Water-Jet Loom Speed and Productivity
topic
Water-jet looms achieve 400 to 800 picks per minute for standard polyester and nylon filament fabrics, lower than air-jet's maximum of 1500 picks per minute but with the advantage of lower noise levels of 75 to 82 decibels compared to air-jet's 90 to 100 decibels, with productivity per machine being determined by the combination of picks per minute and fabric width, and with the lower operating cost from no compressed air requirement partially offsetting the higher maintenance cost and water management requirements compared to air-jet.
Role
Quantifies the production efficiency of water-jet weaving relative to competing technologies for synthetic filament fabric production, with the speed disadvantage versus air-jet being partially compensated by lower air energy cost and the better yarn surface quality of water insertion for certain sensitive filament constructions where the lower velocity and liquid medium of water-jet causes less fibre surface damage than high-velocity air insertion.