Indian Journal of Fibre & Textile Research

Vol. 19. September 1994. pp. 172-176

Developments in weaving machines

P K Ilari & I3 K Behera
Department of Textile Technology
Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi 110016, India

The major developments in weaving machinery are highlighted. The maximum weft insertion rates achieved by
the various shullleless weaving systems along with their application potential are described. Microprocessors
have been recognized as an inseparable part of all modem weaving machines. The increased importance of
versatility over productivity is highlighted keeping in view the present trend of fast changing fashion and style
in textile trade.
Keywords: Microelectronics, Quick-style-change system, Weaving, Weft insertion rate

1 Introduction
Excellent fabric quality and maximum profitability
are the two major requirements in today's competitive
fahric forming system. If one examines the developments in weaving machinery and woven fabrics during
the period since the second world war, it would be
ohserved that weaving has undergone a sea change.
Mechanisation, through automation of shuttle loom
machinery followed by shuttle\css looms, h~l" entered
in a new era of cIectronics, microprocessors, information technology and their application to the production
of woven fabrics_ Microprocessors, particularly in the
I~L"t 10-15 years, have revolutionized the whole weaving process including all the availahle systems of weft
insertion. Brieny, all major developments in weaving
machinery have been geared primarily towards the four
ohjectives :
increiL"ing productivity,
improving fahric quality,
reducing the numher of operations and hence
operating through automation, and
use of cIectronics and microprocessors for beller
monitoring of various mechanism to achieve the
ahove ohjcctives and reduce the cost of production_
In recent years, besides ahove, flexihility and improvement in machine utilization arc receiving more
attention hy the machine manufacturers. A decade ago,
the need wa<; for f~L"ter and more productive machinery,
but today the weaving machines operate just about ,l"
f,l<;t as most yarn systems can handle. In fact, the textile
manufacturers worldover now demand for more automation, more versatile and hetter quality product in
view of fa"t changing trend in lilshion and design. l1lis

paper reviews some of the most important developments in the weaving machinery during the last few
years.

2 Developments in Weft Insertion Systems

There ha'i not been any basic change in the weft
insertion systems, that is the shuttle, projectile, rapier
and jet. However, developments were aimed at fine
tuning these systems to maximize performance efficiently.
2.1 Shuttle Looms

The conventional shuttle looms account for about

85% of the total world loom capacity. However, in
2
terms of productive performance (m /h), the average
output of the shuttIeless weaving machine is twice or
even more than that of the conventional shuttle loom.
During 1951-1971, international textile exhihitions
were dominated by the shuttleless looms. After 1971,
when the shullleless looms started making a big
breakthrough, shuttle looms slowly started disappearing. At ITMA 1987 and 1991, there was no exhibitor of
shuttle looms, indicating that the shuttle loom had
reached its maximum saturation performance. The weft
insertion rate during the ahove transition ph,l"e has
increased from 380 m/min to a maximum of 650
m/min. The increase in weft insertion rate wa" achieved
due to the following:
incre(l<;ing the machine width to 380 cm,
electronic shuttle flight control, and
increase in machine speed by mechanical
improvements which reduced vibrations.

HARI & BEHERA: DEVELOPMENTS IN WEAVING MACHINES

The loom speed was increased up to 30% without

any significant increa<;e in shuttle speed. This gain is
achieved by extending the shuttle transit time by retarding the shuttle end position. The shuttle is electronicall y
monitored over practically the whole of its travel; in
case the shuttle speed is slow, the machine is stopped
immediately at a predetermined safe position by mearte;
of an electria:llly trnnsmitted impulse. In addition, the
electronic turning and control equipment helps in optimal adjustment of the pick, shuttle night and shuttle
end position.
2.2 Projectile Looms

The first Sulzer machine with a reed width of 216

cm, exhibited at ITMA 1955 at Brussels, had a maximum speed of 280 picks/min, giving a WIR of about
600 mlmin. Further developments continued and a
major breakthrough came in 1%9when the first 540cm
wide six-colour prototype machine with a WIR of 840
mlmin was displayed at ITMA 1971 in Paris. The
projectile loom has a width range of 185-540 cm and
maximum speed of 470 rpm. It is suitable for tappet,
dobby, jacquard and terry weaving. It is suitable for
spun and filament yams for a rnnge of count {2oo- 6.4
tex, 10.8-5000 denier). Now, the projectile machines
are running with a WIR of 1540 mlmin without any
further change in the working width. The high weft
insertion rnte hae; been achieved by :
using new guide teeth which reduces friction drag,
redesigned acceleration system,
new shed geometry which reduces warp strain even
at high speed, and
using carbon fibre reinforced synthetic material for
the projectile.
However, the impulsive movement of the projectile
can surely strain the weft yam.
2_1 Rapll"r Looms

Rapier looms form the largest group of shuttleless

looms have about 10% share in the world's looms.
There have been substantial developments in both rigid
and flexible rapiers over the la<;t few years. The most
important out of them are production speed and maximum working width. Some models are now operating
at 600 picks/min (1380 mlmin WIR). The maximum
working width has gone up to 181 in and 165 in for
flexible and rigid rapiers respectively. Although rapier
weaving is not as fast as jet weaving, these looms are
most versatile, adaptable and widely applicable. The
tremendous flexibility of fabric design and the range of
styles that can be woven on rapier looms due to the
availability of up to 16 colours weft patterning, these

173

looms are most suitable for fancy fabrics, apparel and

furnishi ng fabrics. Most of the developments in flexible
rapier 100m have taken place in the design of rapier
heads and tapes to improve smooth handling of the weft
yams at high speeds.
2.4 Alrj., Looms

Airjet weaving achieved its commercial penetration

more or less at the same time as projectile weaving in
1953. However, the real breakthrough came around
1968 when ai~et looms running with relay nozzle,
spaced at intervals of 40-80 cm, across the entire sley
were available. Further developments continued to
achieve increased speeds and width, greater patterning
possibility, more electronic control and broader application versatility. As a result, the machine width and
weft insertion rate increased dramatically up to 213 in
and 2500 mlmin respectively. The machine speed range
from 500-1200 revolutions per minute. The number of
colours in weft direction has gone up to 8 with the pick
and pick system. Ai~et weaving, in fact, in the past few
years has become most popular. A large number of
machinery manufacturers are producing this loom due
to the increasing popularity of this technology. Ai~et
system is considered to be the best system for mass
production ofa wide range of fabrics. Its popularity has
further increased due to successful weaving of denims,
glae;s fibre, terry cloth and double plushes. The fabrics
woven by the ai~et method account for some 7% of the
total of woven fabrics, making it one of the most competitive methods. During the last ITMA, it was
observed that with the fast growing area of shuttleless
weaving, which for many years was dominated by the
Sulzer gripper shuttle looms, the airjet looms have now
taken lead. However, the requirement of very high
quality yam and modern preparntion method are must
to extract optimum performance from ai~et looms. Further comparatively very high energy consumption due
to more air consumption while using relay jets has also
raised the eyebrows of researchers.
2.S WaterJet Looms

The waterjet loom is probably the most efficient

machine for weaving 100% hydrophobic filament yams
among all available systems. Next to the multiphase
100m, this technology offers the highest weft insertion
rate and minimum noise. Some manufacturers have
developed machines which are operating at about 2600
mlmin. Besides twin picking mechanism, the 100m
width has also gone up to 280 cm. The waterjet system
could further penetrate into the world market if it can
process the normal single spun sized yam in warp
direction. Sizing agents manufacturers are still search-

174

INDIAN J. FIBRE TEXT. RES .. SEPTEMBER 1994

ing for a suitable size material to make possible

processing of single spun sized yam in warp direction.
2.6 Multiphase Loom

The first commercial multiphase loom was

demonstrated in 1971. Although the multiphase loom
offers highest weft insertion rate among all shuttleless
looms, it hw; not yet made an impact in the world textile
trade due to many design limitations. All the models of
multiphase looms are producing plain weave only. Although a major share of the worlds' fabric production is
of plain weave, it is surprising that the multi phase loom
has not become popular, probably due to the lack of
versatility, design limitation and problems in correcting
a loose pick at the time of a weft break.
2.7 ComparL\on between ShuUldess Weaving Machines

Only the ai~et, rapier and projectile are accepted as

the most popular systems. Ai~et weaving is well accepted for mass production as due to high weft insertion
rate the cost of production is lowest. However, the warp
and the warp preparation needs to be better due to
highest loom speed. The rapier weaving machine is
excellent for pattern weaving and in gentle dealing of
delicate weft yarns. The projectile loom gives weft
insertion rate comparable to the rapier looms. It hilS
limitations with respect to the rapier loom in terms of
weft colour potential and the tension on the weft yarn.
Now, all the shuttleless looms are equipped with
electronic let-off and electronic take-up to have a control on the warp tension and cloth feel position to
prevent starting marks.

3 Other Developments
Apart from the various weft insertion systems, the
other striking features among the developments in
weaving have been the higher production speed,
microprocessor application, information technology,
quick-style-change system, energy conservation, safety
measures, etc. Some of these developments and their
applications are given below.
3.1 Speed Potential and lis Utilization

The speed potential of varioLLs weaving machines

mainly depends on the weft insertion method, i.e.
projectile, rapier, waterjet, ai~et or multi phase system.
During the last 20 years, machinery manu fact urers have
achieved the mechanical speed limit of varioLLs looms
through continuous research and development of
machine design and, more importantly, through the use
of microprocessor technology. From weft insertion

point of view, both water- and air-jet weaving systems

have made dramatic enhancement to the tune of about
250% compared to flexible rapier (150%) and projectile
(33%). However, the Sulzer projectile has now come
out with a model operating at 1540 mlmin. Despite the
fact that the weft insertion rate of multi phase loom is
the highest among all the shuttleless looms, its chances
of capturing the market appears to have dimi!1ished for
the reason that these looms are less versatile and, more
importantly, the weft insertion rates of jet weaving
machines are fast catching up to multiphase weaving.
The increase in loom performance in terms of
productivity has been the prime objective of any loom
manufacturer. It is evident from the achievements made
so far that the increase has been quite remarkable during
the last decade. The weaving experts also expect further
increase in weft insertion rate but at a lower pace.
Further, it may be mentioned that the speed potential of
most machines is usually not fully utilized in view of
the limitations imposed by the physical properties of
spun yarns and also due to the recent change in consumers preference for lighter fabrics which need finer
yam and are more critical from quality and mechanical
properties point of view. It is also apparent that the
productivity has been improved at the cost of versatility. Looking at the present trend of fast changing
fashion market, textile specialists have given more emphasis on versatility and quality rather than on
productivity.
3.2 Microprocessor Technul,,~y

Electronics have always been a key factor in the

developmellt of science and technology. In the last
decade, textile industry has entered a new era of
electronics, microprocessors, information technology
and their application to the production of woven
fabrics. The contribution of microelectronics has become more remarkable in case of airjet weaving and
jacquard designing. The manufacturers of various types
of shuttleless looms have made the best LLse of the great
potential offered by the use of electronics and
microprocessors for the automation of following functions on the loom:
machine speed efficiency,
weft entry angle,
caLL<;e of stoppage,
machine running and down time,
total number of stoppages and their nature, display
of trouble shooting messages on the screen and
suggestion for action,
machine variables adjustment,
starting, stopping and reverse position,

175

HARI & BEHERA: DEVELOPMENTS IN WEAVING MACHINES

electronic weft insertion control, - automatic pick

finder,
automatic weft breakage repair,
automatic faulty pick removal,
in case of airjet loom: (i) auto setting and opening
of valves, and (ii) measurement of weft insertion
velocity and control of main nozzle,
Transfer of messages and storage and production
of vital data,
machine settings for weave, colour and colour
pattern,
automatic package switch over,
electronic let-off and take-up,
automatic speed cQntrol inverters,
automatic stop mark preventer,
automatic cloth doffing, and
automatic package supply system.
AJI the machine functions mentioned above are
monitored and controlled and some of them can be
optimized by the multifunction microprocessor and
also by w;ing suitable software with PC-link. The
microprocessor also aJlows bidirectional communica. tion, enabling the dialogue between the weaving
machine and production management system. The
adaptation of electronics to various functions has
simplified numerous manual intervention, Jcading to
improvement in the general management of the weaving process.
3_1 Quick-Style-ChafIJ:r System (QSCS)

In today's weaving system, the weaver is expected

to be more llexible in terms of style change, order size
and at the same time he hac; to produce better fabric
quality. To fulfill the purchaser's demand in a fac;!
changing fac;hion oriented market, the weaver has to get
away from a single purpose machine. In the above
circumstances, it is important how quickly one can
adjust to the new situation which primarily depends on
the llexibility and ver.;atility of the machine.
The QSCS ac; a response to changing market conditions is arow;ing lively interest, particularly in the high
fashion sector with short warps and thus Crequent warp
changes. The reduction in order size calls for short
changeover time on the weaving machine. Therefore,
quick and efficient style changing on aII modern weaving machines h,L<; become a star attraction.
The concept of quick style changing offer.; a numher
of fundamental advantages. In this system the entire
process of style preparation and loading of the weaving
machine can be carried out hy a single person within a
time period oDO min, even under the spatial conditiorL<;

as they prevail in a weave room. The process is to be

performed outside the weaving machine in a separate
preparatory room which otherwise requires the weaving machine to be at standstill. With a special insertion
truck, the empty warp beam, complete with warp stop
motion, harness and reed are taken out of the machines
within a few minutes by only one person. The same
truck is used for inserting the new warp beam with the
complete weaving harness into the machine. Time
gained in changeover procedure and the saving in
labour cost may be partially counterbalanced by higher
capital spending and additional space required for the
extra module. The QSC system has now been
developed by many reputed machine manufacturers
and successfuIIy used.
3.4 Envlronmrntall'rohlrms

Loom speed and weft insertion rates are not the only
criteria to assess loom performance. There are other
factors like environment which are equally important
and should be cOrLc;idered while designing a loom. In
weaving, environmental problems include noise emission by weaving machines, the vibration they generate
and its impact on surroundings, disposal problerrLc;,
protection of personnel, and energy consumption.
The major noise sources of the conventional looms
are the picking and checking mechanisms and the
elimination of shuttle has significantly reduced the
noise generation. It may be seen from Table 1 that the
noise generated by different shuttleless looms, barring
airjet loom, is much less compared to that.generated, by
shuttle loom.
Table 1 - Noise of different types of looms
Loom
Shuttle
Rapier
Projectile
Airjct
Waterjet

Noise level, dB
92-107
87-100
90-100
97-99
82-92

The lowest noise level is given by the multiphase

loom but unfortunately due to many technical limitations, it has not yet been established as a promising
technology. Among other weft insertion systems,
waterjet appears to have less noise level in the vicinity
of 80 dB.
The simplest method of reducing noise is to reduce
the operating speed which is certainly not the solution.
AJthough remarkable success has been achieved in improving the performance of loom in terms oC
productivity and quality, an insignificant reduction in
noise has been achieved by use of electronics. There-

176

INDIAN 1. FIBRE TEXT. RES., SEPTEMBER 1994

400 - - - - . Conv~ntionaltooms

fore, this particular field needs further attention by

researcher.;.
3.5 En.rgy Con.~umplion

Energy consumption is one of the crucial parameter.;

which ha<; to be taken into account by the weaving
machine maker.; when developing new weaving technologies.
Fig. 1 shows the correlation between the mass of the
weft insertion clement and the energy input for variolls
weft insertion systems, related to the weft insertion rate.
It is apparent that the projectile machine is best among
the shuttleless weaving machines as regards energy
consumption.
With weft inserlion rates of up to 1500 m1min the
power input is only 5 kW. Despite relatively high overall energy consumption, airjet weaving machines have
the advantage that most of the energy is converted into
heat in the compressor plants outside the weave room.
The compressor can be equipped with heat exchanger
so that the waste heat can be used for other purposes.
The rapier looms are the most critical as regards the
energy consumption due to their relatively large
moving miL<;ses. Moreover, all the lost heat occur.; in the
weave room and ha<; to be removed by air conditioning.
It is believed that a lot of work is yet to be done in this
area to reduce energy consumption.

10

!7\320

. 15
08.-

-; .E 240

a.

....

- c

~
.s; ..

,0

E E
08:, <II

,0Rapi~

"

g 160

.~

'

0,...

,,'

WM

....\:-o'pro~ctil~ WM

",:e

III ..
1:1 III

Air- j~t WM

ConW'ntional
looms

80
Proj ~ct i1~ W M

A~,~,tt

0'4

0
u
;>.

0
0

~
.s;
~

02 ~ ~
III
c

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1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

Y~ar

Fig. 1 - Trend of the mass of the weft insertion element and

of energy demand from the insertion [(-0-) mass; and ( ..0 ..)
energy)

Leading manufacturer.; of projectile, rapier, ai~et and

waterjet looms have incorporated this advance technology in their weaving machines which virtually can give
any information connected with production, loom
faults, design change, etc., As regards the noise reduction and energy cOfl<;ervation, there exists a vast scope
unlike in loom speed. Further innovations in weaving
will largely depend on developments of new fibres and
yams in the 21st century.

Literdture Cited

4 Summary
Weaving has undergone a sea change during the la'>t
20 year.;. A decade ago, the need was for f;l<;ter and
more productive machines. Today, the weaving
machines operate just about a<; fa<;t a<; most yarn systems can handle. I n recent y ear.; ,. the demand ha<; been
for more automation, more versatility and for better
quality fabrics. Apart from automation, the application
of microprocessor ha<; completely revolutionized the
weaving process including all the available weft ifl<;ertion systems. However, the contribution of
microprocessors ha<; been more in airjet weaving than
in other weaving systems. It is true that the increa<;e in
100f!1 performance of any type of shuttleless loom
beyond the levels prevailing a few year.; ago has been
made possible only through the use of electronics.

2
3
4

6
7
8
9

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Greenwood K, The product and productivity of modern
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Schneider W, The Sulzer projectile weav,'ng machine today
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Gandhi K L, A Horoscope of rFMA, paper presented at the
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