Jacquard Lace Machine: How to Read Bar Counts and Pick a Series
A jacquard lace machine is a multibar Jacquard lace Raschel warp knitting machine, and the first choice you make is not about the machine at all – it is about the lace. Flat and fine, or raised and three-dimensional? That answer sorts the field into the Jacquardtronic and Textronic families, with fall plate multibar raschels running alongside as a third route.
The second choice is how you read a bar count, because the headline number hides the breakdown that actually describes the machine.
What buyers mean by jacquard lace machine
Machine-made jacquard lace of this kind is knitted on multibar Jacquard lace Raschel machines. Reference works on lace manufacturing describe the machine that way, and industry technical reviews of warp knitting put the Jacquardtronic and Textronic series on the same base: computer pattern control driving a large number of guide bars.
The word jacquard causes most of the confusion. Here it does not mean a jacquard head sitting on a weaving loom; it means electronically controlled bar work inside a raschel machine.
That shows up in the bar breakdown rather than in the headline number. Per the spec sheet on our Jacquard Lace Machine 92 Bars page (model GS-JL 92/1), those 92 bars are 88 pattern bars, 3 ground bars and 1 jacquard bar with split threading for counter-lapping. Ninety-two bars is not ninety-two identical bars, and two machines quoted at the same number can be built very differently.
Decision one: flat lace or three-dimensional lace
This is the cut that settles everything downstream. Public material from the lace trade draws the line plainly: Jacquardtronic lace is fine, light and flat – the Chantilly character – while Textronic lace is three-dimensional, with a raised surface, a heavier hand and a tulle-like napped structure.
If your order book is flat, fine lace for lingerie panels and garment trims, the Jacquardtronic family is the shorter route, and trade coverage of that series points the same way: it has been developed for lingerie and apparel, including functional lace with controlled pressure. If your customers keep asking for sculptural, raised surfaces where the relief carries the design, Textronic is the family you should be sampling.
This comparison does not apply if what you actually sell is unpatterned ground fabric or plain net – in that case the pattern bars are capital you never use, and a general selection guide such as our article on how to choose a raschel lace machine is the better starting point.
| Route | Finished lace signature | Typical end use | Where to start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacquardtronic multibar | Fine, light, flat lace of Chantilly character | Lingerie and apparel lace, including functional lace with controlled pressure | Bar breakdown, then gauge |
| Textronic multibar | Three-dimensional, raised surface, heavier hand, tulle-like napped structure | Lace where surface relief carries the design | Physical swatches before anything else |
| Fall plate multibar | Judge from swatches: the public descriptions that classify lace by look draw their sharpest line between the two series above | Multibar figured lace | Our fall plate multibar jacquard lace raschel page |
Decision two: what a higher bar count buys, and what it costs
Bar counts in this class have climbed. Industry technical coverage records computer-controlled jacquard raschels moving from 56 up to 78 pattern bars, with both series configurable to that level under a single pattern-control computer, and newer multibar Jacquardtronic builds carrying a dedicated jacquard bar on top of the pattern bars. Our own 92-bar build follows the same logic: 88 pattern bars, 3 ground bars, 1 jacquard bar.
Read the number as yarn paths. Each additional pattern bar is one more independently controlled yarn that can enter the figure, which is what lets a design carry more colours, more outline weights and longer repeats without looking mechanical. The bill for that freedom arrives at threading and changeover: every pattern bar is another set of ends to thread and another bar to re-lap when the article changes.
So the useful question at quotation stage is not how many bars you can get. It is how many article changes you will run per month, and how long the repeat is on the two or three designs that pay for the machine. A mill running a stable lingerie programme and a mill chasing fashion drops should not buy the same bar count, even if they sell into the same market.
Where the fall plate route fits
Fall plate multibar machines sit alongside the two named series rather than inside them, and we list one on the machine side of the site: the Fall Plate Multibar Jacquard Lace Raschel Machine.
Because the publicly available lace descriptions do not give this route the same one-line fabric signature they give Jacquardtronic and Textronic, judge it the way a mill floor judges any machine: on swatches knitted on the exact build being quoted, at your yarn counts, with your repeat length. Series names are a shortcut for buyers who have not yet seen fabric; once fabric is on the table, the name stops mattering.
Room, power and climate: the half of the quote that is not the machine
Multibar lace machines are large and particular about their surroundings, and this is where installation dates slip. Working from the same GS-JL 92/1 spec sheet: working widths of 3403 mm (134 in) and 5334 mm (210 in); gauges E18, E24 and E28; an overall envelope of 9200 mm wide by 7200 mm deep by 4700 mm high; floor loading of 2000-4000 kg/m2; a total connected load of 25 kVA on 380 V plus or minus 10% three-phase supply; a main power cord of not less than 4 mm2 three-phase four-core with a ground conductor of not less than 6 mm2; and a working climate of 25 degrees Celsius plus or minus 3 at 65% plus or minus 10% relative humidity.
Yarn let-off on that build is four electronically controlled gears serving the ground and jacquard bars, take-up is an electronically regulated four-roller assembly, and monitoring includes an integrated laser stop.
Two of those figures decide whether the machine can be installed at all: the 4700 mm height and the floor loading. Measure the door opening and the beam clearance on the intended bay before signing, and check that the climate figure is something your building can actually hold through a summer – a lace machine held at 65% humidity in a mill that swings twenty points is a machine that will teach you about yarn breaks.
What to have ready before you ask for a quote
A supplier can only answer as precisely as you ask. Put these on one page before you write:
- Lace category in plain terms: flat and fine, or raised and three-dimensional.
- Working width you can install and sell into. Our own builds are listed at 3403 mm and 5334 mm.
- Gauge, with a yarn count for each ground and pattern yarn. The 92-bar build is offered in E18, E24 and E28.
- Pattern bar count you need, and the pattern repeat length of your best-selling articles.
- How many article changes per month you expect to run.
- Building data: door and bay clearance against 4700 mm, floor loading against 2000-4000 kg/m2, a 25 kVA 380 V three-phase supply, and whether you can hold the stated temperature and humidity band.
Send that page with two or three physical swatches of what you sell today and what you want to sell next year, and ask for the bar breakdown rather than the bar total. If you want the swatches read against a specific build, our contact page is the shortest route – include the repeat length and the width you need, and say which of the two lace signatures above your customers are asking for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a jacquard lace machine the same as a raschel machine?
It is a type of raschel machine. Machine-made jacquard lace in this class is knitted on multibar Jacquard lace Raschel machines, so the jacquard part describes electronic pattern control over the guide bars rather than a separate machine category. The usual raschel questions about gauge, ground bars and take-up still apply.
What is the difference between Jacquardtronic and Textronic lace?
Public material from the lace trade describes Jacquardtronic lace as fine, light and flat, close to a Chantilly character, and Textronic lace as three-dimensional, with a raised surface, a heavier hand and a tulle-like napped structure. Decide from the fabric you need to sell first, then compare machine builds.
How many bars do I need on a jacquard lace machine?
Ask for the breakdown, not the total. Industry coverage records these machines moving from 56 to 78 pattern bars under one pattern-control computer, and our GS-JL 92/1 build is 88 pattern bars, 3 ground bars and 1 jacquard bar. More pattern bars mean more figure freedom and more threading and changeover time, so match the count to your repeat length and how often you change articles.
Can one machine run both flat and 3D lace?
Treat them as separate families until a supplier proves otherwise on your own yarns. The public descriptions present the two lace types as distinct product families rather than two modes of one machine, so ask for swatches knitted on the exact build being quoted before assuming one machine covers both order books.
What gauge should I order for lace?
Gauge follows yarn count and how fine the ground has to look. Our 92-bar build is offered in E18, E24 and E28. Send your ground and pattern yarn counts with a swatch of the article you sell most, and ask for a knitted sample in each candidate gauge instead of choosing from a table.
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Solving complex challenges with precision and creativity in the warp knitting industry. Passionate about advancing textile engineering and turning innovative ideas into reality. Shaping the future of warp knitting.
