O o d h e a d p u b L i s h I n g L i m I t e d

particular design and eventually allow the consumer to give the final input
regarding the features of that design. The volume of production in terms of
number of garments made in a particular time will not be relevant in order
to achieve economies of scale.
A further benefit is that knitting a complete garment on these new seamless
machines allows the product to remain in digital form until it reaches the
manufacturing/conversion plant. This ability to communicate digitally offers
the potential to completely change the concept of a factory. Instead of a
configuration where, say, 150 of these machines are working in one place,
today it is conceivable to geographically distribute these same 150 machines
in department stores across the city. And if there were enough demand to
keep this single machine running, then the traditional factory concept would
not be necessary.
While digitisation has assisted the production of woven products through
design, pattern making, creation of markers and digital printing, at this stage
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the fabric must be cut into its component parts and sewn. At that time, the
product assumes a physical form and maintains its physical form through the
assembly process.
Circular knitting machines
The needle bed in a circular knitting machine is known as the Cylinder, the
diameter of which can range from 4 inches (10 cm) across for sock/hosiery
machines, to 4 feet (1.2 m) for large fabric machines. Circular knitting is
faster, but has limitations in design scope when compared with a flat machine.
There are many types of circular knitting machines which produce long
lengths of tubular fabric and quite often they are manufactured with very
specific end uses in mind. Single jersey machines are equipped with a single
‘cylinder’ that produces plain fabrics (single thickness). Wool production on
single jersey machines used to be limited to 20 gauge or coarser, as these
gauges can use two-fold wool yarns which will produce spirality-free fabrics.
Recent innovations have managed to control the spirality of single yarns
with twist and yarn settings so they can be knitted into very fine next-to-skin
garments on fine gauge machines. Retailers such as Icebreaker have launched
a complete range of such garments. Terry loop machines are also based on
single jersey machines, on which fleece fabrics are produced by knitting two
yarns into the same stitch, one ground yarn and one loop yarn. These protruding
loops are then brushed or raised during finishing to create a fleece fabric.
Sliver knitting machines are single jersey machines that have been adapted
to trap a sliver of staple wool fibre into the knit structure.
Single jersey machines can be fitted with an extra set of needles on a
‘dial’ which houses an extra set of needles positioned horizontally adjacent
to the vertical cylinder needles. These double jersey machines allow the
production of fabrics that are twice as thick as single jersey fabrics. Typical
examples include interlock-based structures for underwear/base layer garments
and 1 
× 1 rib fabrics for leggings and outerwear products. Much finer yarns
can be used as singles yarns do not present a problem for double jersey knitted
fabrics as the ‘double layer’ construction works to cancel out the residual
torque between the face and reverse sides, the net effect being no spirality.
Several circular knitting machine manufacturers are now offering machines
with 44 needles per inch in both the cylinder and dial. These very fine-gauge
machines appear positioned to compete with fine-gauge warp knitting machines.
South Korea-based Keumyong Machinery Co. offers its KILM-108V interlock
machine for underwear, swimwear and nightgown markets. Orizio Paolo of
Italy is offering JOHN/TC in a 30 inch (76 cm) diameter, 40-gauge version.
Orizio has developed a special thin needle of 0.30 mm for the purpose. Terrot
Strickmaschinen GmbH, Germany, also has a 40-gauge single-jersey machine
with a 34 inch (86 cm) diameter, 3.2 feeds per diametrical inch, four knitting
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Advances in wool technology
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tracks and a speed factor of 1020. Germany-based Mayer & Cie. has introduced
a new concept machine, which employs a new ‘hooked’ needle without
latch. The hooked needle has the action of a compound needle, but the
sliding component of the compound needle is now a hooked element. Two
hooks positively guided in a cam track relax the stress on the yarn and
knitting elements. Referring to the process as ‘relaxed knitting’, Mayer &
Cie. claims there is less wear on the needle, and loop formation is more
reliable. The machine is available in models with up to 44 needles per inch.
Because of the increasing size of fabric rolls on the knitting machine,
significant development has been undertaken to rotate the ‘jumbo’ fabric
rolls on the same machine without increasing vibration in the knitting zone.
Improved designs from Vanguard Supreme, a division of Monarch Knitting
Machinery Corp., New York, and Terrot offer machines specifically designed
for jumbo roll knitting. Vanguard’s jumbo roll machine has a speed factor of
1500 for plain jersey fabric and 1000 for fleece. Mayer & Cie. also offers a
high-speed knitting machine, Relanit 4.0, with 22 gauge and four feeds per
inch that has a speed factor of 1500 and is equipped with a jumbo roll (500
pounds; 226 kg) take-up system.
Another trend evident in fine-gauge garment machines is for production
of lightweight knit tops. Garment-length machines usually are offered in a
34 inch (86 cm) diameter and in gauges ranging from 12 to 18 needles per
inch. Monarch offers V-AERGY, a 34 inch diameter, 18-gauge machine with
a speed factor of 600, equipped with three-position needle selection on dial
and cylinder, synchronised or delayed timing by an auto-timing system, and
four-colour striping and knit-in draw thread. Terrot offers a computerised
double-jersey transfer machine that has versatility combined with computerised
jacquard patterns for better-quality sweaters, with or without separation thread.
Coupled with the dual transfer from cylinder to dial, this machine can produce
typical flat-knit structures with very high productivity.
In a recent advance, the individual electronic needle selection capability
of the machinery has enabled production of complete or near complete garments
on small and larger circular knitting machines that has long been believed
the domain of the V-bed machine. Some circular knitting machinery
manufacturers (such as Santoni) have since created ‘the garment sensation
of the decade’ – the whole seamless bodywear concept for applications
which range from underwear to sportswear, swimwear, leisurewear and
outerwear. The concept exploits most of the known advantages in circular
knitting. Significantly the technology produces garments in a gauge fineness,
lightness, comfort and tactile character that the flat machine, for all its virtues,
cannot yet match. Similar models are also offered by Orizio Paolo and Steiger
of Switzerland. Steiger is collaborating with Lectra to offer KnitExpert software,
comprising Lectra’s Prima Vision and Steiger’s Model software that allows
for three-dimensional structure and jacquard and intarsia pattern design.
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Circular knitting is also being employed to create pieces that are circular
or tube-shaped, such as hats, socks, mittens and sleeves in apparel, upholstery
for home/office furniture and buildings and vehicles, as well as a whole host
of other technical products. They are easy to decorate with various patterns
and can be made with various surface effects.