Shuttle Loom | Popular and conventional weaving machine

-->

Shuttle Loom: 

The shuttle loom is very popular and conventional weaving machine. The conventional loom utilizes a shuttle that contains a bobbin of filling yarn, which emerges through a hole in the side. As the shuttle is batted across the loom it leaves a trail of the filling at the rate of about 110 to 225 picks per minute (ppm). 

The shuttle loom is the oldest kind of weaving machine. It is effective and versatile, but is has certain disadvantages. The shuttle sometimes causes abrasion on the warp yarns as it passes over them and sometimes causes thread breaks. This, in turn, results in machine stoppage in order to tie the broken yarns. Shuttle looms operate more slowly than some new types of  looms or weaving machine and they are, also noisier. 

In shuttle looms the shuttle traverses the cloth, and the filling yarn unwinds from the quill. Quills in the shuttle must be replaced when the yarn supply is exhausted. The frequency with which a quill has to be replaced depends on the fineness of the filling yarn. Coarse yarns require more frequent replacement; finer yarns need to be replaced less often. 

In the mechanical changer, full quills are kept ready in a revolving case. The weaving machine rams them into the shuttle when the shuttle comes to rest briefly after crossing the yarn. The pressure of the full quill crowds the empty quill out of the shuttle. It falls through a slot into a container under the shuttle loom. The new quill is pushed mechanically into place in the shuttle, which has a self-threading device that automatically picks up the yarn when the new quill is inserted. This allows the weaving to continue without a stop. 

A specialized process has been developed that allows winding of quills to take place at the loom. In the Unifil system, empty quills are carried on a conveyor belt to a point where yarn from a large package is wound onto an empty quill that is then returned to a position where it can be placed in the shuttle. This system requires that fewer wound quills be supplied, but it has several limitations. It is useful only for single-color picks, and because the cost of the system is high, it is most economical for coarse yarns that would require especially frequent quill replacement. Picking when two or more different colors or types of filling yarn are used requires two or more shuttles and a more complex and costly type of loom arrangement. A conventional shuttle loom has one shuttle box on each side of the weaving machine.

To insert yarns of different colors or types, a number of shuttle boxes must be moved up and down to bring shuttles into position to create the pattern. Such looms are often called pick and pick looms. Among the advantages of most shuttle-less looms is that they draw yarn for each pick directly from yarn packages, making it easier and less costly to insert a number of different colors or types of yarn. 

The rapid crossing of the shed by the shuttle leaves a layer of filling yarn. When the shed is changed, the yarn is locked into place by the change in warp positioning. However, to make the yarn lie flat and in its proper position, it must be beaten into place in finish is the mote durable. For heavy industrial fabrics made from heat-sensitive or thermoplastic fibers, hot melting devices cause the yarns to fuse together to form a tight selvage.

-->