DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD

Present disclosure generally relates to the field of textile machinery. Particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to a carding machine. Further embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a fastening member for fixing a clothing strip on a flat bar of the carding machine.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

In the textile industry, carding machines are employed for performing carding operation. The carding is a mechanical process which breaks up, disentangle bunches and locks of fibers and may arrange them in a parallel direction. It also may be used to eliminate burrs, other foreign materials.

Carding process may be crucial in yarn spinning that determines both quality and productivity. In addition to the primary functions of removing trash, neps and non-useful short fibres, the carding machine converts the physical form of the textile material from that of a wide thick feed sheet to that of a thin rope, which may be generally called sliver. The linear density of the feed sheet may be reduced from about 300 - 800 grams/meter to about 3 - 8 grams/meter of delivery sliver. The rollers of various diameters ranging from about 100 mm to 1250 mm and of different surface characteristics of plain to toothed wire covered, may be configured in the carding machine. The rollers may run at various speeds and in very close proximity with each other and may be as close as a fraction of a millimeter. The rate of sliver delivery may vary from about 40 to 400 meters per minute. Thus, the operation of carding machine may be a delicate process which may be used to handle the thin sheet of individualized fibres called web which may be finally condensed into a sliver.

With the developments in textile industry, modern textile carding machines are furnished with different carding elements, both stationary and revolving flats. The primary carding action may take place between the carding cylinder and flats. The fibres carried by the cylinder wire tend to move toward the flats which may resist fibre movement initially, and then allow the fibres to float between the flats and the cylinder wire. This carding action may separate individual fibres, opens entangled fibres, separates and retains the neps or trash particles in the flats and finally orients the fibres in the direction of the cylinder movement. The setting of the flats with respect to cylinder may be considered as one of the extremely important aspects in the textile machinery. This setting may imply the importance and precision requirements in flats manufacturing.

The flats used in revolving flat cotton type carding machines may be conventionally made by casting. The conventional flat comprises clothing section to receive the card clothing tops, a flat end at each end of the flat for sliding engagement on a respective flexible bend of the carding machine. The conventional flat may be prone to certain disadvantages, some of which may become more acute in modern high production carding. The flats have to withstand considerable bending load due to its self-weight. Due to the carding action, the flats may be pulled towards the cylinder, since the flat is a beam simply supported at its ends. In order to withstand these inherent and applied loads, the flats should possess as large a moment of inertia as possible with the limitation imposed by machine construction, and this has played major role in the design and manufacture of flats. Considering the requirement of precision and the complexity in processing, conventionally flats may be made by extrusion of aluminum or aluminum alloys with a substantially uniform cross section.

Generally, the flats used in the carding machine are equipped with clothing strips. The clothing strips may be further furnished with flexible U-shaped double hooks, into more or less flexible fabric and plastic layers. The clothing strips may be attached with flat bars by fastening means, such as clips. The quality of the card web produced may depend substantially on the set carding gap (space between the clothing of the flat bar and the clothing of the cylinder). This carding gap may be generally set between 0.2 to 0.3 mm, depending on the processed material and speeds. The output carding quality may be directly proportional to this carding gap and the narrower gap may always produce better quality. Therefore, accurate setting of the carding gap is very important. The research proved that, fluctuations and inaccuracies in the adjusted gap have considerable negative effects on the quality of the carding process. In addition to the narrower carding gap it is very important to set the carding gap uniform across the entire working width of the flat bar. The narrower the carding gap, the more difficult it is to adjust it and to keep it constant. The narrower the gap, may be more sensitive to change in temperature of the operating conditions. During operation of the carding machine, the operating temperature of the flat bar depending upon the material, process and air conditioning maintained inside the mill, may rise by 10-15 degree Celsius. The carding gap is desired to be maintained constant even with such temperature fluctuations. Therefore, selection of clip material may play a key role in variation of carding gap. In the conventional carding machines, the clips are generally made of steel material.

One such clip arrangement is disclosed in US Patent No. 5898978 [hereinafter referred as ‘978 patent]. The clips disclosed in the ‘978 patent is made of steel sheet metal and they are used for fastening and replacing of clothing strips onto flat bars. The clips have the function of fixedly clamping the clothing strips. The clothing strips are fixed by establishing a positive connection between clothing strips and flat bar. Generally, the clips are employed in pairs to ensure respective clamping on both sides of the flat bar. The clips have teeth on top and may be inserted into clothing strips and thereby these teeth are positively connected with the clothing strip.

However, the steel clips will have different thermal expansion co-efficient when compared with Aluminium material of the flat bars. Measurements have revealed that the flat bars having steel clips as fasteners may deform due to temperature rise. The reason for this may be that the steel clips are mounted on to the flat bar at room temperature. In case of temperature rise of the card to the operating temperature at mills, the mounted flat rods may resume a concave shape, and the carding gap becomes larger at centre, impairing the carding quality. One of the primary reasons for the above said limitation may be the difference in thermal co-efficient between Aluminium as flat bar and steel clip as fastening means of the flat tops.

In view of the above, some attempts were made to use Aluminium as clip material, same as that of the flat bar. This was disclosed through Indian patent application number 1326/CHENP/2003. However, the holding strength of the clothing strips is directly proportional to the tensile strength of the fastening element and the tensile strength of Aluminium as fastening means is much lower. Hence, the problem associated with bending of the flat bar during operation still remains unsolved.

The present disclosure is directed to overcome one or more limitations stated above.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One or more shortcomings of the conventional arrangements/assemblies are overcome by assembly as disclosed and additional advantages are provided through the assembly as described in the present disclosure.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, a fastening member for fixing a clothing strip on a flat bar of a carding machine is disclosed. The fastening member comprises a first connecting portion, connectable to the flat bar, and a second connecting portion extending from the first connecting portion. The second connecting portion is adapted to hold the clothing strip. The fastening member is made of a material having thermal expansion coefficient lesser than thermal expansion coefficient of material of the flat bar.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the material of the fastening member has tensile strength higher than the material of the flat bar.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the material of the flat bar is at least one of Aluminium and alloys of Aluminium.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the material of the fastening member is at least one of brass and alloys of brass.

In an embodiment of the disclosure the second connecting portion comprises a plurality of teeth for securing at least a portion of the clothing strip.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the thermal expansion co-efficient of the fastening member is in the range of 18.7x10-6 m/°C to 20.5x10-6 m/°C.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the tensile strength of the fastening member is in the range of 280 N/mm2 to 380 N/mm2.

In another non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, a flat bar assembly for a carding machine is disclosed. The flat bar assembly comprises a flat bar, a clothing strip fixed on the flat bar and at least one fastening member extending from either ends of the flat bar for fixing the clothing strip on the flat bar. Each of the at least one fastening member comprises a first connecting portion, connected to the flat bar and a second connecting portion extending from the first connecting portion. The second connecting portion is adapted to hold the clothing strip. The at least one fastening member is made of a material having thermal expansion coefficient lesser than thermal expansion coefficient of material of the flat bar.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the material of each of the at least one fastening member has tensile strength higher than the material of the flat bar.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the material of the flat bar is at least one of Aluminium and alloys of Aluminium, and the material of each of the at least one fastening member is at least one of Brass and alloys of Brass.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the second connecting portion of each of the at least one fastening member comprises a plurality of teeth for securing at least a portion of the clothing strip.

It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined together to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES

The novel features and characteristics of the disclosure are set forth in the appended description. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

FIG.1 illustrates perspective view of a flat bar of a carding machine with clothing strip fixed by fastening member, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG.2 illustrates side view of the flat bar of FIG.1.
FIG.3 illustrates side view of a flat bar assembly for a carding machine with a fastening member arrangement for fixing the clothing strip to the flat bar, according to some embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG.4 illustrates schematic front view of a segment of a carding machine with the arrangement of flat bars assemblies, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the description of the disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent assemblies do not depart from the scope of the disclosure. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, as to assembly, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof used in the specification, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that an assembly that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or method. In other words, one or more elements in an assembly proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the assembly.

The present disclosure discloses a fastening member for fixing clothing strip on a flat bar of the carding machine. In an embodiment, the carding machine may consist of a plurality of flat bars, each flat bar provisioned with clothing strip that may be fastened to the flat bar through fastening members. The fastening member is responsible to hold the clothing strip firmly on the flat bar during the carding process.

According to exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, the fastening member may be in the form of at least one of a clip or a clamp, such that at least one clamp is provided on both ends of the flat bar to fix the clothing strip to the flat bar. In an embodiment, at least a portion of the clothing strip may be held by the at least one fastening member. The fastening member comprises two connecting portions – a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion. The first connecting portion is connectable to the flat bar and the second connecting portion extends from the first connecting portion to hold the clothing strip. In an embodiment, the second connecting portion of the fastening member comprises a plurality of teeth to hold at least a portion of clothing strip, such that a positive connection is established between the fastening member and the clothing strip. The clothing strip may be furnished with flexible or semi-rigid clothing inserted or punched individually into a less flexible or plastic layer.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the material of the fastening member may be selected such that thermal coefficient of expansion of material of the fastening member is lower than the thermal coefficient of expansion of the material of the flat bar. Further, the material of the fastening member may be selected such that tensile strength of the fastening member is greater than the tensile strength of the flat bar. Generally, the flat bar may be made of a material which may be light weight metal or an alloy of light weight metal. In an embodiment, the material of the flat bar may be at least one of Aluminium or alloys of Aluminium. Thus, in consideration of the material of the flat bar and considering the parameters of thermal coefficient of expansion and tensile strength, the material selected for the fastening member is at least one of Brass or an alloy of Brass. Accordingly, the thermal coefficient of expansion of Brass or Brass alloy of which the fastening member is made, is lesser than Aluminum of which flat bar is made and tensile strength of the fastening member is greater than the flat bar. Brass is a metal alloy made of Zinc and Copper, the proportion of Zinc and Copper may be varied to create a required range of Brass alloy with varying properties. Thus, by adopting Brass or alloy of Brass as the material of fastening member, which has thermal coefficient of expansion lesser than the flat bar, measurements have revealed that the deformation in flat bar at different temperature range is better than using conventionally known material of the fastening members such as Steel or Aluminium. Further, the tensile strength of Brass being much higher when compared to Aluminium, bending of flat bars may be avoided. Thus, the carding gap is kept minimum which improves the quality of resulting card web form the carding process. In an embodiment, the concavity of flat bars is 0.02 millimeter (mm) to 0.03 mm for 10°Celsius (C) temperature increase by using Brass as the material of fastening member. The results obtained is better when compared to conventionally known material of fastening member such as Steel which resulted in concavity of 0.11 mm to 0.15 mm.

Henceforth, the present disclosure is explained with the help of one or more figures of exemplary embodiments. However, such exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limitations of the present disclosure. The segment of carding machine shown in figures is of one particular configuration, it is to be noted that slight variations in configuration of the segment of carding machine are to be considered as part of the present disclosure.

FIG.1 is an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure which illustrates a perspective view of a flat bar (1) of a carding machine on which clothing strip (2) [as shown in FIG.2] is fixed using fastening members (3). The carding machine or a segment of carding machine may comprise a plurality of flat bars arranged above a carding cylinder. The carding cylinder may carry fibers such as cotton fiber, the plurality of flat bars comprising clothing strip offers resistance to the movement of cotton fiber. During this the entangled fibers are removed and converted into thin wires. In the FIG.1, a single flat bar (1) of the plurality of flat bars in the carding machine is shown for the purpose of simplicity. In order to obtain good quality of card web out of the carding process, the flat bar (1) may be made out of a uniform cross section or substantially uniform cross section throughout its length. To meet this requirement, the flat bar (1) may be generally made of a light weight metal or an alloy of light weight metal. In an embodiment, the flat bar (1) is made out of Aluminium or alloy of Aluminium. The clothing strip (2) provided on the flat bar (1) may be furnished with flexible or semi-rigid clothing, in such a way that, they are inserted and punched individually, into fabric and plastic layers.

Further, the clothing strip (2) is fixed to the flat bar (1) using fastening members (3). The fastening members (3) may be in the form of clips or clamps provisioned on both sides of the flat bar (1). In an embodiment, there may be more than one fastening members (3) at one end of the flat bar (1). The fastening members (3) comprises two connecting portions – first connecting portion (3a) and second connecting portion (3b). The first connecting portion (3a) is connectable to the flat bar (1) and the second connecting portion (3b) is configured to hold the clothing strip (2). In an embodiment, the first connecting portion (3a) may be in the form of inverted “L” shape and may be pressed around rib of the flat bar (1). Also, the second connecting portion (3b) may be configured in the form of “C” or “L” shape extending from the first connecting portion (3a). The second connecting portion (3b) may have a plurality of teeth to establish a positive connection with the clothing strip (2), thereby, firmly securing the clothing strip (2) to the flat bar (1) along entire length of the flat bar (1).

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the material of the fastening member (3) is selected such that, its thermal co-efficient of expansion is lesser than the material of the flat bar (1). Further, the fastening member (3) is selected such that tensile strength of the fastening member (3) is greater than the material of the flat bar (1). As described in foregoing paragraphs, the material of the flat bar (1) is at least one of Aluminium or alloys of Aluminium. Thus, in consideration of the material of the flat bar (1) and considering the parameters of thermal coefficient of expansion and tensile strength, the material selected for the fastening member (3) is at least one of Brass or an alloy of Brass.

The thermal coefficient of expansion of Brass or Brass alloy of which the fastening member (3) is made, is lesser than Aluminum of which flat bar (1) is made and tensile strength of the fastening member (3) is greater than the flat bar (1). In an embodiment, the thermal co-efficient of expansion of the Brass which is selected as the material of the fastening member (3) may be in the range of 18.7 to 20.5 x10-6 m/°C which is lesser than Aluminium and tensile strength is 3 to 3.5 times higher than Aluminium. Thus, the combined effect of lesser thermal co-efficient of expansion and higher tensile strength of Brass material as fastening member (3) maintains uniform carding gap, even when there is a temperature variation during the carding process. Thus, bending of the flat bar (1) due to change in temperature may be eliminated, while the tensile strength of the Brass material is sufficiently enough to hold the clothing strip (2) securely.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, which illustrates side views of flat bar assembly (10) for a carding machine with a fastening member (3) arrangement for fixing the clothing strip (2) to the flat bar (1). The flat bar assembly (10), which is part of the carding machine includes flat bar (1), the clothing strip (2) which is fixed on the flat bar (1) through the fastening members (3). As shown in FIGS.2 and 3, the fastening members (3) may be employed in pairs to ensure respective clamping on both sides of the flat bar (1). The first connecting portion (3a) of the fastening member (3) is connectable to the flat bar (1). In an embodiment, the first connecting portion (3a) may be pressed around rib portion of the flat bar (1) through a suitable tool. The second connecting portion (3b) may be adapted to hold the clothing strip (2). The second connecting portion (3b) may consist of plurality of teeth arranged adjacent to each other, to establish a positive connection with the clothing strip (2). The connection ensures that the clothing strip (2) is firmly held to the flat bar (1) during the carding process. In an embodiment, there may be more than one fastening member (3) provided on either sides of the flat bar (1) to hold at least a portion of the clothing strip (2).

As described in the above paragraphs, the fastening members (3) are made of Brass or alloy of Brass.

Fastening member Aluminium Brass
Thermal expansion co-efficient (10-6 m/°C) 23.1 18.7 to 20.5
Ultimate tensile strength (N/mm2) 90 280 to 380

Table – 1

Table - 1 shows comparison of the values of thermal co-efficient of expansion and ultimate tensile strength of Brass and Aluminium. As shown in Table – 1, it is evident that, the thermal co-efficient of expansion of Brass is lesser than Aluminium and tensile strength is greater than Aluminium.

Thus, with the use of Brass or alloy of Brass as material for fastening member (3), carding gap may be maintained uniformly, as temperature does not severely affect it. Further, bending at middle of the flat bar (1) may be avoided by using Brass material as fastening member (3) for fastening. Additionally, with the tensile strength of the Brass material, sufficiently high, the clothing strip (2) may be held firmly on the flat bar (1) during the carding process.

Referring now to FIG.4, which illustrates schematic front view of a segment of the carding machine with the arrangement of flats on a carding cylinder (5). As shown in FIG.4, the carding segment of the carding machine [not shown] includes a carding cylinder (5) of predetermined diameter. The carding cylinder (5) may have a predefined thickness, covered by a clothing strip [not shown]. The carding cylinder (5) may rotate at variable speeds, such that the it picks lumps of fiber such as but not limited to cotton fiber from one end, and delivers the fiber in the form of threads from the other end. Further, the carding segment comprises a flat arrangement (4) configured on the carding cylinder (5). The flat arrangement (4) comprises a plurality of flat bar assemblies (10) arranged in the form of conveyor. The flat arrangement (4) may be employed with one or more drive rollers (6) for driving the flat bar assemblies (10). In an embodiment, the flat arrangement (4) may be operated in a direction opposite to the rotation of the carding cylinder (5). The flat arrangement (4) is mounted on the carding cylinder (5) such that, a predetermined carding gap is maintained between the carding cylinder (5) and flat bar assemblies (10) of the flat arrangement (4). The flat bar assemblies (10) includes the clothing strip (2) mounted using the fastening member (3) made of Brass or alloys of Brass, as described in the above paragraphs. The clothing strip (2) may include plurality of meshes or projections which may entangle the cotton fibers into wires. The use of Brass for the fastening member (3) prevents expansion of the fastening member (3) due to increase in temperature during operation of the carding machine. This prevents buckling of the flat bar (10), thereby maintains uniform carding gap during the carding process. This improves throughput and efficiency of the carding process.

Advantages

The present disclosure discloses a fastening member made of Brass or alloys of Brass which has low thermal co-efficient which ensures carding gap does not vary due to temperature variation during the carding process, thereby improving the carding web resulting out of the carding process. Also, since Brass or alloys of Brass, has high tensile strength, the fastening member will securely hold the clothing strip on the flat bar during the carding process.

Equivalents

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc. It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" should typically be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B."

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Referral Numerals

Referral Numerals Description
10 Flat bar assembly
1 Flat bar
2 Clothing strip
3 Fastening member
3a First connecting portion of the fastening member
3b Second connecting portion of the fastening member
4 Flat arrangement
5 Carding cylinder
6 Drive rollers
,CLAIMS:We claim:

1. A fastening member (3) for fixing a clothing strip (2) on a flat bar (1) of a carding machine, the fastening member (3) comprising:
a first connecting portion (3a), connectable to the flat bar (1), and
a second connecting portion (3b) extending from the first connecting portion (3a), wherein, the second connecting portion (3b) is adapted to hold the clothing strip (2);
wherein, the fastening member (3) is made of a material having thermal expansion coefficient lesser than thermal expansion coefficient of material of the flat bar (1).

2. The fastening member (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material of the fastening member (3) has tensile strength higher than the material of the flat bar (1).

3. The fastening member (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material of the flat bar (1) is at least one of Aluminium and alloys of Aluminium.

4. The fastening member (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the material of the fastening member (3) is at least one of Brass and alloys of Brass.

5. The fastening member (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second connecting portion (3b) comprises a plurality of teeth for securing at least a portion of the clothing strip (2).

6. The fastening member (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thermal expansion co-efficient of the fastening member (3) is in the range of 18.7x10-6 m/°C to 20.5x10-6 m/°C.

7. The fastening member (3) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tensile strength of the fastening member (3) is in the range of 280 N/mm2 to 380 N/mm2.

8. A flat bar assembly (10) for a carding machine comprising:
a flat bar (1);
a clothing strip (2) fixed on the flat bar (1); and
at least one fastening member (3) configured on either ends of the flat bar (1), for fixing the clothing strip (2) on the flat bar (1), wherein each of the at least one fastening member (3) comprising:
a first connecting portion (3a), connected to the flat bar (1), and
a second connecting portion (3b) extending from the first connecting portion (3a), wherein, the second connecting portion (3b) is adapted to hold the clothing strip (2);
wherein, each of the at least one fastening member (3) is made of a material having thermal expansion coefficient lesser than thermal expansion coefficient of material of the flat bar (1).

9. The flat bar assembly (10) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the material of each of the at least one fastening member (3) has tensile strength higher than the material of the flat bar (1).

10. The flat bar assembly (10) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the material of the flat bar (1) is at least one of Aluminium and alloys of Aluminium, and the material of each of the at least one fastening member (3) is at least one of Brass and alloys of Brass.

11. The flat bar assembly (10) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second connecting portion (3b) of each of the at least one fastening member (3) comprises a plurality of teeth for securing at least a portion of the clothing strip.

12. A carding machine comprising a flat bar assembly (10) as claimed in claim 8.