Printed 3-Bit Mechanical Punch Card Reader

Thingiverse user Chris designed this punch card reader and posted it on the site.

This is a proof-of-concept, 3-bit Jacquard-style, all-mechanical punch card reader. The design was inspired by designs in a textbook called “The Mechanism of Weaving” by T.W. Fox (it’s about 100 years old, but I found a copy on Amazon), and adapted to work within the limitations of my Makerbot ToM printer. It is a single-cylinder, single-acting, positive-action device. This design could readily be adapted to a higher number of ‘bits’ (needles) by re-designing only a few parts. With minor modifications, it should be suitable to mounting over a miniature loom, with the bottom eyes of the hooks lifting healds or warp threads directly. This is probably as impractical as it sounds.