Circular Loom Buyer's Guide: 4 vs 6 Shuttles, Suspension vs Cam
How to choose a circular loom for PP woven bags: shuttle count, suspension versus little-cam drive, lay-flat width, speed on virgin and recycled yarn, and the specifications of every Yanfeng model.
A circular loom is the machine that decides both the quality and the daily output of a woven bag plant, and it is the machine you will buy the most of. This guide explains the two decisions that matter most, shuttle count and drive design, and then lists every loom we build with the figures from our catalogue so you can compare like with like. We have made circular looms in Pingyang since the 1990s; the oil-free little-cam loom (2008, patent ZL200820166333.1) and the suspension loom (developed 2017, mass production from 2018) are both our own designs.
Key definitions
- Shuttle: the carrier that takes the weft tape around the weaving ring. A four-shuttle loom has four running at once.
- Lay-flat width (folding width): the flattened width of the woven tube; the loom's working range.
- Warp count: the maximum number of warp tapes the loom can carry, which fixes the finest weave at a given width.
- Revolutions per minute (r/min): how many times the shuttles circle per minute; output in metres per minute follows from r/min divided by weft density.
- Suspension loom: the shuttle rides on a suspension roller system, not on the warp tape.
- Little-cam loom: the shed is formed by small cams and a swing-arm heddle drive without an oil bath.
Decision 1: four shuttles or six
| Four-shuttle | Six-shuttle | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical lay-flat width | 300–1000 mm (up to 1300 mm little-cam) | 400–1050 mm suspension; 1000–1500 mm little-cam |
| Max speed (suspension) | 250 r/min | 180 r/min |
| Max speed (little-cam) | 125–180 r/min | 110–160 r/min |
| Fabric output at 40 picks/100 mm | 0.9–2.4 m/min | 1.0–2.6 m/min |
| Main motor | 2.2 kW (4 kW for 1400 mm) | 3–4 kW |
| Best for | standard 25–50 kg sacks, cement, fertilizer, rice, sugar | wide sacks, jumbo/FIBC fabric, tarpaulin, dense weaves |
For most sack plants the answer is a four-shuttle loom in the 750 mm class: it weaves the 50 to 60 cm bags that dominate cement and grain packing at the highest speed per kilowatt. Six shuttles earn their place when the product is wide (feed and fertilizer bags above 1 m, container-bag fabric) or when a customer specifies a dense weave that a four-shuttle loom would have to run slowly to reach.
Decision 2: suspension or little-cam drive
| Feature | Suspension loom | Little-cam loom |
|---|---|---|
| Shuttle running surface | Suspension rollers, tape never pressed | Shuttle wheels roll on the tape |
| Speed on virgin PP (750 mm, 4 shuttles) | 250 r/min | 180 r/min |
| Speed on recycled PP | 200 r/min | lower; plan with tape quality |
| Drive | 2.2 kW direct-drive servo motor without encoder, or DC brushless motor | Frequency-controlled main motor |
| Control | Touch screen: speed and weft density adjusted without stopping; fault, speed, output, shift and meter display; data recorded permanently; office networking | Frequency control; touch-screen microcomputer optional |
| Weft detection | Bluetooth wireless weft-break and weft-end stop | Electro-mechanical warp/weft/weft-end stop |
| Wear parts | Suspension roller, shuttle wheel and swing-lever roller rated for more than one year | Dustproof swing lever (patent ZL201310737523.X) doubles bearing life on recycled or filled material |
| Bearings | Imported (UK and Japan) on main shaft, swing lever, rollers and shuttle wheels | Standard |
| Noise and energy | Low noise, low energy | Low noise, oil-free; the 2008 design that first cut loom power in China |
The suspension loom is the higher-output machine and gives the cleanest fabric because the tape is never crushed under a shuttle wheel; that shows in the transparency and brightness of laminated bags. The little-cam loom costs less, has a larger installed base, and is the pragmatic choice for plants running heavily filled or recycled tape, where its dustproof swing lever earns its keep. Both are CE certified and both can be built as hollow-shaft liner-inserting looms.
Every Yanfeng circular loom, with catalogue figures
Outputs are at 40 picks per 100 mm; "A" models carry a three-part heddle belt.
| Model | Type | Shuttles | Lay-flat width | Max warp count | Max speed | Output | Total power | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YF-XT-750/4X | suspension | 4 | 300–750 mm | 640/704 | 250 r/min | 2.0–2.4 m/min | 2.7 kW | 1,850 kg |
| YF-XT-1000/4X | suspension | 4 | 450–1000 mm | 768/832 | 220 r/min | 1.8–2.1 m/min | 2.7 kW | 2,100 kg |
| YF-XT-850/6X1 | suspension | 6 | 400–850 mm | 720/792 | 180 r/min | 2.2–2.6 m/min | 3.5 kW | 2,200 kg |
| YF-XT-1050/6X2 | suspension | 6 | 750–1050 mm | 792/864 | 160 r/min | 2.0–2.3 m/min | 3.5 kW | 2,300 kg |
| YF-XT-750/4(A) | little-cam | 4 | 300–750 mm | 576/640/768 | 180 r/min | 1.4–1.8 m/min | 2.7 kW | 1,800 kg |
| YF-XT-850/4(A) | little-cam | 4 | 300–850 mm | 832 | 170 r/min | 1.5–1.7 m/min | 2.7 kW | 1,850 kg |
| YF-XT-1100/4(A) | little-cam | 4 | 550–1000 mm | 896/960 | 160 r/min | 1.3–1.6 m/min | 2.7 kW | 2,000 kg |
| YF-XT-1400/4(A) | little-cam | 4 | 800–1300 mm | 1040/1120 | 125 r/min | 0.9–1.25 m/min | 4.5 kW | 2,300 kg |
| YF-XT-850/6(A) | little-cam | 6 | 300–850 mm | 720/864 | 160 r/min | 1.8–2.4 m/min | 3.5 kW | 2,200 kg |
| YF-XT-1500/6(1) | little-cam | 6 | 1000–1400 mm | 1176 | 120 r/min | 1.1–1.7 m/min | 4.5 kW | 2,550 kg |
| YF-XT-1600/6(2) | little-cam | 6 | 1100–1500 mm | 1248 | 110 r/min | 1.0–1.6 m/min | 4.5 kW | 2,600 kg |
| S-WYJ-4/750 | mesh bag | 4 | 300–750 mm | 512 | 60–130 r/min | 60–180 m/h | 2.7 kW | 1,900 kg |
Product pages: suspension four-shuttle loom, suspension six-shuttle loom, little-cam four-shuttle loom, little-cam six-shuttle loom, liner-inserting looms, mesh-bag loom and the big-sized loom for tarpaulin and container bags.
How to choose in five steps
- Fix the bag width range. Pick the loom whose lay-flat range covers your widest and narrowest bag with margin; do not run a loom at the edge of its range all day.
- Decide the weave density and warp count from the bag grammage and the tape tex; check the loom's maximum warp count covers it.
- Match speed to your tape. Virgin PP from a YF-SPL line: plan with the catalogue maximum. Recycled or filled tape: plan with 200 r/min on the suspension loom, and consider the little-cam loom's dustproof swing lever.
- Count looms from output. Divide the required fabric metres per hour by the loom's m/min × 60, then add one spare loom per ten for creel changes and maintenance.
- Decide liner-inserting now. The hollow-shaft version must be specified at order; it cannot be retrofitted economically.
Send the bag specification through the enquiry form and we return a loom count, layout and power budget with the extrusion line sized to feed it.
Our recommendation
For a new plant making 25 to 50 kg sacks from virgin PP, buy YF-XT-750/4X suspension looms: highest output per machine, cleanest fabric, and touch-screen control that reduces the number of weavers you need. For a plant built around recycled material, or with a tight budget and skilled mechanics, the YF-XT-750/4(A) little-cam loom gives the best value. Specify six shuttles only when the bag is wider than about one metre or the customer's weave density demands it.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between a four-shuttle and a six-shuttle circular loom?
- The shuttle count is the number of weft carriers running around the weaving ring. Four shuttles suit lay-flat widths of 300 to 1000 mm at the highest speeds (up to 250 r/min on the suspension loom). Six shuttles carry more weft per revolution and are chosen for wider fabric (up to 1500 mm) or when a denser, more uniform weave is wanted at a lower revolution count.
- What does a suspension circular loom do differently?
- The shuttles are carried on a suspension structure instead of rolling on the flat yarn, so the shuttle wheels do not press or damage the tape. That preserves the fabric's transparency, brightness and strength, and it lets the loom run faster: 250 r/min on virgin PP against 180 r/min for the little-cam design in the same width.
- How fast can a circular loom run on recycled polypropylene?
- Our suspension four-shuttle loom is rated 200 r/min on recycled material and 250 r/min on virgin material. Little-cam looms are rated 110 to 180 r/min depending on size. Plan with the lower figure if your tape comes from an SJ-FS recycled-material line.
- Can the same loom make bags with an inner liner?
- Yes. Both the suspension and the little-cam looms can be built as hollow-shaft, liner-inserting looms that weave the tube around a film liner, so one machine makes ordinary sacks and liner-inserted sacks.
- How many operators does a bank of looms need?
- Looms stop automatically on weft break, weft end and warp break, and the suspension loom reports faults, speed, output and shift data on a touch screen that can be networked to the office, so one weaver typically tends several looms; the exact number depends on tape quality and creel changes.