The history of the weaving machine. Loom. From creation to the present day The emergence of the loom

Around 1550 BC in Egypt, weavers noticed that everything could be improved and the spinning process could be made easier. A way was invented to separate the threads - remez. A hem is a rod of wood with even warp threads tied to it, and odd threads hanging freely. The work thereby became twice as fast, but still remained very labor-intensive.

The search for easier fabric production continued, and around 1000 BC. The Ato machine was invented, where the hedges already separated the even and odd warp threads. The work went tens of times faster. At this stage, it was no longer weaving, but weaving, and it became possible to obtain a variety of weaves of threads. Further, more and more changes were made to the weaving loom, for example, the movement of the hedge was controlled by pedals, and the weaver’s hands remained free, but fundamental changes in weaving technique began in the 18th century.

In 1580, Anton Moller improved the weaving machine; now it was possible to produce several pieces of material. In 1678, the French inventor de Gennes created a new machine, but it did not gain much popularity.

And in 1733, the Englishman John Kay created the first mechanical shuttle for a hand-held machine. Now there was no need to manually throw the shuttle, and now it was possible to obtain wide strips of material; the machine was already operated by one person.

In 1785, Edmund Cartwright improved the foot-operated machine. In 1791, Cartwright's machine was improved by Gorton. The inventor introduced a device for suspending the shuttle in the shed. In 1796, Robert Miller of Glasgow created a device for advancing material using a ratchet wheel. Until the end of the 19th century, this invention remained in the weaving loom. And Miller’s method of laying a shuttle worked for more than 60 years.

It must be said that Cartwright’s loom was initially very imperfect and did not pose a threat to hand weaving.

In 1803, Thomas Johnson of Stockport created the first sizing machine, which completely freed craftsmen from the operation of sizing on a machine. At the same time, John Todd introduced a cutting roller into the design of the machine, which simplified the process of lifting threads. And in the same year, William Horrocks received a patent for a mechanical loom. Horrocks left the wooden frame of the old handloom untouched.

In 1806, Peter Marland introduced slow motion of the baton when laying a shuttle. In 1879, Werner von Siemens developed the electric loom. And only in 1890, after that, Northrop created automatic shuttle charging and a real breakthrough in factory weaving came. In 1896, the same inventor brought the first automatic machine to the market. Then a loom without a shuttle appeared, which greatly increased labor productivity. Now machines continue to be improved in the direction of computer technology and automatic control. But everything most important for the development of weaving was done by the humanitarian and inventor Cartwright.

Weaving is an ancient craft, the history of which begins with the period of the primitive communal system and accompanies humanity at all stages of development. A necessary prerequisite for weaving is the availability of raw materials. At the weaving stage, these were strips of animal skin, grass, reeds, vines, young shoots of bushes and trees. The first types of woven clothing and shoes, bedding, baskets and nets were the first weaving products. It is believed that weaving preceded spinning, since it existed in the form of weaving even before man discovered the spinning ability of the fibers of certain plants, among which were wild nettles, “cultivated” flax and hemp. The developed small-scale cattle breeding provided various types of wool and down.

Of course, none of the types of fibrous materials could survive for a long time. The oldest fabric in the world is linen fabric, found in 1961 during excavations of an ancient settlement near the Turkish village of Catal Huyuk and made around 6500 BC. It is interesting that until recently this fabric was considered to be wool, and only a careful microscopic examination of more than 200 samples of old woolen fabrics from Central Asia and Nubia showed that the fabric found in Turkey was linen.

During excavations of settlements of the lake inhabitants of Switzerland, a large amount of fabrics made from bast fibers and wool was discovered. This served as further evidence that weaving was known to people of the Stone Age (Paleolithic). The settlements were opened in the winter of 1853-1854. That winter turned out to be so cold and dry that the level of the alpine lakes in Switzerland dropped sharply. As a result, local residents saw the ruins of pile settlements, covered with centuries-old silt. During excavations of settlements, a number of cultural layers were discovered, the lowest of which are dated to the Stone Age. Coarse, but quite usable fabrics made from bast fibers, bast and wool were found. Some fabrics were decorated with stylized human figures painted with natural colors.

In the 70s of the twentieth century, with the development of underwater archeology, research into settlements in the vast Alpine region on the borders of France, Italy and Switzerland began again. The settlements dated from 5000 to 2900 BC. e. Many remains of fabrics were found, including twill weave, balls of thread, reeds of wooden looms, wooden spindles for spinning wool and flax, and various needles. All finds indicate that the inhabitants of the settlements were engaged in weaving themselves.
In Ancient Egypt, a horizontal frame was preferred. A person working near such a frame would certainly have to stand. From the words “stand, become” the words “stan”, “machine” come from. It is curious that weaving was considered the highest of the craft arts in Ancient Greece. Even noble ladies practiced it. In the famous work “The Iliad” by Homer, for example, it is mentioned that Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta Menelaus, because of whom, according to legend, the Trojan War broke out, received as a gift a golden spindle whorl - a weight for a spindle, which gave it greater rotational inertia.

The first fabrics were very simple in structure

. As a rule, they were produced using plain weave. However, quite early they began to produce ornamented fabrics, using religious symbols and simplified figures of people and animals as decorative elements. The ornament was applied to raw fabrics by hand. Later they began to decorate fabrics with embroidery. In the historical period of the last centuries of Christianity, the type of trellis weaving on looms that appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages gained popularity. This type of weaving made carpets popular, which were woven both with pile and smooth. Tapestry weaving in Western Europe developed from the 11th century until the 17th century, when in France in 1601 the workshop of the Gobelle brothers arose, who produced smooth woven material with rep weave of threads, creating an original pattern of the play of threads on the material. The workshop was noticed by the French king himself, who bought it to work for the royal court and wealthy nobles, thereby providing the workshop with a constant income. The workshop became famous. And such woven material has since been called a tapestry, similar to a mat.
A loom is a mechanism used to produce various textile fabrics from threads, an auxiliary or main tool for the weaver. There are a huge number of types and models of machines: manual, mechanical and automatic, shuttle and shuttleless, multi-shank and single-shank, flat and round. Weaving looms are also distinguished by the types of fabric produced - wool and silk, cotton, iron, glass and others.
The loom consists of a hem, a shuttle and a hip, a beam and a roller. Two types of threads are used in weaving - warp thread and weft thread. The warp thread is wound on a beam, from which it unwinds during the work process, going around the roller that performs the guiding function, and passing through the lamellas (holes) and through the eyes of the heddles, moving upward for the shed. The weft thread passes into the shed. This is how the fabric appears on the loom. This is the operating principle of a loom.

At the end of the 19th - mid-20th centuries. weaving in Moldavia was a widespread women's occupation with deep traditions. The materials for weaving were hemp and wool; flax was used much less. From the middle of the 19th century. purchased cotton thread came into use. The process of preparing fiber for spinning was lengthy. Yarn processing and weaving were carried out using homemade tools. The specifically Moldavian method of spinning on the go was using a spinning wheel with an elongated shaft, strengthened by the spinner behind her belt. The peasant family independently produced various fabrics necessary for sewing clothes, used for household needs and decorating the interiors of the home. Moldavian women wove many towels on a horizontal weaving mill ("stand"), using various types of techniques (branch, choice, mortgage). Some towels were mandatory attributes of wedding, maternity and funeral ceremonies, others were used for household needs, and others were used to decorate the interior of the home. Ornaments on towels for ritual or decorative purposes were a rhythmic repetition of one geometric or floral motif.

Carpet weaving
The centuries-old traditions of Moldavian carpet weaving led to the emergence of a distinctive type of carpet, made on a vertical weaving mill using the kilim technique. As a rule, women were engaged in carpet weaving, and men participated only in preparatory work. The ability to weave carpets was highly valued among the people. Girls began to learn this craft at the age of 10-11. Each bride's dowry, among many other necessary household items, necessarily included carpets. They testified to the wealth in the girl’s family and the hard work of the future housewife. The process of making a carpet was extremely labor-intensive: carpets and runners from two to three kilograms of wool were woven in two to three weeks, and a large carpet from 10-15 kilograms of wool was made in three to four months, working together.
Decor of Moldovan carpets
The Moldavian lint-free carpet is characterized by clarity of composition and shaped balance, which does not imply strict symmetry. The skillful use of natural dyes by Moldovan carpet makers determined the color richness of the carpet. The light background of carpet products, characteristic of the late 18th - first half of the 19th centuries, was then replaced by a range of black, brown, green and red-pink tones. The pattern was based on geometric and plant motifs; zoomorphic and anthropomorphic images were less common in carpet compositions. The types of Moldavian carpets, their ornamentation and terminology differed depending on the place of use.

Moldavian carpet weaving reached its peak in the 18th - early 19th centuries. One of the characteristic features of Moldavian carpets was the variety of ornamental motifs. The most common are floral patterns depicting trees, flowers, bouquets, fruits, as well as geometric ones - rhombuses, squares, triangles. Less common are images of human figures, animals and birds. In the distant past, ornamental motifs had a certain symbolic character. One of the most common motifs was the “tree of life,” representing the strength and power of nature, its eternal development and movement. The image of a female figure was considered a symbol of fertility. Over the years, the original meaning of many common ornamental compositions has been lost.

The size and purpose of the carpet, the nature of the motifs, the color scheme, the central pattern and border determined its ornamental composition. One of the most common techniques was the alternation of floral or geometric motifs along the entire length of the carpet. On many carpets, the central pattern consisted of a repetition of one or two motifs, having a vertical or horizontal direction. In areas of the carpet not filled with main patterns, small motifs-signs could be located (year of manufacture, initials of the owner or carpet maker, household items, etc.). An important role in the decorative design of the carpet was played by the border, which differed from the central pattern in both color and pattern. Typically, Moldavian carpets had a two-, three-, or four-sided border. Since ancient times, ornamental motifs and carpet compositions have had names. In the 19th century the most common names were “Rainbow”, “Loaf”, “Nut Leaf”, “Vase”, “Bouquet”, “Spider”, “Cockerels”. When creating a carpet, Moldavian craftswomen always solved a seemingly already known composition or ornamental motif in a new way. Therefore, each of their products is unique and inimitable.
Traditional dyes
Another important feature of Moldovan carpets is their amazing colors. The traditional Moldavian carpet is characterized by calm and warm tones and color harmony. Previously, solutions prepared from flowers, plant roots, tree bark, and leaves were used to dye wool. Mackerel, dandelion flowers, oak bark, walnut and onion peels were often used to obtain dyes. Carpet makers knew how to determine the time of harvesting plants, knew the best combinations of plant materials, and had excellent knowledge of wool dyeing methods. Natural dyes gave the old folk carpet extraordinary expressiveness. The most common colors were brown, green, yellow, pink, and blue. If any motif was repeated in a carpet composition, it was done in a different color each time, which gave it undoubted originality. With the appearance in the second half of the 19th century. aniline dyes expanded the color spectrum of Moldavian carpets, but the artistic value decreased somewhat, since pastel, calm tones gave way to bright, sometimes devoid of sense of proportion, chemical dyes.
Moldavian carpet in the 20th century

During the twentieth century. carpet weaving continued to develop. The leading ornamental compositions in rural areas continued to be “Bouquet” and “Wreath”, bordered by garlands of flowers in combination with geometric motifs. The colors of modern carpets have become brighter and more saturated. Some subjects were borrowed from factory fabric patterns. The creativity of Moldovan carpet weavers had a certain influence on the carpet weaving of other nations, as well as samples of factory carpets, both domestic and imported. Despite the improvement of a number of technological processes on vertical weaving mills, the main work of rural carpet weavers was, as before, done manually. Carpet weaving is most widespread in the Moldovan villages of Baraboi, Plop, Criscautsi, Livedeni, Badichany, Petreni, Tabora and others. Also in Moldova there are Ukrainian villages, such as Moshana, Maramonovka, etc., where carpet weaving is also widespread.

The history of the creation of a loom goes back to ancient times. Before learning how to weave, people learned to weave simple mats from branches and reeds. And only after mastering the weaving technique did they think about the possibility of intertwining threads. The first fabrics from wool and linen began to be made in the Neolithic era, more than five thousand years ago BC. According to historical information, in Egypt and Mesopotamia, fabric was made on simple weaving frames. The frame consisted of two wooden poles, well fixed in the ground parallel to each other. The threads were stretched on the poles, with the help of a rod the weaver lifted every second thread, and immediately pulled out the weft. Later, about three thousand years BC. e., the frames had a transverse beam (beam), from which the warp threads hung almost to the ground. At the bottom, hangers were attached to them to prevent the threads from getting tangled.

In 1550 BC, the vertical loom was invented. The weaver passed the weft with a tied thread through the warp so that one hanging thread was on one side of the weft and the next on the other. Thus, odd warp threads were on top of the transverse thread, and even ones were below, or vice versa. This method completely repeated the weaving technique and took a lot of effort and time.

The ancient craftsmen soon came to the conclusion that by finding a way to simultaneously raise even or odd warp rows, it would be possible to immediately pull the weft through the entire warp, rather than through each thread separately. This is how the remez was invented - a device for separating threads. It was a wooden rod to which the even or odd lower ends of the warp threads were attached. By pulling the hedge, the craftsman separated the even and odd threads and passed the wefts through the entire warp. True, it was necessary to go back through each even thread separately. To solve this problem, laces were tied to weights at the ends of the threads. The other end of the lace was attached to the edges. The ends of the even threads were attached to one hedge, and the odd threads to the second. Now the craftsman could separate odd and even threads by pulling one or the other hem. Now he made only one movement, throwing the ducks over the warp. Thanks to technological progress, the foot pedal was invented in the weaving loom, but until the 18th century. the craftsman still guided the wefts through the warp by hand.

Only in 1733, a clothier from England, John Kay, invented a mechanical shuttle for a loom, which became a revolutionary breakthrough in the history of the development of the textile industry. There was no longer any need to throw the shuttle manually, and it became possible to produce wide fabrics. After all, previously the width of the canvas was limited by the length of the master’s hand. In 1785, Edmund Cartwright patented his foot-powered power loom. The imperfections of Cartwright's early mechanical looms did not pose a major threat to hand weaving until the early 19th century. However, Cartwright's machine began to be improved and modified, and by the 30s of the 19th century, the number of machines in factories increased, and the number of workers servicing them rapidly decreased.

In 1879, Werner von Siemens creates an electric weaving machine. In 1890, the Englishman Northrop invented an automatic method of charging a shuttle, and in 1896 his company introduced the first automatic machine. A competitor to this machine was a weaving machine without a shuttle. Modern weaving looms are fully automated.

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History of the first weaving looms

Around 1550 BC in Egypt, weavers noticed that everything could be improved and the spinning process could be made easier. A method was invented for separating the threads - remez. A remez is a wooden rod with even warp threads tied to it, and odd threads hanging freely. The work thereby became twice as fast, but still remained very labor-intensive.

It must be said that Cartwright’s loom was initially very imperfect and did not pose a threat to hand weaving.

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History of the loom - Rural portal

The loom, which appeared as a method of improving clothing sewing, greatly influenced the lifestyle and appearance of people. The animal skins used previously were replaced with products made from linen, wool and cotton fabrics.

Since ancient times, a simple product for making yarn was a spinning wheel, which consisted of a spindle, a spindle whorl and a spinning wheel; it was operated by hand. During operation, the fiber that was spun was attached to the rod with a fork.

Next, the person pulled fibers from a bundle of material, attached them to a special device for twisting threads, which consisted of a spindle and a spindle in the form of a round pebble with a hole in the center, which was put on the spindle. The spindle with the thread began to unwind and was abruptly released, but the rotation continued, slowly pulling and twisting the thread.

The whorl intensified and continued to move around. The thread gradually lengthened, reaching a certain length, and was wound onto a spindle. The spindle whorl held the growing ball, preventing it from falling out. Afterwards all actions were repeated.

Whorl - a disc-shaped weight with a diameter of 2 cm

The finished yarn served as material for making fabric.

Weaving looms were initially of a vertical type. These were two separated strong rods reinforced at the bottom. An axle made of wood was attached transversely to them. She was placed at a height. Threads were attached to it, one after another. This was the so-called basis. The threads hung down at one end.

To prevent them from getting tangled, they were pulled with a special weight. The whole process consisted of alternating sequences of threads perpendicular to each other. The horizontal thread was passed either along the even or odd vertical ones.

This technique copied the weaving method and took a long time.

To facilitate this work, they came up with a device that can simultaneously work in the required sequence with the warp threads - the heald.

It was a rod made of wood; the lower ends of the warp threads, even or odd, were attached to it. By moving the heald towards himself, the weaver instantly separated the even row of threads from the odd ones.

The process began to be completed faster, but it was very difficult. What was needed was a way to alternately separate even and odd threads. But the introduction of a second heddle would interfere with the first. As a result, weights were invented, and laces were tied at the bottom of the threads.

Other endings clung to the healds. They stopped interfering with each other's work. Pulling out the healds one by one, the master took the necessary threads one by one, and threw the wefts over the warp. The work has accelerated many times. The making of woven fabrics evolved into a process called weaving.

After some time, other innovations were added to the mechanism.

The healds were controlled using the legs by pressing the pedals.

The canvas was half a meter wide. For wider material, several pieces had to be sewn together.

The history of the creation of a mechanical device originates in England.

John Kay, a specialist in the manufacture of cloth, assembled a mechanism for working with a shuttle in 1733. It was designed to work on a handloom. This eliminated the need for manually tossing the shuttle, made it possible to weave wide fabric, and was served by only one weaver, and not two as before.

19th century loom

In 1785, Edmund Cartwright launched a foot-powered mechanical device for weaving fabric. In 1789 he invented a combing machine for wool. In 1892, a device for making ropes and cables was invented.

Cartwright's invention was gradually improved, adding many technical solutions.

There remained a problem related to the difficulty of working with the shuttle and changing it. Northrop solved this problem.

In 1890, he invented automatic shuttle charging and weaving took a big step forward.

Later they invented automation without a shuttle. It allowed one weaver to work on more than one loom.

Today, textile machines are being computerized and acquiring new automatic functions.

The principle laid down by the first inventor in the mechanism remained unchanged: the machine must intertwine two systems of threads located at right angles.

Modern loom

Weaving is a fascinating business that can become profitable. In addition, it is a way of expressing creative ideas. With products of this kind you can always be modern, follow fashion or copy the style of past years.

Spinning wheel and loom (history of invention)

Weaving has radically changed the life and appearance of man. Instead of animal skins, people put on clothes made from linen, wool or cotton fabrics, which have since become our constant companions.

However, before our ancestors learned to weave, they had to perfectly master the weaving technique. Only after learning to weave mats from branches and reeds could people begin to “weave” threads.

The fabric production process is divided into two main operations - obtaining yarn (spinning) and obtaining canvas (weaving itself). Observing the properties of plants, people noticed that many of them contain elastic and flexible fibers. Such fibrous plants, used by man already in ancient times, include flax, hemp, nettle, xanthus, cotton and others. After domesticating animals, our ancestors received, along with meat and milk, a large amount of wool, which was also used for the production of textiles. Before spinning began, it was necessary to prepare the raw materials. The starting material for yarn is spinning fiber.

Without going into details, we note that the craftsman needs to work hard before wool, flax or cotton turns into spinning fiber. This is especially true for flax: the process of extracting fibers from plant stems is especially labor-intensive here; but even wool, which, in fact, is a ready-made fiber, requires a number of preliminary operations for cleaning, degreasing, drying, etc. But when the spinning fiber is obtained, it makes no difference to the master whether it is wool, flax or cotton - the process of spinning and weaving is the same for all types of fibers.

The oldest and simplest device for producing yarn was a hand-held spinning wheel, which consisted of a spindle, a spindle whorl and the spinning wheel itself. Before starting work, the spinning fiber was attached to some stuck branch or stick with a fork (later this branch was replaced by a board, which was called a spinning wheel).

Then the master pulled a bundle of fibers from the ball and attached it to a special device for twisting the thread. It consisted of a stick (spindle) and a spindle (which was a round pebble with a hole in the middle). The whorl was mounted on a spindle. The spindle, together with the beginning of the thread screwed to it, was brought into rapid rotation and immediately released. Hanging in the air, it continued to rotate, gradually stretching and twisting the thread.

The spindle whorl served to intensify and maintain the rotation, which would otherwise cease after a few moments. When the thread became long enough, the craftswoman wound it on a spindle, and the spindle whorl prevented the growing ball from slipping off. Then the whole operation was repeated. Despite its simplicity, the spinning wheel was an amazing conquest of the human mind.

Three operations - pulling, twisting and winding the thread - were combined into a single production process. Man gained the ability to quickly and easily turn fiber into thread. Note that in later times nothing fundamentally new was introduced into this process; it was just transferred to cars.

After receiving the yarn, the master began to weave. The first looms were vertical. They consisted of two fork-split bars inserted into the ground, with a wooden rod laid transversely at the fork-shaped ends. To this on a crossbar placed so high that one could reach it while standing, the threads that made up the base were tied one next to the other. The lower ends of these threads hung freely almost to the ground.

To prevent them from getting tangled, they were pulled with hangers. Starting the work, the weaver took a weft with a thread tied to it in her hand (a spindle could serve as a weft) and passed it through the warp so that one hanging thread remained on one side of the weft, and the other on the other. The transverse thread, for example, could pass over the first, third, fifth, etc. and under the bottom the second, fourth, sixth, etc. warp threads, or vice versa.

This method of weaving literally repeated the weaving technique and required a lot of time to pass the weft thread over and under the corresponding warp thread. For each of these threads it was necessary special movement. If there were a hundred threads in the warp, then a hundred movements had to be made to thread the weft in just one row. Soon the ancient masters noticed that weaving techniques could be simplified.

Indeed, if it were possible to lift all the even or odd warp threads at once, the craftsman would be spared the need to slip the weft under each thread, but could immediately pull it through the entire warp: a hundred movements would be replaced by one! A primitive device for separating threads - remez - was invented already in ancient times.

At first, the hedge was a simple wooden rod, to which the lower ends of the warp threads were attached through one another (so, if the even ones were tied to the hedge, the odd ones continued to hang freely). Pulling the hem towards himself, the master immediately separated all the even threads from the odd ones and with one throw threw the weft through the entire warp. True, when moving back, the weft again had to go through all the even threads one by one.

Almost everything we wear is woven from threads. Cotton, wool, linen or artificial. And the threads are turned into fabric using a loom. And it is clear that without this wonderful device we would look completely different. Let us pay tribute to the mechanism that has largely woven our history...

The emergence of looms

Weaving looms appeared in ancient times. Among many peoples among many peoples of Europe, Asia and America. The first loom was vertical. It was a simple frame on which warp threads were stretched. The lower ends of these threads hung freely almost to the ground. To prevent them from getting tangled, they were pulled with hangers. The weaver held a large shuttle with thread in his hands and weaved the warp. This method literally repeated the weaving technique and required a lot of time. Then the ancient masters noticed that this process could be simplified. If it were possible to simultaneously lift all the even or odd warp threads, the craftsman could immediately pull the shuttle through the entire warp. This is how a primitive device for separating threads - remez - was invented. At first, the hedge was a simple wooden rod, to which the lower ends of the warp threads were attached through one another. Pulling the hedge towards himself, the master immediately separated all the even threads from the odd ones, and then with one throw threw the shuttle over the entire warp. True, during the reverse movement we had to go through all the even threads one by one again. At the same time, it was impossible to simply lead the second rez, because the first would get in his way. Then they began to tie laces to the weights at the lower ends of the threads. The second ends of the laces were attached to the boards, even to one, odd to the other. Now the cutting edges did not interfere with mutual work. Pulling first one and then the other hedge, the master sequentially separated the even and odd threads. The work has accelerated tenfold. The making of fabrics ceased to be weaving and became weaving itself.

Now, with the help of laces, it was possible to use not two, but more rezov. As a result, it became possible to produce not a plain, but an ornamented fabric. The first evidence of the appearance of machine tools with loads dates back to the region of Anatolia and Syria. Cargoes dating back to the 7th-6th millennium BC were found there. The earliest images of a loom and weavers at work are found on the walls of the tomb of Hemotep in Egypt. The age of these drawings is about 4000 years.

The peoples of South America used a machine with weights around the thousandth year BC. Such a machine was also known in ancient Greece. It was often depicted on Greek vases from the 6th to 5th centuries BC.

In subsequent centuries, various improvements were made to the loom. For example, the movement of the blades began to be controlled by the feet using pedals, leaving the weaver's hands free. However, the fundamental weaving technique did not change until the 18th century.

The origin of the simplest horizontal machine is lost in the mists of time. In the 11th century, an improved design appeared in China, which has come down to us with minor changes. The warp threads on such a machine were tensioned horizontally, hence its name. On a vertical loom, the width of the fabric did not exceed half a meter, and in order to obtain wider strips of fabric, they had to be sewn together.

In turn, the horizontal machine not only increased the speed of fabric production, but also made it possible to unlimitedly increase the width of the resulting fabric. Already in the 12th century, a complex weaving machine came to Italy through Damascus and there it underwent further improvement. For example, they began to align the threads using a hanging comb.

Mechanical loom

In 1272, a method of mechanical twisting of threads was invented in Bologna, which was kept a closely guarded secret by local weavers for the next three hundred years. But the task of inventing a mechanical loom seemed insurmountable until the 18th century. Even Leonardo Da Vinci couldn't invent the power loom. It was only in 1733 that the young English mechanic John Kay made the first mechanical shuttle for a loom. In Russia, such a shuttle was nicknamed the airplane, because the invention eliminated the need to manually throw the shuttle and made it possible to produce wide fabrics on a machine operated by one weaver.

At that time, Kay's invention did not attract support from either English industrialists or weavers, and the London Society of Arts and Industry generally stated that it did not know a single person who understood how to use these shuttles.

Kay's work was continued by Oxford graduate, Anglican church minister and poet Edmund Cartwright. In 1785, he received a patent for a foot-powered mechanical loom and built a spinning and weaving mill in Yorkshire for twenty such devices. Already by the thirties of the 19th century, a lot of technical innovations were added to the Cartwright machine. There were more and more similar machines in factories, and they were serviced by fewer and fewer workers. In Russia, the first mechanical looms appeared at the end of the 18th century. In 1798, the Aleksandrovskaya Manufactory was created in St. Petersburg - the first textile factory in Russia.

The most labor-intensive tasks when working on mechanical machines were changing and charging the shuttle. In addition, the weaver had to constantly monitor the breakage of the main thread and stop the machine to correct the defects. It wasn't until James Northrop came up with a way to automatically charge a shuttle in 1890 that factory weaving made a real breakthrough. Already in 1894, Northrop's company developed and brought to market the first automatic loom. Next came a serious competitor to the automatic machine - a weaving machine without a shuttle at all, which greatly increased the ability of one person to service several devices.

A new era began with the advent of the mechanical loom. If the Middle Ages were the time of the lone artisan, now weaving has become the first sphere of mass production in history. Weaving workshops began to grow into factories. The rapid development of the cotton industry caused a rapid influx of people into weaving. This craft was taught in prisons, homes for the poor, and orphanages.

All this gave rise to those social changes in European society that were described in such detail by the classics of Marxism - the alienation of the worker from his labor, the sweatshop system, strikes, lockouts and other methods of class struggle. And indeed, we see that long before historical materialism, weavers were at the forefront of the workers’ struggle for their rights. Here you have the weavers' strike in Flanders in 1245, and the weavers' revolt in the Flemish city of Ypres in 1280, and the Luditsk pogroms of weaving machines of the 18th century. Then came the Eleonian uprisings of the thirties of the 19th century, and the first revolutionary councils in Ivanovo in 1905. All this was the work of weavers. So, if you like, the loom is the main engine of the class struggle, if there really was one.

The introduction of the latest technologies in industrial sectors primarily affects equipment. Examples from various industries demonstrate the benefits of technical development, which manifests itself in improved product quality. At the same time, there are areas where traditional methods of organizing technological processes are still relevant. The loom in particular retains to this day the concept of a close relationship between manual labor and machine function. Of course, in some areas of production one can note the emergence of electronic systems with automation. However, based on the combined advantages of the two approaches, the advantage still remains with manual and mechanical units.

General information about weaving machines

Despite the conservative approach to textile production, participants in this segment use many variations of this machine. Moreover, all models serve the same purpose - tissue formation. As a result of the mutual interweaving of several threads with a certain configuration of arrangement relative to each other, a textile product with a given structure is created. In general, the concept is simple, so its origins go quite deep into history. For example, the first finds indicating the production of fabrics by weaving date back about 6 thousand years. If we talk about machines close to modern technical means, the first weaving machines appeared in 1785. It was at this time that a mechanical unit of this type was patented. At the same time, it cannot be said that the device was something unprecedented and revolutionary. By this point, manual mechanisms had been quite common in Europe for almost a hundred years.

Main characteristics

A special place in the technical parameters is occupied by the dimensions of the machines. Traditional hand-held machines have the most compact dimensions, which can easily be placed even in a small apartment. They can be compared to a washing machine, but it is important to take into account the need to organize the workplace. One of the most important characteristics is the width of the fabric, which on average varies from 50 to 100 cm. Of course, a weaving machine for industrial needs can have a two-meter width of the fabric, which allows the production of carpets. You should also consider the size of the installation in terms of placement on the floor. As a rule, models from the junior and middle lines occupy areas no larger than 100x100 cm. In this case, the installation height can reach 1.5 m.

Machine device

The classic design of a manual loom primarily provides for the presence of two transverse bars for the commercial roller and beam. As a rule, these elements are included in the basic package. The machine cannot do without a thread holder. During the warping process, it is this part where the ends of the threads are fixed. A parting hook is used to thread loops of yarn into the corresponding teeth. This detail is also called a threading into the reed. In addition, the design of the weaving loom provides for the presence of embedded strips. With the help of these elements, the user can keep the base even and smooth. The planks are usually laid on the base as they are wound. When the formation of the base for the machine begins, the function of a heald holder is required - this is performed by a special clamp included in the kit. As an option, kits with wire pins are also purchased, which secure the healds after they are installed for work.

Varieties

Manufacturers offer manual, mechanical, semi-mechanical, and automated devices. Models are also divided into hydraulic and pneumatic machines depending on the principle of operation. From the point of view of structural design, round and flat machines can be distinguished. By the way, the first option is used exclusively for the production of fabrics with special qualities.

For example, it could be hose material. For domestic use, small narrow models are often used, and for large-scale production, industrial weaving looms are suitable, which have enough power to work with large volumes of textile material. There is also a division of machines according to their ability to form different fabrics. Thus, eccentric models are used to create simple weaves, and finely patterned fabrics can be made on a carriage machine.

Classification according to the method of laying the thread

On this basis, pneumatic and hydraulic devices are distinguished. True, there is a third type - rapier machines. As for pneumatic models, they lay the thread in the shed using an air flow. The main nozzle, built into the hip structure, is designed for this purpose. It is important to note that this part is fixed to the main tank that distributes compressed air. Hydraulic and rapier types of weaving looms are also common, which use water and special feeding elements in the laying process. In the first case, the thread is carried by a flying water drop. In general, the design of such machines corresponds to their pneumatic counterparts, only instead of air a jet of water is used. Rapier mechanisms introduce the thread into the shed using two metal rods, one of which performs the feeding function, and the second - the receiving one.

Maintenance nuances

The list of activities performed during the maintenance process depends on the specific design. For example, the maintenance of hand-made models requires careful inspection of the structure, which is most often made of wood. Correctly setting up components, strips and clamps is a major part of the craftsman's job. More complex designs of mechanical and automatic units require additional measures. For example, it may be necessary to fill the loom with water in the case of hydraulic devices. Pneumatic equipment also requires separate maintenance of devices that provide air supply. This also requires checking the connecting hoses and nozzles that distribute the flows.

Weaving machine manufacturers

Leading positions are occupied by European companies, including Belgian, Italian and German manufacturers. In particular, pneumatic models are offered on the market by Dornier, Picanol and Promatech. Also, high-quality machines are produced by Japanese companies, including Tsudakoma and Toyota. Hydraulic models are also released under the same brands. It is noteworthy that there are no Russian enterprises represented in this segment. But the domestic loom can be found in the category of rapier models. The Tekstilmash and STB factories offer their products in this niche.

Conclusion

Despite the expansion of production capacity, the best textile products are produced by small enterprises that focus on manual labor. This approach has many advantages that provide quality products. For example, a weaving machine with a manual operating principle allows timely correction of fabric formation, as well as making the necessary adjustments to the settings of the feeding elements. In addition, there are many operations that automated machines cannot perform. In such cases, again, the hands of experienced weavers do best.