Apparatus for packaging a plurality of fibers or strands

Abstract

An apparatus, method and package are provided for producing and winding strands to achieve good split efficiency on removal of the plurality of strands from the package for further processing and to produce a package of wound strands having good edges. The apparatus has a fiber forming means, an applicating means for applying chemical treating compositions to the fibers, gathering means to gather the fibers into a plurality of strands, a rotatable winder to attenuate and wind the strands, a slotted traversing guide, a reciprocating means, and contact means at each end of the reciprocating stroke of the traversing guide. The slotted traversing guide has more than one slot where the terminal portions of the slots have curved ends to retain a strand and are located directly behind the terminal portion of the preceeding slot. The slotted traversing guide deposits the strands on the rotating winder and as the traversing guide approaches the point at which it reverses to traverse in the opposite direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the winder the strands above or below the traversing guide contact a contacting means to restrain the traversing movement of the contacted segment of the strands to apply tension to the strands being wound onto the winder. This additional tension assists in producing squarer edged packages having good split efficiency.