UNIT II

Basic concepts of looms. Types of Looms – handloom – power loom – Automatic looms. Primary motions of
a loom. Basic Principles of Tappet looms, Dobby looms, Drop box Looms, Jacquard looms – Card cutting.

Basic concepts of looms

Definition:

A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp
threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its
mechanics may vary, but the basic function is the same. The main function of the loom is to weave clothes.
For enhancing the working capabilities, the size and shape of the looms may vary but the basic structure of all
types of looms are same.

Different Parts of Loom and Their Functions

Textile Weaving Machine Parts:

Weaving is the process of interlacement between the weft and warp in fabric according to a design of fabric.
This process is done by using weaving machine or loom machine.

Different Parts of Weaving Machine

Textile Weaving machines consist of the below parts:

1. Heald shaft,
2. Sley or lay,
3. Shuttle,
4. Shuttle ox,
5. Reed,
6. Picker,
7. Warp beam,
8. Back beam,
9. Breast beam,
10. Cloth beam.

1. Heald Shaft: This part is related to the shedding mechanism. In textile weaving industry, heald shaft is
produced by using metal such as aluminium or wood. It carries a number of heald wires through which the
ends of the warp sheet pass. The heald shafts are also termed as ‘heald staves’ or ‘heald frames’. The total no.
of heald shafts varies according to the warp repeat of the weave. It is decided by the drafting plan of a weave
during weaving.

Functions of Heald Shaft in Weaving:

● Heald shaft helps in weaving shed formation.

● It also maintains the sequence or order of the warp threads.

● Heald shaft determines the warp thread density in a fabric, i.e. the numbers of heald wires per inch
determine the warp thread density per inch.

● It apprehends the order of lowering or lifting the necessary no. of healds for a pick. It helps in forming the
design or pattern in a fabric.

● Heald shaft is useful in identifying broken warp threads in weaving.

2. Sley of Lay: It is made of wood and consists of the sley race board or sley race, reed cap and metal swords
carried at either ends. The sley mechanism swings to and fro.

Functions of Sley of Lay:

● Sley is responsible for pushing the last pick of weft to the fell of the cloth by means of the beat up motion
during.

● When moving towards the fell of the cloth the sley moves faster and moves slower when moving
backwards. This unequal movement is termed as ‘eccentricity of the sley’.

● In order to perform the beat up and also to give sufficient time for passage of shuttle to pass through the
warp shed sley is needed in textile weaving.

3. Shuttle: In textile weaving, shuttle is a weft carrier and helps in interlacement of the weft with the warp
threads to form fabric.

Functions of Shuttle:

● The shuttle is made of wood which passes from one end of the loom to the other.

● Shuttle travels along the wooden sley race and passes between the top and bottom layers of the warp sheet.

● After passing through the warp shed, shuttle enters a shuttle box fitted at either ends of the loom. It should
be noted here that, a shuttle normally weighs about 0.45kgs.

4. Functions of Shuttle Box: Shuttle box is the housing for the shuttle and is made of wood. It has a picker
and a spindle. It may also accommodate the picker without spindle. The top and side of the shuttle box unto
the sley race are open. The shuttle dwells inside the box for the intermediate period between two successive
picks.
5. Reed: Reed is a metallic comb which is fixed to the sley with a reed cap. In textile, shuttle is made of a no.
of wires and the gap between wires is termed as dents. The count of the reed is decided by the no. of dents in
two inches. There are different types of reed in textile weaving such as ordinary reed, expanding reed, gauze
reed, V reed etc.

Functions of Reed:

● Reed pushes the lastly laid pick of weft to the cloth fell.
● It determines the fineness of the cloth in conjunction with the healds.
● Reed acts as a guide to the shuttle which passes from one end of the loom to the other.
● It helps to maintain the position of the warp threads.
● Reed determines the openness or closeness of the fabric.

6. Functions of Picker: Picker is a piece made either of synthetic material or leather. Picker may be placed on
a grooves or spindle in the shuttle box. Picker is used to drive the shuttle from one box to another. While
entering the box it also sustains the force of the shuttle.

7. Functions of Warp Beam: Warp beam is also known as the weaver’s beam. It is fixed at the back of the
loom. The warp sheet is wounded on to the warp beam. The length of warp in the beam may be more than a
thousand meters.

8. Functions of Back Beam: Back Beam is also known as the back rest. It is placed above the weaver’s beam.
Back Beam may be of the floating or fixed type. The back rest merely acts as a guide to the warp sheet
coming from the weaver’s beam in the first case. Back beam acts both as a sensor and as a guide for sensing
the warp tension in the second case.

9. Functions of Breast Beam : Breast beam is also termed as the front rest. At the front of the loom, it is
placed above the cloth roller and acts as a guide for the cloth being wound on to the cloth roller. It maintains
proper tension to facilitate weaving.

10. Functions of Cloth Beam: Cloth beam is also called as the cloth roller. The woven fabric is wounded on
to this roller. Cloth beam roller is placed below the front rest.

● Treadle: The treadle is a paddle or lever under a loom with which a thread is connected by means of cords.

● Temple: Roller device on a loom that hold the cloth at a proper width to prevent it from being drawn in too
much by the filling.

Types of Looms

Hand Loom: Still used in relatively large quantities for the production of all types of fabrics.Operations like
shedding and picking is done by using manual power. This is one of the major sources of employment
generation in rural areas. A handloom is a simple machine used for weaving. In a wooden vertical-shaft
looms, the heddles are fixed in place in the shaft. The warp threads pass alternately through a heddle, and
through a space between the heddles (the shed), so that raising the shaft raises half the threads (those passing
through the heddles), and lowering the shaft lowers the same threads — the threads passing through the spaces
between the heddles remain in place. This was a great invention in the 13th century.

Power Loom/Non-automatic power looms: These machines are being used in everdecreasing numbers, they
seem likely to retain a certain usefulness in the production of specialist fabrics, such as industrial fabrics
woven from heavy mass wefts on wide looms; It was designed by Edmund Cartwright in 1780s (during the
industrial revolution). All the operations of the loom are automatic except the change of the pirn. Edmund
Cartwright built and patented a power loom in 1785, and it was this that was adopted by the nascent cotton
industry in England. The silk loom made by Jacques Vaucanson in 1745 operated on the same principles but
was not developed further. The invention of the flying shuttle by John Kay was critical to the development of
a commercially successful power loom. Cartwright's loom was impractical but the ideas behind it were
developed by numerous inventors in the Manchester area of England where, by 1818, there were 32 factories
containing 5,732 looms. Horrocks loom was viable, but it was the Roberts Loom in 1830 that marked the
turning point. Incremental changes to the three motions continued to be made. The problems of sizing, stop-
motions, consistent take-up, and a temple to maintain the width remained. In 1841, Kenworthy and Bullough
produced the Lancashire Loom which was self-acting or semi-automatic. This enables a youngster to run six
looms at the same time. Thus, for simple calicos, the power loom became more economical to run than the
hand loom – with complex patterning that used a dobby or Jacquard head, jobs were still put out to handloom
weavers until the 1870s. Incremental changes were made such as the Dickinson Loom, culminating in the
Keighley-born inventor Northrop, who was working for the Draper Corporation in Hopedale producing the
fully automatic Northrop Loom. This loom recharged the shuttle when the pirn was empty. The Draper E and
X models became the leading products from 1909. They were challenged by synthetic fibres such as rayon. By
1942, faster, more efficient, and shuttleless Sulzer and rapier looms had been introduced. Modern industrial
looms can weave at 2,000 weft insertions per minute.

Automatic Loom/ conventional automatic looms: machines that have gained worldwide
popularity because of their advantages of versatility and relative cheapness. In this power
loom, the exhausted pirn is replenished by the full one without stoppages. Under-pick system
is a requirement for these looms.

Multiphase Loom: Multiple sheds can be formed simultaneously in this looms and thus
productivity can be increased by a great extent. It has failed to gain commercial success.

Shuttle-less Loom: Weft is carried projectiles, rapiers or fluids in case of shuttle-less looms.
The rate of production is much higher for these looms. Besides, the quality of the products is
also better and the product range much broader compared to that of Power looms. Most of
the modern mills are equipped with different types of shuttle-less looms based on the product
range.

Circular Loom: Tubular fabrics like hose-pipes and sacks are manufactured by circular
looms.

Narrow Loom: These looms are also known as needle looms and used to manufacture
narrow width fabrics like tapes, webbings, ribbons and zipper tapes

Primary Motions
Figure 1.3 shows some basic components of a loom. For fabric manufacturing through
weaving, three primary motions are required namely shedding, picking and beat up.

Figure 1.3: Basic loom components

Shedding

Shedding: separating the warp threads, which run down the fabric, into two layers to form a
tunnel known as the shed; It is the process by which the warp sheet is divided into two
groups so that a clear passage is created for the weft yarn or weft carrying device to pass
through it. One group of yarns (red yarns) either moves in the upward direction or stay in the
up position (if they are already in up position) as shown in Figure 1.4. Thus they form the
top shed line. Another group of yarns (green yarns) either moves in the downward direction
or stay in the down position (if they are already in down position). Thus they form the
bottom shed line.

Figure 1.4: Shedding

Except for jacquard shedding, warp yarns are not controlled individually during the shedding
operation. Healds (Figure 1.5) are used to control a large number of warp yarns. The upward
and downward movements of healds are controlled either by cam or dobby shedding
mechanisms. The movement of the healds is not continuous. After reaching the top or
bottom position, the healds, in general, remain stationary for some duration. This is
known as ‘dwell’. In general, the shed changes after every pick i.e. the insertion of weft.

Figure 1.5: Heald

The heald shaft is a wooden or metal frame, the width of which is slightly greater than that of
the warp, and it is usually between 36 and 48 cm deep. Healds (Fig. 1.3) were originally
made of twisted cord, but, although these were cheap, they had a relatively short life and
could not be used, dismantled, and reassembled for use in the production of another quality
of fabric. Twisted wire healds attached to twisted cord around the top and bottom bars or
staves of the heald frame lengthened the lifetime of the healds, but twisted-wire or flatsteel
healds, which are free to move sideways on bars mounted just inside the framework of the
heald frame, are now much more popular. Although they are more expensive, they have a
much longer life and can be reassembled on the heald frames to suit any weaving
requirements.

The shedding cam has to be designed in accordance with the interlacement pattern (plain, twill
The design of the shedding cam influences the following things:
 Dwell time of the shed
 The movement pattern of the heald during the rise and fall

Shedding cams are mounted either on the bottom shaft (for plain and its derivatives) or on
(cam) shaft.
The following parameters/ information are needed to design a shedding cam.
 Weave design of the fabric
 Minimum distance between cam and follower centres/ nearest point of contact
 Lift of the cam (difference between maximum and minimum radius of the cam)
 Diameter of follower
 Dwell of the cam (duration of the two dwells)
 Duration of the rise and fall
 Character of movement (linear, SHM etc.)

It is important to remember that the number of shedding cams, with the exception of skip draft,
the number of healds. The number of healds is equal to the number of ends in the repeat of the d
Therefore, the number of ends in the repeat of the design determines the number of shed
required
Now, one revolution of shedding cam implies ‘n’ number of picks, where ‘
repeat of the design. Because, after ‘n’ number of picks, a particular heald has to come back t
position. Therefore, the segment of the cam available for one pick is dependent on the number
the repeat of the design.
Thus, the number of picks in the repeat of the design determines the design of the shedding c
Cam Shedding Systems
The cross-sectional view of a plain loom with cam shedding mechanism is shown in
shedding cams are controlling two healds through the treadle levers
connected with the healds with ropes and links. Each of the treadle levers carry one treadle bo
which actually remains in contact with the shedding cams.

Figure 6.2: Cross-sectional view of loom

For plain woven fabrics, two shedding cams are positioned at 180° phase difference
cam pushes the treadle bowl in the downward direction, the other cam accommodate th
movement of the other treadle bowl. The upward movement of the heald is activated by
reversing mechanism which is positioned over the loom.
shedding system and roller reversing motion.
 Figure 6.3: Cam shedding system
Negative and Positive cams
The cams used for shedding can broadly be classified under two categories.
only the one part (50%) of the movement of the healds (downward movement). The upward m
ensured by the roller or spring reversing mechanism. When back heald is pushed downward, th
roller rotates clockwise. This causes winding of belts, connected to the front heald, on the reve
with smaller diameter. Thus the front heald moves upward. Similarly, when the front he
downward, the reversing rollers rotate anti-clockwise. So the belt, connected with the bac
wound on the bigger pulley of roller reversing system
system ensures upward and downward movements of the healds. So, the whole system can be c
a positive system. Although the cams used for this are negative as they alone can only
downward movement of the healds.
Positive cams can control the upward and downward movement of the healds.
or matched cams are generally used as positive cams.

Figure 6.4: A model of grooved cam

Distinct (clear) and Indistinct (unclear) Shed
If the extent of vertical movement of the healds during shedding is same then indistinct or uncl
produced as depicted in left hand side of Figure 6.5
line is different for different healds. Therefore, the shuttle actually get lower amount of spa
which it has to travel. So, the possibility of abrasion and collision between shuttle and shed line
In case of distinct or clear shed, shown in the right hand side of
the front part of the shed is same irrespective of the healds
of vertical movement of the healds during shedding is changed based on their position
which is nearer to the cloth fell, has the minimum vertical movement and the last heald has the
vertical movement. The shuttle gets more space to travel in case of distinct shade as (

Figure 6.5: Indistinct (unclear) and distinct (clear) sheds

Lift (throw) of the Cam
In the preceding section, it has been discussed that higher vertical movement is required for the
so that distinct shed is formed. However, effective length of the treadle lever is shorter for the b
Thus, if the lift or throw of the cams controlling the back and front heald is same, high
movement will occur for the front heald. This is just the opposite of the actual requirement. To
this problem, cam which is controlling the back heald possesses higher lift as compared the ca
controlling the front heald.
Let us consider the following parameters as shown in
 x is the distance between the fulcrum point of treadle levers and centre of treadle bowl.
 y is the distance between the centre of treadle bowl and tip of the treadle lever tied wit
heald.
 b is the distance between the front and back heald.
 a is the distance between cloth fell and front heald.
 h1 and h2 are the lifts of the front and back healds respectively.

Figure 6.6: Lift of the cams and movement of the healds

The lift of a heald is equal to the movement of the tip of the corresponding treadle lever. Now
the concept of similar triangles, we can write

The above expression has two components and in both the components the numerator is clea
than the denominator. Therefore, the value of L2 is significantly greater than that of
the lift of the cam controlling the back heald is significantly greater than that of cam controllin
heald.
 Diameter of the reversing rollers
The shaft carrying the reversing rollers move clockwise and anti-clockwise to control
movement. The angular movement of the shaft during shedding is constant. However, it has to
the back heald gets higher vertical movement than the front heald so that distinct shed is produc
attained by using two reversing rollers with different diameters.
connected with the back heald and vice versa. As
movement × radius) is equal to the vertical movement of the corresponding heald
expressions can be written.

Picking
Picking: Passing the weft thread, which traverses across the fabric, through the shed. Based
on picking system, looms can be classified as follows. The insertion of weft or weft carrying
device (shuttle, projectile or rapier) through the shed is known as picking
 Shuttle loom: weft package is carried by the wooden shuttle
 Projectile loom: weft is carried by metallic or composite projectile
 Airjet loom: weft is inserted by jet of compressed air
 Waterjet loom: weft is inserted by water jet
 Rapier loom: weft is inserted by flexible or rigid rapiers

Figure 1.6 shows some weft carrying devices.

Figure 1.6: Shuttle, rapier heads and projectile (from top to bottom)
With the exception of shuttle loom, weft is always inserted from only one side of the loom.
The timing of picking is extremely important specialy in case of shuttle loom. The shuttle
should enter into the shed and leave the shed when the shed is sufficiently open (Figure 1.7).
Otherwise, the movement of the shuttle will be obstructed by the warp yarns. As a result, the
warp yarns may break due to abrasion or the shuttle may get trapped in the shed which may
cause damage to reed, shuttle and warp yarns.
 Figure 1.7: Picking
The shuttle (Fig. 1.5) is a rectangular piece of wood, tapered at each end to a point so that entry into a
partly opened shed is easier and more accurate. The main body of the shuttle is hollowed out to
accommodate the package known as the pirn, which contains the weft yarn. The insides of the walls of the
shuttle are lined with fur, bristles, or loops to control the yarn as it unwinds from the pirn. There is a
clamp arrangement at one end of the shuttle to hold the pirn steady during weaving (or alternatively the
pirn is mounted on a spindle), and at the other end of the shuttle there is a unit known as the shuttle eye, in
which there is an arrangement to control the weaving tension of the weft thread as it is delivered from the
shuttle. A groove along the front wall of the shuttle prevents the weft from being trapped between the
shuttle and the shuttle-box front, and groove along the base reduces abrasion by the shuttle on the bottom
warp sheet as it traverses the loom from one box to the other.

Objective of Picking
Objective of picking is to propel the weft carrying element (shuttle, projectile or rapier) or the weft yarn
along the correct trajectory maintaining requisite velocity through the shed in order to provide lateral sets
of yarns in the fabric. In this module, picking will be discussed with respect to shuttle loom only.
Loom Timing
Loom timing is defined as relative chronological sequences of various primary and secondary motions are
expressed in terms of angular position of crank. The loom timing is shown in the Figure 7.1.
 Figure 7.1: Loom timing diagram for shuttle loom (early shedding)
Sley Motion
0° : Beat-up takes place and sley occupies its forward most position

180° : Sley occupies its backward most position

0°-180° : Sley moves backward

180°-360° : Sley moves forward

Picking and Checking
80°-110° : Picking mechanism operates

105°-110° : Shuttle enters in the shed

240°-250° : Shuttle leaves the shed

270° : Shuttle strikes the swell in the shuttle box

300° : Shuttle comes to rest

Shedding (for early shedding)
30° : Shed is fully open

30° -150° : Heald dwell (shed remains fully open)

150° -270° : Shed closes

270° : Shed closed or shed level

270° -30° : Shed opens again (in opposite direction)

Shedding (for late shedding)
120° : Shed is fully open
120° -240° : Heald dwell (shed remains fully open)

240° -360° : Shed closes

360° : Shed closed or shed level

360° -120° : Shed opens again (in opposite direction)

The operations have been delayed by 900 in case of late shedding.
Take-Up
0° -10° : Take-up (intermittent type)
Classification of Shuttle Picking Mechanism
Shuttle picking mechanisms are broadly classified as cone over-pick and cone under-pick mechanisms.
Several modification of cone under-pick mechanism manifest as parallel pick and link pick.
Cone Over-Pick Mechanism
The cone-over pick mechanism is shown in the Figure 7.2. A picking cam attached to bottom shaft
displaces the cone (picking cone) which is attached with the upright picking shaft. This causes rotation of
the picking shaft. As a result, the picking stick, which is attached to the uppermost end of picking shaft,
swing in a horizontal plane over the loom and transmits the motion to shuttle through picking strap and
picker guided by a spindle. Picking strap is a leather or polymeric belt which is flexible. Here picker is
constrained by the spindle to move in a straight line which otherwise would have followed a path of arc.
Obviously, this restriction of path is achieved at the expense of some energy. Moreover, pairs of picking
cam and follower installed at either end of the loom have seldom ensured picking of equal strength
(force). The cams responsible for impulsive rotation of the picking stick receive motion through bottom
shaft. However, allied system of picking is having varying elastic behavior (one of them is attached
through a “stiff” short shaft while that at the further end through a long “flexible” one). All these warrant
frequent adjustment of picking-strap or picking cam and nose settings. A system where a different cam
and follower pairs are used for each end makes the matter work enduringly with standardized settings. A
cone over-pick mechanism on a loom is depicted in Figure 7.3.
 Figure 7.2: Cone over-pick mechanism

Figure 7.3: Cone over-pick mechanism on a loom

 Figure 7.4: Adjusting the position of picking cone
Possible Adjustments for Strength and Timing of Over-Pick
 Shortening picking-strap increases the shuttle speed, but timing of picking advances.
 The picking tappet can be turned over bottom shaft for the adjustment of picking timing.
 Lowering the picking cone in the slot increases the shuttle speed but timing of picking is delayed
(Figures 7.2 and 7.4).
 Angular adjustment between picking shaft and picking stick also changes shuttle speed and timing
(unpredictable).
 Large change in shuttle speed for wider loom can be achieved by changing either nose bit or the
entire picking cam.

With the advent of automatic looms which comes with battery or magazines, the replacement of over-pick
system with cone under pick becomes inevitable. The latter provides space over and at one end of the
loom erstwhile occupied by it’s over pick counterpart.
Cone Under-Pick Mechanism
Cone under-pick mechanism is depicted in Figure 7.5. Here also a picking cam attached to bottom shaft
displaces the cone turning the picking shaft (side shaft) located horizontally. The other end of the picking
shaft is connected with upright picking stick through the picking strap (lug strap). This causes the picking
stick to move in a vertical plane and transmits the motion to shuttle by the picker attached at the upper end
of it. In this system the picking stick and other appendages are located below the shuttle trajectory while
picking cams and follower, as usual, below the loom and driven from bottom shaft. The system is
naturally suitable for automatic looms. Here picker slides over its spindle and picking timing is regulated
by cam adjustment like in over pick motion. An almost inextensible lug strap allows shuttle speed
adjustment by either raising or lowering it around picking stick. Absence of stretchable parts in under-pick
system ensures the retention of correct setting over long period in contrast with the cone over-pick
mechanism. A cone under-pick mechanism on a loom is depicted in Figure 7.6.
 Figure 7.5: Cone under-pick mechanism

Figure 7.6: Cone under-pick mechanism on a loom

Possible Adjustments for Strength and Timing of under-Pick
 Timing of picking is changed by turning the cam on the bottom shaft.
 Raising and lowering of the lug strap (picking strap) reduces and increases shuttle velocity
respectively.
 Two independent adjustments for velocity and timing of shuttle make the under-pick system less
complicated.
Parallel Pick
In a modified under-pick system, picker guiding spindle is eliminated and picker itself is kept attached to
the stick as shown in Figure 7.7. The lower end of the stick is made to oscillate over a curvilinear shoe
which rests upon a plate. The shoe and picker trajectory form the circumference of a semi-circle as shown
in Figures 7.8. This ensures picker movement in a perfect straight line and hence that of the shuttle which
is a prime requirement for high speed looms. Picking stick in its extension passes through the slot of a
plate and connected with loom frame through a spring for proper return.

Figure 7.7: Parallel pick mechanism

Figure 7.8: Principle of parallel pick mechanism

Link Pick
Attempt to increase loom speed further creates one unfavorable situation where contact between shoe and
plate is often disrupted resulting undesirable picker movement which deflects shuttle from its right path or
undue wear of it and even fly-out. Modification through link pick is done to overcome this limitation as
shown in Figure 7.9. Here a metal piece (M) attached to the lower end of the picking stick. M connects
itself to a bracket (B) fastened to the sley sword through two arms (A). Such four bar linkages are, as if,
an irregular quadrilateral whose shape and sizes in relation to the length and angular movement of the
picking stick, if properly designed can deliver very good result in terms of accuracy over a distance of 15-
20 cm along shuttle path and truly exercises positive control in the system even at very high speed.

Figure 7.9: Link-pick mechanism

Catapult Effect
Generally, shuttle picking mechanism operates from 80° to 110° of angular position of crank shaft
Basically, the picking duration comprises of two halves. In the early half (from 80° to 95°) the strain
energy is built up and in the later half (from 95° to 110°) the strain energy is released. The shuttle picking
mechanism has a close analogy with the action of a catapult. In this context, the shuttle represents the
missile, picker represents the leather part and picking stick and picking strap represent the elastic band
in catapult, the strain energy is developed in the first half by bending of picking stick, twisting of picking
shaft and stretching of picking strap. In the later half, the strain energy gets released and it accelerates the
shuttle. Therefore, in the light of such strong analogy the shuttle may be said to be catapulted by picking
mechanism.
Beat-up
Beating-up: Pushing the newly inserted length of weft, known as the pick, into the already
woven fabric at a point known as the fell. Beat up is the action by which the newly inserted
weft yarn is pushed up to the cloth fell (Figure 1.8). Cloth fell is the boundary up to which
the fabric has been woven. The loom component responsible for the beat up is called ‘reed’.
The reed, which is like a metallic comb, is carried by sley which sways forward and
backwards due to the crank-connecting rod mechanism. This is known as crank beat up. In
modern looms, beat up is done by cam mechanism which is known as cam beat up.
Generally, one beat up is done after the insertion of one pick.
 Figure 1.8: Beat up

The sley must reciprocate for the reed to push the weft into the fell of the cloth, and the two
sley swords therefore extend down from the raceboard to a fulcrum point known as the
rocking shaft (see Figure 2.1). A connecting rod (crankarm) is connected to the back of each
of the two sley swords by a pin (sword pin) just below the level of the raceboard, and its
other end fastens round the bend in the crankshaft, which is known as the crank. As the
crankshaft rotates, the crank arm and thus the top end of the sley are made to reciprocate
with a movement that approximates to simple harmonic motion.

Secondary Motions
For uninterrupted manufacturing of fabrics, two additional secondary motions are required. These are
up and let-off. Take-up motion winds the newly formed fabric on the cloth roller either continuously or
intermittently after the beat up. The take-up speed also determines the picks/cm value in the fabric
state. As the take-up motion winds the newly formed fabric, tension in the warp sheet increases. To
compensate this, the weavers beam is rotated by the let-off mechanism so that some new warp sheet is
released.
Auxiliary Motions
Auxiliary motions are mainly related to the activation of stop motions in case of any malfunctioning like
warp breakage, weft breakage or shuttle trapping within the shed. The major auxiliary motions are as
follows:
 Warp stop motion (in case of warp breakage)
 Weft stop motion (in case of weft breakage)
 Warp protector motion (in case of shuttle trapping)

Dobby Shedding Systems

Limitation of Cam Shedding
The cam shedding system has limitation in terms of number of healds that can be effectively con
during shedding. The problem arises when the number of picks in the repeat of the design is ver
us assume that the design is repeating on 10 picks (8/2 twill). The number of healds required in
will be 10 and to control these healds 10 cams will be required. These cams will be mounted on
(or tappet) shaft which will rotate at one tenth r.p.m. as compared to that of crank shaft. Therefo
rotation of the cam shaft will ensure insertion of 10 picks. As 360° rotation of the cam correspo
picks, one pick becomes equivalent to 36°. If dwell is one third of pick then the small dwell per
heald is down) in this case will be = 1/3×36° + 36° = 48°. The duration of movement of heald (w
radius of the cam changes) will be 24° each for upward and downward direction. This will creat
dwell (when the heald is up) of 12° + 7×36° = 264°.
Now, the above calculation reveals that the follower has to move from the lowest position to the
position within 24° span which is available to it. The follower follows the contour of the cam pr
which becomes steep when the span available for movement is low. Besides, the force acts on th
in a direction which is perpendicular to the tangent drawn on the cam contour. However, the fol
to move vertically up or down. Thus an angle is created between the direction of applied force a
direction of movement of the follower. This angle becomes even more when the cam contour is
i.e. the span available for upward or downward movement is low which has resulted from highe
of picks in the design repeat. This leads to the fact only one component of the force applied bec
effective in creating the movement of follower. Thus very high force is actually required to crea
desired movement of the follower which may lead to wear and tear as well as vibration in the sy
One plausible solution to the aforesaid problem could be to increase the dimension of the cams
6.34). It can be observed that the cam contour, for a given span of follower movement, becomes
when the diameter of cam increases. However, this may create another problem in terms of pow
consumption and space availability in the system.

Figure 6.34: Influence of cam dimension on the steepness of cam contour

Therefore, when the large number of healds is to be controlled by the shedding mechanism Dob
is preferred.
Keighley Dobby
Keighley dobby is known to be a double acting dobby as most of the operations is done at half s
compared to the loom speed (picks per minute). The basic components of Keighley dobby are a
 Stop bars
 Baulk
 Hooks (two per heald)
 Knives (two for the entire dobby)
 Pegs on pattern chain

Figure 6.35 depicts the simplified view of the Keighley dobby.

 Figure 6.35: Keighley dobby
The motion to the reciprocating knives (K 1 and K
revolution of bottom shaft ensures two picks, each of the two knives completes the cycle
(towards the left) and outward (towards the right) movements during this period. The two re
knives are in complete phase difference. When one knife is moving inward, the other knife
outward. In Figure 6.35, knife 2 (K2) has pulled hook 2 (H
there is a peg in the lag corresponding to the feeler 2 (F
in the upward direction. Thus the left end of the feeler 2 has been lowered. So, the hook
lowered on knife 2 when the latter moved inward. So, the lower end of the baulk (B) moves
the stop bar 2 (S2). Thus the heald shaft is raised as it is connected at the midpoint of the baulk.
In the next part of the cycle, knife 2 will move inward and knife 1 (K
no peg corresponding to the position of feeler 1 (F
is raised. As a result, the connecting rod (R) has pushed the hook 1 in the upward direction. So
knife 1 will perform its outward movement, it will not be able to catch the hook 1. The top pa
will be resting on stop bar 1 and thus the heald will not be lifted for the next pick.
It is important to note here that when the heald is in lower position for two consecutive picks,
well as the bottom end of the baulk will be resting on the respective stop bars i.e. S
midpoint of the baulk will not have any significant movement. On the other hand, if the heald
position for two consecutive picks, then one end of the baulk will move away from the sto
another end of the baulk will move towards the stop bar. Thus the middle point of the bau
experience any significant movement as schematically shown in
movement is very nominal. Therefore, the system will produce open shed.
 Figure 6.36: Open shed formation in Keighley dobby
System of Pegging
Twill weave (3/3/1/1) which repeats on eight ends and eight picks (
for demonstrating the pegging plan. The system of pegging is depicted in
produced by using eight healds and straight draft. The selection for heald movement is con
wooden pegs which can be inserted within the circular holes made on the wooden lags. The w
inked together into a lattice which is mounted on the pattern wheel (or barrel). The pattern barre
by a certain degree once in two peaks. For example, if the barrel is hexagonal then it must rot
after every two picks. The presence of a peg within the hole results raised position of the heal
versa. The position of two holes corresponding to the same heald is not on the same line.
shifting of holes is done so that two adjacent feelers can be accommodated.

Figure 6.37: Point paper representation of 3/3/1/1 twill weave

Figure 6.38: Peg plan for 3/3/1/1 twill weave

Positive Dobby
In Keighley dobby, knives and hooks cause movement in the baulk and as a result, the heald is r
lowering of heald is done by the reversing motion. However, the upward and downward movem
healds are completely controlled by the positive dobby. This can be achieved by the rotary
shown in Figure 6.39.

Figure 6.39: Positive dobby

Figure 6.39 depicts the simplified view of a rotary type positive dobby. The systems utilise
designed toothed gears for causing engagement or disengagement of gears and transmission o
Each and every heald is controlled by a specially designed toothed gear shown in red colour. Th
be rotated either by the green or by the blue gear which are having teeth only over the ha
periphery. However, the red gear can mesh only with one of the driver gears (blue or green) at a
green and blue gears complete one revolution in every pick. As they rotate in different direction
rotate the red gear in clockwise or in anti-clockwise direction which is required to raise or lowe
shaft through the links.
The selection mechanism presents cylinders of different diameters for different pick. If the diam
cylinder is low, then the yellow lever carrying the red gear is lowered on the blue gear as shown
6.39. A missing tooth on the red gear facilitates the meshing between the two gears. The blue
rotates the red gear in anti-clockwise direction by half revolution causing the heald to be lower
links. The heald will retain its lowered position as long as cylinders with lower diameter will be
by the selection mechanism to the yellow lever. This happens because the red gear has a por
three teeth are missing and it is now at the zone of contact between the red and blue gears. The
meshing is not possible and no further rotation is caused to the red gear though the bl
continuously rotating in every pick. If a cylinder with higher diameter is fed by the selection m
then the yellow lever will be raised and thus the red gear will move in the upward direction to
green gear. The single missing tooth of the red gear, which is now at the zone of contact betwee
green gears, will again facilitate the meshing between red and green gears. The red gear will no
clockwise direction causing the heald to be raised.
Modern Rotary dobby
Rotary dobby converts the rotational movement to linear movement, which is required for
lowering of healds. Rotary dobby can operate at high speed up to 1500 r.p.m. The operating p
Fimtextile RD 3000 rotary dobby is shown in Figure 6.40
momentarily and thus the motion is called as irregular rotary motion. The cam unit is mounted
shaft but not fixed on it. The pawl, which is placed on the outside of the cam, connects it with
and then the cam rotates by 180° causing the movement to the heald shaft. The crank unit en
cam with ball bearings. Link (L 1) can rotate around its pivot by the action of the electromagn
link L2. If link L1 rotates in an anticlockwise direction, then the pawl rotates in the clockwise dir
its bottom tip engages with the groove on drive. If link L
upper tip of the pawl and disengages it from drive. When the engagement happens, the jack ro
anticlockwise direction during the 180° rotation of the dobby shaft. The jack dwells at it
position during the 180° rotation of the dobby shaft, if the engagement does not occur. The d
stops after every 180° degree rotation, and the pattern selection mechanism engages or dise
ratchet with the drive.

6.40: Fimtextile RD 3000 rotary dobby

Jacquard Shedding Systems

Jacquard shedding system was developed by

weaver and merchant. In case of cam and dobby shedding systems, larg
a heald is controlled as a group. Thus it precludes the possibili
independently. Therefore, complicated woven designs cannot be ma
systems. With jacquard shedding system, individual ends can be contr
woven figures can be produced in fabrics.
Mechanical jacquard systems can be classified under three categories:
 Single lift and single cylinder (SLSC)
 Double lift and single cylinder (DLSC)
 Double lift and double cylinder (DLDC)

Single-Lift Single-Cylinder (SLSC) Jacquard

Figure 6.41 shows the simplified side view of SLSC jacquard. If the
300 ends independently, then it requires 300 hooks (one per end) wh
needles (one per hook) which are horizontally arranged. For example,
rows and each row will have 50 needles. In the side view, only six n
visible. Hooks, which are connected to individual ends through nylon
six rows and each row is having 50 hooks. One knife is responsible fo
and lowering) of one row of hooks. However, whether a hook will be
the selection mechanism which is basically a punched card system
having square or hexagonal cross-section. The needles are connected
cylinder.

Therefore, the needles always exert some pressure in the right hand
there is a hole in the punch card corresponding to the position of a nee
pass through the hole and thus the needle will remain in upright posit
knife when the latter has started its upward movement after descendin
hand, if there is no hole, then the needle will be pressed towards the l
Thus the kink (which partially circumscribes the stem of a hook) pre
towards the left side making the latter tilted enough from the vertica
while moving upward. Therefore, presence of a hole implies selection
this case is tantamount with a peg used on the lag of dobby shedding sy
In case of SLSC jacquard, if the loom speed is 300 picks per minute,
minute (5 times per second) and the knives should also reciprocate (u
Thus it hinders the high loom speed. When a particular hook (and the
position in two consecutive picks, in between the two peaks, in des
(determined by the grate) and then moves up again. Thus it produces b
one end is controlled by a single hook.

Figure 6.41: Side view of single-lift single-cylin

Features of SLSC Jacquard
 500 end machine will have 500 needles and 500 hooks
 Cylinder should turn in every pick
 Knives must complete the cycle of rise and fall in every pick
 Bottom closed shed is produced

Double-Lift Single-Cylinder (DLSC) Jacquard

Double- lift single-cylinder (DLSC) jacquard is shown in
by two hooks which are again controlled by a single needle. For examp
and hooks 3 and 4 control the end 2. Two sets of knives are used in DL
down (rise and fall) in complete phase difference i.e. when one set of k
position, the other set of knives (K
been raised as the hook 1 has been lifted by the corresponding knife
raised as hook 3 was not caught by the knife K
has been pressed towards the left due to the absence of a hole in the p
tilted and it will not be raised by the knife K
with Knife K1. Thus the end 1 will be lowered. On the other hand, end
there is a hole in the punch card corresponding to the position of the ne
will be caught by knife K4

Figure 6.42: Side view of double-lift single-cylin

In case of DLSC jacquard, if the loom speed is 300 picks per minute th
per minute but the knives will reciprocate (rise and fall) 150 times pe
DLSC jacquard over SLSC jacquard.
DLDC jacquard produces semi open shed because if a particular end
consecutive pick, it will descend up to the middle point of its vertica
happen because one of the hooks will descend and the other hook w
knives and they will cross at the middle of their vertical path. If the en
for two consecutive picks, it will remain at the bottom without any inte
Features of DLSC Jacquard
 500 end machine will have 500 needle and 1000 hooks
 Two sets of knives rise and fall in opposite phase
 Cycles of movement (rise and fall) of each set of knives spans o
 Cylinder should turn in every pick
 Semi open shed is produced

Double-Lift Double-Cylinder (DLDC) Jacquard

Figure 6.43 depicts the double-lift double-cylinder (DLDC) jacquard
number of cylinder rotation or turn and number of reciprocation cycle o
of SLSC. In this case, one end is controlled by two hooks as it was in c
hooks is controlled by separate needles. Hooks 1 and 2 control the en
end 2. Needles 1, 2, 3, and 4 control the hooks 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectivel
corresponding to a particular end (say end 1) are controlled by two
needles (N2) is controlled by the right cylinder (cylinder 2) and the ot
left cylinder (cylinder 1). One cylinder carries the punch cards for eve
N+6 and so on. Here N is an even number. The other cylinder car
numbers like N+1, N+3, N+5 and so on. In one pick, either of the tw
operation. DLDC jacquard is capable to handle the maximum loom s
three types of jacquard.
Figure 6.43 shows that end 1 is in raised position and end 2 is in low
End 1 will continue to be in raised position in the next pick as there is
corresponding to the position of needle 2 (N
be raised by the knife 2 (K
tilted by needle 4 (N4) as there is no hole on cylinder 2 correspondin
(K4) will miss the N4 when the former will rise in the next pick.

Figure 6.43: Side view of double-lift double-cyli

Features of DLDC Jacquard


 Cycles of movement (rise and fall) of each set of kni

Jacquard Harness
It is the system by which the ends are controlled during jacquard shedd
heddles (heald eyes) and dead weights (lingoes). In the preceding part o
considered that the capacity of jacquard is 300 ends. Now, if the fabric
the design can be produced on the fabric. For example, if a floral patter
requires 300 ends, then 10 such floral patterns can be produced on the e
assumed that the hooks of the jacquard are arranged in six rows and eac
each hook will effectively control 10 (3000/300) ends. The interlaceme
1201, 1501…….2701 will be identical and thus they can be controlled
cords. Similarly, hook no. 300 will control 10 ends namely end number
….., 3000. This has been depicted in
perforations of a wooden or polymer board named comber board. The d
downwards when it is not lifted.

Problems in Jacquard Harness in Case of Wide Looms

When the loom width and thus the comber board width are high, prob
in the lift received by various heddles and consequently the warp en
from the Figure 6.45. Here the loom width is 200 cm and the perpen
band suspended from a hook and the comber board is 150 cm when th
is 10 cm.
Therefore, when the hook is raised by 10 cm, then the heddle which is
receive a lift of 10 cm. However, the heddle which is at the extreme le
receive a lift equal to the following.

Thus the loss of lift is around 16% with respect to the warp end positio
Electronic Jacquard
In recent times electronic jacquards have become very popular. It c
operations of following machine components.
 Electromagnet
 Retaining hook or ratchet
 Hooks
 Knives
 Double roller

The knives are used to lift or lower the hooks. If the electromagnet is a
it can briefly retain the upper end of the retaining hook once the latter
to the upward movement of the hook. If this happens then the hook is
when the former starts to descend with the knife. On the other hand, if
then the hook is retained or caught by the retaining hook.
Figure 6.46 depicts the operation of the electronic jacquard system.
Position 1: Hook 2 (H2) has been lifted to the highest position b
electromagnet (E) has been activated and it holds the top end of the reta
thus ensures that the retaining hook 2 does not catch the hook 2 wh
instance the shed is at lower position.
Position 2: Knife 2 and hook 2 are descending whereas knife 1 (K
there is no effective movement of the double pulley assembly or shed.
Position 3: The hook 1 has been raised to the highest position by th
pressed the top end of retaining hook 1 (R
has not been activated which ensures that the kook 1 is caught by the re
Position 4: Knife 1 has started to descend but the hook 1 cannot desc
hook 1. Knife 2 has again started its upward movement along with ho
change its position (moving upward). This is because the hook 1 is al
retaining hook 1) and hook 2 is also moving up.
Position 5: The hook 2 has pressed the top end of retaining hook 2 aga
activated as this instance. Thus hook 2 is caught by the retaining hoo
raised position, it creates upper shed position.
Position 6: Knife 2 has started to descend. However, the hook 2 retain
the retaining hook 2. Thus the shed remains in upper position.

Figure 6.46: Principles of operation of electro