Flat Knitting M/C

Types of Flat Knitting M/C

In 1862 first trial of flat knitting was done. Rev. Isaac Wixon Lamb
patented flat knitting M/c in 1865.Eisenstuck patented V-Bed M/c
There are two types of flat knitting Machines found
1. V-Bed Rib M/C
2. Flat bed purl or Links-Links M/C
V-Bed m/c has two needle beds placed at an between 90 to 105
degree
Flat bed purl machines have two horizontal needle bed. Mainly used
for cable stitch, basket purl and lace patterning.
Only rib fabric is made on V bed flat knitting M/c. Interlock gating
is not possible due to difficulty in using two sets of needles in each
bed by traversing of cam carriages
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Range of M/c Gauge and Width

Both English and Matric system are used to gauge Flat Knitting M/cs
In English System, gauge is the number of needles per inch (NPI). In finer
gauge distance between two needles is less so finer yarn is used for it.
In Metric system, gauge is ten times of distance between two adjacent
needles in millimeter.
Metric system is direct system and coarser yarn is required for machine
with higher gauge
The relationship between the two systems is 254. i.e., if gauge in one
system is known then the gauge in other system can be obtained by
dividing 254 with the known gauge.
Common gauge range is b/w 5 to 12 NPI. However 2.5NPI and 18 NPI
machines are also found.
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Range of M/c Gauge and Width

Gauge of the machine can be reduced to half by removing or keeping idle
alternate needles
Multiple gauge technique is introduced by M/S Stoll.
Width of flat knitting machine varies between 6 to 96 (15 to 244 cm).
Gauge and M/c width has no relationship
Strapping machines are narrower and width tends to range in between 5.5
to 20.
The hand operated machines width range of 31 to 47.
Power driven m/Cs have width in range of 26 to 95.
Wider Blanket width machines are approximately 96 wide , to knit
unshaped garments pieces for cut and sew knitwear.
Narrow bed Compact machines 50 wide for fashioned shaped
knitwear.Integral garment knitting width 72
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Flat Knitting Machines

The flat knitting machine is a two-bed machine .The most
important mechanical features of a flat knitting machine are:
The supporting frame
The yarn feeding system
Two needle-beds made up of flat grooved plates
Carriage provided with cam-locks for needle control
A transmission system
A fabric take-down motion
A central programming unit
A needle-bed racking system
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Simple Hand Flat Knitting M/c

Simple Hand Flat Knitting M/c

Simple Hand Flat Knitting M/c

Simple Hand Flat Knitting M/c

Simple Hand Flat Knitting M/c

The manual flat knitting machine is made up by a frame carrying the
base; this structure supports all the needle beds and motions
necessary for the knitting process.
In the rear side of the machine there is a spool rack for storing the
yarn spools.
The yarn unwound from the spool is picked up by the feeding
system: a tensioner, which adjusts the feeding tension and a thread
guide, driven by the machine carriage, which provides the needle
with yarn at the proper time.
The tensioner is made up by a spring-load flexible arm, that lowers
when the yarn tension increases, to feed a bigger quantity of yarn,
and lifts up when the tension decreases.
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Simple Hand Flat Knitting M/c

Knock-Over Bits

The trick walls are replaced at the needle bed verges by fixed, thinner,
polished and specially shaped knock-over bit edges.
A knock-over bit in one bed will be aligned opposite to a needle trick in
the other bed
The edges of the knock-over bits restrain the sinker loops as they pass
between the needles and thus assist in the knocking-over of the old loops
and in the formation of the new loops.
The takedown tension and the needles in the other bed help to hold the
old loops down on the needle stems as the needles rise to clear.
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Simple Hand Flat Knitting M/c

Fabric Comb
After the first or set-up course of rib, a fabric comb is hand-inserted into it,
upwards from under the needle beds. Comb is attached through comb
wire and weight is attached with comb.
Cover Plate
The cover plate is a thin metal blade, located in a slot across the top of the
needle bed tricks.
It prevents the stems of the needles from pivoting upwards out of the
tricks as a result of the fabric take-down tension drawing the needle hooks
downwards.
The plate can be withdrawn sideways out of the needle bed to allow
damaged needles to be replaced
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Simple Hand Flat Knitting M/c

Supporting Spring
A spring securing bar and a needle securing bar are also attached to the
needle-bed to keep needles and springs in a correct sliding position.
Latch Opening Brushes
Latch opening brushes are attached to the cam-plates of both needle beds
to ensure that the needle latches are fully opened.
The supports of the brushes are adjustable to ensure precise setting of the
bristles relative to the needles.

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The Cam system of the V-bed hand flat machine

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The Cam system of the V-bed hand flat machine

The needle butts will enter the traversing cam system from the right during a left
to right carriage traverse and from the left during a right to left traverse.
For each needle bed there are two raising cams (R), two cardigan cams (C) and
two stitch cams (S).
1. (L) Raising cam (left)
2. (R) Raising cam (right)
3. Tuck cam (left & right)
4. (L) stitch cam (left)
5. (R) stitch cam (right)
6. Guard cam
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The Cam system of the V-bed hand flat machine

In the direction of traverse, the leading raising cam is responsible for knitting and
the trailing raising cam acts as a guard cam.
The leading stitch cam is raised out of action and the trailing stitch cam is in
operation.
In the reverse direction of traverse, the roles of the two raising cams and of the
two stitch cams are reversed.
A raising cam lifts the needle to tuck height, but if the cardigan cam above it is in
action the needle is lifted to full clearing height. If the tuck stitch is required the
cardigan cam is taken out of action.
To produce a miss stitch, both the raising cam and the cardigan cam are out of
action.
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The Knitting Action of V-bed hand Flat machine

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The Knitting Action of V-bed hand Flat machine

The Rest position
The tops of the heads of the needles are level with the edge of the knock-over
bits. The butts of the needles assume a straight line until contacting the raising
cams R (R) because the leading stitch cams S and AS (L) are lifted to an inactive
position.
Clearing
The needle butts are lifted as they contact the leading edge of cams R (R), which
raises the needles to tucking in the hook height with the undersurface of cams S
(L) acting as guard cams. The needles are lifted to full clearing height as their
butts pass over the top of cardigan cams C (R) and C (L).
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The Knitting Action of V-bed hand Flat machine

Yarn feeding
The yarn is fed as the needles descend under the control of guard cam (G). The
required loop length is drawn by each needle as it descends the stitch cam S (R).
Knocking-over.
During descending after feeding old loop cast off and new loop entrap in needle
hook.

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The Carriage

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The Carriage
The carriage is made up of two metal plates linked by a stiff bridge (P); the
plates work individually and simultaneously on the front and the rear needlebeds.
The carriage carries out a double function and can be used:
1. To select the needles and make them raise or lower to form the stitch;
2. To select and drive the thread guides which feed the needles.
The plates include cam locks (F) bearing the drive and control systems of the
needles, i.e. the cams.
When the carriage moves right- or leftwards, the thread guides (B),(C),(D),(E)
are locked individually by the corresponding pistons (A) on the upper part of
the bridge, that are manually driven.
Brushes are also mounted on the carriage to ensure a smooth needle latch
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opening and grant a correct feeding of the yarn.

The Cam-locks
The cam-locks are a cam system which gives the necessary working
information to the individual needles; they include a fixed part, working
as support, and movable cams, which can be divided into raising cams
and lowering or knock-over cams .
The raising cam includes:
A tucking cam .
A looping/knit cam.
The fixed or movable cams form a symmetrical channel where the needle
butt slides; the needle moves downward and upward in the groove to
form the stitch.
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The Cam-locks

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The Cam-locks
The different parts of the cams are chamfered; their profiles are curvilinear
to make the needle move smoothly.
The angle of inclination of the cams ranges between 40 and 50; these
values grant an optimum running of the needle and avoid high pressures
between metal parts during the motion and excessive tensions on the yarn
during the downward stroke of the needle.

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The Cam-locks
The carriage allows three different work ways according to the needle
stroke and to the positions of the raising cam:
KNIT STITCH:
When the needle carries out a complete stroke, reaching the maximum
height on the looping plane
TUCK STITCH:
When the needle reaches the tucking plane and receives a new yarn while
still holding its former loop, thus forming two loops in the one needle hook
MISS (or FLOAT) STITCH:
When the needle is not knitting and remains out of the knock over plane.
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High-butt Needles and Low-butt Needles

The latch needle can have two different butt heights which make it a highbutt needle or a low butt needle.

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 The assembly of high-butt needles and low-butt needles on the

knitting machine allows different selection and different
manufacturing work ways, according to the positions of the tucking
and looping cams

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 The raising cams R and cardigan cams C are of spring loaded type and can
be depressed into the undersurface of the cam-plate against the action of a
spring.
The cams are often of sinkable setting type so that they can be set:
1. Fully out of the cam-plate so that they act on every needle butt.
2. Partly withdrawn into the cam-plate so that they miss the low or short
butts which pass undisturbed across their face.
3. Fully withdrawn into the cam-plate so that all the butts pass
undisturbed across their face
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High-butt Needles and Low-butt Needles

A. Closed or sunk cam

CLOSED
OR SUNK
CAM

Butt
Needle

Carriage
Stroke

B. Half-way cam
HALF-WAY
CAM

Carriage
Stroke

Butt
Needle

C. Open cam

OPEN
CAM

Butt
Needle

Carriage
Stroke

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High-butt Needles and Low-butt Needles

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Multiple Cam System

To get higher production two or more complete cam system in same
carriage are used side by side each working with a separate yarn carrier.
This arrangement produces two or more courses in a single traverse of the
carriage from different yarns.
Although it is assumed that production will increase in multiple cam
system but in real it is not so due to following reasons
a) Cam carriage becomes heavier.
b) Cam carriage is longer.
c) Traverse length is more in order to clear of the needle at each end.
Moreover, the machine becomes much wider.
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Split Cam Carriage

Another useful development is the split cam-carriage e.g. a double system
cam carriage operating across the full width might also be split into two
single system (2 1) cam-carriages, each covering half the needle bed or
both operating in the knitting of wedge-shaped or other complex designs.
Split cam-carriage machines have been built with a total of two (2 1),
four (2 2), six (2 3), and even eight (2 4) systems.

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Needle-bed Racking
The needle-beds of flat knitting machines are not stationary.
All flat knitting machines are provided with a needle-bed racking system which
is used for shifting one bed in relation to the other by means of a special cam
placed on the machines side.
Racking can occur in both directions. The needle-bed can also take different
positions: racking over half needle or full needle.
The racking motion allows the creation of inclined patterns (right-hand or lefthand) on the knit fabric.

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Needle-bed Racking
The basic principles observed in racking are as follows.
1. The structure must be rib based so that the loop of a wale one bed is
racked past a loop of a wale in the opposite bed.
2. When a single-needle rack occurs after a 1x1 rib knitting course, the
inclination is about 45. The inclination may further be increased by
racking of two or more needles.
3. Prominence of racking depends on the loop structure as well as colour
combination.
4. Change in direction of racking after regular interval produces zigzag
effect.
5. Racked loops are more prominent if the needle bed is half gauged with
every alternate needle removed.
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Needle-bed Racking

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Needle-bed Racking

Effect of bed racking on a rib pattern

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Needle-bed Racking

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Yarn Feeding

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Problems Associated With Tension Variations

The yarn tension determines the size of knitted loop. A highly tensioned
yarn, restricts the amount pulled by the descending needle into the knock
over and so cause the smaller loop to be formed. A slack tension, allow the
needle to pull a larger quantity of yarn into knock over so form larger
loop.
Changes in yarn tension during production can cause an uneven
appearance of the structure and vary the size of each panel produced.
Low tension can cause drop stitches
High tension cause broken threads, press off, Holes and laddering
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Yarn Path
Tension Discs
The yarn is threaded between
two spring loaded discs, which
restrict its movement to the
knitting zone and apply tension
on it.

Tension Arm
This is used to accommodate
yarn slack which produce during
reversal of carriage movements

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Yarn Tension and Storage Feeder

Variation in sizes of panels on flat knitting machine is due to variation in
tension and yarn feeding. To compensate this problem now-a-days storage
feeder along with auxiliary yarn tensioner and automated tension
controller are used in addition to the tensioners and guides used in
ordinary machines.
The auxiliary tensioner is required to monitor the yarn between storage
feeder and yarn carrier.
A continuous tension monitoring and regulating device can be employed
to ensure a constant yarn tension to the knitting zone.

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Yarn Tension and Storage Feeder

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Yarn Carrier
The yarn coming off the bobbins and through the tensioning devices is then
threaded through a yarn carrier.
The carrier is connected to a plastic block which is set on a profiled rail, along
which it can slide the length of the needle bed.
The tip of carrier is set between the two needle beds
Yarn carrier is slide with the help of plunger located in the carrier bow.
Stop block is used to stop the yarn carrier at any desired position

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Yarn Carrier

Yarn Feeding
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Plunger

Stop Block
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Needle Brushes
Latches of flat knitting machines are opened with the help of brushes attached
on m/c carriage.

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Fabric Take-Down
For loop formation cycle to continue it is important that old loop clear properly
and dont bounce back
Fabric take down mechanism is used for proper clearing of old loops and to avoid
that old loops bounce back again
Dead Weight
Roller type

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Fabric Take-Down

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Fabric Take-Down

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