As knitting of the next sock commences, the completed sock is pushed upwards and turned inside out by a sock-turning tube. This means stitching of the toe occurs on the inside of the sock to replicate traditional linking. Next, two half-crowns, on which the last knitted course is located, close like a jaw superimposing the two halves of the sock toe on top of each other. Loops from the two separate courses are placed on the same comb. At this point, the sock toe is ready to be stitched closed, and the linking device starts up sewing the toe area of the sock fabric with stitch-for-stitch linking. Needles pass through the loop twice to give a secure stitch and improve the elasticity of the seam.
After linking, the sock is then straightened and turned with the piston so it is no longer inside out. The sock is moved up toward the piston and waits in the upper part of the ejection tube until the knitting of the next sock is finished. When the robotic arm moves across to pick up the next sock, the finished sock is then ejected pneumatically from the machine perfectly linked and ready for boarding.
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