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BRAIDING

TECHNIQUE

Introduction
Braiding began as a handicraft for the
construction of decorative fabrics but the
limitations of knitting and weaving made
braiding an important method of fabric
formation in textile composite, rope etc.

Limitations of other fabric


structures

The limitations of the weaving,


knitting and stitching processes
include:
poor shear resistance,
limited strength in the primary
loading direction,
and the inability to produce complex
shaped parts

What is Braiding Technique?


Braiding is a simple form of narrow
fabric construction. It is done by
intertwining of yarns in whatever
direction suited the maker's purpose.

Geometry
Braid structures are specified
by the line and stitch
numbers.
The width L is called a line
The length S is called a stitch
or pick.
W is the width of yarn from
which the braid is made.
is the braid angle
Which specifies the angle by
which the yarns lay from
direction of machine axis?
Braid angle is determined
from the relation between the
take-up speed and carrier
speed.

Types

Braiding can be classified as two and


three dimensional braiding.
Two-dimensional braid structure can
be circular or flat braid.
Three-dimensional braiding is
relatively new and was developed
mainly for composite structures.

Two-dimensional braiding
Two-dimensional circular or flat braid is formed
by crossing a number of yarns diagonally so
that each yarn passes alternately over and
under one or more of the others. The most
common designs in two-dimensional braids
are as follows:
Diamond braids: 1/1 intersection repeat.
Regular braids: 2/2intersection repeat.
Hercules braids: 3/3intersection repeat.

Circular braiding-mechanism
Circular (tubular or round) braids are formed hollow
or around a centre core. A circular braiding machine
consists of two sets of an even number of spools
containing the braiding yarns. One set runs clockwise
around the centre of the machine and the other set
turn in counterclockwise direction. While revolving in
opposite directions, the carriers are diverted to pass
alternately inside and outside (under and over) one
another. The clockwise and counterclockwise paths
cause the two sets of yarns to intersect, thus
producing a tubular braid. The Maypole dance
principle is applied here.

MAYPOLE DANCE PRINCIPLE

Rotary braiding
The rotary braiding
machine is faster than
the maypole braider.
However, rotary
machines are less
versatile in terms of
making different shapes
and they have less
number of carriers.
In ROTARY principle, the strand sources (carriers) follow
circular paths centered about the axis of braid withdrawal,
one half traveling in a clock-wise and the other half in a
counter clock-wise direction. Braid is produced by positively
displacing strands from the outer carriers and over and under
the inner carriers.

CIRCULAR BRAIDING MECHANISM

ROTARY BRAIDING MACHINE

Flat braiding
Flat braids are made in the form of flat strips
or tape. In flat braiding, instead of following
two continuous paths, the carriers turn
around or reverse direction at two points
called terminals and then continue on the
other direction, i.e., the track does not
complete a circle.

3-D braiding
3-D braiding is an interesting concept of
creating a two dimensional array of
interconnected 2-D circular braids.

Types of 3D braiding machine


3-D braids are formed on two basic types
of machines which differ only in their
method of yarn carrier displacement.
The horn gear type machines offer
improved braid speed over the Cartesian
machines.
Cartesian machines offer compact
machine size, comparatively low
development cost and braid architectural
versatility.

Horn gear braiding


Horn gear machines with square or circular
arrangement are employed in the fabrication of
solid braids. Present-day machines are limited
to 24 yarn carriers and therefore limit the size
and shape of braid. The braider yarns are
intertwined in helical paths through out the
structure.

Track plate

Horn-gear

Cartesian braiding
The basic Cartesian process involves four distinct
Cartesian motions of groups of yarns termed rows
and columns. For a given step, alternate rows (or
columns) are shifted a prescribed distance relative to
each other. The next step involves the alternate
shifting sequence of the first and second steps,
respectively. A complete set of four steps is called a
machine cycle. It should be noted that after one
machine cycle the rows and columns are returned to
their original positions.

WORKING PRINCIPLE CARTESIAN BRAIDING

End uses of Braiding

Braiding is much more significant for industrial fabrics than


consumer textiles.
Braiding is one of the major fabrication methods for
composite reinforcement structures, with increasing
applications of electrical wires and cables, harnesses,
hoses, industrial belts and surgical sutures.
Examples of the relatively new application area of braiding
include reinforcement structures of sporting goods
(baseball bats, golf clubs, water skis, snow skis),
aerospace and automotive parts.
Because of the special properties, braids can be found
(often hidden) in many different applications. Some
examples: Clothes and shoes, candle wicks, sash cords,
water ski ropes, mountaineering ropes, yachting ropes,
parachute lines, fishing nets, mooring lines, medical
applications such as catheters or dental floss, over braided
high-pressure tubes, ground cables or harnesses

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