TEXTILE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

TXMP 22O

UNIT 5 – WEAVING

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INTRODUCTION
 The weaving process
2 is divided into two
processes, namely;
1. Preparation for
weaving process
2. Weaving process
 The processes are
complimentary.

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Processing steps for the production of woven fabrics

 Preparation process for weaving
 In woven fabric manufacture, the sequence of operations is as follows:
3 i. Yarn production (spinning)
ii. Yarn preparation (warp and weft)
iii. Weaving
iv. Fabric finishing
 The objective of yarn preparation is to prepare packages of a size and build best suited to a particular purpose;
 As a warp consists of a multitude of separate yarns or ends, in making an appropriate package (known as a
beam) the ends must lie parallel and this determines the type of yarn package that must be used.
 Filling yarn needs to be continuous and the filling yarn package is wound according to the type of weaving
apparatus used.

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Basic structure of the preparation process for weaving

 Winding
 The primary objective of winding is to combine a number of relatively short lengths of
4 yarn into a single long strand to provide for continuous supply of yarn from an
economic yarn package.
 During winding, yarns are wound from the feed onto a bobbin, which is usually a
conical or cylindrical tube made of cardboard, plastic, or (seldom) metal.
Reasons for winding
 Enlarging the yarn package for economic
reasons and handling (for example, rewinding
from the cops of the ring spinning frame onto
cross bobbins),
 Improvement of the draw-off properties,
 Improvement of yarn quality by cleaning out
thick and thin places of a yarn,
 Improvement of cops building for uniform
dyeing with package dyeing, and
 Winding after package dyeing and winding
of dyed hanks.
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Schematic of a winding process and building large packages
 Two winding principles
 These are random winding and precision winding
5

Random winding Precision winding

Random winding is characterized by;
 Surface drive of the bobbin,
 Constant helix angle (α) independent
of bobbin diameter,
 Number of turns decreases with
increasing bobbin diameter, and
 Evolution of “images,” defined as
layers, in which the threads lie parallel
to each other at an integer ratio.
Precision winding is characterized by;
 Number of turns is constant with
increasing bobbin diameter,
 Helix angle (α) decreases with increasing
bobbin diameter, and
 Avoidance of “image wrappers” with the
help of a constant number of turns that is
preset accurately at several digits.
Exceptions are sewing thread bobbins that
are supposed to have “image wrappers”
across the whole body.

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 Twisting
6  Twisting operation combines, by twisting, two or more doubled yarn ends, in
order to obtain a stronger yarn.
 It is a two-stage process: first doubling and then twisting.
 In the past, twisting was carried out using ring twisting machines, which are
similar to ring spinning frames. Nowadays, two-for-one twisters are used, thus
called because the yarn undergoes two twists for each turn of the spindle.
 The purpose of twisting is to;
i. increase the tenacity (especially with staple fibre yarns),
ii. adjust the elongation properties,
iii. reduce yarn unevenness, and
iv. obtain a desired surface structure and colour effects.

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 Warping
 This process prepares a weaver’s beam to be set up
7 on the weaving machine.
 The objective of warping is to lay the number of ends
required for the warp into a horizontal sheet of yarn
of specified length under uniform tension with the
yarns spaced evenly across the specified width.
 Warping is done by winding a number of yarns from a
creel of single-end packages such as cones or
cheeses onto a beam or a section beam.
 Several warp beams are rewound together onto the
final warp beam a procedure called assembling.
Assembling is often combined with a sizing process.
Warping carries out following operations:
 creation, out of a limited number of warp threads
(creel load), of a warp composed of any number of
threads with the desired length;
 arrangement of above-mentioned threads
according to the desired sequence;
 production of a warp beam with said characteristics.
In order to produce an even and
uniform sheet of warp yarn;
i. The packages in the warper creel
must be uniform in density, size,
and wind configuration.
ii. Tension applied in warping must be
uniform throughout.
iii. Contact surfaces which the yam
passes through must be smooth and
must not impede the progress of
the yam.
iv. The speed of the warper must not
exceed that at which the yam can
be withdrawn from supply
packages without undue strain.
v. Warp winding speed must be
controlled and maintained at a
constant rate throughout.
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 Creels
8  These are frames (usually metallic) on which the
feeding cones are fitted. The process of placing
cones on the creels is called creeling.
 Independent of the warping system, the threads
are fed from cones placed on creels. The creels
are equipped with yarn tensioning devices,
which in modern machines are provided with
automatic control, centralized tension variation
and yarn breakage monitoring systems.
 Creel capacity is the parameter on which the
number of warping sections or beams depends
on. It should be as high as the installation type
and planning permit. Today, the usual creel
capacity amounts to 800-1200 cones.
 Various creel designs are available to reduce the
time required to load the creel and thus increase
the warping performance. Mobile creel
 Creels are equipped with yarn tensioning
devices, which in modern machines are provided
with automatic control, centralized tension
variation and yarn breakage monitoring systems. 6/1/2022
 These are;
Warping Techniques
 Beam warping or direct warping
9 (preparatory beam warping).
 Sectional warping (conical drum or dresser
or pattern warping or indirect warping);
Direct warping
It is used for long runs of grey fabrics and simple patterns
where the amount of coloured yarn involved is less than
about 15% of the total. As an intermediate stage, warper’s
beams which may contain up to 1000 ends are produced.
The ends of about 6 to 12 warper’s beams are combined at
the slashing (sizing) stage and wound onto a weaver’s beam
(loom beam). This warping technique is used mostly when
several beams of same warp length have to be prepared. It
is carried out in two separate stages:
 At first, proper warping takes place. The available
threads (creel capacity) are wound on a large cylinder
called ″beam ″ and so many beams are prepared as
indicated by the result of following expression:
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑝 𝑦𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑠
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠 =
𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
 In the second stage, the threads wound on the beams
are simultaneously unwound to form the weaver’s
beam.
Sectional warping
It is used for short runs, especially of fancy patterned fabrics
where the amount of coloured yarn is greater than 15% of the
total. By this warping system several ″sections″ are wound in
sequence and parallel to each other on a dresser or on a drum;
the warping sections are as many as necessary to obtain, with the
available creel capacity, the total number of threads composing
the warp. Sectional warping is cost-effective for short and striped
warps (cotton and wool fabrics). The warping speed is about 800
m/min, while the beaming speed is about 300 m/min.
Before carrying out warping, following calculations are necessary:
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠
𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑜. =
𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
If the calculation does not give an exact number, the last section
will be produced with a number of threads lower than the other
sections, or the number of threads composing each section will be
reduced so as to get all sections with one and the same number of
threads (and same width as well):
𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ =
𝑅𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
This way the total number of warp threads will occupy on the
dresser a width equal to the width of the weaver’s beam on
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which they will be finally wound.
 Sizing
 It is process that gives a protective coating to warp yarns for them to withstand the
10 tension and abrasion that yarns undergo during the weaving process. Sizing consists of
impregnating the yarn with particular substances which form on the yarn surface a
film with the aim of improving yarn smoothness and tenacity during the subsequent
weaving stage.
 The reasons for sizing warp yarns are to;
 reduce warp breaks and hence increase loom production.
 strengthen the yarn by causing the fibres to adhere together
 make the outer surface of the yarn smoother so that hairs protruding from one yarn in
the warp should not become entangled with hairs protruding from neighbouring yarn
 lubricate the yarns so that there is less friction when they rub together in the weaving
process
 add weight to the goods and give proper feel (these are of importance when the
goods are sold in the grey or loom state)
 Generally, the size mix contains film forming agents (e.g. starch, PVA), lubricants like
mineral oils, paraffin wax, humectants such as ethylene glycol, glycerol, etc.,
preservatives, water and defoamer. Starch based size pastes containing softening
and other ingredients is commonly used 6/1/2022
 Principle of sizing
11
 After leaving the warper, the beams are placed on the creel and the sheet
of yarn from the creel is passed through the size box which contains the
sizing solution.
 The yarns pick up the required quantity of size solution and pass through the
squeezing rolls where any excess size is squeezed off.
 In the next process when the yarns pass through drying section, most of the
water from the warp evaporates and the yarns are wound on the weaver’s
beam.
 Then, the weaver’s beam goes through drawing-in and denting.
 Once the fabric is woven, the size is removed by desizing process, except in
a few cases where it is loom finished material.

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 Drawing-in and denting
 Drawing-in and denting form an
12 essential link between the designing
of a fabric and the working parts of
the loom. Drawing-in is the threading
of warp yarns from the sized weaver’s
beam into the eyes of the healds
which are mounted in the heald
frames in the loom. Drawing-in can be
done manually or automatically.
 Denting is the arrangement of warp
ends in the reed space. The reed is
made of flat metal strips fixed at
uniform intervals on a frame to form a Heald frame and healds Reed
closed comb-like structure. The
spaces between the metal strips are
known as dents..

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Drawing-in and denting

 Weaving process
13
Weaving operation
The weaver’s or loom beam which stores warp
yarns is placed at the back of the loom. Figure
below shows the principle of a weaving loom valid
for hand looms as well as modern weaving
machines.
Principle of the weaving loom
 The warp threads are drawn off the warp beam and redirected
into the weaving plane at the back rail. Functions of the back rail
(back rest) are;
 redirection of the warp threads,
 compensation for the instability in warp tension during shed
lifting by oscillating motion, and
 sensor for the warp let-off motion.
 Warp stoppers are positioned between the warp beam and the
shafts.
 The shafts are equipped with healds, through whose eye-holes
the warp threads are pulled. The shed is built by the up or down
stroke of the shafts.
 The movement of the shafts is generated by cam or shaft
machines. The size of the repeat or rapport corresponds to the
number of shafts or to a multiple of this number. Wovens with
large patterns can be produced with Jacquard machines that
allow the individual movement of single warp threads.
 During weft insertion, the reed is positioned at the back dead
centre while the shed is open. With the change of shed, the reed
moves forward to beat the inserted weft thread at the fell of the
cloth.
 The woven fabric is redirected at the breast beam and wound
onto the piece beam. 6/1/2022
 The draw-off speed determines the weft density.
 Classification of looms
The classes of looms are;
14
1. Handlooms
 Dobby
 Jacquard
2. Power looms
 Shuttle looms
 Shuttle-less looms

Handlooms
These are simple hand powered machines used for
weaving. In a wooden vertical-shaft looms, the
heddles are fixed in place in the shaft. Shedding is done
by pressing the treadles pedal and picking and beating
are done manually.
 They yield less production compared to power
looms.
 Operated at slow speeds 6/1/2022
 Shuttle and shuttle-less looms
Shuttle looms
15 Mechanised and power driven improved version
of handlooms are known as plain or power
looms in which shuttles for weft replenishment
are changed manually. The weaving shuttle that
carries a cop of yarn (weft cop) is beat through
the shed with a picking motion. With each weft
insertion, the total mass of shuttle and weft cop
has to be accelerated and decelerated. A “true”
selvedge is produced.
Weft insertion with shuttle
Shuttle-less looms
These do not use shuttles, have less noise and
produce superior quality fabrics. Features of
shuttleless machines include;
 Use of large weft package for continuous
supply of filling yarn
 Use of weft feeders to supply pre-determined
length of weft yarn at uniform tension
 Selvedge formed is leno, tuck-in and welded
or fused.
Common types of shuttleless weaving machines
are’
i. Rapier weaving machine (rigid projectile or
flexible projectile)
ii. Projectile weaving machine
iii. Jet machine
iv. Multiphase or multi-shed weaving machine
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 Basic motions in weaving
16

Basic motions in weaving are classified into;

1. Primary motions
2. Secondary motions
3. Auxiliary motions

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 Primary motions
17
These are;
i. Shedding
 Separation of warp threads into two layers to form a tunnel is known as shedding.
 3 types of shedding mechanisms are;
 Tappet shedding - 8 - 10 shafts
 Dobby - 20 - 28 shafts
 Jacquard - Patterning possibilities unlimited
ii. Picking and checking
 The operation of propelling the weft thread across the fabric through the shed is known as picking.
 On a conventional loom it is done by means of a wooden carrier, known as a shuttle.
 On non-conventional looms, weft is inserted by means of projectile, rapier, air-jet or water jet.
 The operation of bringing the shuttle to rest at the end of its travel is known as checking.
iii. Beat-up
 Beat up is forcing the pick of weft which is in the shed into the already woven fabric at a point
known as the fell. 6/1/2022
 Secondary motions
18

These are;
i. Take-up (cloth control)
 This motion withdraws fabric from the weaving area at a constant rate that will
give the required pick spacing and then winds it on to a roller.
ii. Let-off (warp control)
 A mechanism for controlling the delivery and tension of warp during weaving.

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 Auxiliary motions
Apart from basic motions, in a loom there are many other auxiliary mechanisms that are used to improve
19 productivity and enhance quality. These are;
i. Warp stop motions - to stop the machine when an end breaks.
ii. Weft fork - A device on a loom to detect the presence of weft during weaving.
iii. Warp protector - A mechanism to protect the warp from damage in the event of a shuttle being trapped in the
shed.
iv. Brake - The function of brake motion is to stop the loom instantaneously when warp/weft stop motion is acting.
v. Temple - It is on each side of cloth. Its function is to grip the cloth by passing it around the rollers so that it is
held at the fell of cloth to the same width as the warp in the reed.
vi. Ant-crack motion - Helps to prevent thin places occurring in the cloth owing to weft break or weft running out.
vii. Selvedge
 The basic function of any selvedge is to lock the outside warp threads of a piece of cloth and so prevent fraying.
 It should be strong enough to withstand the strains during finishing.
 It should have a neat and uniform appearance with least tendency to curl.
 Types of selvedges include;
 Tucked-in selvedge. This is used for light and medium weight fabrics.
 Leno selvedge. It is used for heavy fabrics.
 Fused selvedges. These are obtained by pressing a hot mechanical element on the fabric edge. This method
can be applied on fabrics made from man-made fibres. 6/1/2022
Weft insertion mechanisms
Mechanical and non-mechanical weft
insertion mechanisms are used.
20
Mechanical weft insertion systems include;
 Rigid rapiers
 Flexible rapiers
 projectiles

Non-mechanical weft insertion systems include;

 Jets of compressed air
 Jets of compressed water

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Weft insertion devices
 Weft insertion mechanisms cont…
21
Rapier weft insertion mechanism
It is for the rapier weaving machine (rigid or flexible).
 The weft is transported to the centre of the shed,
where the bearing rapier meets the drawing rapier 2,
which takes over the weft thread and, while holding it
by its end, transports it back to the opposite side,
where the rapier leaves it free, thus completing the
insertion (left hand rapier grips the free end of the
weft yarn and takes it half way and transfer it to right
hand rapier which has entered the shed simultaneously
from the opposite side, which then withdraws to take
the weft through the rest of the shed).
 The weft exchange between the two rapiers in the
middle of the shed can take place in two different
ways, that is, negative system and positive system.
Rapier weaving machines are the most flexible machines
on the market.
Projectile weft insertion mechanism
It is for the projectile weaving
machine.
 Bullet like gripper weighing about
40g (Alloys) carries the weft across
shed from a stationary cross wound
package.
 All the picks are delivered from left
hand side.
 A conveyer belt below the sley
returns the gripper to the picking
side.
So in projectile weaving, the projectile
gripper grips the thread from the
cone/cheese and carries it through the
shed from one side to the other.
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 Weft insertion mechanisms cont…
Air jet weft insertion mechanism
22
This mechanism is used on Air jet weaving machines.
High pressured burst of air is used for weft insertion.
 Weft yarn is inserted from left to right end of
warp sheet using a high pressured burst of air
with the help of main nozzles and relay nozzles.
 The air passes through a profile reed having
integrated tunnel. As such the filling yarn travels
in a guided air path created by relay nozzles.
 The relay nozzles are fixed in front of the reed at
regular intervals.
 The air used should be absolutely free of oil and
moisture for smooth and efficient working.
The air jet weaving machines are the weaving
machines with the highest weft insertion performance
and are considered as the most productive in the
manufacturing of light to medium weight fabrics,
preferably made of cotton and certain man-made
fibres (sheets, shirting fabrics, linings, taffetas and
satins in staple yarns of man-made fibres).
Water jet weft insertion mechanism
This weft insertion system is used on a water jet weaving
machine. Water is used to carry the weft.
 The weft thread inserted inside a nozzle is struck by a
jet of pressurized water and launched through the shed
at high speed. After the weft insertion has taken place,
while the weft is hold flat by the threads which are
moved by the leno mechanisms, thermal knives enter
into action on the launch side to cut the weft, and on
the opposite side to trim the fabric.
 A yarn clamping device holds the weft waste which is
cut off by the right-handed thermal knife, while
rotating gears arrange for its removal (centre
selvedge).
 The water is conveyed by a pump provided with a
filter and cam controlled piston for producing the
phases of water suction from a container and of water
supply to nozzle.
All the parts which get wet must be corrosion free. Healds
and reeds should be made of stain less steel. Other parts
should be made of plastics. Water should be6/1/2022
filtered and
should have specified degree of hardness.
 Multi-phase weaving machine
23
 The multiphase weaving machine eliminates the use of heavy reciprocating parts.
 The rotary motion of the machine gives higher productivity. Several sheds, arranged
in warp direction one behind the other and in parallel, are opened across the
entire weaving width.
 A filling yarn is inserted in each of these open sheds simultaneously.
 Four picks are inserted at the same time.
 If each filling is inserted at 1250 m/min. speed, then the filling insertion rate is 5000
m/min.
 At present this machine is suitable for weaving simple plain weave fabrics.

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 Three basic weave patterns are;
i. Plain weave
24 ii. Twill weave
iii. Satin (atlas) weave
Plain weave
The plain weave pattern is the most basic
as well as the tightest crossing of the warp
and weft threads. The plain weave and its
variations can be produced with only two
shafts, as the threads or groups of threads
alternate in tying up. For very tightly
woven fabrics with a high density of
threads, four, six, or more shafts are used.
This pattern is also called tabby or linen
weave.
Basic weave patterns
Twill weave
Twill weaves are characterized by a diagonal seam. On the basis of
the direction of the seam, Z and S twills are distinguished. The seam
is caused by shifting the first warp thread or group of threads to the
upper right (or the upper left respectively). The magnitude of the
shift is defined by the shift counter.
Satin (atlas) weave Satin weaves have a closed, smooth, and
dense appearance. The satin weave is
characterized by regularly distributed
crossing points that do not touch each
other as shown in the figure below. The
distance from one interlacing point to
another on the next weft line is called
shift. In one direction, this distance
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is
always constant.
END OF LECTURE ON UNIT 5