Weaving design 1

Lecture 4: weaving process

Shed forming mechanism

Types of Looms Motions

The conversion of warp sheet into fabric by interlacing with weft yarn requires the
basic operations to be carried out on loom in a specific order. It involves the
primary motions, secondary motions and the stop motions.

Loom has three types of motion:

➢ Primary motion
➢ Secondary motion
➢ Tertiary motion or Stop motion

A. Primary motions of loom

The primary loom motions include the following three operations:
1. Shedding: - It is the process of separating the warp yarns into two layers to form
a tunnel which is called shed, is known as shedding.
2. Picking: - The method of passing the weft threads through warp yarn is called
picking.
3. Beat up: - The process in which yarns are sent to the fell of the cloth is called
beat up.

B. Secondary motions of loom

The secondary motions facilitate the weaving of fabric in a continuous way. These
include:
1. Let off: This motion provides warp sheet to the weaving area at the required rate
and under constant tension by unwinding it from weaver’s beam.
2. Take-up: This motion draws fabric from the weaving area at a uniform rate to
produce the required pick spacing and wind it onto a roller.

C. Tertiary motion or Stop motions of loom:

Tertiary motion is not necessary for fabric production. But these motions are used
in the interest of quality and productivity; stopping the loom immediately in case of
some problem. The tertiary motions are:
1. Warp stop motion.
2. Weft stop motion.
3. Reed stops motion.

Dr. Enas Mahammad | 2023/2024

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 Weaving design 2
Lecture 4: weaving process
Shed forming mechanism

Each warp thread passes through an eyelet (or heddle eye) in a Heald (heddle).
Healds are mounted in staves to make a harness.
The following Figure shows a two-harness loom in which adjacent warp yarns are
threaded through mails in different harnesses. Alternate warp threads pass through
alternate healds so that the weft thread passes over and then under alternate warp
threads in a plain weave fabric.

The reed frame contains evenly spaced wires. Each warp yarn passes through
one space in the reed, and so the yarns are kept evenly separated. The shed is the space
between warp threads through which the weft yarn passes. Looms raise and lower the
harnesses. Looms can have two or more harnesses. The more harnesses a loom has,
the more complex the patterns that can be woven. In multi-harness looms, individual
warp yarns are threaded through no more than one heald mail. In Jacquard looms,
each warp yarn is in an individual heald. The healds are not in harnesses but can move
independently under the control of the Jacquard mechanism. Hence Jacquard looms
can make a great variety of patterns.

The weaving cycles

1- Shedding motion
Shedding is the first operation of the weaving cycle. Depending on the design to be
woven, one or more of the shafts (or healds) in the loom are raised, while the
remainder stay in the lowered position. A space between the two sets of warp yarns,
a shed, is thus formed, where the weft is inserted. It is controlled by the motion of
the heald frame (harness) according to weave design and pattern of assigning warp
ends to frames (DID) to generate desired fabrics structures.

Dr. Enas Mahammad | 2023/2024

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 Weaving design 3
Lecture 4: weaving process
Shed forming mechanism

There are three types of shedding mechanisms which convert the design instructions
into the movement of the heald frames; these are cam (tappet), dobby and jacquard.
The lift of the heald frames can achieved by using a cam or dobby mechanisms. In
the jacquard loom, is no heald frame to be driven but each heddle is attached to a
wire or cord.

Cam(tappet) Dobby Jacquard

This device is a system of Dobby is a shedding This device has no shafts,
tappets and cams that mechanism placed on the top instead a harness consisting of
cause shafts to be raised to of the loom in order to as many cords as there are ends
form the shed. produce figured patterns by in the warp sheet connects each
using large number of healds end to the Jacquard mechanism
than the capacity of a tappet. above the loom
The bulkiness of the It is capable of having up to Each warp yarn can be raised
arrangement limits the 28-36 shafts independently of all the others
loom to a maximum of This is a compact,
eight shafts. electronically controlled
shedding device.
The simplest & least more complex and versatile The most complex and versatile
versatile of the shedding shedding motion. of shedding mechanisms.
mechanisms.

As a tappet loom usually Since a dobby loom can have With a Jacquard shedding
has no more than 8 shafts, up to 28 shafts, a much motion, the greatest weave
this represented the greater weave repeat is repeat is possible as each warp
maximum size of its weave possible, permitting more yarn is individually controlled.
repeat. complicated designs.
Structures are restricted to Designs may incorporate All forms and shapes in designs
plain weaves, simple twill two or more basic weaves and highly intricate patterns can
and simple satin and sateen and/or their variations be created.
weaves.

Dr. Enas Mahammad | 2023/2024

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 Weaving design 4
Lecture 4: weaving process
Shed forming mechanism

2- weft insertion motion: -

Picking is inserting the weft yarn once the
shed has been formed. A single weft yarn,
passed from one side of the loom to the other,
is called one pick. This motion follows the
shedding motion. On conventional looms the
filling yarn is inserted by means of shuttle on
which a pirn is mounted.

3- Beat-up motion
The newly inserted yarn or pick is pushed at
high force to the fell of the cloth by the reed.

4- Warp and weft control (take up & let off)

To ensure the continuity of the weaving process, the woven fabric is collected on a
roll called the “cloth roll”. Cloth roll is rotated by the take up motion to collect a
fabric length that equals the space between two picks.
At the same time, the warp is released or fed through the loom to substitute for the
amount of fabric that is taken up by the cloth roll. The motion that releases the warp
is called the let-off motion.

Dr. Enas Mahammad | 2023/2024

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