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Inventions in the Textile Industry
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John Kay patents the flying shuttle.
The invention was called the "New Engine or Machine for Opening and Dressing Wool.” A single weaver could make wide fabrics use the flying shuttle. When the weaver jerked the cord, paddles would shoot the shuttle on wheels in a track from side to side. Weavers could weave faster and their productivity increased. Source:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/313657/John-Kay -
John Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny.
The machine was created in order to eliminate the bottleneck where spinners could not produce thread at the rate that weavers were using it. It initially could spin 16 spindles of thread. Source:
The Heritage of World Civilizations, Craig et al. -
Richard Arkwright patents the water frame.
The invention was an improvement of Hargreaves' spinning jenny and also the first factory machine of cotton textile manufacturing. Powered by water, it could produce cotton fabric free of linen fiber. Source:
The Heritage of World Civilizations, Craig et al. -
Samuel Crompton invents the spinning mule.
The device was a combination of Hargreaves' Spinning Jenny and Arkwright's water frame, hence the name "mule" or hybrid. It spun finer, stronger quality yarn at a more continuous pace. Source:
http://www.todayinsci.com/C/Crompton_Samuel/Crompton_Samuel.htm -
Edmund Cartwright patents the power loom.
He decided to invent this in order to improve upon the weaving machines he saw when he visited Arkwright's cotton-spinning mills. Cartwright made little money from the patent and lost his factory. Source:
http://www.ihs.issaquah.wednet.edu/teachers/fine/the_power_loom.htm -
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin.
His invention improved the efficiency of removing seeds from cotton, made cotton a profitable crop, and had a dramatic influence on the economy of the South. Source:
http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/whitneycottongin.html -
Joseph Marie Jacquard invents the Jaquard loom.
His improved textile loom could create intricately weaved patterns with the use of punched cards that controlled the weaving. The process allowed ordinary workmen to create beautiful products. Source:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/jacquard.htm -
William Horrocks invents the variable speed batton.
He improved upon Cartwright's original power loom and "featured a more effective way of winding the woven cloth onto a beam at the back of the loom." Source:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/TEXloom.htm
