The Jacquard Loom
As a result of the Industrial Revolution and the creation of automated processes, such as mechanical looms and weaving machines, plain fabrics could be mass-produced at a much greater rate and lower cost than in the past.1 Unfortunately, anything other than extremely simple patterns could still only be generated by skill workers at a great expense.
| Joseph Jacquard recognized that weaving, although an intricate and delicate task, was highly repetitive task.4 He believed that the weaving of complex patterns could be automated just the manufacturing of simple patterns had. He conceived a system that relied on stiff, pasteboard cards with various patterns of punched holes. At each throw of the shuttle a card was placed in the path of the rods. The pattern of holes in the card determined which rods could pass through4 and thus acted as a program for the loom. This control system allowed for flexibiliy and various levels of complexity in the patterns. |
The Jacquard Loom |
Introduction | Hollerith finds employment with the Census Bureau | The Influence of Dr. Billings | The Jacquard Loom | Hollerith's First Design | Advantages of Hollerith's Device | Hollerith Cards | Modifactions to Hollerith's Device | Field Testing | The Problem of the Census | The Evolution of Hollerith's System | The TwelfthCensus | Hollerith's Success | Resources