Loom and method of weaving three-dimensional woven forms with integral bias fibers

A loom for weaving three dimensional structures which include a plurality of warp fibers, a fill fiber, and a plurality of bias fibers, the loom comprising:

• a plurality of bias fiber holders, each bias fiber holder holding a bias fiber under tension;
• a plurality of bias shuttles, each bias shuttle releasably gripping at least one of the plurality of bias fiber holders and translating horizontally, at a separate vertical position, the gripped bias fiber holders between a plurality of predetermined horizontal positions, at least one bias shuttle configured to translate above a shed formed by the warp fibers and at least one bias shuttle configured to translate below the shed;
• and
• a plurality of independently controllable bias arms, each independently controllable bias arm releasably gripping one of the plurality of bias fiber holders and translating the gripped bias fiber holder, at one of the predetermined horizontal positions, with a range of motion extending at least between two of the bias shuttles.

A loom for weaving three dimensional structures which include a plurality of warp fibers, a fill fiber, and a plurality of bias fibers, the loom comprising:

• a plurality of heddles, each heddle engaging one of the plurality of warp fibers and independently translating the engaged warp fiber vertically between at least one upper warp position and at least one lower warp position, forming a shed;
• a plurality of bias fiber holders, each bias fiber holder holding a bias fiber under tension;
• a plurality of bias shuttles, each bias shuttle releasably gripping at least one of the plurality of bias fiber holders and translating horizontally, at a separate vertical position, the gripped bias fiber holders between a plurality of predetermined horizontal positions, at least one bias shuttle configured to translate above the shed and at least one bias shuttle configured to translate below the shed;
• a plurality of independently controllable bias arms, each independently controllable bias arm releasably gripping one of the plurality of bias fiber holders and translating the gripped bias fiber holder, at one of the predetermined horizontal positions, with a range of motion extending at least between two of the bias shuttles;
• a weave shuttle passing the fill fiber through the shed formed by the warp fibers and the bias fibers substantially along a centerline of the shed;
• and
• a reed for beat up.

A loom for weaving three dimensional structures which include a plurality of warp fibers, a fill fiber, and a plurality of bias fibers, the loom comprising:

• a plurality of heddles, each heddle engaging one of the plurality of warp fibers and independently translating the engaged warp fiber vertically between at least one upper warp position and at least one lower warp position, forming a shed;
• a plurality of bias fiber holders, each bias fiber holder including a ceramic vacuum cylinder configured to hold a bias fiber under tension;
• a plurality of bias shuttles, each bias shuttle releasably gripping at least one of the plurality of bias fiber holders and translating horizontally, at a separate vertical position, the gripped bias fiber holders between a plurality of predetermined horizontal positions, at least one bias shuttle configured to translate above the shed, at least one bias shuttle configured to translate below the shed, and at least one bias shuttle configured to translate within the shed;
• wherein the plurality of predetermined horizontal positions are selected such that each of the plurality of warp fibers is between two of the predetermined horizontal positions;
• a plurality of independently controllable bias arms, each independently controllable bias arm releasably gripping one of the plurality of bias fiber holders and translating the gripped bias fiber holder, at one of the predetermined horizontal positions, the plurality of independently controllable bias arms including;
• an upper subset of independently controllable bias arms, the range of motion of each independently controllable bias arm of the upper subset extending from above the shed to the centerline of the shed;
• and
• a lower subset of independently controllable bias arms, the range of motion of each independently controllable bias arm of the lower subset extending from below the shed to the centerline of the shed with a range of motion extending at least between two of the bias shuttles;
• wherein each bias fiber holder includes a plurality of tubes configured to be releasably gripped by at least one of the plurality of bias shuttles and the plurality of independently controllable bias arms;
• a weave shuttle passing the fill fiber through the shed formed by the warp fibers and the bias fibers substantially along a centerline of the shed;
• and
• a reed for beat up.