Research on Electric Weft Insertion Method for the Rapier Loom

This paper, on analyses of the shortages of the traditional rapier loom weft insertion system such as unalterable motion rules and high machining accuracy requirements, introduces a new electric weft insertion method to the modern high-speed rapier loom, which converts single-direction rotation of a motor to linear reciprocation of a rapier with help of the spatial linkage. The new method can satisfy different weft insertion requirements by controlling the speed of the motor rotation, so that it greatly improves the weaving adaptivity of the loom for different wefts. The test results show that this new controlling method not only meets the technical requirements, enabling the gripper head to move without rigid and flexible impact, but also has good high-speed motion characteristics, in line with the requirements of high-speed weft insertion.