3D-printed Power Loom
By Ben Everard. Posted
This article was originally published as part of HackSpace magazine, which has since been incorporated into Raspberry Pi Official Magazine.
In issue #57 of HackSpace magazine, we’ve gone into the coding behind knitting and crochet, and raised a hat to the Jacquard loom, which took instructions that could’ve been programmed anywhere, by anyone. It wasn’t Turing-complete, but it was, almost, a computer.
This 3D-printed model pays tribute to the power looms that laid the way for the Industrial Revolution and, indirectly, computer science.
Fraens has made the STL files available on Printables and Thingiverse, and there’s a full list of materials used on his YouTube page, including screws, ball bearings, and a 12 V motor. Apparently, one of the hardest things to get right was the weight of the shuttle: too heavy and it won’t move; too light and it gets snagged easily.
Ben is the Editor of HackSpace magazine. When not wrangling words, he enjoys cycling, gardening, and attempting to identify wild mushrooms.
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