The Power Loom

The Power Loom

The weaving loom and power loom altered the worldwide textile industry and its history forever. The loom altered life, business and cloth production throughout the world. The word loom originated from the English word geloma, which means utensil or tool !ouglas". # hand operated weaving loom has been used since ancient times. The power loom was invented in the late eighteenth century during the start of the industrial revolution. $ith the creation of the power loom, cloth could be made in a fast and efficient way, increasing production, and allowing cloth, clothing, etc. to be made at cheaper cost and sold for more affordable prices Power Loom
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The weaving loom has been used since ancient civili&ations, before '((( ).%. There is evidence of the ancient use of the weaving loom because cloths and designs have been found in ancient civili&ations. *ts later improvement, the power loom was invented by Edmund %artwright. Edmund %artwright was born on #pril +,, -.,/ in 0arnham, 1ottingham, England. 2e came from a wealthy family with four brothers. 2e attended the 3niversity %ollege at 4xford, and then pursued a master5s degree with 4xford5s 0agdalen %ollege. #fter his education, he became rector of a Leicestershire church, and then too6 on the curacy of )rampton in -..+. 7rom there, he was promoted to prebendary of Lincoln cathedral in -.89, which he sustained for the rest of his life. $hile holding his positions in the church, he published many poems, including :#rmine and Elvira.: #t age ,(, he began engineering and became serious about inventing. *n -.8,, he developed an interest in industrial machinery when he was invited to visit a factory owned by ;ichard #r6wright, where he saw the newly invented water frame, an automated spinning machine turning cotton into thread at a rapid pace, invented in -.9< by #r6wright. #r6wright=s invention inspired %artwright to begin wor6ing on an automatic weaving loom so weavers could 6eep up with the rate thread was being made at. 2e finally opened his

own weaving mill in !oncaster, using steam power to drive his looms. 2is looms were efficient, but his mill eventually went out of business. 2e faced hostility from competing local textile wor6ers, who may have contributed to the fire that destroyed ,(( of his looms in a 0anchester factory in -.<<. %artwright moved on to other pro>ects, including the invention and patenting of a wool machine in -.<(. 2e also developed a concept for interloc6ing bric6s for construction in -.<', and an alcohol engine in -.<.. 2e also patented a fireproof flooring material made of fired clay. 2is contribution to machinery also included improvements to the steam engine, and other modifications for engines and textile machinery. %artwright moved to London in -.<9. *n -8(<, after textile manufacturers petitioned the 2ouse of %ommons on his behalf, he was granted -(,((( )ritish pounds for his contributions to the )ritish textile industry. 2e died at the age of 8( in ?ent on 4ct. /(, -8+/ :invention dimension:". *n -.8', a prototype of the power loom was created by %artwright, in England, with the assistance of a blac6smith and carpenter who turned his ideas into an unexpected reality, and he patented the machine :invention dimension:". The loom is a textile machine used for weaving yarn or thread into a textile or cloth Douglas). The ma6ing of the thread and yarn is called spinning. There was always an in balance between the weavers and spinners when new inventions were made for one or the other, and weavers were weaving faster than the spinners could provide thread, and vice versa. @ince the water frame, a fully automated spinning machine, was invented, weavers couldn=t weave together cloth fast enough with their manual looms to 6eep up with the rapid pace thread was being made at. )ut the power loom evened the in balance because weavers could now weave together cloth Auic6er, to 6eep up with the spinners Power
Loom %harles". $ith the power loom, the weaving process was now automatic, and wor6ed

Auic6er and more efficient than the hand operated looms being used at the time, with which wor6ers had to manually weave the weft into the warp. %artwright designed the loom to weave the weft into the warp automatically, powered by steam $iseBee6". This loom was invented

because %artwright wanted to invent a fast, automatic weaving machine to 6eep up with the fast spinning machines after seeing the water frame, the spinning machine, in a factory. The model did not function well and reliably at first, and was not very popular. %artwright continued to improve on his original loom and was issued many more patents for these improvements by -.8.
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$hen others began ma6ing more, better, and improved looms based on %artwright=s invention, the cloth industry was changed forever. This machine is still widely used everywhere in the world today. )ut it has been twea6ed and improved to lead to the modern, entirely automatic, and efficient loom used today in mills and factories to ma6e clothing, tapestries, patterns, and every 6ind of cloth. 0any of the machine=s flaws were fixed by other inventors, and the loom became very popular. $ithin its first '( years, use of the power looms increased by -((C Power Loom %harles". *t is much more convenient and efficient than hand operated looms. The production rate is much higher using the automatic loom, because it produces much more material in a shorter amount of time. The wor6 also doesn=t rely on human wor6ers to operate it, so the amount of wor6ers won=t affect the production. )ut by using this invention, %artwright unintentionally put many people out of wor6, because the machine replaced human labor usually needed to operate looms :invention dimemsion:". )ut the benefits outweigh the negative effects. *f we were still using hand operated looms, production would be slower and harder, and there would still be an in balance between spinners and weavers because thread would still be being produced faster than weavers could ma6e cloth. $e also wouldn=t have the surplus of basic cloths, clothing, linens, and draperies that we have today. The buying and selling of cloths became cheaper because it was now easier and Auic6er to weave cloth Power Loom %harles". The weaving power loom had a big impact on our industry today. The weaving loom and power loom altered the worldwide textile industry and its history forever. *t changed life, business, and cloth production throughout the world. *t had a negative effect, but we greatly

benefited from the invention in the long run. The power loom was the first machine to ma6e the weaving process automatic, and was the final hurdle towards the entirely automatic loom. *t fixed the ongoing in balance between spinners and weavers, and allowed for cloth to be made and sold cheaper and faster. *t was a very important invention that changed our world.

)ibliography
:Edmund %artwright.: invention dimemsion. 0assachusetts *nstitute of Technology, 4ctober, +(('. $eb. +' 7eb +(-/. Dweb.mit.eduEinventEiowEcartwrighte.htmlF. :$hat is a Power LoomG.: WiseGeek. %on>ecture %orporation, n.d. $eb. +' 7eb +(-/. DhttpHEEwww.wisegee6.comEwhatIisIaIpowerIloom.htmF. Power Loom %harles, . :Power Loom.: irinventions. 1.p., n.d. $eb. +' 7eb +(-/. DhttpHEEirinventions.biss.wi6ispaces.netEPower loom %harlesF. !ouglas, 2arper. :Loom.: online etymology dictionary. 1.p., +((-. $eb. +' 7eb +(-/. DhttpHEEwww.etymonline.comEindex.phpGtermJloomF.