ING NACIIINES. Braiding ma chinery is employed for making plaited fabrics, either that or round, such as are used for braids and other trimmings, wicks, fish-lines, shoe and corset laces, curtain cords, etc. It has also of late years found ;1 very important employ mem, in the manufacture of the covering for electrical wire. The general principle of braiding-ma chines follows closely the idea of the old May-pole dance, in which each of the dancers, holding a rib bon intaelted to the top of the pole, moved around one :Maher, io and Oa, until the ribbons were braided or plaited up and down the length of the pole. The vari ous strands of the braid o• cover 111.4' are applied to a wire as a central core by mechanism, which imitates substantially the movement of the 41711101.r,:, 01' armoring machines are used on applying the braided insulating envelope of electric conductors.
Braiding-Xachine.—We illustrate in Fig. 1 a machine intended for the manufacture of flat braids, and in Fig. 2 the carrier of that machine, manufactured by the New England Butt Co., of Providence, R. I. The mechanism of Fig. 1 consists of a series of gears meshing into one another, and provided with horns or lugs on their upper surfaces. These gears are mounted on a circular bottom plate. Above the bottom plate is a top plate, having openings or recesses in form correspond ing with the periphery of the gears, and through this plate extend the carriers. Lugs on the bottom of the carriers extend clown through the plate, and be tween the lugs on the gears, which in their rotary motion propel the carrier along the groove of the top plate which directs its course from the outer to the inner curve, a corresponding carrier on the other side of the curve going in the opposite direction, and at the intersection of each run crossing each other, thus forming the stitch. The carrier or bobbin-holder (Fig. 2) is provided with a spindle. A, for holding the bobbin, and a stein, /3, for the weight and latch.
The thread from the bobbin passes through a hole in the stem, and under a weight, C, which slides on the stem, then through a hole in the top of stem, and thence to the braiding-point. The weight acts in a fourfold capacity. It takes
up the slack thread produced by the carrier, from the outer to the inner run. It makes a tension on the thread to braid tightly or loosely as may be required. It automatically stops the machine. The thread passing under the weight holds it suspended on the stem, and the breaking of the thread, or the running out of a bobbin, allows it to drop to the bottom of the stem, where it conies in contact with a point of the stop-rim, the contact operating a lever, which throws out the clutch and stops the machine. It regulates the supply of thread from the bobbins. As the thread is taken up in the process of braiding, it raises the weight until it conies in contact with the latch on the top of carrier; the latch being pro vided with a nose-pieee engaging with a ratchet on the top of the bobbin, the weight raises the latch, disengag,ing the nose-piece and allowing the bobbin to let off thread ; this act releases the weight, which falls to its natural position, the nose of the latch again engaging with ratchet in the bobbin, and holding it until the motion is repeated. These carriers, provided with bobbins of thread as described. two to each gear, in their continuous move ment in much out and past each other at the intersect ing points, form at the cen ter of the machine, and at a proper angle above it, the plaiting, or braid. A pair of rolls, driven by gears and shaft connection with the main driving device, forms the feed or take-up of the braid, from which it is led into a receptacle, or wound on to a reel. When made for tabular braids, or for round fabrics, it will be seen that any article inserted in to the center of the ma chine and into the tubular ' fabric thus formed will he covered with it. The size of the braid depends upon the size and number of threads, and can be carried out indefinitely, a machine of 800 carriers having been built and operated success fully.