Flying shuttle
Also called: Fly shuttle · Topic: The Age of Industrialisation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 4 "The Age of Industrialisation"
Meaning
The flying shuttle (also called the fly shuttle) is a weaving device. A shuttle is the part that carries the cross-thread (the weft) through the lengthwise threads (the warp). With the flying shuttle, the weaver pulls a rope, and pulleys throw the shuttle across the loom. John Kay invented it in England in 1733. It let one weaver work faster and use larger looms that made wider cloth.
Example
In India the fly shuttle helped handloom weavers survive competition from mills. By 1941 over 35 per cent of Indian handlooms had fly shuttles. In regions such as Travancore, Madras, Mysore, Cochin and Bengal, the share was 70–80 per cent. Partly because of it, handloom cloth output nearly trebled between 1900 and 1940.
Don't confuse with
- Spinning Jenny: James Hargreaves made it in 1764. It was a spinning machine, where one wheel turned many spindles to make thread. The flying shuttle was a weaving device.