Compu-Dobby Myths

In my last post, I talked about some misconceptions that people have concerning computer-driven, or compu-dobby looms. In this post I’ll compare weaving on a manual loom with weaving on a compu-dobby loom.

First, here are the steps we need to get the loom ready to weave:

On a Manual Loom	On a Compu-Dobby Loom
1. Design the fabric	1. Design the fabric
2. Wind the warp	2. Wind the warp
3. Put the warp on the loom	3. Put the warp on the loom
4. Thread the heddles	4. Thread the heddles
5. Sley the reed	5. Sley the reed
6. Tie on to front apron	6. Tie on to front apron
7. Tie up the treadles	7. Relax, you don’t need to tie up the treadles.

So, notice the difference? One small step. When you tie up the treadles (pedals) you control which shafts get lifted when you press the treadle. You don’t have to do this with a compu-dobby loom because, once you load your design into the software, the computer controls which shafts get lifted. So, you don’t have to crawl under the loom to tie up the treadles and you’ve saved a bit of wear and tear on your knees and back.

Now, how about the weaving:

On a Manual Loom	On a Compu-Dobby Loom
1. Wind some bobbins	1. Wind some bobbins
2. Press a treadle to open a shed	2. Press a treadle to open a shed (NOTE 1)
3. Throw the shuttle	3. Throw the shuttle
4. Beat the weft	4. Beat the weft
5. Press the next treadle	5. Press the next treadle (NOTE 1)

Gee! Almost no difference here. (NOTE 1): The only difference is that on a manual loom, you look at your design draft to see which treadle to press next and on the compu-dobby loom you just press the treadle and the computer (which has your design) lifts the correct shafts.

That’s it! You don’t have to crawl under the loom and you only have one treadle to press – everything else is the same.

Next time, I’ll show some detail about what we do gain by using the compu-dobby loom – great design flexibility.

(Posted by Larry Novak)