Swedish scientists have developed a new instrument to analyse fibers. Staple fibers are fibers with the necessary length and properties so that, through a spinning process, a yarn can be formed. The new instrument, Fibrotest, allows better measurement of the length and tensile properties of fibers. Fiber lengths vary a lot and many samples are required to create statistically reliable data. With the new instrument, the data become reliable.

F iber analysis is improved for both research and education. The overall aim of analysing fibers is to spin them into thread, while they can also be reused. At present, fiber measurements are manually done with tweezers, rulers, good eyes and a lot of patience.

Fibrotest can also be used for educational purposes. It is important to assess their quality and the ability to spin with them, especially for cellulose fibers. It is also important to be able to assess the decomposition of fibers during a mechanical recovery process.

Fibrotest combines fiber length measurement and fiber strength test on fiber bundles within one instrument. The two measurements – first fiber length and thereafter fiber strength – are executed in succession on the same sample. After completing these measurements the sample mass is automatically determined which enables the calculation of exact and absolute value of tenacity.