Chapter 316 Spinning and Weaving
Spinning and weaving can be said to be the two oldest skills of mankind. After mankind bid farewell to ignorance and the dawn of civilization, there were records of weaving.
The spinning process consists of two distinct parts: twisting and drawing. The raw materials are usually in the form of fibers that must be twisted together to add strength and twist, and then drawn into threads.
In the most primitive techniques, weavers used a spindle and a spinning rod. The unspun thread was placed on the spinning rod and the thread was pulled out with one hand. Once the thread was When the length is sufficient, the weaver picks up the spindle and spins the thread around the spool, and the process repeats itself. The disadvantage of this spinning method is that it is slower, and the advantage is that the equipment is lightweight.
Hundreds of years ago, spinning technology ushered in a major technological breakthrough - the invention of the hand spinning wheel. The hand spinning wheel was significantly bulkier and more expensive than the simpler craftsmanship that preceded it, but it could spin yarn ten times faster.
During the long-term use, people have successively made some improvements to the hand spinning wheel, such as changing the hand-cranked type to the foot-operated type. The foot pedal that turned the big wheel increased the speed of the spinning wheel and freed the weaver's hands.
Later, the more creative "flywheel" was invented, which once again made great progress in spinning technology. However, because it was difficult to obtain the appropriate pulling force, only thick threads could be spun.
Now, it’s time to once again redefine the ancient skill of spinning.
On October 1, 1991, the long-prepared technical conference of Huxin Town Machinery Factory was held as scheduled. People from Alda, Bairding, and Emden gathered in Lake Town to watch the new gadgets launched by the machinery factory. Some of them are businessmen in the city, some are landowners in the countryside, some are nobles and lords with titles, and there are even a large number of ordinary people from ordinary families who have dreams of getting rich. The product launch conference of the machinery factory is open to everyone - provided that the above conditions are met People from three places.
The press conference was held in the square in front of the Lord's Palace. Now, these people from different walks of life and backgrounds are marveling at a machine.
Demonstrators at the machine shop are operating a piece of extremely creative equipment. There is a main wooden frame with a row of vertical spindles. Across the main frame are two parallel wooden rails. The two rails can slide back and forth freely on the frame. After being carded and wound into individual cotton threads, they move between two tracks. The demonstrator moves the frame back and forth with one hand, and turns the handle with the other hand to drive the spindle. A row of spindles are placed at a certain angle, and the thread passes through the spindles. Turn to tighten, then reverse and loosen at the top of the spindle. Finally, a section of metal wire hangs down and is connected to the spindle. At this time, the spindle continues to move forward, which makes the twisted and stretched wire retreat to the end of the spindle. the lower part, and then the process repeats itself.
Yes, this is the spinning jenny that played an important role in the 18th century. In order to show respect to her real inventor, Hargreeves, Paul still retained his original name after being restored to this world. It happened that the youngest son of Old Ford, the director of the State Administration, had just given birth to a daughter, which avoided a lot of boring things for others. Guess, but this made Old Ford very grateful.
"Gentlemen!"
Guy Burns introduced to everyone with a proud expression.
"At this time, our Lord Grayman's creative idea - Jenny Spinning Machine. Oh, let me make it clear first that Jenny is the name of Lord Controller Ford's newborn granddaughter. Don't think too much about it. Return. Let’s get to the point, look how amazing she is.”
"This is just a simple display of ten spindles in one round. Even so, it can equal the workload of 10 weavers before. In fact, as long as the power is sufficient, the number of spindles she can drive is theoretically unlimited, 18 or 30. , or even 80, the efficiency can be increased dozens of times."
The people around were in an uproar.
"Oh! Lord of Light! What a miraculous creation."
"I have a premonition that a new era is coming!"
Many people think He went up to touch it, but there was a cordon around the spinning machine, and the guard soldiers with armed guns looked at them eagerly and forced back those who tried to get close. Obviously, the lord's mansion still kept the manufacturing technology very confidential. As for whether it is a fraud? The machine was spinning thread under the operation of the demonstrator. The machine cannot be touched, but the thread spun on the spot is still taken out for everyone to taste.
A slight disadvantage is that the thread spun by the machine cannot spin very thin thread like hand-spun thread. It seems that it can only make light yarn (yarn extending along the length of the loom), but this is absolutely true. It can definitely be called a big leap in technology.
......
Listening to the comments from the audience and looking at the surprised expressions on their faces, Guy Burns gained great spiritual satisfaction and pride. The feeling is beyond words. He certainly has reason to be proud. Although the idea and general structure were proposed by Paul, the specific implementation was completed by him and his colleagues who were also artificers.
Knowledge and technology should benefit the majority of people, rather than become playthings in the hands of a few people - this sentence summarized by Mr. Grayman at the time is really right, Guy Burns feels I have taken another big step on this path.
Haha, there’s something else that will surprise you next!
Guy opened his throat and shouted: "Gentlemen, have you ever thought about the use of producing more yarn at the speed of our current looms? It can be piled up in the warehouse to eat dust."
Everyone was shocked, could it be...could it be...
"Yes! Huxin Town Machinery Factory also manufactures spinning machines in addition to Jenny. A new loom that matches the spinning speed!”
This sentence whetted the appetite of the visitors again.
Guy walked towards another exhibition area, and people's eyes followed him, focusing on a piece of equipment covered with a cloth.
With a crash, Guy pulled off the cloth covering the exhibit, revealing its true appearance.
This machine is obviously a loom, with a wooden structure, about 2.5 meters long and 2 meters high, powered by a pedal. However, there are still some mechanisms that are different from traditional looms, which can be seen at a glance.
For centuries, weavers have passed the shuttle from one hand to the other when weaving cloth, so that the cloth they weave is as long as two human arms. To make the cloth wider, two weavers had to be used, which greatly limited the width of the cloth and the speed of weaving.
Now, an invention called the "flying shuttle" solves these two problems. It can increase the width of the cloth and greatly increase the weaving speed.
"Ahem! Now, let me introduce the second new product of the machinery factory-the shuttle loom."
Guy Burns continued to introduce with a proud expression.
(End of this chapter)