Please use the drop down menus above to configure your Compu-Dobby upgrade for pricing. When making a purchase please choose the correct voltage for your use. For example, the standard voltage for households in the United States is 110-120 VAC.
The Compu-Dobby® system is a compact, custom-designed electronic interface between your personal computer and AVL dobby loom. Dobbies are a fantastic way to simplify the weaving process. No more keeping track of complex treadling routines and difficult tie-ups. The Compu-Dobby improves on the mechanical dobby by allowing much more rapid design changes and virtually unlimited pattern repeats.
Compu-Dobby upgrades are designed to fit the AVL dobby head designs, including the positive or classic style dobby and the negative style dobby.
Positive Dobby Equipped Looms (equipped with either a mechanical dobby or an older Compu-Dobby)
- A-Series
- Folding Dobby Loom (FDL)
- Production Dobby Loom (PDL)
- Studio Dobby Loom (SDL)
- Technical Dobby Loom (TDL)
- Dobby cables - They should not show discoloration, or damaged sheathing. The balls on the cables should be round, not misshapen (oblong or vaguely triangle shaped).
- Dobby arm insert - This metal bar is what grabs the balls on the dobby cables. The slot openings should not show wear or rounding.
- Dobby arm & hanging arm - The dobby arm is connected to the hanging arm at the pivot joint. Inside the dobby arm hole is a metal sleeve to minimize wear. The dobby arm should not twist on the pivot joint. The dobby arm end should have minimal movement in & out at the right side dobby head slot.
- Treadle & dobby arm cables - The cables should not show discoloration, or damaged sheathing. The turnbuckle in the dobby arm to cam-cylinder cable should have a jam nut on the top eyebolt. Also, this adjustment should allow for the treadles to not hit the floor or the pulleys above, while at the same time a fully depressed left treadle should push the dobby arm all the way to the top of the right side dobby head slot up against the bumper at the top of that slot.
Negative Dobby Equipped Looms
- A-Series
- V-Series
- Workshop Dobby Loom (WDL)
Upgrades to Compu-Dobby III equipped looms require dobby cable or dobby wire replacement. Please contact your AVL sales representative to inquire about these replacement parts.
Specialty Versions of Dobby Equipped Looms
- Industrial Dobby Loom (IDL) *We have put a pause on selling this product until it can be updated.*
- Rug Loom, Professional Dobby (RL) Special Air-Compu-Dobby configuration required.
What's new?
Compu-Dobby 5
Launched first in 2018 with the K-Series loom, the Compu-Dobby 5 advances the state of the art with new features, capabilities and reliability. Compu-Dobby 5 is considerably ahead of the competition with features like:
- Large on board memory storage for WIF pattern files
- Compatibility with all operating systems, just requires a modern web browser
- WiFi through LAN or direct, or USB connections
- AVLDrive built-in driver requires no software or drivers to be installed!
- Faster, highly reliable pick selection
- Advanced diagnostics detects solenoid and power line failures
- Internet-based updates
Compu-Dobby 5 upgrades are now available for nearly every dobby and loom AVL has produced.
What type of dobby do I have?
Positive Dobby
- Mechanical dobby
- Compu-Dobby I is one solenoid box with a small handheld control unit with six buttons on it. This unit has a 25 pin serial port.
- Compu-Dobby II has two fairly equal sized boxes, one of which has a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) unit. This unit has a 9-pin serial port.
- Compu-Dobby IV looks like a Compu-Dobby I, but without the small small handheld control unit. This unit has 9-pin serial, USB and Ethernet ports.
- Compu-Dobby 4.5 looks like a Compu-Dobby I, but without the small small handheld control unit. This unit has a USB port and a WiFi button antenna.
Negative Dobby
- Compu-Dobby III is one big box, no secondary boxes.
- Compu-Dobby IV is also one big box and looks like a Compu-Dobby III, but with the addition of Ethernet & USB ports. Also, the Compu-Dobby IV often has side windows.
- Compu-Dobby 4.5 also looks like Compu-Dobby IV, but has a WiFi antenna in place of the Ethernet port. The 9-pin serial port is absent on the 4.5. The Compu-Dobby 4.5 has side windows.
Still unsure? Contact AVL with your serial number and we will be happy to look it up for you.
Manuals & Software
Manuals
Compu-Dobby 5 manuals, release notes and other technical bulletins can be found here.
Older Compu-Dobby Manuals can be found here.
Software
WeavePoint version 8 and newer: WeavePoint offers direct launching of the Compu-Dobby 5 internal driver (AVLDrive ver.5).