The principle of a repeating machine made by Mr. McMurdo, of Manchester, is shown in Fig. 97. The cards to be copied hang on the card frame of a jacquard, as shown at C. From the hooks of the jacquard to the punches A are wires in the form of a single harness. The blank cards D pass in over the block B, which is stationary. Enlarged front and side views of a punch are given at G and H. At 1, 2, and 3 are shown the notches cut in the punch, through which the slide bars E and F pass. These slides are also shown at E1 and F1. The bar E is stationary, acting as a stay for keeping the punches in the box, and the notches in them, at 1, are long enough to let them slide up and down on the bar. The slide F is drawn out before the jacquard is drawn, and pushed in again afterwards; if any of the punches are raised by the jacquard, the notch 3 will be raised to the position of the notch 2, and the slide bar will pass through the lower notch, thus holding the punch up, and when the punch block is pressed down, holes will be cut in the card where the punches are locked in the upper notch. When the punch block is being sunk to punch the cards, it is necessary to have a spring in the wires that connect the punches to the jacquard hooks, and this is effected by having the wires made with a sliding joint and a small spiral spring on them, as shown at L.
The principle of Devoge’s repeater is shown in Fig. 98. This is one of the oldest machines in the market, and there are various opinions as to whether it is excelled by any of the others, or not. It is somewhat on the principle of the French repeating machines, being wrought by a jacquard and harness, E, to which a second harness or set of cards, F, is attached, and passes over pulleys to the punches A. When the harness E is drawn by the jacquard, the cords F are slackened, allowing the punches to drop, and they are locked in the punch box by the slide bar, H. The cards to be copied are shown at D, and those to be cut pass through at C. The punch block is stationary, and the block B rises against the punches with the card on it.
The blank cards require to be laced to make them ready for the repeaters, and also to have the peg holes cut in them; blocks are provided for the purpose of cutting the lace and peg holes. An enlarged view of a punch is shown at P.
WIRING CARDS
After the cards are laced, if intended to be wrought on power looms in the usual way, they require to be ‘wired’—that is, to have pieces of straight stiff wire, about 2 in. longer than the cards, tied across them to the lacing, so that they may be hung on the racks or frames prepared for them on the looms. The wires should project 1 in., or rather more, at each end of the cards; they should be tied to the under side of the cards, so as not to come against the jacquard cylinder, and it also bears them better, being under the lacing. A piece of waxed twine is mostly used for tying them on.
The distance between the wires depends upon the number of cards, and the height they are when on the loom. For a small set, a wire to every fourteen or sixteen cards is a very good distance apart, but for a large set a wire to every twenty or twenty-four cards will be sufficient in order to give a longer drop and take up less lateral space.