`

National Institute of Fashion Institute,

Kannur

Integrated Term Project

On

Dobby and Jacquard Loom

S u b m itte d
by
Aditya Kumar
Shreya Sahu

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 Acknowledgement

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our mentor Mr. D Rajashekar
without whose support and proper guidance this Integrated Term Project would not
have been so.

We are also extremely thankful to Mr. Pari J, the

co-ordinator for making this endeavour possible. Without his proper guidance this
learning project would have not been fruitful.

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 National Institute Of Fashion Technology, Kannur

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Integrated Term Project work entitled “Dobby and jacquard
Loom” is a bonafied work completed by Aditya Kumar and Shreya Sahu of
Semester-II, (B.FTech, Apparel Production) from the National Institute of Fashion
Technology, Kannur.

Mr. D Rajashekar Mr. Pari J

Associate Professor Co-ordinator, ITP

Mentor, B.FTech (A.P)

NIFT, Kannur NIFT, Kannur.

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 INDEX

1. Introduction………………………………………………………06

2. Weaving…………………………………………………………. 07- 13

i. Primary Motion

ii. Secondary Motion

iii. Auxiliary Motion

3. Looms…………………………………………………………….14 – 21

4. Dobby Looms……………………………………………………22 - 28

i. Introduction

ii. Shedding Mechanism

iii. Types of dobby

iv. Advantages of dobby looms

v. Advancements in dobby looms

5. Jacquard Looms……………………………………………..…29 - 51

i. Introduction

ii. History

iii. Classification

iv. Principle parts

v. Mechanism connecting the engine to the loom

vi. Conventional Mechanism

vii. Function

viii. Problems

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 ix. Advantages and Disadvantages of Jacquard

x. Comparison between SLSC, DLSC and DLDC Jacquards

xi. Advancements in the Jacquard

6. Conclusion……………………………………………………..

7. Integration………………………………………………………

8. References……………………………………………………

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 INTRODUCTION

Homo sapiens are believed to have first evolved about 200000 yrs ago. For almost
all of this time, the new species clothed itself in skins and furs torn from the bodies of
animals that had been slaughtered for food. The production of fabric which requires a
considerable sophistication of civilization began, by comparison, far more recently.
Earliest surviving fragments of cloth made of flax were found in Egypt dating 4500
BC. The production on a larger scale started with a major new invention – weaving.
Then it was a simple process when rigid fibres such as reeds are being used. But
rigid fibres do not make comfortable clothing. This needed to be produced from soft,
flexible yarns. This lead to the invention of looms on which it can be achieved in a
neat and convenient way. Loom is best defined as any frame or contrivance for
holding warp threads parallel to permit the interlacing of the weft at right angles to
form a web.
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 Myriads of appliances have been devised for the purpose of making the loom
effective as the loom is the most necessary of the tools, the means of supplying one
of the main indispensable needs of mankind-fabric. In consequence of the Industrial
Revolution, the late 18th century had witnessed a considerable expansion in the
automation of processes that had once been the preserve of small groups of highly
skilled workers employed in so-called ‘cottage industries'. Moreover the need to add
aesthetic patterns and designs to the fabric was also in demand.

This led to the evolution of Dobby and Jacquard loom. A Dobby Loom is a type of
floor loom that controls the warp threads using a device called a dobby. Small,
geometric figures can be woven in as a regular pattern on this loom. Most of the
furnishing fabrics are woven by this method. But only simple designs were possible
on this. Man was not satisfied and wanted to do elaborate designs on the fabric with
the same independence that an artist enjoys while painting. This desire also got
fulfilled with the invention of Jacquard loom.

Jacquard loom has no limitations on the type of design that can be automatically
woven. It can be ‘programmed’ to create any desired design by using punch cards. In
this system each individual warp can be lifted in a pre-planned sequence to produce
a particular design on the fabric.

In addition to making various geometric as well intricate patterns and designs

possible, these looms also helped weavers to get rid of normal draw looms which
were maddeningly slow and tedious to use and made decorated fabrics affordable to
a greater portion of the population. These lower prices are letting the average person
be able to display these fine works in their homes and enjoy something once
reserved for only the rich.

WEAVING

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Weaving is the most ancient of the great arts, appearing at the dawn of history,
virtually inseparable from the true culture. From the rough fish weirs to the most
elaborate baskets, from the coarser fabrics of flax to the gossamer webs of cotton
and silk, it has sustained and beautified man’s life from the night of history to the
latest passing hour; It is the veritable nurse of civilization.

In general, weaving involves the interlacing of two sets of threads or yarns at right
angles to each other: the warp and the weft, to produce a two-dimensional fabric.
The warps are held taut and in parallel order, typically by means of a loom, though
some forms of weaving may use other methods. The loom is warped (or dressed)
with the warp threads passing through heddles on two or more harnesses. The warp
threads are moved up or down by the harnesses creating a space called the shed.
The weft thread is wound onto spools called bobbins. The bobbins are placed in a
shuttle which carries the weft thread through the shed. The raising/lowering
sequence of warp threads gives rise to many possible weave structures from the
simplest plain weave (also called tabby), through twills and satins to complex
computer-generated interlacing. The cloth produced can be plain (in one color or a
simple pattern), or it can be woven in decorative or artistic designs, including
tapestries. The appearance of the fabric is determined by the uniformity of the of pick
spacing or the number of picks per inch of the cloth (ppi); the packing density of the
warp and weft in the body of the fabric or the fabric cover factor; the ratio of the warp
density to the weft density or the sett; the different color warp and weft used for
weaving, and the designs formed by changing the movement of the warp threads.
The productivity depends not only on the mechanization, but also on the quality of
the cloth and what kinds of design it has. Making complex designs on the fabric
lowers the productivity, but the resulting signs mark-up in the price of the fabric much
more than offsets the extra labor involved. With mechanisms such as the dobby and
jacquards, the productivity, depending on the complexity of the design, can go down
significantly, but the returns are very high.

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On the conventional loom, there are three basic motions that are carried out for
weaving a fabric. They are:

I. PRIMARY MOTIONS

The primary motion itself consists of three basic operations which form a continuous
cycle whether in the simplest hand loom or in the most complicated automatic
machine.

These primary motions are:

 Shedding

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 Picking
 Beating up

In the absence of primary motions, Weaving is never possible.

1. SHEDDING

The raising and lowering of warp yarns is carried out by the heald frames that hold
the ends by means of heald and heals eyes. As the heald frames move up and down
an opening is formed between the ends called a SHED. This first weaving operation
is therefore known as shedding.

2. PICKING

Picking is the insertion of a weft thread across the warp yarns through the shed. On
raising the heald frames which in turn raises the warp yarns, the filling yarn is
inserted through the shed by a carrier device which is a shuttle. A shuttle with a weft
pirn is passed through the shed and as it passes a length of weft thread is unwound
from the weft pirn and it remains in the warp shed.

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3. BEAT UP

Beating up is basically carrying forward of the last inserted pick of weft to the cloth
already woven that is up to the cloth fell. All the warp yarns pass through the heald
eyelets and through openings in another frame that resembles a comb and is called
a reed. With each picking operation the reed automatically pushes or beats each
filling yarn against the fell of the cloth.This third essential weaving operation is
therefore called beating up, or battening. It gives the fabric a firm compact
construction.

The picking and beating up operations are fixed no matter what type of fabric is
being produced but the shedding motion is variable and can be described as the
heart of weaving as it is here that the nature of interlacing or the weave is decided.

II. SECONDARY MOTIONS

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The secondary motions consist of two operations:

• Take up
• Let off
In the absence of secondary motions, longer length of fabrics is not possible.

1. TAKE UP:

With each shedding picking and beating up operation the newly constructed fabric
must be wound on the cloth beam. This process is known as taking up.

The take up process involves pulling the cloth forward after the beat up of weft,
maintaining the same pick density and spacing throughout weaving of the cloth and
winding the woven cloth onto a roller. Thus, the take up motion determines the speed
of cloth withdrawal and therefore, the density of spacing of the weft picks in the cloth.

2. LET OFF:

As the cloth is rolled up, the warp ends from the warp beam must be unwound so
that yarns will not be stretched to the point of breakage and the cloth fell position is
maintained at the desired point keeping the average warp tension constant. This
function is accomplished by the let off motion.

Thus the let off motion determines the rate at which the warp is fed forward and the
tension of the warp yarn. The tension is largely responsible for the configuration of
warp.

III. AUXILIARY MOTIONS

In order to produce good quality of cloth and to prevent damages it is necessary to

have some stop motions provided on the loom which are:

• Warp stop motion

• Weft fork stop motion
• Warp protector motion

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 • Temples
• Brakes
In the absence of auxiliary motions one can weave longer lengths of fabric but not
fault free fabric.

1. WARP STOP MOTION

The purpose of warp stop motion is to stop the loom when a warp thread breaks. The
loom also stops when a warp thread becomes excessively loose.

If a broken warp thread is not detected immediately it will tend t get entangled round
adjacent threads thus causing more end breakages or will create a fault known as
float in the woven cloth.

There are two types of warp stop motions:

• Mechanical
• Electrical

2. WEFT FORK STOP MOTION

This motion enables to stop the loom immediately after a weft break or weft running
out. In case the loom is allowed to run even after the weft breaks there will be no
woven cloth except long threads of warp.

There are two types of weft fork stop motions:

• Side weft fork stop motion

• Centre weft fork stop motion

3. WARP PROTECTOR MOTION

The function of the warp protector motion is to stop when the shuttle fails to reach
the shuttle fails to reach the shuttle box during picking.

There are two types:

• Loose reed

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 • Fast reed

4. TEMPLES

In order to hold fast the width of the cloth as equal to as possible as possible to the
width of the warp of the reed, temples are provided near the fell of the cloth so as to
oppose the natural contraction taking place at the cloth fell.

Also the function of the temples is to prevent breakage at selvedge ends.

The types of temples are:

• Full width temples

• Nipper temples
• Sun temples
• Roller temples
• Ring temples
• Combination of different types

5. BRAKES

A brake is a device by means of which artificial frictional resistance is applied to a

moving body in order to stop the motion of a loom.

The most commonly used brakes in loom:

• Shoe brake
• Band brake

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 LOOM

The word ‘loom’ is derived from the old English ‘geloma’ which means simply ‘tool’ or
‘utensil’.

A loom is a machine or device for weaving thread or yarn into textiles. In practice, the
basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the
interweaving of the weft threads. Loom is best defined generally as any frame or
contrivance for holding warp threads parallel to permit the interlacing of the weft at
right angles to form a web.

It is generally agreed that the weaving of textiles on looms began during the Neolithic
Age in Europe. Vertical looms were probably the first to be invented. The earliest
representation of a loom dated 5000 BC illustrates a horizontal ground loom from
Badari. On this loom the warp is stretched horizontally between two beams pegged a
few inches above the ground. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese used looms as
early as 4000 BC. As long as the material to be woven was fairly rigid, no additional
apparatus was necessary. How the loom developed was to a large extent dependent
on what fiber was used for the warp. The history of the evolution of the loom is a
history of minor innovations, mostly designed to increase the speed of fabric
production.

The entire weaving process can be simplified into three basic operations- holding the
warp under tension, opening and changing the shed, and inserting and beating up
the weft. All the improvements and changes in loom design and construction are
concerned with one or more of these problems. Once weaving entered the
commercial arena, doing it better usually meant doing it faster. Today, pattern cards
for Jacquard weaving can be cut by computer and woven at the rate of 200 picks per
minute. On other modern looms water jets can propel weft yarn through a shed at the
rate of 1000 picks per minute. The handloom, which began as a mechanism to
furnish necessities, has survived as a specialized tool of the handicraftsman who
furnishes art of luxury fabrics.

Looms can range from very small hand-held frames, to large free-standing hand
looms, to huge automatic mechanical devices. The precise shape of the loom and its
mechanics may vary, but the basic function is the same.

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 Types of looms

On the basis of picking mechanism looms are divided into two types:

1. Shuttle looms
2. Shuttle less looms

1. Shuttle loom

It is the oldest and conventional type which uses a shuttle that contains a
bobbin of filling yarn. As the shuttle is batted/passed across the loom it leaves
a trial of filling at the rate of about 110 to 225 picks per minute.

Disadvantages

 Shuttle sometimes causes abrasion on the warp yarns as it passes over them
and sometimes cause thread breakages
 This in-turn results in machine stoppage in-order to tie the broken yarns
 It operates more slowly and are noisy

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2. Shuttle-less Looms

It is developed to overcome the disadvantages in Shuttle looms. Each type

uses a different type of picking mechanism.

• Projectile/Missie loom

It was developed in 1950’s in Switzerland. In this picking action is

accomplished by a series of small bullet-like projectiles which grip the filling
yarn and carry it through the shed and then return empty. All filling yarns are
inserted from same side of the loom. A special tucking device is used to hold
the ends of the filling to from the selvedge. Speed of 300 ppm can be
achieved on this loom. It is less noisy compared to shuttle loom.

• Rapier Looms

It is competitors to missile loom. There are several types of this loom. One type uses
one long rapier device that reaches across the width of the loom to carry the filling
from one side to other side of the loom. Another type uses a double rapier, one on
each side of the loom. Rapier construction may be of rigid, flexible etc. In each case,

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one rapier feeds the filling yarn halfway through the shed to the arm on the other side
of the other rapier. It is more efficient. The speed ranges from 200 to 260 ppm.

 Water-Jet Looms:It was first developed in Czechoslovakia in 1950’s and

subsequently refined by Japanese in the 1960’s. It is designed to weave faster
and to relieve the tension on the filling yarn as it is carried through the shed. A
pre-measured length of filling yarn is carried across the loom by a jet of water. It
operates at high speeds of about 600 ppm and noise levels are lower than
shuttle, missile and rapier. Disadvantage is that the water jet looms are restricted
to production of fabrics made of yarns that are not readily absorbent such as
filament yarns of acetate, nylon, polyester and glass. But it can produce superior
quality fabrics that have good appearance.

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Air-jet Looms

It was invented in Czechoslovakia and later refined by Swiss, Dutch and

Japanese. It is designed to retain the tensionless aspect of picking action of
water-jet while eliminating the problems caused by the use of water. It uses a jet
of air for insertion of filling yarns at the rate of about 600 ppm. It requires
uniformity in filling yarns and suitable for heavier yarns as the lighter yarns are
difficult to control through the shed.

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 • Circular Looms

It is specifically designed to produce tubular rather than flat fabrics. It requires

shuttle device that circulates the filling in a shed formed around the machine. It
used primarily for bagging material.

Other types include:

Handloom

The earliest looms were vertical shaft, with the heddles fixed in place in the shaft.
The warp threads pass alternately through a heddle and through a space between
the heddles, so that raising the shaft will raise half the threads (those passing
through the heddles), and lowering the shaft will lower the same threads -- the
threads passing through the spaces between the heddles remain in place.

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Haute lisse and basse lisse looms

Looms used for weaving traditional tapestry are classified as haute lisse looms,
where the warp is suspended vertically between two rolls, and the basse lisse looms,
where the warp extends horizontally between the rolls.

Power looms

The first completely automated loom was made by Jacques Vaucanson in 1745. It
was used for silk but didn't develop further. Edmund Cartwright built and patented a
power loom in 1785, and it was this that was adopted by the nascent cotton industry.

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Powered looms were shuttle-operated for two hundred years. In the early part of the
20th century the faster and more efficient shuttle less rapier looms and air looms
came into use. Modern industrial looms can weave at speeds 2000 Weft insertions
per minute. Today, advances in technology have produced a variety of looms
designed to maximize production for specific types of material. The most common of
these are air-jet looms and water-jet looms. Computer-driven looms are now also
available to individual (non-industrial) weavers.

 Knitting looms

Knitting looms (also known as Amish looms or knitting boards) were recently
popularized in crafting circles by the Knifty Knitter system. Knitting looms are a
descendant of the frame loom. Grooved pegs are spaced along a central frame.
These pegs are wrapped with yarn in various ways, and then the knitter uses an
angled hook to pull the wrapped yarn over the top of the peg, resulting in a fabric
with stitches similar to a needle knitted item.

DOBBY LOOM

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23
 INTRODUCTION

A Dobby Loom is a type of floor loom that controls the warp threads using a device
called a dobby. Dobby is short for "draw boy" which refers to the weaver's helpers
who used to control the warp thread by pulling on draw threads.

A dobby loom is an alternative to a treadle loom. Each of them is a floor loom in

which every warp thread on the loom is attached to a single shaft using a device
called a heddle. A shaft is sometimes known as a harness, but this terminology is
becoming obsolete among active weavers. Each shaft controls a set of threads.
Raising or lowering several shafts at the same time gives a huge variety of possible
sheds through which the shuttle containing the weft thread can be thrown.

A manual dobby uses a chain of bars or lags each of which has pegs inserted to
select the shafts to be moved. A computer assisted dobby loom uses a set of
solenoids or other electronic devices to select the shafts. Activation of these
solenoids is under the control of computer program. In either case the selected
shafts are raised or lowered by either leg power on a dobby pedal or electric or other
power sources.

On a treadle loom, each foot-operated treadle is connected by a linkage called a tie-

up to one or more shafts. More than one treadle can operate a single shaft. The tie-
up consists of cords or similar mechanical linkages tying the treadles to the lams that
actual lift or lowers the shaft.

On treadle operated looms, the number of sheds is limited by the number of treadles
available. An eight shaft loom can create 254 different sheds. There are actually 256
possibilities which is 2 to the power eight, but having all threads up or all threads
down isn't very useful. However, most eight shaft floor looms have only ten to twelve
treadles due to space limitations. This limits the weaver to ten to twelve distinct
sheds. It is possible to use both feet to get more sheds, but that is rarely done in
practice. It is even possible to change tie-ups in the middle of weaving a cloth but
this is a tedious and error prone process so this too is rarely done.

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With a dobby loom, all 254 possibilities are available at any time. This vastly
increases the number of cloth designs available to the weaver. The advantage of a
dobby loom becomes even more pronounced on looms with 12 shafts (4094 possible
sheds), 16 shafts (65,534 possible sheds), or more. It reaches its peak on a
Jacquard loom in which each thread is individually controlled.

A dobby can be employed in working forty-eight heald shafts. Each heald shaft has
its own pair of hooks, the front to the lift and the back one to depress.

Lags And Pegs

At the side of the dobby loom and touching the surface of the spring wires, is a
cylinder, carrying upon it a chain of flat wooden bars, named as lags. When in
working order, the lags are equipped with pegs which fill up certain holes, and
pressed against the spring wires, pushing the front hooks over the front knife and the
back hooks off the back knife. The exact order in which the lags are pressed does
not matter.

There are many forms of lag, and different methods of operating them; in some
power-loom dobbies, the lags are displaced by cards. Being chains, lags may be of
any length, containing one, two, three, or as many repeats of a pattern as may
appear advisable.

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 DOBBY SHEDDING MECHANISM

In dobby shedding, the heald frames are operated by jacks and levers. The order of
lifting and lowering of the heald frames, as per a lifting plan, is controlled by a pattern
chain that gives unlimited scope for weaving designs, repeating on large number of
picks. This mechanism can control upto 24 heald frames, depending upon the crank
arm length.

The design possibilities are:

• Twill

• Satin

• Crepe

• Honeycomb

• Huck-a-back

• Mock leno

• Bedford cord

• Double cloth

The disadvantages of dobby mechanism are:

a. The mechanism is complicated

b. Initial cost is high

c. Maintenance cost is high

d. Can produce design faults in woven fabric

e. Tend to limit the loom speed when compared to the tappet shedding

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 TYPES OF DOBBIES

Dobbies may be right-handed or left-handed, according to the position of the treadle

on the hand loom or the driving rod on the power loom. In pegging, it is necessary to
consider which hand the dobby belongs to, the rule being that the first lag which
turns in towards the dobby mechanism is the first to be pegged.

THE KEIGHLEY DOBBY

One of the most useful of the dobbies operated on the power loom is known as the
Keighley dobby. This dobby has been a great favourite with weavers of all classes of
fabrics. In this, the levers are dispensed within the lag mechanism, and the lags are
set directly to at upon the hooks.

A Dobby with Needles

In some particular dobbies, the lag cylinder suffers in comparison with the card
cylinder and the pegs do not obtain the same degree of favor as the needles.

Dobby with horizontal needle

The machine known as the single lift dobby stills finds its use. The frame is placed
over the centre of the loom, the ends of the vertical hooks being above the middle of
the shafts. Each hook passes through the eye of a horizontal needle; as this needle
is the means of lifting the hook on or off the griffe. All the needles are contained
within the framing, perforated plates at front and back holding them in position while
allowing them for free motion to and fro.

There are numerous dobby machines of various forms and applications. In all,
however, all the essentials are similar. Centre shed, double-lift, cross-border, the

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Blackburn, the Burnley, the closed shed and positive open shed dobbies in their
several forms exhibit great ingenuity.

ADVANTAGES OF DOBBY LOOMS

1. The ability to handle much longer sequences in the pattern. A weaver working
on a tread led loom must remember the entire sequence of tread lings that
make up the pattern, and must keep track of where they are in the sequence
at all times.
2. The dobby appliance is of immense service to textile manufacture. The
compactness of the machine, the wide range of heald-shafts it can control and
the directness of the relation between the pattern design and the heald shaft
mechanism are qualities which place dobby among the most useful of
shedding appliances.
3. On a manual dobby the sequence that makes up the pattern is represented by
the chain of dobby bars. The length of the sequence is limited by the length of
the dobby chain. This can easily be several hundred dobby bars, although an
average dobby chain will have approximately fifty bars.
4. A computer controlled dobby loom (Computer-Dobby) takes this one step
further by replacing the mechanical dobby chain with computer controlled
shaft selection.
5. In addition to being able to handle sequences that are virtually unlimited, the
construction of the shaft sequences is done on the computer screen rather
than by building a mechanical dobby chain. This allows the weaver to load
and switch weaves drafts in seconds without even getting up from the loom.
6. The design process performed on the computer provides the weaver with a
more intuitive way to design fabrics seeing it on the computer screen is easier
than trying to visualize it by looking at the dobby chain. One such example of
Computer-Dobby loom is Leclerc Weavebird Computer-Dobby looms.

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7. Dobby looms expand a weaver’s capability and remove some of the tedious
work involved in designing and producing fabric. Many newer cloth design
techniques such as network drafting can only reach their full potential on a
dobby loom.

ADVANCEMENTS IN DOBBY LOOMS

All shuttle looms can be modified in such a way that weft can be inserted
continuously without frequent pirn change. This method can be used in all types
of plain looms attached with dobby and also with drop box/under pick/pick and
pick mechanisms.

The dobby mechanism can be used to change the color of the weft as and when
required. A special mail eye is fitted in the dobby and they are lifted so that the
required color weft can be drawn from the particular mail eye.

With this system one can weave half of the fabric with one color, another half with
a different color by keeping two different color threads in both sides of the cones.
By providing more number of cones of different colors at the feeding end one can
weave stripe or check patterns without drop-box mechanism.

The advantages of this system are numerous:

3. For wider width looms this system is very much suitable. Small
sectors in the country can increase their production without any
extra expenditure.
4. Using this method one can weave fabrics like cotton, rayon,
polyester, silks using normal plain power looms.
5. The electronic warp stop motion and weft stop motion on these
looms give a fault free fabric.

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6. The system is less expensive and easy to maintain and saves time
in the production.

JACQUARD LOOM

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INTRODUCTION TO JACQUARD

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Decorated fabrics can only be woven by a loom that allows the raising and lowering
of individual warp threads to permit the different coloured weft threads to be inserted
by the shuttle in such a way that a design can be created in the fabric.

The first loom that made it possible to create a pattern in fabric was called a
drawloom. The first draw loom was invented in China in or around the 2nd century
BC. This loom allowed the warp threads to be drawn up individually to create a
design to be woven. But it was maddeningly slow and search for a more user-friendly
loom that could weave intricate designs only ended with invention of jacquard loom.

The Jacquard Loom is a mechanical loom, invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard.

The Jacquard Loom is a mechanical loom, invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in
1804, that simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles with complex patterns
such as brocade, damask, and matelasse. The loom is controlled by punch cards
with punched holes, each row of which corresponds to one row of the design.
Multiple rows of holes are punched on each card and the many cards that compose
the design of the textile are strung together in order. It is based on earlier inventions
by the Frenchmen Basile Bouchon (1725), Jean Falcon (1728) and Jacques
Vaucanson(1740).

On seeing Jacquard's punched card system, the mathematician Charles Babbage

was inspired to use the same principles to design a mechanical calculating machine,
the forerunner of modern computers, that he called the “Analytical Engine”. He
himself wrote,

“The system of cards which Jacquard invented is means by which we can

communicate to a very ordinary loom orders to weave any pattern that may be
desired. Availing myself of the same beautiful invention I have by similar means
communicated to my Calculating Engine orders to calculate any formula however
complicated.”

200 years later, the inventions of Jacquard and Babbage led the world to the modern
day computer which, among an almost infinite and growing number of uses, guides
the jacquard loom in reproducing tapestries of exquisite detail.

HISTORY

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In consequence of the Industrial Revolution, the late 18th century had witnessed a
considerable expansion in the automation of processes that had once been the
preserve of small groups of highly skilled workers employed in so-called ‘cottage
industries'. The textile industry was one sphere were industrialization had rendered
obsolete such skills. Whereas, prior to the development of mechanical looms and
weaving machines, lengths of fabric had to be woven slowly by hand, the advent of
powered tools for carrying out this task meant that quantities of fabric could be mass-
produced at a far quicker rate than previously, thereby reducing its expense. There
was one area, however, where the new machines could not compete with skilled
manual workers, adding designs to fabric.

In 1804, however, everything changed. Jacquard unveiled the loom that now bears
his name. Joseph Marie Jacquard, a weaver of silk, invented the Jacquard loom,
which made use of punch cards in order to improve the functionality of the textile
loom. The Jacquard Loom provided a solution to this problem so that, with it in use,
extremely intricate patterns and pictures could be automatically woven into cloth at
much the same rate as a plain length of fabric could be generated. The jacquard
loom incorporated ideas from other, experimental looms, but in a way that created a
uniquely practical machine.

Like jacquard’s earlier loom, the jacquard loom could be operated without the help of
a draw boy, because a mechanical device that could lift the warp threads had been
added. Perhaps the most innovative feature of the jacquard loom, however, was that
it could be ‘programmed’ to create any desired design by using punch cards. A
punch card is a small card made of thick paper with a pattern of holes.

The punch- card system endowed the loom with flexibility; the punch cards could be
arranged to create a repeating pattern or to weave one large design. Unlike
Jacquard’s earlier loom, this loom had no limitations on the type of design that could
be automatically woven. In addition, if a weaver wanted to use an identical design in
other tapestry; the cards for that design could be reused. Since the jacquard loom

33
lifted the correct threads automatically, the process of weaving designs became
much faster. Earlier weaving designs into silk was an extremely time-consuming
process and silk weavers often could not begin to meet the demand for the demand
for their products. A skilled weaver and draw boy using the best equipment available
used to produce only about an inch (2.54cm) of desired silk cloth a day. A weaver
using a Jacquard loom could weave up to two feet (0.6m) of fabric each day, in any
design imaginable, and all without the help of a draw boy. Jacquard’s loom
astonished his contemporaries, and jacquard himself received enormous praise. In
1805, Napoleon decreed Jacquard’s loom public property, guaranteeing its inventor
a lavish annual pension from the French government and a generous royalty for
every jacquard loom brought into use.

Joseph Marie Jacquard's invention was fiercely opposed by the silk-weavers, who
feared that its introduction, owing to the saving of labor, would deprive them of their
livelihood. In fact, the introduction of these looms caused the riots against the
replacement of people by machines in the second half of the 18th century.

However, its advantages secured its general adoption, and by 1812 there were
11,000 automated looms in use in France. The Jacquard loom was declared public
property in 1806, and Jacquard was rewarded with a pension and a royalty on each
machine. The looms allowed French weavers to make much larger, more elaborate
designs than had been practical with previous looms. The result was a boon in the
French textile industry and a sharp increase in demand for French fabrics abroad.
France tried to maintain the advantage by keeping the new technology secret, but
details of the Jacquard loom eventually leaked-out. By the 1830s, Jacquard looms
were in use in other European countries, including Great Britain.

Jacquard continued making improvements to his loom. In 1819, he received the

Cross of the Legion of Honour; one of France’s most prestigious awards. In the
1820s, Jacquard retired to the village of Oullins, where he died in 1834.

Jacquard looms are still in use, and the word jacquard is now a common noun
meaning a fabric with an elaborate weave or pattern. Modern Jacquard looms are
powered by electricity, and computers are used to develop the designs, but the basic
process remains unchanged.

For inventing such a labor saving device, Joseph Jacquard should be applauded. His
invention let weavers continue to make beautiful tapestries, but at a price that could
be afforded by a greater portion of the population. These lower prices are letting the
average person be able to display these fine works in their homes and enjoy
something once reserved for only the rich.

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“The portrait of Jacquard was, in fact, a sheet of woven silk, framed and glazed, but
looking so perfectly like an engraving that it has been mistaken for such by two
members of the Royal Academy.”

Charles Babbage

The portrait deliberately designed to illustrate and show off the Jacquard loom’s
capabilities, is so complex it contains 24000 rows of weaving. Every single row was
controlled by a 19th century programming device – punching cards. These punched
cards lie at the heart of Jacquard’s brilliant concept of an automatic loom that
weaves complex patterns and images. The dimension of this is 20 x 14 inch. It is
now preserved at Science Museum in London although unfortunately the portrait is
no longer on general display.

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Jacquard introducing Napoleon to his newly-invented loom.

A Jacquard Loom workshop - Germany, 1858

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 JACQUARD SHEDDING MECHANISM

A decorative woven or knitted pattern manufactured by using the Jacquard

attachment on the loom. This attachment has a punch card like a piano, so it offers
better design versatility and fabric control. In this shedding the warp ends are
controlled individually by harness cords. There will ne as many cords as there are
ends in the warp. There are no heald frames. Because the warp ends are controlled
individually by the shedding mechanism, the patterning possibilities are virtually
limited. Some types of jacquard fabrics have specific names, like damask and
brocade. Used in a variety of apparel, like our Holdup Suspenders and home goods
form drapes to upholstery.

The Jacquard Loom consists of two main parts:

1. Loom

2. Jacquard

The loom is bolted to the flooring and the jacquard is suspended from the ceiling
resting on heavy beams. The two are connected by a series of cords known as
Harness.

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 PRINCIPLE PARTS OF THE JACQUARD MACHINE

A jacquard machine consists of three different parts:

(1) An engine i.e. shedding motion

(2) Harness, and

(3) A mechanism which connects the engine to the loom

ENGINE

This part of the machine contains the mechanism by which the warp threads are
selected and lifted to form the top shed line. Main parts of the engine are

• Needles
• Needle board
• Spring box
• Hooks
• Griffe
• Cylinder
• Card Cradle

a. Needles

The needles rest with their heads in the needle-board, the needles extending outside
the needle board towards the cylinder by about 4 mm. The rear part of the needle - a
loop - passes in the spring-box. In a single lift jacquard, a needle carries at its rear
end small light helical spring contained in the spring-box. The needles are constantly
pushed towards the cylinder by these springs. If the needles are not pushed
backwards towards the spring-box, the upper crooks of the hooks will remain in the
position, over the griffe-bar and raising the latter will raise every one of these hooks;
but when the heads of the needles are pushed backwards, the hooks are also moved
out of the way of the rising griffe-bars, thus causing an empty lift when they are
raised.

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b. Needle-board

It is a wooden board perforated with holes corresponding to the number of needles

and it serves as a guide for the needles to be presented to the cylinder.

c. Spring- box

The rear part of the needle, a loop, is passed in the spring-box and the loop permits
a flat wire or a pin to be inserted which holds the needle in position. One pin is
required for each vertical row of the needles. A brass spiral spring is securely held on
one end by the wider part of the loop and on the other end by the pin inserted in the
loop. Pressing the needle at the head compresses the spring and removal of the
pressure at the head of the needle will bring the spring to its natural position, pushing
the needle to its original place.

d. Hooks

The vertical wires are turned over at the top to from a hook for which reason they are
called hooks of the jacquards machine. The top portion of the hook in its upright
position is over the griffe-bar or knife. As the hook passes through the bent portion of
the needle, it can be taken away from the knife if the needle is pressed back. The
hooks are doubled at the base and turned upwards for about one third of their
lengths. This double end is passed through a narrow slot in the grate. The end of the
double wire also forms a hook which normally rests on the semicircular ribs. The
double wire portion combined with the cross wire in the grate effectively prevents the
hook from twisting around. At the bottom portion of the double wire of the hook, short
but strong cords known as neck cords are looped and are subsequently passed
through the perforations of the tug board. Thus when a hook is raised a neck cord is
also lifted up along with it. In a single lift jacquard, there are as many hooks as the
number of hooks to that of the needles.

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e. Griffe

The knives are made of strong hoop iron and these horizontal knives (or griffe-bars)
are contained in the iron frame called the griffe on head. The griffe with the knives is
operated to rise and fall in a vertical plane. There are as many knives in a jacquard
as there are hooks in the short row. Every knife is fitted close to the hook but is
not allowed to press against them. The sides of the knives facing the hooks are
leveled off. This is to avoid the striking the top of the hooks are made to occupy
such a position that they will be caught by the knives, the hooks and
consequently the harness lines are lifted up when the griffe moves up.

f. Cylinder

The perforated cards are laced to form and endless chain over, a four sided
wooden prism called a cylinder. (Though called a cylinder, it is not circular in its
cross-section). It is made of very hard and well seasoned wood to prevent any
tendency to subsequent warping in the humid atmosphere of the weaving
department. Each face of the cylinder is perforated to correspond with the
number and arrangement of the needles in the machine. The tapering wooden
pegs are driven into every face, midway between the cylinder edges. These pegs
help in drawing forward and holding each card in turn, with its holes over those in
the cylinder.

The function of the card cylinder is to present on jacquard cards to the needles,
one at a time. A metal supporting end called lantern is fixed on each end of the
cylinder. The cylinder is supported by gudgeons, their bearings being in a frame
that moves horizontally. The cylinder is given two types of motions:

i. to-and fro motion

ii. rotary motion to the extent of one fourth revolution

Resting on the lantern of the cylinder is an inverted T-shaped hammer. A strong

spiral spring keeps the hammer in contact with the iron part of the cylinder.

40
g. Card Cradle

When a large number of cards are to be worked on the machine, the entire
weight of the cards will have to be borne by the Jacquard machine. A long
endless chain of cards suspended above will also obstruct the working and
vision of the loom parts. It is also necessary to keep the bulk of the cards in a
convenient position so that they may be taken up by the cylinder in a proper
sequence. In order to achieve all these functions, a card-cradle is provided below
the iron on steel girders on which the jacquard machine is mounted. Wires,
slightly longer than the length of the cards are attached to the set of cards at
regular intervals of say 12, 16, 20 or 24 cards. A card cradle consists of two
curved iron rods kept at a distance slightly in excess of the length of the cards.
When the attached wire reaches these curved rods, its ends rest on them
thereby supporting the cards.

MECHANISM WHICH CONNECTS THE ENGINE TO THE LOOM

41
A jacquard is installed on a support over the loom in many ways. The support is
known as gantry. It is made of steel or wooden beams carried on columns resting on
the ground or hung from the ceiling. The best height for a jacquard is generally
decided by the width of the warp in the reed.

Jacquard is usually driven from the loom shaft by means of rods and levers. Modern
driving motions are either by steel roller chains with machine cut wheels or by a
vertical revolving shaft with a bevel and bevel wheel drive.

In jacquard shedding two drives are essential:

(1) To drive the griffe in a vertical plane so as to operate the hooks and

(2) To drive the cylinder.

The cylinder in its turn needs two types of drives:

a. Cylinder with its cards facing the needle board should move
towards the needles to accomplish the selection is over, the cylinder
should move away from the needle board so that it should be turned
through a quarter turn to present another card when it moves into
the needle board next time. This is to-and-fro motion of the cylinder.
b. When the cylinder moves out, it should get a quarter turn, as
mentioned above to present the next card in the series. This is a
rotary motion of the cylinder.

There are many ways in which the above motions and drives are obtained which
one can easily study on machine with which he has to work.

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 CONVENTIONAL MECHANISMS

Jacquards are devices that help form the warp shed in the desired manner. They
consist of two parts, namely a selection device for choosing which warp threads are
to go up and which are to remain down, a lifting mechanism to lift the warp that has
to be raised.

• Lifting mechanism

Warp pass through the eyes in the heald cords instead of the heald wires as in the
case of frame shedding. Warp threads are divided into groups that are connected to
hooks resting above them by a system of harnesses that are guided by the comber
board. The knives constantly move up and down and lift the hooks that are resting on
them. If a particular hook is required to stay down, (i.e. the warp threads are
supposed to stay down), then it is made to disengage from the knife. When the knife
goes up, tile selected hook stays down while the others go up.

• Selection device

The selection of the hook is done by a mechanism that is preprogrammed to control

the hooks according to the design. The design program is in the form of a card in
which holes have been punched. Each card represents an individual pick while each
hole on the card (or the space where tile hole could be but is not) controls an
individual group of ends. A chain of cards, with holes punched in them, is used as
required. The number of cards in the chain is equal to tile number of picks in the
length of the repeat of the design along the warp. The chain of cards moves on a
quadrangular cylinder that rotates to present a new card to the needles after every
pick. The needles are perpendicular to the hooks and loop around them. When a
needle moves horizontally, the hook catches in the loop and bends away from the
knife. The needles are arranged in such a way that they are aligned with holes (or
the places where the holes could have been) in the card. The cylinder on which the
chain of cards moves can also oscillate horizontally back and forth. This is done to
facilitate the rotational movement of the cylinder.

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 FUNCTION

Most of the fabrics are used for domestic and industrial purposes, but some of the
fabrics have decorative uses. A fabric may be ornamented by:

• Embroidering

• Printing

• Figured weaving

In the first two cases the fabric is first manufactured and ornamentation is done
subsequently but in the case of figured weaving the cloth is ornamented
simultaneously with its production. Dobbies and jacquard shedding are employed.

The expression jacquard loom which is frequently used is a misnomer since the term
jacquard implies to shedding mechanism only which can be mounted on any loom by
making a few alterations. There is no heald-shaft harness as used in dobby or tappet
shedding mechanism but instead a thread harness is used.

Jacquard weave is used to produce patterned fabrics. The intricate patterns or

figures are created all over the fabrics. Fabrics of jacquard weave are costly because
it involves more time and skill in making the Jacquard cards to produce new pattern.
Moreover the weaving operation is also very slow.

Characteristics of Jacquard Weave

• The fabrics have the tendency to have floats.

• It has luster contrasts.
• It has snagging potential.
• It is more stable and resilient than the basic weaves.

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All fancy or figured fabrics such as

 Silk
 Cotton brocades
 Damasks
 Brocatelle
 Matelasse
 Toilet quilts
 Extra-warp or extra-welt figured fabrics
 Figured equal or unequal double cloths
 Madras muslin
 Swivel fabrics
 Leno brocades
 Tapestries
 Portraits
 Animals
 Geometrical figures
 Landscapes

The above fabrics require the jacquard shedding mechanism to weave them on the
loom. A number of weaves may be used in combination to produce a Jacquard
design with the desired effects. Jacquard weaving is, however, an expensive form of
weaving as it is accompanied with designing, card cutting, lacing and all other jobs
associated with. The speed of the loom with jacquard shedding mechanism is also
lower than that of a similar loom with dobby or tappet shedding.

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CLASSIFICATION OF JACQUARD

46
The Ordinary Mechanical Jacquard can be classified on three basis, viz:

47
 I. Types of shed:

1. Bottom closed shed

2. Centre closed shed

3. Open shed

4. Semi-open shed

II. Number of griffe:

1. Single-

a. Single lift single cylinder

2. Double-

a. Double lift single cylinder

b. Double lift double cylinder

III. Pitch:

The Special Mechanical Jacquards are of many types. Some of them are:

• Cross-border Jacquard

• Self-twilling Jacquard

• Plain Double Cloth Jacquard

• Leno Jacquard

• Split Harness Jacquard

• Pressure Harness Jacquard

• Marseilles Quilt Harness Jacquard

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• Mitchelline Quilt Harness Jacquard

The Electronic Jacquards are of three kinds; viz:

1. Grossee

2. Bonus

3. Staubli

Comparison Between Slsc, Dlsc And Dldc

BASIS SLSC DLSC DLDC

There is a There are two There are two lifting

single lifting lifting agents agents
No. Of lifting agents
agents

There is a There is a single There are two

single cylinder. cylinder. cylinders.
No. Of
cylinders

Each end is Each end is Each end is

controlled by controlled by two controlled by to
Ends single hook. hooks. hooks.
controlled
by

Bottom closed Semi open shed is Semi open shed is

shed is formed formed formed
Type of shed

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 Drive to griffe Drive to griffe from Drive to griffe from
from crank bottom shaft crank shaft with the
Drive to griffe shaft help of common
shaft

BASIS SLSC DLSC DLDC

Drive to Drive to cylinder Drive to cylinder

cylinder from from crank shaft from crank shaft
Drive to crank shaft with the help of a
cylinder common shaft

Beating up is Beating up is done Beating up is done

done in closed in crossed shed so in cross shed so
shed so firm firm beat up is firm beat up is
Beating up beat up is not possible. possible.
possible.

Usually used in Used in ordinary Used in cotton and

delicate weaving forms of heavy weaving
Use weaving cotton weaving industry

SLSC-Single lift single cylinder

DLSC-Double lift single cylinder

DLDC-Double lift double cylinder

JACQUARD WEAVING IN INDIA

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The Jacquard loom was introduced in India under the British and soon became the
preferred choice of weavers as they could create complex designs with much less
labour. It also reduced the cost of cloth and brought it within the reach of the lower
classes. Today, the Jacquard loom is used in various parts of India. The main
centres are Delhi, Jaipur, Varanasi, Kanchi, Kolkata, and Mangalore where cloth for
products like tapestry, upholstery, saris, shawls, scarves and other apparels are
produced.

PROBLEMS

1. Effort

When the warp warps are in their natural position, that is, in a straight line between
the warp beam and the cloth roller, they are said to be in the centre shed position.
When they have moved to the top position they are said to be in the top shed and
when they are in the bottom position they are said to be in bottom shed.

In the centre shed the warp are in the least motion. Because they are distorted out of
their straight line in both the top and the bottom shed, the tension in the warp
increases with a tendency for them to revert to the centre shed.

In a jacquard the normal position for a warp is the bottom shed. The warps are
normally distorted in the bottom shed position. When a shed is formed, the warps
that are supposed to be above during that pick go up while the other warps remain
down. This means that a jacquard is a negative mechanism, that is, it can move the
warps in just one direction. It can only raise the threads which then come down
owing to gravity.

Because the warps in the normal bottom shed are distorted out of shape, the tension
in them tries to pull them up. It is very important for them to remain in a clean bottom
shed line. If the warps are not at the same level, the shuttle flying over them will get
caught in them and break them. To keep the warp threads down in the bottom shed,
a downward force has to be applied to keep them down. In existing jacquards this is

51
done with the help of lingoes which are lengths of wires with a specific weight. These
lingoes hang from the eye harness, keeping the warp in the bottom shed position.

With the warp groups, the corresponding lingoes also have to be lifted up. The
weight of these lingoes adds up, as usually a couple of thousand odd threads are
worked upon. For example, if 2000 warps are being used and 12 grams of lingoes
are hanging from each eye harness and if half of the warps have to go up (as in the
case of a plain weave), then a dead weight of 12 kg has to be lifted. The problem is
severe in case of very complicated designs when weights close to 40-50 kg need to
be lifted.

2. Height

The conventional jacquards are very tall mechanisms for which either a special work
shed is required or weaving is done in the open.

This problem occurs because of the geometry of the harness that connects the
hooks to the heald cords, with the warp running through their corresponding eyes.
The warp threads that are not directly below the hook, to which they are attached,
rise up less than the one that is directly below. In fact the warp threads further away
from the one directly below the hook, rise successively less and less. The problem
becomes very pronounced in jacquards of big widths. The shed opening towards the
side ends of the loom gets progressively smaller and results in the shuttle rubbing on
the thread.

The height of a conventional jacquard is dependent on the harness which has to be

long in order to minimize this problem.

3. Complexity and cost

The existing jacquards are very heavy and complicated mechanisms. The selection
device does not directly act on the hooks, but through an interface, that is the
needless.

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 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF JACQUARD LOOM

ADVANTAGES

1. Can produce fabrics up to 600 epi or ppi.

2. Helps in constructing intricate design which are otherwise impossible by

dobby and tappet shedding mechanisms

3. Due to presence of cards, weaving of complex designs becomes possible. It is

a more simple method of feeding the design to the loom to weave.

4. Have lingoes for maintaining tension in the warp threads

5. Possible to control every warp yarn individually

6. As there are different cylinders for even and odd picks, each cylinder has to
turn one quarter in every two picks.

7. With the help of the casting out process, it is desirable to omit whole rows of
hooks if not required. This simplifies the designing and card-cutting process.

DISADVANTAGES

1. This mechanism contains more moving parts

2. Initial cost is very high

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3. Maintenance cost is also high

4. Can produce design faults in fabric

5. Preparing a design and cutting pattern cards requires skilled labor

6. Limitations on the speed of the loom due to complex mechanism

7. The loom becomes very large

8. There is a lot of wear and tear of the parts: hooks, needles, springs

9. Generates semi-open shed, in which there is unnecessary movement of warp

threads to the bottom shed line

10. Less efficient as manual operation

11. The link transfer between the hooks occurs at the highest speed of these
hooks, this result in the jerky performance of the harness cords which may result in
‘lashing’.

Advancements In Jacquard Looms

Since it takes a long time to produce a point-paper design (approx. two

hundred hours for one design), the computer can scan the pattern very rapidly and,
by means of a program, convert the warp and filling interlacing into a binary number
form that can be ‘read’ by the computer. The changes in the design can be made by
using light sonic pen.

The advantages of this system over regular jacquard looms are:

• Computer systems may be too expensive; however, automation shortens the

lead time between the design concept and the production of a sample.

• More than one version of a design can be made so there is more opportunity
for experimentation in the designing process.

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• Fast sampling may be economical because styling approval can be given
quickly.

• Manual card cutting is eliminated, for sampling as well as for large-scale

production.

• No need for special personnel training and thus, paying competitive wages for
jacquard card cutting.

• The magnetic tape required for making the final design can be stored in the
computer for future use.

REFERENCES

WEBSITES:

• www.texmin.nic.in

• www.indiantextilejournal.com

• www.indianmba.com

• www.baharttextile.com

• www.fabric-manufacturers.com

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 • www.ecvv.com

• www.housefabric.com

BOOKS:

• Handbook of Cotton Weaving, by M.I.R. Publishers

• Mechanism of Weaving, by Thomas. W. Fox

• Fancy Weaving Mechanisms

• Handbook of Weaving: Jacquard, by Puneet Kishore

• Principles of Weaving, by K.T. Ashwani

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