Rapier Loom

Rapier looms have an interlocking weft insertion system. The gripper head catches the yarn end from the feed bobbin and transports it through the shed. In the middle of the fabric the yarn is transferred to the opposing second gripper (Fig. 4.22). The weft insertion is controlled at every single moment of the process. Therefore, this principle is very flexible and extremely suitable for delicate materials. Rapiers are available in rigid (Fig. 4.23) and flexible forms. 

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Figure 3.6 Rapier loom and defects of an elastomeric woven fabric along one selvage.

Rapier looms n. Looms in which either a double or single rapier (thin metallic shaft with a yarn gripping device) carries the filament through the shed. In a single rapier machine, the yam is carried completely across the fabric by the rapier. In the double machine, the yarn is passed from one rapier to the other in the middle of the shed. 

A contour fabric is shown in Figure 9.13. This fabric, made of carbon fibers and woven on an Iwer (rapier) loom, was made into a composite for a jet engine. Contour weaving technology was used for the circumferential frame applications. Contour fabrics take the shape of the contours they are based on, meaning that they fit well, not only on cylindrical surfaces with different diameters, but also on flanges and complex... 

The shedding mechanism is one of the primary motions of a loom. A Jacquard shedding mechanism is used for weaving 3D preforms because the individual warp fibers are controlled independently by Jacquard harness cords. A 3D fabric and preforms can be woven on a 2D conventional rapier loom, but there is a fabric thickness limitation when using any conventional 2D loom. 

Automatic Filling Transfer Shuttleless Looms Rapier Looms Projectile (Gripper) Looms Fluid Jet Looms... 

According to the principle of weft insertion, weaving looms can be divided into shuttle looms (Fig. 4.13), projectile looms, rapier looms, and air-jet looms. 

Figure 4.23 Rapier loom (Courtesy of Lindauer Dornier GmbH)...

Woven fabrics for airbags are produced mostly in plain weave with projectile and rapier looms. The most important parameters for weaving are thread density and air permeability of the fabric. 

Random winding 144 Rapier loom 160 Ready-made clothing 283... 

Although the weft insertion on these heavy duty machines may also be by rapier, for the wider looms insertion by conventional shuttle or projectile shuttle is more common. Furthermore, with weft insertion rates approximately 66% lower than the narrower, more conventional weaving machines, productivity is not particularly high. 

Forming fabrics are manufactured on weaving looms with a width of up to 15 m, where CD yarns (wefts) and MD yarns (warps) are interlaced with each other. The weft insertion is typically made by using shuttles, projectiles or band rapier systems. 

Airbag fabrics are produced on rapier and projectile looms. 

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