The development history of global rapier looms

As early as 150 years ago, shuttle looms gradually replaced hand weaving. At that time, the output of shuttle looms was twice as high as that of hand weaving. Shuttleless looms began to appear in 1844. Flexible rapier looms started in 1925. After World War II, commercial production was realized in the 1950s and 1960s, and significant progress was gradually made. At present, the weft insertion rate of rapier looms reached 1500m/ min or more.
The rapier loom is mainly designed to solve the weft insertion method, including rigid, flexible and retractable weft insertion methods. Its main product is fabrics for clothing. Compared with other weft insertion methods, the weft insertion method of rapier looms is suitable for multi-color weft insertion, and can produce 12-color weft insertion products with multi-pattern patterns, including various types of past Yarn, production of various types of fabrics. The active rapier drive can complete weft insertion for many difficult yarns.
The biggest advantage of the rigid rapier loom weft insertion system is that it actively transfers the weft to the center of the weaving mouth without any guiding device. The rigid rapier loom occupies a small area, mainly because the reed width has a certain limit.
The weft insertion system of the flexible rapier loom is highly adaptable and has a wide range of applications. The weft insertion rate is significantly increased, and the reed width is up to 460cm.
In the last 15 years of the 20th century, electronic computers were introduced into the loom, and the microelectronic CAD-CAM system was widely used, which made the perfect combination of microelectronic technology, information transmission technology and weaving technology. The combination of many electronic devices and systems with the loom became a sword. The component part of the rod loom, especially the wide application of microelectronics technology on the rapier loom, including weft insertion technology. Some weft insertion elements have been greatly improved, with small size and light weight.
Due to the wide application of microelectronics technology, the speed and weft insertion rate of the rapier loom have been greatly improved. In various weft insertion methods, such as projectile weft insertion, rapier weft insertion, air jet weft insertion and water jet weft insertion system, the rapier weft insertion speed is also very high except for air jet weft insertion. In the last 50 years of the 20th century, the rapier loom has made significant progress. Extraordinarily, the latest high-tech rapier loom was shown to the world at the 1995 Milan and 1999 Paris exhibitions.
From 1963 to 1999, the operating speed and weft insertion rate of rapier looms at the International Textile Machinery Exhibition changed greatly.
For example, the weft insertion rate of the flexible rapier loom rose from 315m/min in 1963 to 2000m/min in 1999; the speed rose from 200r/min in 1971 to 800r/min in 1999.
The weft insertion rate of the rigid rapier loom rose from 400m/min in 1963 to 1300m/min in 1999, and the rotational speed rose from 300r/min in 1971 to 650r/min in 1999.
The speed of the products of Somet, Zell, Picanol, Wantes, Dornier and Tsudakoma has increased significantly, and the speed of domestic rapier looms has reached 504r/min.
Efforts to increase the output and running performance of the loom, improve the weaving efficiency and product quality are the goals of machine manufacturers to participate in the world competition. Rapier looms have not only greatly improved the speed and weft insertion rate, but also the width of the loom has also increased rapidly. After years of hard work and improvement, the speed and weft insertion rate of the rapier loom have greatly exceeded the projectile loom, but The width cannot be compared with the projectile loom.