What Is Jacquard Loom?

A Jacquard loom is a type of machine used in weaving. Jacquard looms allow for a complex pattern to be woven into a fabric. It began as a mechanical loom in the 1800s, but today the electronic version of the original can weave more than 10,000 threads at once.

Mechanical Jacquard Loom History

During the Industrial Revolution, mechanical looms were introduced. In 1801, Joseph Marie Jacquard invented the first loom that could be made to weave more complicated patterns into the fabric. The loom he invented was subsequently given his name.

Mechanical Jacquard Loom Function

Traditionally, the pattern to be woven into the loom is punched into a card that corresponds to the hooks that raise and lower the yarn. The card was then placed in the rod section of the loom, causing the hooks to raise or lower as indicated on the card, thereby translating the design on the card to a fabric.

Mechanical Jacquard Loom Benefits

The use of Jacquard looms allowed for greater productivity and quicker turn-around time than hand weaving complicated patterns. This helped offset the initial cost to install Jacquard looms into factories.

Electronic Jacquard Loom History

In 1983, the first computer-based Jacquard loom was invented in Milan, Italy. The initial invention continued to be developed and refined, leading to today's version of digital electronic looms, which can accommodate weaving more than 10,000 threads simultaneously.

Electronic Jacquard Loom Function

With electronic Jacquard looms, the punched paper design is obsolete. The design for the fabric is instead input into a computer that controls the hooks.

Electronic Jacquard Loom Benefits

Electronic Jacquard looms further increased productivity by cutting down on the time needed to prepare the punch cards and eliminating the time spent stopping the loom and replacing the cards for the next section of the fabric. The electronic Jacquard loom also allowed for a greater variety of yarns to be used, diversifying the fabrics that can be made with the aid of a loom rather than by hand.

Resources

• Information on the Loom from the University of Rochester
• Information on the Loom from Liverpool University