Composite heddle frame for high-speed looms

Abstract

A heddle (or heald) frame is the major part of a loom that produces woven cloth by insertion of weft yarns between warp yarns. Warp yarns are manipulated by many heddles fixed in a heddle frame. Recently, the up and down speed of heddle frames has been increased much for the increase of productivity, which induces higher inertial stresses and vibrations in the heddle frame. Conventional aluminum heddle frames have limits for the speed increase due to their low fatigue flexural strength as well as low bending stiffness. The estimated fatigue life of the aluminum heddle frame was 6 months at 600 rpm and infinite at 400 rpm, which was the same results reported by textile industries. Since carbon fiber epoxy composite materials have high specific fatigue strength ( S/ ρ), high specific modulus ( E/ ρ) and high damping capacity, in this paper a composite heddle frame was designed and manufactured. The optimum box type cross-sectional shape of the heddle frame and stacking sequence were determined by finite element analysis. The box type composite structure with several ribs was manufactured with prepregs by the autoclave vacuum bag process. Then the static and dynamic characteristics of the composite heddle frame and the aluminum heddle frame were measured and compared.