The heald shafts, commonly limited to four to six in high-speed machines, consume 40％ of their drive power in dynamic actuation of the positive transmission gear. A patented technique with axial bearings serving simply as guides and without transverse loading of the horizontal lifting mechanism gives longitudinal loading of 4N/㎟ at 800N load. The rectilinear lifting mechanism motion protects against ingress of oil from the production machines.