PROJECT: F01-NS14 APPLICATIONS OF MICROMACHINES IN FABRIC FORMATION

Microelectromechanical systems or MEMS technology has gone from an interesting academic exercise to an integral part of many applications in several industries including telecommunications, medical, automotive and ink jet industries. However, little or no work has been done in researching applications for MEMS in textiles. We elected to demonstrate the capability of combining MEMS with small-scale robotic devices to automate one of the few tasks that still need the weaving machine operator intervention; repair of broken warp yarns. Concurrent studies are being conducted in order to achieve this goal: (a) Development of devices that enable microsystem solutions to detect warp breaks using MEMS, (b) Locating reed dents corresponding to warp breaks using Linear Servo Systems and (c) Carrying out a study regarding warp break location and occurrence, since the design of the automated system depends on the location of warp breaks.