The regular and uninterrupted use of machines has ensured that clothes are produced in bulk and this has increased the dependability on machines. Another factor that makes machines all the more substantial is flawless production of either fabric or clothes at a faster pace. The development of machines meant for special purposes has also augmented in recent past. The knitting machines have also evolved and there are various varieties available in the market as per the requirement of the manufacturer. The circular knitting machines are specially used to produce garment length fabrics of seamless inner wear and high gauge fabrics for cut-sewing process. The further research and development in circular knitting machines has guaranteed that the manufacturers can get a specific type of circular knitting machine that the production demands.


A seamless tube is formed as part of the circular knitting and the stitches that are done in circles are joined together. The circular knitting contains equivalent rows as in flat knitting and it is done in spiral. When circular knitting was introduced, a series of four or five double-pointed needles was used. With research, circular needles were made, which are also used to knit in circular motion. The circular needle looks like two short knitting needles connected by a cable between them.

The circular knitting machines are very popular and are being widely used all through the knitting industry to produce fabrics. Top-notch quality circular knitting machines are manufactured by Germany, China, Japan, Italy, Taiwan, Singapore, et al. The circular knitting machines can be assembled in roughly any reasonable diameter. The circular knitting machines for the purpose of producing outer wear and under garments may differ from 12 inch to 60 inch in diameter according to manufactures requirement. The main purpose of circular machines is either to produce fabric or to make garments that involve decorative stitching. The latest circular knitting machines use latch needles, as it is much easier to use these needles and also as these needles can process several types of yarns.


The circular knitting machines contain latch needle, which has a special sliding latch and it is used to form loops; cams that can be either knit cam that assists the needle to make knit loops, tuck cam that form tuck loops and miss cam that helps in forming miss loops. The machines also contain sinker that can be either loop forming sinker that helps in sinking the newly laid yarn or holding down sinker that holds down the old loops or knocking-over sinker that wires the old loop as the new loop is drawn through it. The feeding unit in machines provides yarn to needles; theres also a timing belt or tooth belt, which helps in stopping the machine right away. VDQ pulley that influences the stitch length of knitted fabric is also part of the machine. Cylinder that has needles, cams, jacks and sinkers, sinker ring, needle detector that can identify problem with needle, fabric detector that can find problems if any with the fabric, adjustable fan to remove hairy fibre from yarn, take up roller, cloth roller, expander and creel are part of the modern day circular knitting machines.

 

The circular knitting machines are classified in two parts namely single jersey knitting machine and double jersey interlock circular knitting machine. The single jersey machine has single set of needle and sinker. The cam system in single jersey machines is constant, while the cylinder that has needle and sinker can move. This machine produces plain fabric. The interlock circular knitting machine consists of 2 track cam set up dial and 4 track cylinder, by adjusting the cam, machine can produce various fabric such as bubble-bubble, knitting cloth, little jacquard interlayer gasket and crape. These machines contain cylinder made of stainless steel, which is mainly imported from Japan by most of the countries, as the cylinders from Japan are of high quality and give consistent performance. The bed plate is made of steel ball runway structure, supported by oil fluidity, which ensures that the machine runs stably, doesnt make much noise and remains unaffected by high abrasion.


The circular knitting machines have ensured increased production of excellent quality. It is rather easy to maintain the circular machines and the usage of these machines has ensured that time and money are saved by the manufacturers in producing goods that require circular knitting like socks, woollens, mittens, etc.


The latest addition to the circular knitting machinery is the eighty gauge circular knitting machine, which produces much tighter knits in comparison to the conventional knitting. A tool has also been developed to remove cylinder from machines that have diameters larger than 26 inches. This tool ensures that the cylinders are removed easily without damaging them, and this is especially for the purpose of removing finer-gauge cylinders.


It is evident that there have been very optimistic developments in the segment of circular knitting machinery. It is an indication that the circular knitting technology will get better in years to come.



References:


1.      Textilelearner.blogspot.com

2.      Textileworld.com

3.      Wikipedia.org

4.      Terrot.de