The working principle and history of jacquard machine

As the name suggests, the jacquard weaving machine has a jacquard device for raising and lowering the yarn, and is a weaving machine that can weave patterns on silk.
Jacquard knitting machines first appeared in China. Among the tombs of the Warring States Period unearthed in my country, there are many beautiful floral cloths woven with colored silk threads. According to historical records, during the Western Han Dynasty, the wife of Chen Baoguang, a textile craftsman in Julu County, was able to master the operation technique of the jacquard machine proficiently. Her machine was equipped with 120 warp threads, and it took an average of 60 days to weave a piece of floral cloth. Each piece was worth 10,000 yuan. . Engraved in Ming Dynasty
In the book "Heavenly Creation of Things", there is also a schematic diagram of a jacquard machine impressively printed. It is conceivable that when European princes and nobles admired the beautiful silks and satins introduced from the "Silk Road", Chinese jacquard machines would also be introduced to Europe along the "Silk Road".

However, weaving patterns with the knitting machines of the time was quite laborious. All silk fabrics are woven with warp (longitudinal threads) and weft (horizontal threads). To weave a pattern, the weavers must carefully follow a pre-designed pattern and "lift" a portion of the warp thread at the appropriate position so that the shuttle pulls the weft thread of a different color through it. Of course, it is impossible for the machine to "think" where to pick up the thread.
It is possible to "lift" warp threads one by one by hand, repeating this operation tirelessly.

In 1725, B. Bouchon, a French textile mechanic, came up with a brilliant idea of "perforated paper tape" on a whim. Bujo first managed to control all the warp movement with a row of knitting needles, then took a roll of paper tape, punched rows of small holes according to the pattern, and pressed it on the knitting needles. After starting the machine, the knitting needle facing the small hole can go through to hook the warp thread, and the other needles can
Blocked by paper tape. In this way, the knitting needle automatically selects the warp thread according to the pre-designed pattern, and Bujo's "thought" is "passed" to the knitting machine, and the "program" of the knitting pattern is "stored" in the small hole of the perforated paper tape. in the hole.

The truly successful improvement came 80 years later when another French mechanic, JJacquard, completed the design and manufacture of the "Automatic Jacquard Weaving Machine" around 1805. It was the era of the French Revolution, which attracted worldwide attention. The Bastille was attacked, the feudal dynasty was overthrown, and Paris was defended with arms. Citizens sang "Marseillaise" and took to the streets one after another. The revolutionary storm was in full swing. Although Jaccard basically formed his Jacquard design concept in 1790, in order to participate in the revolution, he had no time to take care of inventions and creations, so he also took up his rifle and joined the ranks of the Lyon defense battle.

Jaccard's machine wasn't assembled until the 19th century. Jaccard added a device to his jacquard machine that could manipulate 1,200 knitting needles at the same time, and the punched paper tape that controlled the pattern was later replaced by punched cards. It is said that only 25 years after the Jaccard weaving machine came out, there were 600 of them in the countryside near Coventry. With the accompaniment of the old-fashioned steam engine, the patterns on the punched cards were turned into beautiful flowers. silk cloth. Textile workers initially strongly opposed the advent of this new automated gadget, fearing that the machine would take away their jobs and make them lose their jobs, but because of its superior performance, it was finally widely accepted by people.

In 1812, more than 10,000 units were assembled in France alone, and spread throughout the western world through Britain. Jaccard was awarded the Legion of Honor Cross and Gold Medal for this reason.

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