fabric along a path and supported by guides which are coupled to one or more rotatable spindles operable to adjust the guides transversely of such path one end of each spindle is both rotatable and axially movable and cooperates with a force sensitive device that is operable in response to an alteration in the force applied thereon to generate a signal each spindle is coupled to a rotary drive the operation of which is controlled by the signal generated by the associated force sensitive device application_number US 58640084 A description first of all the general construction of the tensioning machine 1 in so far as it is of interest in the present case will be explained with the aid of fig1 and 2 in the illustrated example the tensioning machine 1 has an inlet zone e three heat treatment zones f 1 f 2 f 3 and an outlet zone a in this tensioning machine 1 a length of textile material 3 which is continuously transported in the direction of the arrow 2 can be tensioned widthwise and subjected to heat treatment for example dried fixed or treated in a similar manner two continuously moving tenter or tensioning chains 4 4a cf fig2 serve in the usual.