Application of carbon fibres to modern high-speed loom sley developments

Abstract

Recent developments with cfrp applications have shown great potential in textile machinery components. 1 Good progress is being made with high speed reciprocating, oscillating and rotating items such as insides and push rods for warp knitting machines, faller bars for gilling machines, picking sticks, heald frames and actuating linkages for conventional looms together with self-lubricating and chemical resistance applications. 2 Studies with both traditional and more sophisticated looms, however, have shown the sley as the main oscillating mass to be the most important component. The duty of the sley demands strength, stiffness, lightness and fatigue resistance and search for suitable materials has brought into use solid and hollow section steel, alloys and various kinds of wood. None of these materials, however, has efficiently satisfied all requirements. The arrival of cfrp has prompted a development programme which already indicates a breakthrough for future machines. This article describes several cfrp sley developments recently undertaken.