The Powered Roll Gin Stand (PRGS) is a new saw-type ginning technology that has shown increased production and turnout without adversely effecting fiber properties. In some cases, improvements in fiber properties over a conventional gin stand were demonstrated. The new gin stand has three primary components: paddle roll, saw, and seed finger roll. The operational settings of these components have been shown to affect both production rates and fiber characteristics of the seed cotton being ginned. This research focused on screening for the optimal speeds and loading rates for the paddle roll, saw, and seed finger roll components of the PRGS, based on combinations of turnout, processing rate, and fiber quality data. An experiment using stripper-harvested seed cotton, with and without field cleaners, from two different fields (different growers) was evaluated using Taguchi’s Method. Nine different operational setting configurations were selected for the gin stand’s components. Evaluation was based on 11 response variables involving processing rate, turnout, and fiber quality measurements. In addition to screening for the optimum operational settings based on individual response variables, six different combinations of response variables were evaluated. Results varied depending on the response variable of interest. Overall, results indicated the most “robust” configuration included the 900 rpm saw speed. Other parameters of paddle roll speed, seed finger roll speed, and paddle roll loading rate varied based on the response variables. The results emphasized the potential application of this gin stand to a real-time dynamic control system that regulates operational parameters based on processing rate, turnout, and fiber quality goals and objectives.
