Study on reduction of air consumption on air-jet weaving machines

As is well known, the main disadvantage of air-jet weaving machines is their high energy costs compared to projectile and rapier weaving machines. This makes air-jet looms less preferable for companies in countries such as Turkey that suffer from very high energy costs, despite their higher production speeds. Air-jet weaving loom manufacturers have continuously been working on the reduction of air consumption in their new designs to overcome this drawback. However, weaving mill practices are as important as machine designs on air consumption. In this study, therefore, we aim to investigate the possibilities to reduce air consumption on current air-jet weaving looms without making a new investment in a weaving mill. A decrease of air consumption by 21% was accomplished in a weaving mill by just decreasing the hole diameter of the single-holed relay nozzles and by optimizing the blowing time of the multi-holed relay nozzles. Thus, a company having 202 looms could save 240,000 (sic) per year in electricity costs with almost no expense. This paper explains the experimental work conducted in the weaving mill to minimize air consumption on air-jet looms.