A heavy metal or wooden cylinder located at the rear of a weaving machine. It stores the parallel lengthwise yarns under uniform tension and slowly feeds them into the heddles as the fabric is woven. Proper winding of this cylinder is critical to prevent tension variations that cause fabric defects.
Heard on the job
We need two people to lift the new warp beam onto the back of the dobby loom.
Also heard as
- yarn-beam