Technical Articles

The reed of air-jet loom is also called profile reed. The structure of profile reed is consistent with the design of weft insertion system of the weaving machine. Generally, profile reed on different air-jet looms should not be substituted. The reed number, structure, firmness, reed dent elasticity, reed dent evenness, reed surface smoothness, cleanness, verticality of reed dent with reed channel, height and depth of air groove should all be checked before use. If conditions permit, air flow value should be checked to meet the requirements. After reed is removed from machine, we should clean the slurry and scale in time, inspect the condition of each part, and maintain the profile reed according to the requirements. After maintenance, the reed should be stored in proper place. The reeds after repair must meet the quality requirements, any problems found should be corrected in time. When using reed knife to press reed, the operation should be skilled, straight in and out to avoid abrading the reed. The position of the ring temple should be appropriate to avoid damaging the reed surface. The reed knife should be within the range of 15 mm above and below the profile reed. Profile reed should not be overlapped or pressed, and the air groove on reed surface should not be touched. The temperature and humidity in the workshop should be appropriate, controlled between 25℃ and 28℃, the relative humidity during cotton yarn processing should be between 73% and 78%, and the relative humidity during polyester-cotton blended yarn processing should be between 65% and 70%.

The service life of some profile reeds is about 1 year, while others are only 3 months. The life is mainly affected by processing materials, fabric varieties, yarn specification, sizing material, sizing rate and machine uptime. Correct maintenance can prolong the service life of profile reed. Profile reeds need to be cleaned and maintained when removed from machine, to prolong their service life. First, the profile reed should be cleaned. Generally profile reeds can be cleaned by brush and dried by air gun, for especially dirty ones they should be soaked in neutral cleaning solution first, and then be brushed and dried (water temperature should not exceed 40℃). Secondly, the profile reed should be checked whether has any defection, and the uniformity of the reed dent distance, the smoothness and inclination of the reed surface should be also checked. Reed dent should be replaced by professional profile reed repair shop. When there is large area damage or wearout of reed dents, aluminum reed channels should be replaced.

Specialized warehouse should be set up for profile reed. The warehouse requires ventilation and drying, temperature should be controlled in the range of 20℃-30℃ and the relative humidity should be below 60%. When conditions permit, special shelves should be made so that the profile reeds with paper boxes are placed edge-on the shelves. The storage of weaving reed should be far away from heating equipment, avoid direct sunlight in summer, to prevent resin aging. Regular inspection and verification will be needed.