tasks.
Production Boundary
Factory standards distinguish between the unavoidable natural fraying of dried bast and the excessive damage caused by equipment misuse. The buyer acceptance criteria establish a strict limit on the volume of these short remnants allowed per bale, as their presence prevents uniform tension during the spinning process. If the proportion of damaged fibers surpasses the agreed limit, the batch undergoes reclassification from long line flax to tow stock.
High levels of split fiber indicate insufficient calibration of the primary cleaning machines. This phenomenon represents a quantifiable loss in market value for the raw supply.
