1920.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



287 



as the yarns in the warps, but it is necessary that they be woven 

 under tension, otherwise there would be no contraction of the 

 fabric after it is woven, and therefore no elasticity. This matter 

 of tension is important, and requires careful adjustment, accord- 

 ing to the amount of elasticity desired. This is accomplished 

 in a comparatively simple manner. The rubber threads are wound 

 tightly upon a large spool or beam at the back of the loom, and 

 from this they are run through reeds and harness. To retard 

 this thread, so that it goes through the loom at a tension, various 

 kinds of brakes are used, which automatically regulate the feed. 

 SUSPENDER LOOMS. 

 Perhaps tlie most complicated looms for these fabrics are 

 those used for the manufacture of suspender webs. Such webs 

 are made with various patterns in the weave, and in a variety 



<il color designs for ornamental purposes. Most of the looms 

 carry about 24 shuttles, and make simultaneously that number 

 of webs, all of one pattern. Some looms have shuttles that move 

 in a semi-circle, rather than a straight reciprocating motion. 

 which saves much space, and allows about 

 36 shuttles to work in the same length 

 loom as 24 laterally moved shuttles. Again, 

 there are some looms which have only three 

 shuttles. Each of these schemes has its ad- 

 vantages. When a thread breaks the stopping 

 of a loom for its -repair may delay 24 or 36 

 shuttles, but only 3 in the smaller machine, 

 although one operator can oversee more 

 wel)s on the larger loom than on a multiple 

 of the smaller. The webs are mostly made 

 between l^g and 2 inches wide, and contain 

 from about 15 to 38 strands of different sized 

 rubber. Some webs, called "truss webs," have 

 an extra thickness of fabric on the back to 

 protect the rubber strands from perspiration, 

 for this emanation is especially destructive. ].ic, 



Some suspender webs have a surface de- 

 sign overshot with silk in various colors ; and these necessitate 

 in some cases the use of 15 or 18 harness frames, and the 

 employment of special devices to regulate the warp threads as 

 the shuttles carry the colored silks across. Every conceivable 



sliade and color of yarns are employed, of sizes ranging all the 

 way from 10/2 to 100/2. 



WEAVING FANCY SUSPENDER WEB. 



The loom shown in Fig. 1 is a popular type used for the man- 

 ufacture of fancy suspender webs. It combines great capacity 

 for elaboration of design with high speed of operation. This 

 loom was introduced about 1875. Up to that time all fancy 

 effects made in elastic webs were produced on jacquard looms, 

 which were necessarily slow running and complicated to operate, 

 thus making the goods very expensive. The Jacquard machine 

 has been largely superseded by the fancy head loom. 



With the fancy head it is possible to operate as high as 25 

 harness, and the length of the design is governed by a chain 

 of any length, so that a large scope of figures is obtainable. This 

 does not in any way interfere with the speed and production of 

 the loom. Another feature of this machine is the differential 

 take-up gears which feed the web down through the press rolls 

 as it is woven. This consists of a series of boxed-up gears, so 

 arranged that by a simple movement the feed can be made either 

 fast or slow, without the change of any gear, as is necessary 

 with the ratchet take-up. 



Another loom shown in Fig. 2 is a 24-piece. straight shuttle, 

 end-cam suspender loom. Instead of the movements of the 

 harness being controlled by cumbersome and almost inacccssable 

 cams and their shaft running through the entire loom with its 

 tangled mass of wires connected to the cam levers and the har- 

 ness, there is a small set of end cams and cam jacks with wires 

 running over pulleys set in the main arch of the loom frame, 

 direct to the harness. These cams, which are seen on the right 

 end of the machine, are easily accessible for adjustment and 

 repair, and are very simple of operation. Great improvement has 

 also been made in the press rolls, which are not only much 

 more simple and compact than formerly, but where operation 

 is controlled positively by ratchet take-up gears, fixed at the end 

 of the loom, and which can be easily changed to accommodate 

 to any desired feed. Perhaps the greatest change and improve- 

 ment lies in the introduction of the warp levers, which auto- 

 matically control the let-off of the cotton warp beams, doing 

 away with the old-fashioned method of letting down the 

 weighted pulley blocks. Such a loom is adapted for making all 

 plain and twill goods, and can be run at a speed of about 160 

 picks per minute, producing about 2,000 yards per week. 



When the webs are woven they are automatically wound upon 

 rolls at the looms, from which they are removed in lengths of 

 about 200 feet, the cuts generally being made at a place where 

 a new lot of rubber or yarn has been started. 



3. — M.ACHI.NE KOR I'iNI.SHING ELASTIC WkBBINC. 



BURLING, SINGEING AND FINISHING. 



.As the web comes from the loom, there is more or less lint 

 adhering to it. In some factories this is removed by passing 

 the web through a burler. This machine is a combination of 



