How did the carding engine work?

A carding engine, used in textile manufacturing, processes raw fibers to separate and align them into a continuous web. It employs a series of rotating cylinders covered with fine wire teeth that grasp and pull the fibers apart, removing impurities and short fibers. The aligned fibers are then formed into a thin sheet or sliver, ready for spinning into yarn. This mechanized process greatly improved efficiency and consistency compared to manual carding methods.