There are many classifications of looms. According to the classification of fabric fibers, it can be divided into cotton spinning machine, wool spinning machine, sack loom, silk loom, etc. For example, according to the weaving method of weft insertion, it can be divided into two categories: shuttle looms and shuttleless looms.
Shuttle looms are looms that use traditional shuttles (wood shuttles or plastic shuttles) for weft insertion. The shuttle is large in size and heavy in weight. It is repeatedly projected back and forth. The machine has high vibration, high noise, slow speed and low efficiency.
There are various weft insertion methods for shuttleless looms, including rapier, jet (air jet, water jet), projectile, multi-shed (multiphase) and weaving.
1. Rapier loom: use rigid or flexible rapier heads, belts to clamp and guide the weft. In addition to being suitable for weaving plain and textured fabrics, rapier looms are characterized by easy color change, suitable for multi-color weft fabrics, and suitable for the production of yarn-dyed, double-layered fleece fabrics, loop fabrics and decorative fabrics.
2. Air jet loom: draw the weft yarn with the compressed air jet, and bring the weft yarn through the shed. The biggest feature of the air jet loom is fast speed and high labor productivity. It is suitable for the production of plain weave and grain fabrics, fine ultra-high-density fabrics and large-volume fabrics.
3. Water jet loom: use water as the weft insertion medium to generate frictional traction on the weft yarn by jet water, so that the weft yarn on the fixed package is introduced into the shed. The water jet loom has the characteristics of high speed and high unit output. It is mainly suitable for the production of hydrophobic filament chemical fiber fabric with smooth surface.
4. Projectile loom: the weft is clamped by a small sheet shuttle with a clip, and the weft insertion is projected. The projectile loom has the advantages of stable weft insertion, excellent fabric quality, and less weft loops. It is suitable for the production of multi-color weft fabrics, fine and thick fabrics and wide fabrics.