AUTOMATIC WEAVING

Introduction
In olden days the duties of weaver involved weft and cloth carrying, oiling & greasing, as well as the major duties of weaving. The great deal of time was being wasted in unskilled jobs. After extensive redeployment, the main work of the weaver on non-automatic looms involved: 1 Stopping loom to replace weft package when the yarn on pirn was about to finish, replace old pirn with full pirn and restart the loom. 2 Repairing warp and weft breaks, and 3 General supervision and inspection of yarn, cloth and machine. The serious defect in operating non-automatic loom is frequent stoppages due to exhaustion of the pirn. This results in lower productiveness of the loom. This inefficiency of loom is proportional to the coarseness of the weft used. The jobs as described above demand great amount of attention from the weaver. As such, he can be given only two or four such looms. The weavers being skilled workers, their wages are generally very high. Thus, the wage bills of a weaving shed with ordinary looms, employing large number of highly paid weavers are very high. So, if the productiveness of the loom is increased the wages can be spread over large volume of production. This could be done in two different ways: a) by increasing loom speed, and b) by increasing number of looms allotted to weavers. As described in paragraph two there are three major jobs of weaver. The second and third of these can not be made automatic, as it is not feasible. So, the idea of automatic weft change came into the inventors mind, when the optimum loom speeds were reached. This enabled higher looms allotted to the weavers. Draper Company of America first manufactured the automatic bobbin/pirn change loom in 1895 (Northrop automatic loom). In previous days these looms were worked with metal cop skewers with ringed butts. No Bunching facility was available on mules and ring frames in those days. Caliper feelers were used for pick-found cloth. Where as the non-pick found cloth was woven with bobbin change by weft fork. Later the ring frames were developed to make required bunch on pirns. The increasing quality demands created a requirement for rewound pirns to remove faults in yarn. So, in present days the weft is first wound on cones on automatic winding machines and pirn winding is used to fill the pirns, which are used on automatic looms. On automatic looms, suitable mechanisms are provided to automatically perform the work of replenishing the weft on the loom. This relieves the weaver from a major portion of his work so that he can look after more number of looms. Two main methods were developed: a) The shuttle changing, and b) The bobbin/pirn changing weaving machines Among these the pirn changing looms became very popular. There were few reasons for this. 1 The shuttle changing method requires more number of shuttles of matching size and weight. This adds to expenses. 2 The shuttle change mechanism is more complex than bobbin change mechanism. 3 Bobbin change mechanism is found to be more effective and versatile than shuttle change. 4 The weaver requires removing empty pirn from shuttle and replacing it with full pirn, carrying out threading through shuttle eye and filling it in the magazine. This is rather laborious than to fill the pirns in the magazine.
Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah

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But, it has some advantages, too: Usual shuttles on non-automatic looms can be used. They are more suitable for weaving fine and delicate yarns e.g. synthetic (filament) yarns with special characteristics, which are somewhat difficult to weave with the bobbin changing mechanism.

Features of Automatic Looms

Main features Automatic weft replacement Automatic weft supply mechanism is the most important feature of automatic looms. As mentioned earlier shuttle change and bobbin change systems are available. In either system weft feeler motion is necessary to recognize the exhaustion of effective weft yarn on the running pirn and to set the change mechanism into action when such a change becomes necessary. Warp stop motion In addition to duties for operating the looms, weaver has the overall responsibility of producing defect-free cloth. Missing End is one of the serious defects caused by broken warp ends. So, weaver should be vigilant to trace broken ends quickly and repair them by stopping looms. If not attended in time it may give rise to multiple end breaks and / or floats in the cloth. If the weaver is to be allotted large number of looms to operate, only weft change automation does not help. The weaver will be put to constant mental strain due to worrying about end breaks on distant looms. A warp stop motion is, therefore, greatly necessary on automatic looms to relieve the weaver from this mental strain, which enables him to look after large number of looms, comfortably. Warp stop motion (WSM) also relieves the weaver from good amount of supervision in looking for end breaks. The Warp stop motion stops the loom in the event of end break. These motions make use of droppers or drip wires or drop pins for every thread on beam. Automatic let-off motion Weaver has to change the position of weights to adjust the warp tension; periodically for large number of looms this will be strenuous work for weaver, causing physical exertion. So, the automatic looms are provided with automatic/positive let-off motion, which takes care of warp tension by itself. Once the tension is adjusted at the start of full beam, requires no further adjustments till the beam weaves down completely. So, the weaver is relieved of strenuous manual work of adjusting heavy weights on levers. It takes care of manual errors in adjusting the weights by weaver. The warp tension is governed more scientifically with automatic let-off motion. Other Features on Automatic Loom Three above-mentioned features are the basic features of automatic looms. Number of other features has now been added to the automatic looms to make them effective, compact, versatile, economical, and convenient and for improved quality of fabric. The other features are as mentioned below. Under pick motions: Automatic looms are provided with under pick motions (side lever or cone under pick), as over pick mechanism is not suitable for automatic weft supply due to weft storage, which must be positioned on the shuttle box on one side. Shedding: The connections of healds are made with more rigid and durable metallic links like adjustable heald hangers, nylon or leather straps, nylon/metal cords and ram iron hooks. Beat-up: Improved design of slay-sword and crank arms is used for effectiveness of beat-up.

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Reliever swell: Relieving swell is fitted to make the shuttle free of force exerted by swell during picking. This saves power required for picking. Shuttle checking: More effective checking mechanism assisted with hydraulic or pneumatic buffers at the end of the shuttle box is fitted on the looms. This ensures exact position of the shuttle in the box, which is critical on transfer side for exact insertion of pirn in the shuttle jaw. Automatic or self-threading shuttle: As the pirn is changed automatically, it requires shuttles with the eye to facilitate easy and automatic threading during pirn change. This is applicable in case of bobbin/pirn change mechanism. Take-up mechanism: the design of take mechanism is improved with integrated anticrack motion, which can be precisely adjusted to avoid cracks, starting marks during weft breaks. Beam reversing motion: the automatic looms have positive let-off motions. Where the beams are positively rotated with gear. The method of manual operation of rotating the beams by holding flanges to adjust the fell of cloth after removal of fault is not convenient for automatic looms. Therefore, these looms are fitted with beam reversing motion to facilitate easy loosening and tightening the warp manually, whenever required. Clutch drive: it is imperative to start the loom quickly on the first pick after restarting it after any type of stoppage to avoid the starting mark in cloth. This is achieved by using clutch drive fitted to main shaft in place of just a pulley rotated by belt through motor. This ensures high starting torque given to crank shaft on restarting the loom. This, along with appropriate method of restarting the loom, reduces the incidences of the starting marks to a great extent. Effective brake: Full brake band covering almost 70 to 80% of brake wheel is used to brake the main shaft of the loom. This makes braking very very effective over a long period of time. This minimizes the chances of starting marks by avoiding over running of shaft after loom stoppage. Center weft fork motion: Side weft has a limitation of sensing the weft break only after alternate picks. This results in broken picks and some other types of faults in the cloth. To minimize this automatic looms are fitted with center weft fork motion, which is capable of sensing the weft break on every pick. This eliminates the drawback of side weft fork and helps to reduce broken picks. Single-pick motion, crank degree-indicating disc for precise settings, indicator lamps, pick counters are some of the features, which make the operations convenient and easy. Better metallurgy and precision parts enable to adopt standardized settings on looms. The breakdown of parts and maintenance is reduced. Central lubrication systems can be fitted easily. The operational life of looms is considerably increased. In early stages of development, automatic looms were used only for weaving simple plain fabrics. Subsequently, the automatic looms with cam dobby, drop box, pick-at will motions and jacquard were developed. General Requirements of Automatic Weaving In development of automatic looms there had been two stages. In early stages the automatic looms had slightly less speed than that of ordinary looms of same width. In later stage the automatic looms with high speeds were successfully developed. To site the examples, Cimmco automatic loom is low speed automatic loom and Ruti-C is high-speed automatic loom, with 140 and 220 rpm for same width respectively. Quality of yarn and preparation The low speed automatic loom as such does not require better quality of warp or weft. But, it is found that in order to obtain optimum working conditions, and better utilization of automatic looms, the quality of warp and weft used should be of better standard than is generally used on non-automatic looms. There are two aspects of quality of warp and weft. Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah 3

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a) The quality of spun yarn, and b) The quality of preparatory process As the number of looms per weaver is higher (8,10,12, & 16), yarn breakages should be high. It has greater effect on workload of weaver. Higher breakages would increase the interference losses resulting into lower productivity and efficiency. It will be clear that basic yarn quality and preparatory requirements of the yarn-warp and weft-are higher than the yarn used on non-automatic looms. Bunch One of the requirements of pirn winding for automatic loom is to form a bunch at the base of pirn. The bunch is necessary to keep continually of weft during transfer. There is a small time gap between sensing for change, transferring the indication to pirn change mechanism and actual change of pirn. There may be one or two picks required to fill this gap. This is achieved by winding about 3 to 4 picks in the form of bunch at the base of pirn. The pirn winding machines required the facility to wind bunch with adjustment of length for various widths of loom and fabric. Workforce The system of automatic weaving requires complete reorganization of labour in the weaving shed. The object is to separate the skilled work from unskilled work and the introduction to specialization. This makes better utilization of both skilled and unskilled labour. The weaver is given only skilled work of mending yarn breaks and supervision of cloth. All other unskilled work like cleaning looms, filling magazine etc is given to separate class of workers (ancillary workers). Automatic weaving shed, thus, has battery filler, pirn cleaners, loom cleaner cum oiler, beam gaiters, cloth carrier etc. Maintenance Yet another requirement of automatic weaving is the better system of maintenance. The skilled technician (loom tuner/jobber) is required, as automatic looms need precision settings and more accurate timing. The variations in these results malfunctioning of mechanisms and early wear and tear of parts. The better maintenance needs a more systematic organization of the maintenance work. Preventive maintenance is the best for automatic looms. Plant Layout The automatic loom shed should be planned in a different way than ordinary looms. Particularly high-speed automatic looms require better plan for lay out. Front, back and side alleys should be spacious for material handling equipments like trolleys for pirns, beams, big cloth rolls etc. There should be minimum obstructions in the form of pillars etc. Good ventilation, humidification, air changes are required to control ambient conditions of loom shed to get maximum efficiency. As the loom sheds with automatic looms are with false ceiling, lighting of room should be done correctly to maintain standard illumination on fabric, roll, warp and beam and around the loom shed for better fabric inspection, patrolling and material handling. House keeping House keeping in the automatic loom shed is one of the important requirements. The lay out being spacious and material handling equipments are being in use, the house keeping require proper attention for total upkeep of the loom shed. It not only facilitates reduction in hard waste, maintenance of material handling equipments but also keeps the morale of workers high resulting into higher efficiency. Advantages of Automatic Looms A number of benefits are offered by automatic weaving in comparison with non-automatic looms. Some of them are direct result of automatic looms and some due to systems adopted. Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah 4

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1. First important advantage is that the cost of production is reduced due to saving in labour cost. This is primary aim of developing automatic looms. The production per operative is considerably increased with only marginal increase in wages to be paid per operator. 2. The production of loom is higher. This is due to elimination of major stoppages for shuttle change for renewal of weft package. Therefore, efficiency of automatic loom is higher than good set up non-automatic looms achieve. 80 to 82% efficiency (4 looms / weaver) where as the automatic looms achieve 85 to 90% of efficiency. 3. Automatic looms produce cloth of superior quality. This is due to reasons. Yarn quality and preparation is better and due to continuous working of looms, chance of introduction of defect is reduced. Missing ends, floats are reduced to minimum due to WSM. 4. Due to effectiveness of motions there is improvement in overall quality of fabric as there is reduction in defects. Automatic let-off results in uniform pick spacing throughout the length of fabric. It may be said that with adequate supervision and correct settings automatic looms can yield 80 to 90% of first quality packing. 5. The number of operatives required is less. This results in less supervision requirements and less labour problems. The supervision becomes simpler. 6. The operators work on a large number of looms so he/she earns higher wages. This is direct benefit for individual person. So, the morale of workers is high. 7. Due to better lay out, humidification, false ceiling etc, the working conditions are better. This, too, results in higher morale of workers. The system of automatic weaving implies a more scientific system of cloth production, utilization of men, machine and material. Pirn Changing Looms Many manufacturers made automatic looms with slightly different designs. All of them were fitted with transfer mechanism based on the design made by British Northrop loom co. In India Cimmco, Ruti B and Ruti C automatic looms became more popular. Requirements of pirn changing weft-replenishing mechanism For operation of automatic of pirn changing, following parts or attachments are found essential on loom. Larger shuttle and pirn with few modifications in their design Self-threading device in the shuttle A rotary magazine for storing sufficient number of full pirns Feeler mechanism mounted on the starting handle side or opposite to the rotary magazine, to detect almost exhausted weft on pirn. Changes in the design of the shuttle boxes and sley A mechanism to push the fully wound pirn from the magazine into the shuttle after ejecting the run out pirn at the same time A device to cut two weft yarns one from ejected pirn and other from new pirn pushed in the shuttle, on the transfer side A mechanism, known as shuttle protector, to prevent the pirn change if shuttle fails to position itself in the correct position for receiving the full pirn from magazine Under picking mechanism to get rid off of spindle in the shuttle box and to accommodate magazine of full pirns above the shuttle box A box of metallic sheet under the shuttle box on battery side to collect the ejected empty pirns, and bobbin chute to guide the empty pirns in the box

Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah

AUTOMATIC WEAVING

Shuttle for Pirn Changing Loom The shuttle used on automatic looms is different than on non automatic loom. non-automatic shuttles used on automatic loom are shown in fig.1

The

C
Fig.1 Shuttles Used on Cimmco and Ruti C Automatic Looms

The shuttle is larger in size, for example the shuttle on Cimmco automatic loom fig 2 has dimensions of 135*34*32mm and weighs from 425 to 475 grams. In case of Ruti C automatic loom the dimensions of the shuttle are 180*43*42 mm and weighs about 600 grams. This required for carrying large pirn with longer yarn length on it to reduce the pirn changes per arge unit time. This results in reduced wear and tear of parts in pirn changing mechanism. It will also result in less amount of waste as the number of bunches ejected will be less. The work of battery filler gets reduced if pirns are larger having longer yarn length, as he requires less number of pirns to fill in the battery. The design of automatic loom shuttle should allow easy entry of the full pirn from the top and easy exit of empty pirn ejected from bottom. Therefore, the top and bottom part is wide n open to receive the new pirn and eject the old pirn. The shuttle should have means to hold and grip the pirn firmly after it has been pushed in the shuttle by transfer hammer. The spring jaw (fig.2) is fitted near the tip of shuttle for this jaw purpose.

A Shuttle jaw (Cimmco)

B Shuttle jaw (Ruti C)

C
Fig. 2 Shuttle Jaw and Self Threading Shuttle Eye

Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah Prof.

AUTOMATIC WEAVING

The shuttle of automatic loom is provided with the slot near jaw in the front wall for the feeler blade to pass through to detect the exhaustion of the weft. The shuttle is also provided with a cut portion for the gripper/cutter blades to grip and cut the weft from ejected pirn. This portion is near shuttle eye. e self-threading A shuttle for the pirn changing automatic loom should be provided with a self device. The weft is brought out through the shuttle eye. The eyes that are used for shuttles of non-automatic looms are not suitable for automatic threading of weft on automati loom. automatic automatic Therefore, shuttles used for automatic pirn change are fitted with self threading eye as shown self-threading in fig 2. This type of eye allows threading of yarn while loom is running. After the pirn change, shuttle is picked from magazine side to opposite side. The weft is held on top of eye as it is wrapped to thread holder of battery. This gives sufficient tension to weft for pick after change. On second pick, when shuttle is picked from feeler side, the weft is properly threaded through the self-threading eye. Pirn for pirn changing loom The pirn is also different than which is used on non-automatic loom. The pirns used with automatic automatic loom are longer to give higher yarn content. On the base of pirn there is suitable arrangement to fit the pirn in shuttle jaws of various types on different makes of looms.

Cimmco loom

Ruti C loom
Fig.3 Pirns Used on Cimmco and Ruti C Automatic Looms

Cimmco automatic shuttle uses metallic jaw having grooves on inner surface where the pirn fits. The jaw has spring properties in order to grip the pirn in it. This requires 3 rings on the base of pirn as shown in fig 3. Ruti C automatic loom has different type of shuttle than on Cimmco loom. As shown in fig 1, shuttle on Ruti C loom is split on one side and a polymer rod stretched across the shuttle width presses that side to generate the gripping force on the the pirn. The base of pirn used on this loom is plain (fig. 3) suitable for plain polymeric gripping surface to receive the pirn.

Fig.4 Pirn With groove

The pirns are made with or without metallic sleeve, or reflector or groove a the butt, at suitable for the type of feeler used on the automatic loom. For mechanical feeler, pirns are without anything mentioned above. For the electrical feeler, metallic sleeve is fitted and for optical feeler, reflector or groove is used on the pirn.
Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah Prof.

AUTOMATIC WEAVING

Changes in the Design of the Shuttle Boxes and Sley The shuttle boxes and sley on automatic looms are modified to suit the working of automatic transfer and feeler mechanisms. The main features are as follows. 1. As the spindle in ordinary looms shuttle box causes obstruction for pushing the pirn from top of shuttle, it is not used on automatic loom. 2. The bottom metal plate of shuttle box on battery side has a wider opening for an empty pirn to pass through, when it is ejected at the time of transfer. 3. The front plate of shuttle box on feeler side has groove for feeler blade to pass through it and indicate the exhaustion of the weft on pirn. 4. The front plate on battery side has stepped cut portion for the action of loose end cutter in the transfer motion. Rotary Magazine (battery) Figure 5 a and b show the construction of the rotary magazine (battery) used on Cimmco automatic loom. Other looms also have similar rotary magazine with slight difference. This magazine is designed to receive 28 to 30 full pirns in all. But, the effective capacity is less by 4 pirns as this space is required for the purpose of pushing the full pirn in shuttle by transfer hammer fitted inside the battery.

Fig. 5 a Fig. 5 Battery

Fig. 5 b

The magazine is mounted on right hand end of front rest (breast beam) with the help of a support (hopper stay) on which a sturdy stud (battery stud) is fitted. The bottom disc and small end disc, which support the full pirns are mounted on the stud and fitted with bolts on a bush, which can rotate on stud. The position of small end disc can be laterally adjusted to receive shorter or longer pirns. There is spring loaded pirn holder (spring clip) in small end disc for every pirn. The pirns are pressed in their respective places on both the discs as shown in fig. 5. It is observed that the pirn is held parallel to stud. The thread guide disc is mounted after small end disc. This serves the purpose of holding the weft beyond the shuttle box for proper threading of weft into the shuttle eye. Steps are provided on this disc to receive every thread of pirns in magazine. The free end of weft on every pirn is wound on thread holder fitted on the rear end of battery stud.
Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah

AUTOMATIC WEAVING

The bottom disc has a ratchet wheel to give the rotary motion with the help of feed pawl (see fig. 12 D). Hold back pawl rests on ratchet to stop its rotation in reverse direction. The rotation of battery disc presents next full pirn to the transfer hammer for next change. Automatic pirn transfer mechanism requires the feeler mechanism on loom to indicate the time for pirn change on exhaustion of weft on running pirn. It will be desirable to study about the feeler mechanism before transfer mechanism. The Feeler Mechanism or Weft Feelers In the initial stages of development of automatic loom, the weft fork motion was used to actuate the transfer mechanism. But, in that case the change was effected due to sensing by the weft fork, while weft is completely exhausted or broken. Therefore, even on the occasions of weft break the pirn transfer used to take place. This was not desirable for two reasons: 1. Formation of broken picks in fabric due to complete exhaustion of the pirn 2. Due to weft breaks pirns with yarn still on them were rejected. The operator has to refill these pirns in battery to use them fully. This problem got solved when the weft fork was no more used to activate the transfer, albeit one of the part of weft fork motion i.e. weft hammer is used to activate the transfer. Weft feelers are now used to indicate the need of pirn change. The function of feeler mechanism is to sense the weft on the pirn, and initiate the pirn changing mechanism to act when the weft, except the bunch on the pirn, has been exhausted. If the weft is present on the pirn, feeler allows the loom to continue working with it. There are three main types of feelers: a) Mechanical b) Electrical, and c) Photo electrical Mechanical Feeler: There are two versions of mechanical feeler i) Midget sideslip mechanical Feeler, ii) Side sweep mechanical feeler. Midget Sideslip Mechanical Feeler Figure 6 shows midget sideslip feeler. On automatic looms the shuttle and the box front of shuttle box have matching grooves for the feeler blade to enter in the shuttle to sense the weft.

A-Feeler Blade, B-Trip lever Connecting Rod, C-Trip Lever, D-Bell Crank Lever, E-Tripper Heel Fig. 6 Midget Sideslip Mechanical Feeler

When sley moves forward the feeler blade A, as shown in figure 6 passes through the slots in the box front and front wall of shuttle and contacts the yarn on the pirn, if the weft is Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah 9

AUTOMATIC WEAVING

not run out. As the tip of feeler blade is locked in the coils of weft on the pirn the blade A is pushed straight back into the feeler box and no indication of a pirn transfer takes place. When only bunch of weft gets exposed after other part of weft is exhausted, the tip of feeler blade A slips side ways on the smooth surface of the empty pirn in front of it and contacts the trip lever connecting rod B. This in turn raises the trip lever C through bell crank lever D. A tripper heel E is attached to weft fork hammer. Therefore, it oscillates to and fro with it. This comes in contact with raised trip lever C and pushes it back as shown by arrow in fig 6. This causes the change shaft to turn and effect the pirn change. The transfer takes place when the sley moves in the forward direction in next revolution. The return spring in the feeler box brings the feeler blade in its normal position. Cimmco side sweep mechanical fleer Fig. 7 shows the construction of Cimmco side-sweep weft feeler and other attachments to affect the transfer. The feeler blade A is fixed in the feeler-slide B with the help of bush at the bottom and cap near the tip. The feeler slide is pivoted on a spring-loaded stud C. The blade A is spring loaded to take constant position. H is adjustable stud with plunger. It supports one arm of Z piece F. The other arm of Z piece supports the feeler slide B at tail end D. The Z piece is made to press forward at arm with stud by a spring. This results in pressing other arm on bottom of feeler slide. If the Z piece is out of its contact at tail end D then fleer-slide can turn anticlockwise due to torsion spring on stud C. Connecting rod from feeder slide connects to the lifting lever L, which is under the straddle bug finger. As sley moves forward, the blade enters shuttle box through grooves of box front and shuttle. If yarn is present on pirn opposite the tip of the blade, it gets locked in coils of yarn and is pushed straight back on the feeler slide in cap and bush and no transfer signal is generated.

A-feeler blade, B-feeler slide, C-spring loaded stud, D-tail end, F- Z piece, G-adjusting screw head, H-plunger, Iplunger spring, J-change lever/straddle bug finger, K-connecting rod, L- lifting lever, S-spring Fig.7 Cimmco Side-Sweep Mechanical Feeler

Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah

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Fig.7 Cimmco Side-Sweep Mechanical Feeler

If the weft is exhausted and only bunch is left on the pirn then the blade cannot get locked in the yarn. As the sley moves forward, the box front makes the contact with adjustable bolt and starts pressing it till sley comes to front dead center as shown in fig 8.

Fig. 8 Box Front Pressed on Adjustable Bolt

Simultaneously with this, Z piece arm gets displaced. This results in relieving the pressure of Z piece bottom arm on the feeler slide at tail end D. this causes the feeler slide to turn in anticlockwise direction and pulls the connecting rod K in the direction of arrow as shown in fig 8. Thus, the lifting lever and straddle bug finger are raised. The straddle bug finger gets engaged with the knock on weft fork hammer, which is now coming back. This causes straddle bug finger to be pushed backward. This is turn causes the change shaft to rotate through a lever fixed on change shaft and activates the transfer motion. Electrical Feeler This type of feeler is shown in fig. 9. In this the transfer of full pirn into the shuttle is initiated electrically. The feeler is mounted on shuttle stand. The feeler has two prongs, which serve as a part in an electrical circuit. If these two prongs are connected through the conducting material the electrical circuit gets complete. Therefore, the pirns used for this type of feeler have a metallic sleeve near its butt/base. The prongs are spring loaded as shown in fig.9. When the weft yarn is there on pirn, the prongs are pressed back and due to presence of yarn the metallic sleeve is covered by yarn, which prevents contact of prongs with sleeve. Thus, no change is indicated. When only bunch remains on pirn and other part of weft is exhausted, the sleeve is exposed and the prongs contact the sleeve. This results in completing the electrical circuit and the solenoid is energized. The electrical magnet box becomes active, which lifts the trip lever in
Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah

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line with tripper heel and puts the pirn changing mechanism in action. The electrical circuit is broken again when the sley moves backwards and the contact between sleeve and prongs is lost.

Fig. 9 Electrical Weft Feeler

The tension of the springs used for the prongs should not be excessive to avoid any damage to the yarn. It is obvious that special pirns with metal sleeve is required for electrical feeler. Optical Weft Feeler Two types of optical feelers can be used to initiate change of pirn. One makes use of reflection of light from reflective surface on the pirn and in other case there is groove in the pirn through which the light passes and is used to indicate the pirn change. In first case, as shown in fig. 10, the pirn has reflective strip having property of reflecting a beam of light back to its source. The light source and photocell are housed together in the feeler head. Both, a searching light beam and reflected ray pass through the same optical system. Photocell

Light ray Pirn Reflecting strip Fig.10 Optical Weft Feeler Incident light ray is directed on the pirn constantly. In normal working as the reflective strip on pirn is covered by weft, there is no reflected ray received by photocell. Thus, no indication of pirn change is generated. As soon as the weft is exhausted the light ray is reflected back to the feeler head. After receiving light, photocell in feeler head generates electrical impulse and transmits it to switch box. This is magnified and used to activate the
Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah

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transfer mechanism through switch box. In this case there is no contact of yarn and feeler. Therefore, optical feelers are the most suitable for sensitive and delicate yarns. In other system, the light source is vertically fitted in the sley cap and the photocell is fixed opposite to it the race board. The pirn has groove cut through out and is brought in front of light source by making modifications in shuttle and pirn to keep pirn in that position. The photocell is calibrated to actuate the transfer motion when it receives the amount of light between zero and full by the light source. This happens when only few coils are left on the grooved part of the pirn. The light passing through groove of pirn at this moment is more than zero but less than full amount light, which can pass through the groove. Thus, the transfer motion is actuated before the weft is exhausted completely, which is necessary to avoid defects. Transferring the Indication of Pirn Change The feeler detects the need of pirn change when only bunch remains on the exhausted pirn. One of the most important things is to transfer this indication to the pirn transfer mechanism, which is on the other side of the loom. This is carried out by arrangement of levers and change shaft, in case of mechanical feelers and by electrical circuit in case of electrical feeler. The mechanical arrangement is shown in fig. 11. There is a change shaft, which runs across the width of the front rest and is supported by brackets and bush on both sides on the loom frame. The vertical lever is fixed securely on the feeler side, which is pushed towards the weaver when the feeler indicates the change. This results in partial rotation of the change shaft to impart upward movement to the parts like latch, which is responsible to bring about the pirn transfer as described in section on pirn transfer. Reserve Bunch of Weft Automatic looms are fitted with automatic pirn changing mechanism. The weft feeler is used to initiate the change at appropriate time. Generally, the feeler is on one side of loom and the pirn changing mechanism is on opposite side. Thus, the transfer takes place at least one crank cycle after the feeler initiates the transfer. Some times it may take place on third pick due to ineffective action of the feeler due to settings and /or conditions of the parts in feeler assembly. In any case it is expected that the weft should not run out completely before pirn change. Therefore, pirns are wound with reserved storage of yarn near its butt and is called as bunch. The length of this reserved yarn is 3 to 4 picks for the reason sited in paragraph above. The bunch keeps the continuity of the weft during pirn transfer and avoids fabric defect called broken pick by making up for the picks between the time of indication and actual transfer of the pirn. The length of bunch is an important issue to consider. If the bunch length too short, the yarn on pirn runs off completely before pirn change. In such cases there may be broken pick in cloth. This results in deteriorating the quality of the fabric. This means lower selling price of fabric and reduction in profits. On the other hand, if the bunch length is excessive, more yarn will be left on ejected pirns. This will result in increased waste level. Waste in weaving shed is more expensive as it is in the form of yarn. The cost of yarn production and preparation is added to it in all processes up to and including weaving. This waste cannot be reused for production of good cloth. A bunch with yarn length of about 4 picks is found to be reasonably sufficient. The pirn winding machines are equipped with mechanism to vary the bunch length as per the requirements.

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Automatic Pirn Changing Mechanism Pirn Changing Mechanism has various assemblies in it. These are: 1. Shuttle protecting mechanism, 2. Rotary battery 3. Pirn Transfer mechanism, 4. Driving mechanism for battery, 5. Loose end cutter mechanism, 6. Pirn guiding parts, and 7. Empty pirn collection It is desirable to study all these in adequate detail. Shuttle Protecting Mechanism One of the requirements of automatic pirn transfer is that, the shuttle should rest at exact position in the shuttle box on battery side. In this position the pirn in shuttle and pirn in battery under the transfer hammer should be exactly on each other. This is necessary to push the ringed base of full pirn exactly in the grooves of spring jaw. If the position of shuttle pirn is other than this, the full pirn will not fit correctly in the spring jaw. The position of shuttle in the shuttle box can be incorrect in two different ways. In the first case shuttle may move inside the box, towards the rear end of the box. In the other case the y shuttle may not get boxed fully, and remains partially out of the shuttle box. In either case the pirn will not fit in the spring jaw after transfer. In first case the pirn will hit on the part of shuttle between the tip and spring jaw. This may result in damage or breakage of shuttle at that part rendering the shuttle useless. In the other case the full pirn butt will hit of the empty pirn in shuttle slightly away from the sprin jaw spring depending upon the exact position of shuttle during the transfer. This results in flying the full pirn out of shuttle or getting it stuck inside the shuttle in somewhat vertical way. When the shuttle is picked in this condition the full pirn and/or shuttle may be damaged. Yarn on full pirn can become waste. Some times it may cause smash in warp. Forked lever

Change Shaft

Fig. 11 Shuttle Protecting Mechanism Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah Prof.

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The exact position of shuttle in the box during the transfer is, thus, very important. The technician in the loom shed has to check it every shift. There is no other way to overcome the trouble when the shuttle is boxed towards the rear end of the box. If the shuttle is partially out of the box, then in that case shuttle protecting mechanism can prevent the transfer of pirn ox, shuttle-protecting and the resultant damage. Fig. 11 shows one of such shuttle protecting mechanism. After the feeler indication for full pirn transfer, the change shaft is partially turned This turned. results in lifting of the forked lever on change shaft on the battery side. This in turn lifts the shuttle protector. The end C of it, rides on the race board very near to the entrance of shuttle box. If the shuttle is outside the box by small amount, the protector makes contact amount, with shuttle and is obstructed. This results is obstruction in raising the latch to the height of bunter. Thus, the pirn transfer is prevented due to missed engagement of latch and bunter. The shuttle protector protects pirn, shuttle etc from damage due to improper position of shuttle. Pirn Transfer Mechanism Figures 12 A, B, C and D explain the working of pirn transfer mechanism.

C
Fig. 12 Pirn Transfer Mechanism (Cimmco loom)

Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah Prof.

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The change shaft (see fig. 11) is turned as the weft feeler gives the indication of the transfer. The forked lever at other end of change shaft lifts the latch through latch depressor lever, which integrated with the shuttle protector. When sley moves forward the bunter (H), which is fixed below box front on the sley engages with latch and starts pressing it. This causes hammer I to come down, suddenly. In doing this it pushes the full pirn in battery on to the old pirn in shuttle, which is exactly under it. Due to this old pirn gets ejected from shuttle jaw and new pirn fits in its place. The old pirn falls through bottom of shuttle and box bottom plate on to the bobbin chute, which guides empty pirn into the box provided for that. Driving mechanism to battery The hammer is spring loaded. When the sley returns back the contact of latch and bunter is removed and hammer returns to its top position by spring action. During its return it pushes the feed pawl mounted on it in upward direction. The feed pawl on hammer rotates the ratchet in forward direction. This rotates the battery discs and brings the next pirn under hammer for next change. Loose end cutter mechanism We know that the empty pirn is replaced by full pirn. The pirn ejected is not completely empty. It has weft yarn in the form of bunch. So, when the pirn is falling down, weft yarn is continued to be on the pirn. This weft should be cut and the yarn length protruding out beyond selvedge should be gripped for avoiding the lashing picks. This is achieved by loose end cutter mechanism. Figures 13 A, and B explain construction and working of the loose end cutter.

B
Figures 13- Loose End Cutter

The loose end cutter is a set of 4 elements mounted on cutter arm A. this is supported by cutter arm bracket in which it can slide forward and backward. The pair of element toward centre of loom acts as gripper and the other pair of elements acts as scissor to cut the weft from old pirn. As shown in fig. 13 B, (also see fig.1-C) shuttle is provided with slot for the action of end cutter, which is fitted on the cutter arm A supported by its bracket B. Cutter arm can slide in this bracket. During transfer, latch depressor activates the cutter depressor, which pushes the arm towards sley. When it is moving in forward direction, Opener (O) fixed on the bracket opens the blades. It enters slightly into the groove on the shuttle. It does not touch the shuttle due to the adjusting bolt, which contacts sley. Thus the weft lying in the weft groove on the shuttle is brought inside the blades of the loose end cutter.
Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah

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Sley, while moving in forward direction presses the cutter arm inside the bracket through the contact with adjusting screw. In its reverse motion closer C mounted on bracket closes the cutter. During closing, the gripper being slightly in upper position than cutter grips the weft coming out through eye. Immediately after that closing of cutter blades results in cutting the weft. The pirn falls in the box leaving cut end in the gripper. Temple Cutter When the transfer is complete, there are two weft ends protruding beyond the selvedge of fabric on the battery side. One of these is from old pirn, which is gripped by the end cutter. The other is from thread holder of the new pirn-first pick. These loose ends require to be cut near selvedge. If this is not done the ends will be stretched due to movement of fabric in the forward direction by take up motion. Eventually, they will break under tension. This may leave long yarn bits loosely hanging beyond the selvedge. This is not desirable as it may cause lashing pick, a defect, in the fabric. So, the loose ends should be cut very near to the selvedge. Temple cutter is used to carry out this function. The right hand side temple bracket is designed to receive the round shaped cutter on it. There is platform plate under the cutter, on which it is hit on every pick as the moves forward during the beat-up. The loose ends slowly enter into the temple bracket under the cutter. Eventually, both ends are cut when the cutter strikes them. Even after this small loose ends of about 0.5 to 0.6 are left hanging. These will not give rise to lashing pick, but requires removal for avoiding problems in wet processing and to enhance the sale value. This is done manually, during fabric inspection. Pirn Guidance During Transfer The full pirns are stacked in the battery. After every transfer the battery rotates and new full pirn is brought in position under the hammer. It is necessary to guide the pirn exactly in the spring jaw in the shuttle. For this the transfer mechanism is provided with the bobbin guide. This fitted on the bottom disc very near to the full pirn in the battery. It has grooves matching to the rings on the pirn. During transfer this guides the pirn so that it fits in to the spring jaw. During the working of loom the vibrations of loom should not cause disturbances in the position of the pirn in the battery. There will be serious damage done if the pirn falls in the box unexpectedly. This is avoided by keeping bobbin support opposite to the bobbin guide. The pirn in the battery is supported and not allowed to fall down. Empty Pirn Collection The ejected empty pirns having bunch on it is pushed down by hammer through the bottom of shuttle and the bottom plate of the shuttle box. It falls on the bobbin chute fixed on the loom frame and is guided in such a way that all pirns fall in the box kept under the battery. The box is kept on a support fitted to loom frame. Casual look in the boxes on the looms will reveal the correct functioning of the weft feeler by observing at the pirns, which should have yarn only in form of bunch. Pirns with any extra yarn than the bunch indicate that setting or other repairing is required for the weft feeler. If not done, it will result in higher weft waste, which is direct drain on the profits of the organization. The pirns form the boxes are collected at a central place and are cleaned by removing the yarn on it. This can be done by using the pirn-cleaning machine or manually by pulling out the yarn from the pirns. Cutting the yarn by knife may damage the pirn surface and should never be used. This can result in higher weft breaks and weft waste.

Automatic Weaving-Prof. H. R. Shah

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