Compare the Louët dobby looms
Take some time for considering which dobby loom is best for you. If possible visit a dealer or a Louët showroom.
Buying a dobby loom is an investment that you will enjoy for years, so think about the future!
When purchasing a dobby loom, you have to choose for one of the two systems: electronic or mechanical.
Furthermore you have to choose for the number of shafts your are going to use: 8 (Octado), 16 or 32 (Megado) or 24 (Magic Dobby).
Compare dobby loom with hand operated and floor loom
| Consideration | Answer and advice |
|---|---|
| Which loom fits my weaving plans? | |
| - simple weaves like twill patterns without blocks | Simple weave: mechanical dobby is good enough. |
| - block weaving like twill block, lace, summer&winter, double weave, etc. | The liftplans of tabby weaves and block weaves will need a lot of program bars because each block repeat needs extra bars. Electronic dobby has no limits in the length of the liftplan. |
| - experimenting on small scale | Magic Dobby electronic or mechanical interface is suitable. |
| - long warps and heaving cloth | Megado and Octado are suitable for heavy duty. Magic dobby is not suitable for heavy duty. |
| Electronic or mechanical? | The length of the liftplan and the possibilities increase with the number of shafts. The electronic dobby has no limits. See also the scheme at the bottom of this page. |
| Consider that the mechanical dobby is cheaper at first, but that the extra program bars will be an investment as well. | |
| How many shafts? | Expansion of shafts is not possible on the Louët dobby looms, so think of the future. You can weave an 8 shaft pattern on a 16 shaft loom, but the opposite (16 shaft pattern on a 8 shaft loom) is not possible. |
| Weaving width | A little extra space as parking lot for not-used heddles is nice to have. If space in your weaving studio is not an item, consider extra width. |
| Fysical limitations | Power: both Octado and Megado looms feature a countermarch shed. This is accomplished by raising the back beam at the same time as the shafts are being raised. The beam movement also compensates for changes in warp tension when the shed is made. An innovative construction ensures the action of the well balanced pedal to be very light in operation. This main pedal and also the optional weaving bench are adjustable in height to accommodate the weaver’s physical requirements. But the more shafts are lifted, the more power is needed. |
| Transport pedal mechanical dobby: the pivot point of the pedal is located on the left. The further from the pivot point the pedal is pressed, the lighter it works. So on very narrow looms the transport pedal of the mechanical dobby works heavier than on the wider looms. | |
| Despite the compensation device the lifting of 32 shafts is heavier to operate than 16 shafts, but consider that you will rarely select all shafts together. | |
| If you are smaller than 160 cm (5ft3") ask for the "Treadle height adjusting kit" (Megado or Octado). | |
| Are you already using weaving software? | Yes: choose electronic dobby. |
| Are you a production weaver? | Yes: choose electronic dobby. |
| Environment of your weaving studio | Noise: a dobby loom produces more noice than a floor loom. The new Megado 2.0 makes relatively little noise. |
| Electronic dobby needs a plug connection: one for your dobby and one for your device (computer or tablet). | |
| Electronic dobby: a table or trolly for your device next to the loom is recommended. | |
| Extra accessories for your dobby | Mechanical dobby: you will need more program bars. Check the length of your pattern repeats of the weaves you made last year and count the number of picks in the pattern repeat. So don't count the number or treadles, because you will weave the serial sequence of the pattern. You will find the information about the number of program bars on the loom information page. |
| Extra heddles: moving heddles is not the nicest job. It is a good plan to add extra heddles on the first 8 shafts. Check your weaving history and your weaving plans to count how many heddles you will need. On the loom information page you will find the number of heddles that comes with the loom. | |
| Bench: for the Octado or the Megado you will need a high bench. The Louët bench has to be ordered separately. An extra accessory to tilt the bench in a slight diagonal position is available (Tilting set bench). | |
| A treadle height adjusting kit (Megado or Octado) is adviced if you are you smaller than 160 cm (5ft3"). | |
| Fly shuttle device and fly shuttles are only needed to weave cloth that is wider than the reach of your arms and/or if you are planning to weave in production. |
| Compare electronic and mechanical | Dobby electronic (Octado, Magic Dobby) | Dobby 2.0 electronic (Megado) | Dobby mechanical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dobby selection with third party weaving software with dobby support* via USB-cable | Yes | Yes | Weaving software recommended but not required |
| Wireless control via Louët web interface | No | Yes (Megado) | No |
| Third party weaving software required | Yes | No, but recommended | No, but recommended |
| Transport dobby to next pick | Automatically | Automatically | Push pedal or turn knob |
| Number or actions to select the next pick and opening the shed | One: just pushing the weaving pedal | One: just pushing the weaving pedal | Two: pushing the pedal to transport the dobby chain to the next program bar AND pushing the weaving pedal for opening the shed |
| Maximum length of the weft repeat | Unlimited | Unlimited | Depends on the number of program bars you have |
| Noise level in rest | Noise of the fan | Nihil (external power supply) | Noise of the fan |
| Noise level during weaving | Fan and click noise at the moment of the new selection depends on the number of shafts selected | The dobby hooks are selected in groups and this causes less noise; no fan noise | Magic Dobby: no noise on selection (nylon dobby hooks) Megado and Octado: click noise depending on the number of selected shafts |
| Available for Louët loom | Octado and Magic Dobby | Megado | Octado, Megado and Magic Dobby |