Steaming.—Sometimes it becomes necessary to subject dyed goods to a process of steaming, as, for instance, with steam aniline blacks, khaki shades, alizarine reds, etc., for the purpose of more fully developing and fixing the dye upon the fibre. In the case of yarns, this operation is carried out in the steaming cottage, one form of which is shown in Fig. 37. It consists of a horizontal cylindrical iron vessel like a steam boiler, one end is entirely closed, while the other is made to open and be closed tightly and hermeti
cally. The cottage is fitted with the necessary steam inlet and outlet pipes, drain pipes for condensed water, pressure gauges. The yarn to be steamed is hung on rods placed on a skeleton frame waggon on wheels which can be run in and out of the steaming cottage as is required. The drawing shows well the various important parts of the machine. In the case of piece goods these also can be hung from rods in folds on such a waggon, but it is much more customary to employ a continuous steaming chamber, very similar to
FIG. 37.—Steaming Cottage.
the ageing and oxidising machine shown in Fig. 38, and also used in the dyeing of aniline black.
Drying.—Following on the washing comes the final operation of the dyeing process, that of drying the dyed and washed goods. Textile fabrics of all kinds after they have passed through dye-baths, washing machines, etc., contain a large amount of water, often exceeding in weight that of the fibre itself, and to take the goods direct from the preceding operations to the drying plant means that a considerable amount of fuel must be expended to drive
FIG. 38.—Steaming and Ageing Chamber.