Circular Knitting Machine:
Circular knitting machine is the most used knitting machine in textile knitting sector. Circular knitting machines are those which needle beds are arranged in circular cylinders and or dials including latch, bearded or compound needle machinery. This article has presented a vast explanation on the classification or types of circular knitting machine.
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| Circular knitting machine used in textile knitting industry |
Classification of Circular Knitting Machine:
Circular knitting machine is classified into three types such as-
- Circular bearded needle single jersey fabric m/c,
- Circular garment length m/c,
- Revolving cylinder latch needle m/c.
All the above machines have explained in the below:
1. Circular bearded needle single jersey fabric machine:
This types of circular knitting machine is derived into two types such as sinker wheel machine or French /tarot type machine and another one is loop wheel frame or English type machine. Both machines have some common features. Those are-
- Needles are fixed in a re-closing circle on needle bed.
- Knitting action is entirely achieved here by ancillary elements moving yarn and loops along with the needle stem.
- Here, tubular fabric is knitted with its technical back facing outward.
- Lower productivity is obtained by this but has an ability to produce unusual and super quality knitted structures.
2. Circular garment length machine:
Circular garment length m/c’s are normally of body width size or larger. They have a cylinder and dial arrangement or double cylinder. This type of hosiery small diameter machines may have double cylinders or a cylinder and a dial or single cylinder.
Flat and circular machine, knitting garment length sequence which have a timing or counting device to initiate and additional garment length programming (machine control) mechanism. This coordinates the knitting action to produce garment structural repeat sequence in wales wise direction. The garment width may or may not vary within the garment length.
3. Revolving cylinder latch needle m/c:
There are two main types of revolving cylinder latch needle machine. Those are-
- Open top or sinker top or single jersey machine,
- Cylinder and dial machine or double jersey machine.
These types of machines produce most weft knitted fabrics. Here, the open top or single jersey machines have one set of needles which are arranged in a cylinder. One set of needle is controlled by one set of cam. They produce plain fabric.
On the other hand, the cylinder and dial machine or double jersey machines have two sets of needle. One set needle stays on cylinder and the other set on the dial. Both dial and cylinder needles stay perpendicular to one another. Here, one is controlled by two separate set of cams named cylinder cams and dial cams. They are either interlock or rib type fabric producing machine.
Machine of both types may or may not have patterning capabilities.
