Weft Knitting

z
Machines
Dutimoyi Jahangir
Lecturer
Department of Textile Engineering
 Knitting Machine
A knitting machine is an apparatus for applying mechanical
movement, either hand or power derived, to primary knitting
elements, in order to convert yarn into knitted loop structures.
The machine incorporates and co-ordinates the action of a
number of mechanisms and devices, each performing specific
functions that contribute towards the efficiency of the knitting
action.
 Main Features of Knitting Machine
The main features of a knitting machine are listed below:
1. Frame: The frame, normally free - standing and either circular
or rectilinear according to needle bed shape, provides the
support for most of the machine's mechanisms.
2. Power supply: The machine control and drive system co-
ordinates the power for the drive of the devices and
mechanisms.
3. Yarn supply or feeding: The yarn supply consists of the yarn
package or beam accommodation, tensioning devices, yarn
feed control and yarn feed carriers or guides.
 Main Features of Knitting Machine
4. Knitting action: The knitting system includes the knitting
elements, their housing, drive and control, as well as
associated pattern selection and garment - length control
devices (if equipped).
5. Fabric Take-away: The fabric takes away mechanism includes
fabric tensioning, wind - up and accommodation devices.
6. Quality control: The quality control system includes stop
motions, fault detectors, automatic oilers and lint removal
systems.
 Classification of Weft Knitting Machine
Weft knitting machines are divided into the several ways as
follows:
A. According to the frame design and needle bed arrangement or
construction:
I. Circular knitting machine
II. Flat knitting machine

B. According to the number of needle bed or number of needle

set used:
III. Single Jersey knitting machine
IV. Double Jersey knitting machine
 Classification of Weft Knitting Machine
C. According to the end product of the weft knitting machine:
I. Fabric machine
II. Garment length machine

D. According to the basic structure of the weft knitting:

III. Plain or Single jersey circular knitting machine
IV. Rib Circular or Flat knitting machine
V. Interlock circular knitting machine
VI. Links-links or Purl flat or circular knitting machine
 Classification of Weft Knitting Machine
E. According to the types of needle used:
I. Knitting machine equipped with Latch needle
a. Circular knitting machine
 One needle bed: Plain, Single-jersey jacquard, Pile and Sliver
knit machine
 Two needle beds (Dial-cylinder machine): Rib, Interlock,
Double-jersey jacquard machine
 Double cylinder: Purl knitting machine
b. Flat-bed knitting machine
 One needle bed: Domestic type
 Two needle beds: Vee-bed, Flat purl knitting machine
 Classification of Weft Knitting Machine
II. Knitting machine equipped with Spring Bearded needle
a. Circular knitting machine
 One needle bed: Sinker wheel, Loop wheel frame
b. Straight bar frame
 One needle bed and Two needle beds: Cotton's Patent or
Fully-fashioned machine
Circular Knitting Machine
Circular Knitting Machine
The term circular covers all those weft knitting machines whose
needle beds are arranged in circular cylinders and/or dials,
including latch, spring bearded and very occasionally compound
needle machinery, producing a wide range of fabric structures,
garments, hosiery and other articles in a variety of diameters and
machine gauges.
Features of Circular Knitting Machine
1. Circular knitting machine normally has rotating (clockwise)
cylindrical needle bed (s).
2. On circular knitting machines latch and compound needles are
used. One seldom finds bearded needles or other needle types.
Normally one or two sets of Latch needles are used.
3. For single-jersey machine holding down sinkers are used, one
between every needle space.
4. Normally stationary angular cam systems are used for needle
and sinker.
5. Latch needle cylinder and sinker ring (for single-jersey
machine)/dial (for double jersey rib and interlock machine)
revolve through the stationary knitting cam system.
 Features of Circular Knitting Machine
6. For single-jersey machine, sinker trick ring which is simply
and directly attached to the outside top of the needle cylinder
thus causing the sinkers to revolve in unison with the needles.
7. Needle retaining spring is also used.
8. Stationary yarn feeders are situated at regular intervals around
the circumference of the rotating cylinder.
9. Yarn is supplied from cones, placed either on an integral
overhead bobbin stand or on a freestanding creel through
tensioners, stop motions and yarn guide eyes down to the yarn
feeder guides.
Classification of Circular Knitting Machine
There are three types of circular knitting machines:
a) Revolving cylinder latch needle machines: They produce most
weft knitted fabrics. They are of two main types :
I. Open top or Sinker top or Single jersey machines
II. Dial and cylinder machine
• Open top machines have one set of needles usually arranged in
the cylinder.
• Except in the case of certain effect fabric machines such as
pelerine, cylinder and dial machines are of either the rib or
interlock type.
• Machines of both types may or may not have patterning
capabilities.
 Classification of Circular Knitting Machine
b) Revolving cylinder bearded needle single-jersey fabric machine:
There are two types of circular bearded needle single-jersey fabric machines
still manufactured,
I. The Sinker Wheel machine or French or Terrot type machine.
II. The Loop wheel frame or English type machine.
Both have the following features in common:
• Needles are fixed in needle bed.
• Revolving needle bed
• Ancillary elements moving yarn and loops along the needle stems.
• Fabric tube knitted with its technical back facing outwards.
• Less number of feeders accommodates.
• Comparatively low productivity compensated by an ability to produce
unusual and superior quality knitted structures.
Classification of Circular Knitting Machine
c) Circular garment length machines:
• They are generally of body-width size or larger having a
cylinder and dial arrangement or a double cylinder.
• They are of the small-diameter hosiery type with either a single
cylinder, a cylinder and dial or double cylinders.
Knitting Head
Knitting Head
1.Yarn feeder guide, which is associated with its own set of knitting cams.
2.Latch needle.
3.Holding down sinker; one between every needle space.
4.Needle cylinder (revolving clockwise)
5.Cylinder driving wheel.
6.Cylinder driving gear.
7. Sinker operating cams which form a raised track operating in the recess of
the sinker
Knitting Head
8.Sinker cam-cap.
9.Sinker trick ring.
10.Needle retaining spring.
11.Needle operating cams.
12.Cam box.
13.Cam plate.
14.Head plate.
15.Cylinder driving pinion attached to the main drive shaft.
 Different Parts of Single Jersey Knitting
Machine
 Package carrier: To hold the yarn package.
 Yarn guide: To guide yarn definite path.
 Feeder in (signal lamp, magnet) for any problem.
 Latch needles: To form loops.
 Sinker: To open or close the latch of needle.
 Needle detector: To detect needle if there is no needle at any point.
 Fabric detector.
 Cam (Knit cam, Tuck cam, miss cam): To up and down the needles.
 VDQ pulley (Variable diameter pulley): To control fabric GSM.
 Take up roller: To receive the fabric.
 Batch roller: To wind the fabric.
 Machine monitor.
Sinker Timing
 The most forward position of the sinker during the knitting
cycle is known as the push point and its relationship to the
needles is known as the sinker timing.
 If the sinker cam ring is adjusted so that the sinkers are
advanced to the point where they rob yarn from the new
stitches being formed, a lighter-weight fabric with oversized
sinker loops and smaller needle loops is produced.
 If the ring is moved in the opposite direction a tighter, heavier
fabric is produced having smaller sinker loops and larger
needle loops. The timing is normally set between these two
extremes.
Fabric Machine
The fabric machine has the following main features:
• Circular machines, knitting tubular fabric in a continuous
uninterrupted length of constant width.
• Large diameter, latch needle machines, knit fabric at high speed
(also known as yard goods or piece goods machines).
• The fabric is manually cut away from the machine; usually in
roll form, after a convenient length has been knitted.
• Most fabric is knitted on circular machines, either single-
cylinder (single-jersey) or cylinder and dial (double-jersey), of
the revolving needle cylinder type, because of their high speed
and productive efficiency.
Fabric Machine
• Unless used in tubular body-width, the fabric tube requires
splitting into open width.
• The fabric is finished on continuous finishing equipment and is
cut-and-sewn into garments, or it is used for household and
technical fabrics.
• The productivity, versatility and patterning facilities of fabric
machines vary considerably.
• Generally, cam settings and needle set-outs are not altered
during the knitting of the fabric.
 Garment-Length Machine
The garment-length machine has the following main features:
• They include straight bar frames, most flats, hosiery, leg wears
and glove machines, and circular garment machines including
sweater strip machines.
• They are knitting garment-length sequences, which have a
timing or counting device to initiate an additional garment-length
programming (collectively termed "the machine control")
mechanism. This co-ordinate the knitting action to produce a
garment-length structural repeat sequence in a wale-wise
direction. The garment width may or may not vary with in the
garment length.
• They are coarser gauge machine than fabric machines.
 Garment-Length Machine
• It automatically initiates any alteration to the other facilities on
the machine needed to knit a garment-length construction
sequence instead of a continuous fabric.
• The machine control may have to initiate correctly-timed
changes in some or all of the following: Cam-settings, needle set-
outs, feeders and machine speeds.
• It must be able to override and cancel the effect of the
patterning mechanism in rib borders and be easily adjustable for
different garment sizes.
• The fabric take-down mechanism must be more sophisticated
than for continuous fabric knitting.
 Difference Between Fabric Machine and
Garment-Length Machine
Fabric Machine Garment Length Machine
Circular Latch needle machine. Flat and circular machine.
In this machine, there is no garment Garment sequence control device is
sequence control device. present.
Finer gauge machine. Courser gauge machine.
Speed is high. Speed is low.
Fabric is delivered in roll form. Fabric is delivered in tubular form.
Fabric is used in household and Fabric used as knitwear, outer and
technical fabric. underwear.
Cam settings, needle set outs are not Cam settings, needle set outs are
altered during the knitting operation. altered during the knitting operation.
Thank
You