Circular Weaving

Circular Weaving 

History and Inventions:

During 1894 and early 1900 a number of circular weaving machines were designed and constructed by Wasserman. Since then a large number of circular weaving machines are invented with modifications, but none of them expect Ancet-Fayolle and Sain Freres were commercially used.

Types of Circular Weaving Machines:

Circular weaving machines are classified under two headings namely:

• Weaving machine with horizontal held motion and vertical warp feed upwards with vertically rotating weft packages and cloth take up. This concept is used in the construction of Ancet-Fayolle circular weaving machine.
• The second category is where vertical heald motion is used, the horizontal warp yarn is fed in the shedding zones and rotating weft packages in horizontal positions and cloth take up upwards or downwards. This principle was used in construction of and succeeding design of Fairbaim Lawson.

Circular Weaving:

• Circular weaving machines are manufactured with continuously circulating shuttles which run around the periphery; with this system shuttle seed is limited.
• This system allows several shuttles used at the same time which results in increase of productivity.
• The uniform speed of weft package eliminates package faults like slough-off.
• The major disadvantage with this method is that the fabric formed is less flexible in width and has narrow range of options.
• Generally polyolefin and polypropylene tape yarns are used for production of fabric by this method.

Circular Weaving Machine- Working and Construction:

Fig- Cross Section of Ancet-Fayolle Loom

• To understand working and construction of circular weaving, consider the above figure which shows a cross- section through Ancet-Fayolle loom.
• Two beams are used to supply the warp which passes around the back rest and then I is spread into circular form in the series of lose reeds as shown in the figure and the warp shed is formed from this point.
• There is an arrangement provided showing eight shuttles which are equally spaced around the loom, in circular loom the major advantage is that multiple number of shuttles can be used at single time.
• Then, the appropriate positions of thirty-two pairs of harnesses are indicated which will be required to weave plain weave.
• The continuous lines shown in the above mention figure represents the harness that control one set of alternate ends and the dotted lines show the position on other ends.
• A series of electromagnetic block is allowed to rotate on a motor driven main center shaft.
• The use of electromagnets attracts the metal shuttles which then follows the magnet in the circular path.
• The intervening of warp shed prevents the attraction of shuttles into coming in physical contact with the electromagnets.
• In this loom, automatic weft replenishment is not possible, the use of temples make sure that early contraction of fabric is prevented.
• The number of shuttles used per loom is not fixed and it varies loom to loom.
• The number of shuttles used is decided by that the diameter of the loom as it determines the space available in the warp shed and thus the number of shuttle per loom
• Usually plain and twill weaves are possible n this type of loom.