Common Handloom product
2.13 Semi-automatic handloom
88 for saree
weaving
Bandej (Basirhal) wages
with easy operation
in W.B.
and other places of the Country
Flying-8 weaving loom by Andreas Moeller is designed to be self-built, inexpensive, and productive. It has been successfully implemented in several countries like Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Estonia, Haiti, Canada, Uruguay, Germany, and Finland. Loom is made up of locally available wood, fastened by nails. Design and marketing strategy developed by Germany.
Technology is named Flying-8 technology [51]
There is a semi-automatic handloom by AVL Looms, USA, where picking takes place through electrical actuators and take-up motion through a standard gear attachment in one of their model. Sensors are used to check complete movement. They are making their loom of wood and ensuring flexibility to design fabric. A-series loom by AVL Looms has hand picking but uses various standard components. Standard branded components increased cost, and the loom was electricity-dependent in the previous case. Therefore, these models will not be suitable in our context [52]
89 The principal characteristics of the Chittaranjan loom shown in Figure 2.41 lie in its synchronous beating up, take-up, and let-off motions, whereas shedding and picking motions are operated similar to the fly-shuttle loom. Major drawbacks of Chittaranjan loom are jerky motion of 5-wheel positive take-up motion and non-suitability of precision control of a fraction of picks. Similarly, the principal characteristics of the Salvation Army loom lie in its synchronous picking, take-up, and terry-motions. The mechanism of terry-motion is to regulate the sweep of a sley to produce terry piles. Hattersley loom acts the same as the power looms except for the movement of the sley and the crankshaft, which may be operated manually or by motive power from the top shaft. In the case of manual operation, more than 1270mm fabric width is difficult to control. Also, 5-wheels take-up provides jerky motion in this loom.
“Previously, a pedal loom was developed to operate by synchronizing the various motions of the loom by pedals incorporating most of the design features of power looms which are very hard to operate. An in-depth dynamic study of various loom mechanisms was done by sophisticated electronic instruments (strain gauge, oscilloscope) to make the loom easy to operate. Picking motion is the major power consumer. The structure of the frame is made from mild steel channels and angles in the new loom. This loom has a cycle-type pedal design to increase leverage. It consists of cycle-type pedals, chain, and sprockets. This loom uses a self-lubricated nylo-cast bearing to reduce friction. A polynomial cam profile is used for the picking mechanism. The shedding mechanism is based on simple harmonic motion consisting of a treadle lever, treadle bowl, and shedding cam. The weight of sley is reduced using sisam wood, aluminum angles, and channels with a flywheel. The prototype loom designed needs 60 percent less leg effort and 35 percent to 40 percent less power than conventional model pedal loom” [53].
“Another study supports the importance of letting-off of the warp and taking-up of cloth to avoid time loss in weaving adjustments by the weaver. A remarkably improved Boku loom in Ghana is redesigned and developed to overcome let-off and take-up mechanism” [54].
Technology and Action group for Rural Development have developed a manually operated loom combining versatility and ease of operation. In this loom, all manual operations existed, but ergonomically improvements were made in the handloom. This loom was 36% more efficient than the traditional loom [55]. Nepal loom is almost like a power loom in a handloom frame, used for jeans material, and lacks ornamentation [56]. A semi-automatic handloom developed by CSTRI of Central Silk Board with automatic take-up and let-off mechanism was found to be too big & heavy [57]. Central Silk Board, Khadi Village TH-3028_166105007
90 Industries, National Handloom Development Corporation, State Institute for Rural Development, and State Handloom and Weaving Department, like government organizations, are intervening to improve handloom [57]. Shanti loom is made by steel L channel shown in Figure 2.42, but it has a manual picking motion [58]. This loom had the disadvantage of having the same picking difficulties as in traditional handlooms and fabrication and machining due to the shape of L section which required many jigs and fixture for mass production.
Figure 2.42: Shanti loom
It is also observed in the Semi-automatic handloom where the sley swings from the top. In this loom, it is challenging to incorporate a mechanism for take-up and let-off motion (Source: Youtube).
There is a semi-automatic handloom with jacquard developed in Tamilnadu as shown in Figure 2.43 and 2.44. This loom has improved shedding, take-up, and let-off motion. All primary motions are made manually. It is made of wood material, but the mechanism is made of steel.
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91 Figure 2.43: Semi-automatic handloom (shedding) is automated, manual picking and beat up) at Tamilnadu [15]
Figure 2.44: Semi-automatic handloom with automated shedding, manual picking, and beat up at Tamilnadu [15]
As shown in Figure 2.45, a semi-automatic handloom for women was ideated and conceptualized in IIT Bombay on 1997, but a physical model has not been made. Existing manual semi-automatic handloom like Nepal-type pedal operated, except for an electric motor, is a power loom in all other aspects and unsuitable for women weavers. Many features were added considering women weavers like lightweight, made out of the tubular structure, and movable parts/systems are enclosed for safety [59].
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92 Figure 2.45: Semi-automatic handloom for women
Many old semi-automatic handlooms found in ARTFED, Guwahati, Assam as shown in Figure 2.46.
Figure 2.46: Semi-automatic handloom at ARTFED, Guwahati
“Ahmedabad Textiles Research Association (1990) (ATIRA) has developed LOEPHI (Low Effort Productivity High) Pedal Loom, under the sponsorship of Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Government, of India for achieving higher productivity at the same human effort as in handlooms. An ordinary weaver can operate it with basic ability instead of depending upon the skill and efficiency of the operator. The new pedal loom was evolved through mechanical as well as ergonomic means. Mechanical considerations were made to
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93 achieve automatic synchronization of the mechanisms and reduce the energy required to operate the loom for longer duration with the least fatigue. On the other hand, ergonomic considerations were made for better interaction of the man-machine-environment system to improve the system's efficiency, safety, reliability, and productivity at lesser physiological cost and expenditure of other resources. ATIRA LOEPHI Pedal loom needs 35 to 40% less energy than the commercially available pedal loom [35]”.
Anon (1991) writes that improved handloom models, designed by the Institute of Handloom Technology (IHT), raise the weaver’s productivity and quality of fabrics to international standards. It is estimated that the loom will raise the weaver’s income from Rs.24 per day to Rs.44 per day for a work input of eight hours. The improvement is a part of a five-year plan of technical up gradation, covering Karur and Madurai regions. The project limits the up- gradation process to five looms per unit. Proposals for the extension of the project to Andhra Pradesh and Haryana are under consideration.
Kanakarathinam S.M. (1992) writes about handlooms modernization. According to the author, the main factors determining loom productivity include the level of technology of the loom, sophistication of the fabric, number of days worked in a given period, the weaver's ability and skill, and the availability and quality of the raw material, pre-loom conditioning and workplace environment. However, the scope for increasing productivity mainly lies in the up-gradation of loom technology. Roughly during the past four decades, government- sponsored loom modernization schemes have been in force, but progress was found very low.
The lukewarm attitude toward implementation, the apathy of the organization concerned with the job of loom up-gradation, and the lack of proper Research and Development Centre’s are the reasons for the slow progress. Weavers, too, are reluctant to switch over to new technology partly due to a lack of skill. In order to create a competitive edge over the cost of production, better quality increased wage-earning, and reduce stress and strain, loom modernization is vital. Technological up-gradation is the only way to attract the younger generation to this industry, who often find more gainful employment than handloom weaving [35].
Rangarajan S. (1993) writes in the adoption of ISO-9000 by the handloom sector that some awareness has now crept into the minds of handloom fabric exporters in the country that the key to market access or success depends upon being able to claim that this number ISO - 9000 applies to their business. Handloom exporters should wake up to the fact that failure to comply with the international norms would mean losing their base on the export front. While analyzing various defects in the handloom fabrics, it will be noticed that the defects arise due TH-3028_166105007
94 to the weaver’s ignorance of the importance of quality or his eagerness to earn high wages by giving more productivity at the cost of quality. Some of the other defects are due to the antiquated methods and equipment used in pre-loom and loom processes and their limitations in weaving. Systematic training programs are therefore necessary. The weavers and other operators engaged in handloom weaving should be aware of the losses incurred while disposing of such fabrics and the benefits they would get from adopting ISO 9000. In this regard, the government has already taken steps to modernize the existing testing laboratories and establish new laboratories all over India [35].
“India produces 85 percent of handloom products of the world. Other countries having handloom industries are Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Norway, West Indies, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, etc.” [60]. “There are 3.846 million adult (aged 18 years and above) handloom workers in India. In India, nearly 2.783 million handloom households are engaged in weaving and allied activities. The total weaver household units declined from the first to third handloom census. Fifty-seven percent of the handloom households have a Below Poverty Line (BPL) account. A total of 69 percent of the handloom households undertake commercial production. Nearly 33 percent of the handloom worker households do not have looms.
Seventy-six percent of all adult handloom workers are contract workers in states except the North-East region. At the all-India level, the average annual income from all sources, including handloom of 'handloom worker households' in purely commercial production, is 30,747₹ for total handloom households, and the average annual income for handloom households in mixed production is 44,796₹ for total handloom households. The share of handloom income to total household income is 30.2 percent across all handloom households.”
[1]
It has been emphasized to upgrade the technology to be in the global race of growth and increase employment and Gross domestic product with export earnings. Therefore, it has planned to enhance modernization through various Five-year plans. “In the second five-year plan, priority was set for modernization and re-equipment for cotton textile, jute and sugar industries. In the sixth five-year plan, it has given priority to improving efficiency and productivity through skill development and technological improvements. In the ninth five- year plan, The Technology development board planned to facilitate the development of new technologies and the assimilation of imported technologies. The tenth five-year plan recommended efficiency improving policies for innovation, technology up-gradation, modernization, R & D, skill up-gradation, etc. [16].”
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95 From the literature and product review, it is found that the improved looms were not efficient for commercial use and also sometimes it is not affordable in terms of cost. Therefore, it is seen as a need for further improved loom acceptable to the weavers.
Financial assistance for modernization would be provided by the Handloom Export Promotion Council ( HEPC ) [35].
For manufacturing tools and methods, Implementation of Design for Assembly and Manufacturing (DFA & DFM) can be beneficial to simplify the loom, reduce assembly and manufacturing costs, improve quality and reduce time to market. A feasibility study was conducted to analyze multiple factors before acting on actual activity to avoid in-process interruption.