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Textile Systems: Automatic Festoon-Rack Loader for Storage of Pile Fabric

Client

Malden Mills, Inc. Lawrence, MA.

Problem

At the end of the production line, and prior to packaging, very often the fabric must be stored. The delivery of fabric from the line is stored by draping it over numerous bars in festoon-racks measuring 10' X 6' X 6' which are rolled to the storage areas. The feeding of the fabric over the festooner bars is done by hand, a very primitiveand costly method involving some 15 people over three shifts. The machine described here provides a way to load the festooner racks automatically.

Solution

To load each layer of fabric it must be draped over a festooner rack bar, the bar must be pushed back to leave space for the next layer, and the same boring procedure repeated some sixty times. The machine does the same automaticallly. Picture of the Automatic Festoon-Rack Loader for Storage of Pile Fabric shows the mechanism that feeds the fabric between the festooner rack bars. The fabric comes from above pulled by the upper roll; it first passes under the cone-roll guider, over the drive roll, and spill over the apron plate that places it between the rack bars of the festooner. In this picture, the storage rack is not shown. This is the assembly stage at shop. The feeding system is indexed by means of the ball-screw seen where the cover plate has been removed from the frame side. The rolls and frame side on ball bushings over a thomson bar seen below. A similar drive is located at the other side. The ball screws are driven simultaneously at both sides.

The system operated as desired for several months, and four more were to be built, however, it would have displaced about a dozen old employees, and the union forced abandonment of the plans. A situation that should have been foreseen and negotiated before the machine was developed.