RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN TEXTILE MACHINERY.
At the recent exhibition at Boston of the New England Institute, several interesting novelties were shown which have a promise of considerable economic and industrial value.
Fig. 1 represents the general plan and pulley connections of the Harris Revolving-Ring Spinning Frame. The purpose of the improvements which it embodies is to avoid the uneven draught of the yarn in spinning and winding incident to the use of a fixed ring. With the non-revolving ring the strain upon the yarn varies greatly, owing to the difference in diameter of the full and empty bobbin. At the base of the cone, especially in spinning weft, or filling, the diameter of the cop is five or six times that of the quill at the tip. As the yarn is wound upon the cone, the line of draught upon the traveler varies continually, the pull being almost direct where the bobbin is full, and nearly at right angles where it is empty. With the increasing angle the drag upon the traveler increases, not only causing frequent breakages of the yarn, but also an unequal stretching of the yarn, so that the yarn perceptibly varies in fineness. The unequal strain further causes the yarn to be more tightly wound upon the outside than upon the inside of the bobbin, giving rise to snarls and wastage.
RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN TEXTILE MACHINERY.--1, 2.--SPINNING
WITHOUT A MULE--THE HARRIS REVOLVING RING SPINNING FRAME.
3, 4, 5.--NEW ELECTRIC STOP MOTION FOR DRAWING FRAMES.
6.--NEW POSITIVE MOTION LOOM.
These difficulties have hitherto prevented the application of ring spinning to the finer grades of yarn. They are overcome in the new spinning frame by an ingenious device by which a revolving motion is given to the ring in the same direction as the motion of the traveler, thereby reducing its friction upon the ring, the speed of the ring being variable, and so controlled as to secure a uniform tension upon the yarn at all stages of the winding.
The construction of the revolving ring is shown in Fig. 2. C is the revolving ring; D, the hollow axis support; H, a section of the ring frame; E, the traveler.
To give the required variable speed to the revolving ring there is placed directly over the drum, Fig. 1, A, for driving the spindle a smaller drum, B, from which bands drive each ring separately. The shaft, which is attached by cross girts to the ring rail, and moves up and down with it, is driven by a pair of conical drums from the main cylinder shaft; and is so arranged with a loose pulley on the large end of the receiving cone as to remain stationary while the wind is on or near the base of the bobbin. When the cone of the bobbin diminishes so as to materially increase the pull on the traveler, the conical drums are started by a belt shipper attached to the lilt motion. By the movement of the belt on these drums a continually accelerated motion is given to the rings, their maximum speed being about one-twentieth the number of revolutions per minute as the spindle has at the same moment. This action is reversed when the lift falls. The tension of the wind upon the bobbin is thus kept uniform, the desired hardness of the wind being secured by the use of a heavier or lighter traveler according to the compactness of cop required.