Knitting technology, Third Edition

19.9
The take-down system
The conventional V-bed machine relies on the two sets of needles, together with the
takedown rollers, to hold the fabric down. The fabric is drawn downwards from the
needle beds and passes between the grip formed by the roller and counter roller.
The roller is composed of freely-turning sectional rollers on a common shaft. Each
roller is pre-set spring-tensioned as the shaft turns under the influence of a racking
pawl controlled by a lever and weight arrangement. Adjustable pressure rollers
maintain the pressure grip.
The conventional mechanical takedown requires a continuous flow of knitted
structure from the needles to the roller grip. The garment pieces must therefore be
knitted in string formation, with each one joined to the next by a course knitted as
a draw-thread that is removed later in order to separate the individual garment
pieces.
The system operates most successfully on a fabric having a consistent knitting
width, and a balanced course and knitted loop arrangement, both between the two
needle beds and within each bed. As tension is exerted equally on all wales within
the roller grip, those not gripped (at the selvedges if the fabric is being widened)
will be untensioned, whilst held loops will receive excessive tension. Other 
wales, where more continuous knitting occurs, tend to receive insufficient tension.
Thus, the mechanical arrangement tends to inhibit both shaping, and also types of
designs that involve multiple tuck accumulation and holding loops over a number
of courses.
19.10
The fixed-stroke carriage traverse
The distance a hand-powered cam-carriage is traversed can be varied as required.
However, mechanically-powered cam-carriages are driven by a chain to traverse a
constant width. This includes an ‘over-throw’ to take the cam-carriage clear of the

---

Automatic power flat knitting
231
needle bed so that striking plates controlled by the machine programme can contact
the slides on the carriage to re-set the cams as required. There is thus wasted time
if the knitting width is less than the maximum.