Method and apparatus to weave a fully interlaced three-dimensional textile structure

A method was developed to weave a three-dimensional textile structure by interlacing three orthogonal sets of yarns. In this flexible structure, all yarns are fully interlaced at right angles with each other. A manually operated prototype of a machine that is able to produce a three-dimensional textile structure using the above method was developed. The machine uses the principles of a typical weaving loom. Techniques for the three primary motions of weaving namely; shedding, picking and beat-up are realized by the machine while techniques for warp let-off and structure take-up motions are discussed. All motions of the apparatus are designed to be individually driven with the possibility of linking to work collectively as a further development.