Computer Aided Jacquard Designing

COMPUTER AIDED

JACQUARD DESIGNING Using NedGraphics

FALL 2012 CSF-4071 Muhammad Usman Javaid 1

Scope of the Training

Jacquard Machine

Images for Jacquard Designing

Harness Build Up

Weave Designing

Jacquard Design

Jacquard Controlling


COMPUTER AIDED

JACQUARD DESIGNING /

MANUFACTURING Jacquard Machine


Jacquard Machine

• Jacquard is Warp Lifting/Shedding Mechanism:


Parts of a Jacquard

Main Drive from‏

loom to

Jacquard also

for motion

synchronization

Jacquard

System

engine

Harnesses

Area

Loom Jacquard

Electronic

Controller


Line diagram of Jacquard


Mechanical Jacquard Lifting Animation


Electronic Jacquard Shedding Animation


Jacquard Controller


Types of Jacquard Punch Cards

• There are three types of Jacquard Punch Cards with

respect to density of holes in the cards:

• English or Coarse Pitch Card has large hole and less density

• Verdol or Standard Pitch Cards has smaller hole than English

pitched cards and relative high density

• Fine Pitch Card has smallest hole and more density therefore will

have less size and weight fore same number of needles



Types of Pitches

Type Area Pitch

English Coarse Pitch 412mm x 60mm 8 x 51 = 408

Verdol Standard Pitch

377mm x 69mm (16 x 28 x 3)-24 =1320

Vincenzi Fine Pitch

320 mm x 27mm 8 x 56 = 448 x 6 = 2688


Types of Harness Ties

Pitch/Capacity

English Coarse Pitch

Verdol Standard

Pitch

Vincenzi Fine Pitch

Orientation of Design Cylinder w.r.t. Comber board

Perpendicular

London, Cross,

Quarter-twisted

Tie

Parallel Norwich, Straight

Tie

Number of Repeats

Single Tie Lay-over or Repeating Tie

One Direction Straight

Tie

Mirroring, Pointed

Tie

Mirror only at

selvedge Border

Tie

Mixed Tie


Harness Ties

• The jacquard harness is

the system of cords,

healds, and lingoes that

transmit the movement

of the hooks to the

individual warp threads

• A simple form of harness

is shown.

• The jacquard machine is

assumed to have 400

hooks which are

represented in the

diagram:


Harness Ties

• 8 Rows X 50 hooks /row =

400 hooks

• Comber board is almost

one meter below the

bottom of the hooks.

• The holes are arranged in

rows of eight

corresponding to the rows

of eight hooks in the

machine.

• From the hooks cords are

led thought the first, 401st,

801st and 1201st holes.


Single Tie

• When number of

harnesses are equal to

the number of neck

cords, i.e. there is only

one repeat in whole

width of the jacquard, is

called single tie.


Lay-over Ties


Lay-over Tie

• This is the most common design tie used for, both Norwich

• and London harness ties.

• The fabric contains more than one repeat of the design in its full width.

• Fig. 14.15 shows a portion of the repeating pattern. In this tie there must be as many harness cords tied to each neck cord as there are repeats in the full width of the fabric.

• Thus if there are 4 repeats of the pattern, In the width of the fabric then there will be 4 harness cords tied to each neck cord or hook.


Center Tie

• This type of tie is suitably used, when a design is symmetrical if turned over Its central line, One such design Is shown ¡n Figure

• For example suppose the design shown m the above figure complete on 800 ends in Its full repeat the number of ends from the central Line to each dotted line ¡s 400, representing a half repeat of the design, The threading of the harness tines through the comber board Is indicated in Figure.


Center Tie

• The harness tines are connected from 1st to 400th hook in a regular order order then from the 399th hook, the harness lines are connected in the reverse Order i.e. from 399th to the 2nd hook from where the order is again reversed and the harness

• Cord is passed through hole no. 1 in the comber board No. 400 is In the center and No. 1 repeat at the right. By this arrangement the texture of the cloth is slightly affected as no end is drawn through the No. 400 and No.1 repeats with a solid mark in the Figure The design with the Omission of these ends will have totally 798 ends instead of 800 ends Originally assumed. The centered tie is largely used for silk ribbons curtains, serviettes tray clothe, upholstery and carpets.


Border Tie

• Mainly used for bordered fabrics like handkerchief or table cloth.

• In this tie one repeat of the border figure is made at each side of the fabric only. The central design is, however, repeated a number of times.

• The central portion may have a repeating tie or a central tie and any appropriate number of hooks may be assigned for the border and the body design of the fabric.

• The illustration in the figure indicates the border figure is turned over at the sides and the body figure is developed by a centered tie repeating two times.

• A number of permutations can be used for a variety of effects.


Mixed/Special Ties


Card Cutting


Card Cutting


Electronic Jacquard Reading-In

• The module is an assembly of elements comprising the following parts.

• 1 - Elements outside the module

• 2 - Elements inside the module

• 3 - Release hook return springs

• 4 - Release hooks

• 5 - Electromagnet

• 6 - Mobile hooks

• 7 - Hoist body

• 8 - Braces

• 9 - Reeling cable

• 10 - Harness threads

• 11 - Run up point

• 12 - Hoist pulleys

• 13 - Screws

• 14 - Ramp

• 15 - Armature


COMPUTER AIDED

JACQUARD DESIGNING Basics


Path to follow


An Image

Make its size

SUITABLE.

Choose Colors:

Define different colored

region to give different

Weaves.

Add warp and weft

pattern information

Manipulate the image

as required

i.e. Scaling, mirroring,

drawing, etc.

Add Weaves,

Loom harness,

and other

practical information

Make a loom

readable Image

and transport to loom

IMAGES FOR JACQUARD

DESIGNING


Why Images?

• Fabrics and Images are very resembling to each other

• Let’s‏first‏look‏at‏what‏are‏images:


Pixels and images

• Image: is grid of pixels

• Pixel is the unit of color display of an image

• Different Colors of pixels make up the colors of an image

• dpi = Pixel per inch defines size of an image

• Two Image of same size (width pixels x length pixels) but different dpi will have different dimensions width x length of the image


Pixels and images

• Pixels are squares

so usual image has

same density of

pixels in length and

width direction

• But It can be varied

as needed by making

pixel rectangle


Pixels and images


Fabric and Images

• Fabric has yarn density

• Fabrics can have warp and weft densities different

• Fabrics has few colors

• Images has Pixel density

• Images usually have same dpi but it can be made different

• Images have many colors‏that’s‏why‏we‏need to reduce the image colors that we need to convert to fabric


Fabric and Images

• Colors in fabric are from either warp or weft w.r.t. weave (for YDF)

• While images are used as‏fabric,‏they‏can’t‏contain such information so details of yarn colors need to be saved separately. That is what a design (*.des) file does.

• Each Pixel in an image has‏it’s‏own‏independent‏color


We Can Conclude:

• Image consists of pixels:

• No.‏of‏Pixels‏in‏an‏image’s‏width‏can‏represent‏a‏fabrics‏Warps

• No.‏of‏Pixels‏in‏an‏image’s‏length‏can‏represent‏a‏fabrics‏Wefts

• Pixels shape can be changed to show difference in densities of

warp and weft.

• Different colors in image can represent different weaves and color

is nothing to do with weave expect a specific area of image where

defined weave will be given.

• Pattern of warp and weft must also be given separately.


JACQUARD CAD

SOFTWARE Introduction


Jacquard Designing Path

Yarn + Weave + Artwork + Pattern

Jacquard Design Loom File


Modules in Jacquard CAD

Jacquard Software

Harness (Loom Editor)

Image Editor (Texcelle)

Weaves (Weave Editor)

Compile (Product Creator)

Simulations (True Coloring)

Communication (Fabric Editor)

IMAGES FOR CAD


Introduction

• Image editor is an image creation tool for the preparation

of artwork for use in jacquard design.

• Basic artwork can be created:

1. Freehand,

2. Scanned in,

3. or loaded from an existing file.


Image editor Usage • Steps:

1. A graphics image is created.

2. Weave structures are created for each unique color in the

graphics image.

3. The weave structures are applied to the graphics image to

create a single total weave structure.

4. Warp and weft patterns and loom control informations are

created and applied to the total weave structure to generated

the woven jacquard design.


Observations

• On understanding this process, certain observations should become clear.

• Firstly, • each unique colour in the artwork image must be allocated a weave

structure - generally a different weave structure to those around it.

• In order to keep the number of different weaves in the jacquard down to a workable minimum number you must control and minimize the number of unique colors in the artwork image.

• Secondly, • the physical appearance of the colours in the artwork is not

important (except to distinguish between different colour areas) since these colours are only used to create a weave structure.

• The colours in the finished design come from the warp and weft patterns and not from the artwork.


Pixels and Resolution

• A “pixel” is a single picture element (a dot on the screen) -the smallest element that you can identify in a computer graphics image.

• All graphics images are built up of pixels and these are fundamental to an understanding of computer graphics.

• A pixel does not have an intrinsic size - the size of a pixel depends upon the device on which the image is displayed.

• Graphics display devices all have a “resolution” associated with them and it is this resolution that determines the pixel size. The resolution is generally measured as a number of “dots per inch” (dpi) and this equates to pixels per inch.



• For example, a computer screen may have a resolution of 72 dots per inch. • This means that each pixel can be displayed at 1/72 of an inch.

• So, if you display an image that is 72 pixels wide on this device then it will measure exactly one inch on the screen.

• Colour printers usually have much higher resolutions than computer screens - anything from 300 to 1440 dots per inch.

• If you take the same 72 pixel wide image and print it directly to a colour printer with a resolution of 300 dots per inch then it would only be 72/300 inches wide. Thus the size of a pixel is determined by the resolution of the display device.



• You can only work with whole numbers of pixels - you cannot have “half‏a‏pixel”‏since‏pixels‏are‏the‏smallest‏element‏of‏a‏computer‏graphics image.

• It is common, however, to scale up pixels to obtain a larger image.

• This is often done when printing an image because of the higher resolution (and hence smaller pixel size) of printers.

• When sending an image from the screen to a printer, for example, each screen pixel (1/72 inch) might be converted into a block of printer pixels (1/300 inch) in an attempt to restore the image size.

• Using the above resolution figures you might use a scale factor of 4 so that each screen pixel is duplicated to become a block of 4 x 4 printer pixels.

• This would be equivalent to a printer resolution of 300/4 = 75 dots per inch which is much closer to the original screen resolution.


Pixels and Jacquard Designs

• When creating artwork for a jacquard design it is useful to

remember that a screen pixel represents a single lift in the

resulting jacquard weave structure.

• Single pixels in an jacquard artwork image are actually

undesirable since they will become almost random lifts within

the weave structure. Remember that each colour in the artwork

represents a different weave structure.

• Suppose you have artwork in which there is single red pixel

surrounded by a large area of blue pixels. You assign a twill

weave to the blue pixels and a plain weave to the red pixels.

• In the jacquard weave the red pixel will become ONE LIFT of

the plain weave in amongst the large area of twill weave.


Pixels and Jacquard Designs

• At best this one lift will not be seen and is therefore superfluous. • At worst it may contribute to a longer floating thread sequence at

this area and is therefore a flaw in the fabric.

• For this reason single pixels, and single pixel width lines are best avoided in jacquard artwork. • If you want to see the effect of a colour area in the finished

jacquard fabric then the width and height of that colour area in pixels should bear some relationship to the ends and picks of the weave structure that will be allocated to that colour.

• Screen pixel

• Block of printer pixels occupying approx. same area as screen pixel Single red pixel surrounded by blue Effect of this pixel in jacquard weave


The Graphics Image

• As mentioned previously, there are three main ways to create a graphics image in the Image editorprogram. • 1. Freehand Artwork Creation

• Image editorallows freehand painting directly onto the computer screen using a mouse or pen and has a full range of image manipulation tools to assist with this. You can start with a blank screen and create the image that you want.

• 2. Scanning

• If you have a colour scanner you can scan existing paper artwork onto the computer screen. Once on the screen you can use the freehand artwork tools to manipulate and edit the image as required.

• 3. Loading from File

• Image editorcan read (import) and write (export) all of the major graphics files formats (e.g. TIFF, BMP, PCX etc.). This allows you to create an image using virtually any other graphics software (e.g. Photoshop, Corel Draw etc.).


The Graphics Image

• The image is created and stored using the other graphics

software then loaded onto the Image editorscreen.

• Note that the CAD software package Jacquard Designer

program will only accept files stored by Image editoras the

basis for a jacquard design.

• This is because the Jacquard designer program uses

extra information stored alongside the image file which

standard graphics files formats do not include.

• For this reason you must go through the Image

editorprogram as part of the jacquard creation process.


COLOR ISSUES


Colour Issues

• When creating jacquard artwork it is important to

remember the following points -

1. Each unique colour in the artwork represents a

weave structure

2. The colour appearance of the artwork does not affect

the jacquard fabric

• The first point is important because it places a restriction

on the number of colours you choose to use in your

artwork.


Colour Issues

• For example, if you only want five different weave structures in your jacquard fabric then you must have only five unique colours in your artwork.

• Always work backwards from the jacquard fabric when constructing your artwork. Think of the number of weaves that you want to use (approximately) then equate this to unique artwork colours. If there are too many colours in your artwork then you may have to use colour compression techniques (see later) to reduce the number.

• The second point refers to the actual physical appearance of the colours in the artwork. Given that the artwork is only an intermediate stage of the jacquard design process and that it is essentially used to create a total weave structure which is monochrome in colour, then you should not spend too much time on the actual colour appearance.

• Colours are used only to distinguish different areas in the artwork. If it helps to identify these areas by using strongly contrasting colours then this is how your colour palette should be setup.


24-Bit and 8-Bit Colour

• Artwork Designer, in common with most professional

graphics‏software,‏supports24“‏-bit”‏and8“‏-bit”‏colour‏

images. These images are fundamentally different and it

is worth taking a little time to understand the differences.


8-Bit Color Images

• An “8-bit” image uses up to 256 different colours. It has a

palette associated with it, which contains the 256 colour

definitions. Each colour in the palette can be uniquely

selected from a range of 16.7 million colours.

• Each pixel in the image is a palette reference number

between 0 and 255). To identify the colour of that pixel

you must refer to the palette. For example, a pixel value of

34 means that the colour of that pixel is defined by the

data in palette entry number 34.


24-Bit Color Images

• A “24-bit”‏image‏can‏have‏as‏many‏different‏colours‏as‏there are pixels in the image. So, if the image size is 200 x 300 pixels then a 24-bit image can potentially have 200 x 300 = 60,000 unique colours. As the image size increases so does the potential colour range, up to a maximum of 16.7 million.

• There is no palette associated with a 24-bit image. Each pixel consists of a red, green, and blue value each with the range 0 to 255,

• Generally speaking, 24-bit images are suitable for photographic-type images where subtle shading and fine detail are of most importance. 24-bit images are NOT suitable for jacquard artwork as there are simply too many colours in the image.


Colour Compression\Reduction • Colour compression is necessary when there are too many colours in your artwork image and you wish to

reduce the number of colours (and hence the number of weaves required for a jacquard) to a more manageable number. This will typically be the case with a scanned image, which can have anything from 256 to several thousand unique colours.

• A large range of colours is used to preserve the image quality and realism and is essential when working with photographic images but a jacquard with 200 unique weaves is unworkable and unnecessary. Often individual colours will only appear as single pixels within the image and it would be unnecessary to allocate a weave structure which would only weave for one lift before changing to another structure.

• The above shows a scanned image with an area enlarged to show how many unique colours are present in this small area.

• Due to subtle shading there are many more colours present than at first meets the eye.

• The original image does in fact contain over 200 unique colours - most of which are subtle light and dark shades which are not immediately apparent.

• However, by looking at the image you can see that there are only three dominant colours - the mid-blue background, the dark blue, and a white colour. It should be possible to reproduce the essence of the image using only these three colours.

• There‏is‏no‏question‏that‏the‏original,‏uncompressed,‏image‏has‏more‏clarity‏and‏is‏more‏“correct”‏in‏a‏photographic sense.

• But remember that the object of this exercise is to create jacquard artwork which will then be converted into weaves.

• This very process will result in some degradation of the image therefore the second, compressed, image is more than adequate for this purpose.

• In this example, colour compression has reduced the number of colours from over 200 to 3 and, in doing so, has made the artwork image much more suitable for use in a jacquard design.


Colour Compression Techniques

• CAD software package provides several methods for colour compression.‏“Decrease‏to‏”256‏will‏automatically‏reduce‏a24‏-bit image down to a maximum of 256 colours. This is generally the first step in compressing a scanned image.

• Once the image has been reduced to 256 colours you can choose from‏“Automatic”‏colour‏compression‏or‏“Manual”‏colour‏compression.

• “Automatic”‏compression‏attempts‏to‏use‏mathematics‏to‏work‏out‏the‏relationship between colours and can be used to reduce an image to given number of colours. Sometimes, however, the mathematics of the colours in an image is such that the automatic compression algorithm is not successful and will not result in the desired effect.

• “Manual”‏compression‏allows‏you‏to‏manually‏select,‏‏from‏the‏screen, the colours that you wish to remain in the image.

• All other colours in the image will become one of the selected shades. Again, mathematics is used to determine how the non-selected colours are changed.


Scaling Issues • One of the most important issues when designing jacquard artwork comes in

choosing the size of the artwork image. In this context, the size of the image is the width and height of the image measured in pixels (screen dots).

• Image‏editor‏can‏“scale”‏a‏image‏up‏or‏down‏to‏any‏requested‏size‏but,‏in‏doing‏so, you will add or remove pixels to the image in order to generate the new sized image.

• When scaling an image up this‏typically‏leads‏to‏“jagged‏edge”‏stepping‏effects,‏especially on diagonal lines within an image.

• When scaling an image down to a smaller size the problem is a loss of detail as pixels are discarded to reduce the image to a smaller size. If an image consists of single pixel-width lines (which themselves are not recommended for jacquard design) then these may disappear from the image altogether as a result of scaling down.

• To avoid these problems the simplest solution is to plan the image size carefully so that scaling is not necessary. To do this you must work backwards from the jacquard fabric size.

• Identify the jacquard repeat size (in ends and picks) that you will need to give you the fabric size that you require. To minimize scaling the artwork image should be the same size as the ends and picks of the jacquard repeat.


Example 1

• Repeat size 6 x 8 inches

• Warp sett 32 ends per inch

• Weft sett 40 picks per inch

• Ends 6 x 32 = 192

• Picks 8 x 40 = 320

• Artwork Width 192 pixels

• Artwork Height 320 pixels


Example 2

• Repeat size 25 x 32 cm

• Warp sett 12 ends per cm

• Weft sett 15 picks per cm

• Ends 25 x 12 = 300

• Picks 32 x 15 = 480

• Artwork Width 300 pixels

• Artwork Height 480 pixels

• If the calculated artwork sizes are too large for the artwork then reduce the artwork size by dividing these sizes exactly by 2, or 3 and so on. If the calculated sizes are too small then multiply them by 2 or 3 and so on to create new sizes. This will minimize any scaling required.


Example 3: Scaling a Multiple-Layer

Jacquards • The above examples assume that you are creating a

simple, single cloth jacquard with one face layer only. If your jacquard construction is multi-layer (e.g. 2 warps, 2 wefts, or 1 warp 3 wefts etc.) then to minimize scaling effects you should plan your artwork sizes as follows - 1. Work out the pixel sizes as described above.

2. Divide the pixel width by the number of warp layers

3. Divide the pixel height by the number of weft layers

• Note that the above size calculations are recommendations only. There is nothing to stop you creating CAD software package artwork any size that you wish.‏However,‏you‏should‏be‏aware‏that‏“scaling”‏may‏take place and that this will affect your artwork.


COMPUTER AIDED


MANUFACTURING Jacquard Harness Build Up


Woven Textile Software Packages

•NedGraphics

•ScotWeave

•Textronics

•Arahne

•Designcope Victor

Software Comparison

NedGraphics ScotWeave Arahne

Scope Weaving, Knitting,

Printing, Fashion,

Interior and Textile

Design

Weaving, Braiding Weaving +

Printing

Commercial +

Free

X X OK

OS Windows + MAC Windows Linux

Price Expensive Expensive Not very

Expensive

Jacquard Manufacturers

Staubli Bonas Grosse


Communicating Design to Jacquard


Jacquard Information

• Without complete harness information it will be impossible to

setup Jacquard Software (ScotWeave) correctly for jacquard

loom and

• therefore impossible to transfer the design from CAD software

package to jacquard loom.

• Harness information will have been supplied when the harness

was fitted to your jacquard.

• If you do not have this information then you must contact

whoever installed the harness and ask for this information.

• You may also need to contact the manufacturer/supplier of your

jacquard mechanism for some additional information on how

this is setup for reading data from a CAD system.


Map of Hooks

• A‏“map”‏of‏jacquard‏head‏lifters‏to‏harness‏cords‏is‏used‏

to show which lifters are attached to which harness cords

and the function of each harness cord.

• In addition to this, many electronic jacquard controllers

have‏“electronic‏functions”‏or‏“electronic‏controls”‏which‏

can be used to control weft selection mechanisms and

warp motion.

• If these functions are used then they must also be

mapped out.


Types of Hooks


Jacquard Loom


Jacquard Harness Designing

• Total Hooks

• Jacquard Short Rows and long rows measure

• Weft Selectors

• Regulators

• Weft Density Control

• Warp Tension Control

• Machine Speed Control

• Selvedge Hooks

• Design/Body Hooks


Stabuli Jacquard

Function number Used for

1 Weft selector number 1 17 Density bit 0



4 Weft selector number 4 20 Warp tension bit 0



7 Weft selector number 7 23 Speed bit 0



10 Weft selector number 10 26 Loop tension

11 Weft selector number 11 27 Terry/Flat

12 Weft selector number 12 28 Border

13 Weft selector number 13 29 End of rapport > managed by the JC4

14 Weft selector number 14 30 Trennstuck weben

15 Weft selector number 15 31 Reserved

16 Weft selector number 16 32 Reserved


Regulators: 3 bit controlled Function

Bit 1 Bit 2 Bit 3 Index

0 0 0 1

1 0 0 2

0 1 0 3

1 1 0 4

0 0 1 5

1 0 1 6

0 1 1 7

1 1 1 8


Single bit controlled Function

Bit 1 Index

0 1

1 2


Creating a Loom Diskette

• The process of creating a loom diskette involves selecting

a jacquard harness plan, then applying this to a CAD

software package jacquard design to create information

for a loom.

• Whenever you begin the process of creating a new loom

disk you will see the following dialog which will confirm the

current harness plan that will be used


Creating a Loom Diskette


COMPUTER AIDED


MANUFACTURING Weave Designing


• Weaving Designing

• Direct Editing

• Weave Creation

• Through Weave Editor

• Simple Weave Design

• Complex (Layered) Weave Design


COMPUTER AIDED


MANUFACTURING Jacquard Designing


Parts of a Jacquard File

• Image and Yarn information = .DES file

• Jacquard Harness Information = .HRS file

• Pile Details = Selected from option design in .DES file

• Yarn Density Information

• Design Repeat Information

• Yarn Information

• Weave Information


Yarn Designing

• Details of Yarns:

• Yarn Count System

• Yarn Count Number

• Twist

• Yarn (Visual) Type (Fancy yarns)

• Yarn Color

• Color Types

• Total Yarns

• Library of Yarn

• Scanning Yarn


Card View


Design View


Fabric Weaves


Other Weaves


Simulation


COMPUTER AIDED


MANUFACTURING Jacquard Controlling


Function of Jacquard Controller

• Weaving from Files

• Importing Files

• Exporting Files

• Editing/Viewing Files


Before we Design

• End / inch

• Pick/ inch


Documents

Computer Aided Jacquard Designing