The Development History of Textile Machinery

Humans first used natural fibers as raw materials for spinning and weaving, predating the invention of writing (see World Textile History, Chinese Textile History). In China, hand-cranked spinning wheels were already in use during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and by the Song Dynasty, large water-powered spinning wheels with more than 30 spindles had been invented. In 1769, the Englishman R. Ackwright invented a water-powered spinning machine. In 1779, the Englishman S. Crompton invented the sliding spinning machine. After its introduction to the United States, in 1828, the American J. Thorpe invented the ring spinning machine, which increased productivity several times over due to continuous spinning. During the Warring States period in China, looms already utilized the lever principle, using a foot-operated linkage to drive the heald frames to complete the shedding action. In 1733, the Englishman J. Kay invented the flying shuttle, striking the shuttle to make it fly at high speed, thus multiplying the productivity of looms. In 1785, the Englishman Edmond Cartwright invented the power loom. That same year, Britain built the world's first steam-powered cotton textile mill, marking a turning point in the textile industry's transition from handicraft workshops to large-scale industrial production. The progress of human society and population growth spurred the development of the textile industry, correspondingly driving improvements in textile machinery. Energy reform (replacing human and animal power with steam power) laid the foundation for modern textile machinery.

 

The advent of synthetic fibers at the end of the 19th century broadened the scope of textile machinery, adding a category of chemical fiber machinery. The increasing demand for synthetic fibers propelled the development of synthetic fiber spinning equipment towards larger scale (spinning screw diameters reaching 200 mm, daily output of 100 tons per machine) and higher speed (spinning speeds reaching 3000-4000 m/min). The countries with the fastest-growing synthetic fiber industries in the world almost upgraded their equipment every 5-6 years, and the number of machines doubled within 10 years. Over the past 20 years, spinning and weaving equipment has undergone numerous localized improvements to adapt to pure spinning of chemical fibers or blending with natural fibers. These improvements include expanding the range of fiber lengths suitable for the drafting mechanism and eliminating static electricity on fibers. In dyeing and finishing, high-temperature and high-pressure dyeing equipment, heat-setting equipment, resin finishing equipment, and loose-type finishing equipment have been developed.

 

Humans have used traditional methods to spin and weave for over 6,000 years. Even today, spinning and weaving machines designed based on traditional principles remain the main equipment in the world's textile industry. However, since the 1950s, new processes have been created that have partially replaced traditional methods, producing textiles with much higher efficiency, such as rotor spinning and nonwoven fabrics. These new processes give rise to new textile equipment, and the maturation and widespread adoption of this new equipment, in turn, propels the textile industry forward.