Circular Knitting Machines

Circular knitting or knitting in the round is a form of knitting that creates a seamless tube.
Originally, circular knitting was crafted using a set of four or five double pointed knitting
needles.
The 1900s saw the invention of the circular knitting needle, which was in fact a pair of straight
needles connected by a flexible material. Early circular needles were made of steel wire cable
with the rigid ends crimped on. These joints would often snag the knitted yarn, which was a
major reason why the circular needle was so slow in gaining acceptance.
The first circular knitting machines were small French and English hand-powered machines
which were usually used for the production of circular stocking lengths. The earliest models
are from the 1860's, and they were powered by hand with the use of a crank. These early
models could only be used to produce narrow, uniform tubular goods. Resourceful inventors
soon added improvements, and the machines were perfected so that whole seamless
stockings could be produced with them.
In 1866, Mac Nary patented a circular knitting machine in Saxony. This machine was the first
to use a special method which paved the way to the production of a seamless stocking with
the toe and heel incorporated.
In 1867, D. Bickford's hand-powered circular knitting machine appeared on the market.
Beginning in 1878, it became possible to produce patterned goods, especially one-by-one rib
knitted stockings or ribbed goods (e.g. socks with an attached rib border) with a machine

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invented by D. Griswold. The machine even made it possible to knit continuous tubes of
stockings.
Since about 1870, socks could be produced semi-automatically and continuously on circular
knitting machines. The knitted pieces had to be separated by hand and the toes were sewn
together. A few years later, fully automatic machines for the production of socks appeared on
the market. These machines could produce stockings and socks with closed heels and
attached toes - merely the toe section had to be closed. This was done either by a separate
machine, called the linking machine, which sewed together the toe section loop by loop, or for
lower-quality products, with a sewing machine.
The mechanizing and automating of circular knitting machines occurred at the end of the
1880's. Automatic fabric take off, adjusting of cams, changing stitch sizes and the switching
from one stitch type to another was most avidly pursued by the Americans. Little by little,
automated circular knitting machines emerged, so-called "Hosiery Machines".
In 1892, the Stuttgart-based company C. Terrot Shne built the first fully-automated circular
knitting machine - "Boas King" - in which the needle cylinder could be exchanged with another
gauge.

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Circular Knitting Machines

The circular knitting machine (CKM) consists three major sections viz., yarn supply, knitting
elements and fabric take down. The figure below shows the machine frame, indicating its various
parts. The knitting elements such as needles, sinkers, cylinder, cams and feeders are supported
at the center called as knitting zone. Yarn packages are mounted at the overhead creels and
yarns are fed to knitting zone through yarn guides, stop motions and feeders. The knitted fabric
goes down inside the cylinder towards the center of the machine, drawn into the take down
device and finally collected on a roll winding mechanism. A fabric spreader gradually converts
the tubular fabric into a double layer folded fabric by preventing the formation of pleats or
creases. At the knitting zone, single knit plain machines are fitted with a cylinder and sinker ring,
whereas the double knit machines have cylinder and dial.

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Circular Knitting Machines

There are many types of circular knitting machines which produce long lengths of tubular
fabric and quite often they are manufactured with very specific end uses in mind.

Single Jersey machines are equipped with a single cylinder, about 30 inch diameter, of needles
that produce plain fabrics (single thickness). Wool production on single jersey machines tends
to be limited to 20 gauge or coarser, as these gauges can use two-fold wool yarns which will
give spirality-free fabrics. An additional inherent feature of wool single jersey fabrics is that
the fabric edges tend to curl inwards. This is not a problem whilst the fabric is in tubular form
but once cut open can become so, if the fabric is not finished correctly. Other single jersey
based machines include Terry loop machines; the basis for fleece fabrics which are produced
by knitting two yarns into the same stitch, one ground yarn and one loop yarn. These
protruding loops are then brushed or raised during finishing creating a fleece fabric.
Sliver knitting machines are single jersey machines that have been adapted to trap a sliver of
staple wool fiber in to the knit structure.

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Double jersey machines are single jersey machines with a dial which houses an extra set of
needles positioned horizontally adjacent to the vertical cylinder needles. This extra set of
needles allows the production of fabrics that are twice as thick as single jersey fabrics. Typical
examples include interlock based structures for underwear/base layer garments and 1X1 rib
fabrics for leggings and outerwear products. Much finer yarns can be used as singles yarns do
not present a problem for double jersey knitted fabrics as the double layer construction works
to cancel out the residual torque between the face and reverse sides, the net effect being no
spirality.
In a dial cylinder rib machine there is one set of needles on the circumference of the vertical
cylinder and another set of needles on a horizontal dial. So two sets of needles remain at the
right angle with each other. In dial cylinder machines the dial and cylinder rotates but the cam
systems with the feeders remain stationary.
The dial needles get its motion from its butt which is placed on the cam truck. This cam truck
is formed by different cam placed on a cam plate.
During the rotation of the cylinder, cylinder needles moves vertically and dial needles moves
horizontally. Cylinder needles also get its motion from it. There is a cloth take up roller which
also rotates with unison to dial and cylinder and fabric is wound on it.

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A double cylinder knitting machine is where one has two knitting cylinders, one above the
other. This allows the needles to transfer between the two cylinders to produce true rib and
links-links sock fabric.
A rib stitch is formed on a double cylinder machine when the knitting needles are in the top
cylinder. This forms the "low part" of a rib sock. A frame stitch is formed on a double cylinder
machine when the knitting needles are in the bottom cylinder. This forms the "high part" of a
rib sock.
Two-cylinder (double-knit) automatic circular machines are used chiefly to make childrens
socks and all types of full-length stockings. Their main distinction is that they knit articles with
high extensibility (ribbed fabrics). The primary working element of such machines is a twoheaded latch needle that can be automatically shifted from the lower needle cylinder to the
upper and back again. This type of needle motion is used to switch to ribbed (double-face) or
reversible knit structures.

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The drive to the knitting machine is simple and direct. The motor imparts rotary motion to the
rotating needle beds, such as cylinder and dial and also to the take down and cloth winding
mechanisms.

The needles are the most important stitch forming elements. They are displaced vertically up
and down and are mounted into the tricks or cuts of the knitting cylinder. There are three types
of needles namely:
1. Latch needle
2. Spring bearded needle, and
3. Compound needle

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<NET LENGTH>

GAUGE

NUMBER OF
NEEDLES PER

25.4 mm

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CYLINDER

22

2,064

44

4,128

60

5,660

Circular Knitting Machines

Sinker is a thin metal plate with action at right angles to and fro between adjoining needles. It
may perform one or more of the following functions:
1. Loop formation
2. Holding down, and
3. Knocking over

The main object of a sinker is to assist the needles in loop formation by sinking or knitting the
newly laid yarns into a loop. This is only for bearded needle since in case of latch needles and
warp knitting, loop formation is not the function of sinkers. It also holds down the loops at a
lower level of the needle stems and prevents the old loops from being lifted as the needles
raise to clear them for their hooks. The third function is a knocking over at which the needle
passes through the old loop by drawing a new loop.

1. The held loop is positioned in the throat of the sinker when the sinker moves
forward and the needle moves upward for clearing. The held loop is held by the
throat and hence its movement along the needle is restricted.
2. The sinker remains at its forward position when the needle attains its clearing
position.

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3. The sinker retracts when the needle comes down after feeding. At this stage, due to
sinkers retraction, fabric or held loop is eased out. Also the sinker belly supported
the fabric or held loop and hence its movements along the needle is prevented.
4. Sinker remains in backward position and the needle descends to its lowest position
drawing the new loop through the old one.
5. Before the needle ascends, the sinker moves forward to push the knitted fabric a
little and to hold the old loop away from the head of the needle and to be in a
position to control the fabric.

The cylinder is a steel circular bed having grooves/tricks/cuts on its outer periphery into which
the needles are mounted. With reference to the tricks, the needles move vertically up and
down by their butt being in contact with the cam track. The number of tricks per inch i.e.,
number of needles per inch decides the gauge of the machine. Machines are built as low as 4
NPI to as high as 32 NPI. Based on the machine gauge, the fineness of the yarn to be knitted
can be varied. The diameter of the cylinder also varied based on the type and width of the
fabric, and a maximum of 75 cm diameter machines are available.

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Dial is the upper steel needle bed used in double knit machines. Into the grooves of the dial,
the needles are mounted horizontally and are allowed to move radially in and out by their dial
cams. The number of grooves per unit space conforms to the cylinder gauge in most of the
cases.

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The knitting cams are hardened steels and they are the assembly of different cam plates so
that a track for butt can be arranged. Each needle movement is obtained by means of cams
acting on the needle butts. The figure below shows the simplest cam design. The upward
movement of the needle is obtained by the rising cams or clearing cams. The rising cam places
the needle at a certain level as it approaches the yarn area. Cams controlling the downward
movement of the needles are called stitch cams.

The stitch cam draws the needle down below the knitting level, thereby drawing a loop formed
by the fed yarn through the loop already on the needle. The lowest point to which the needle is
drawn by the stitch cam is called the "cast-off" position. They are screwed to the cylindrical
cam ring and are adjustable in vertical direction. If the stitch cam is raised, then shorter loop is
drawn below the sinker level and a tighter fabric will result. With lowering of stitch cam, a
reverse result is obtained.
Guard cams keep the needle butts in their race-way.
In running cams or up throw cams the needle butts are at a low level until they meet the next
rising cam.
Sometimes, swing cams or auxiliary cams are placed between the rising cams and the stitch
cams to change the path of the needle butts to form a raceway and the needle butts travel in
this restricted path according to different stitch requirements.

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Creels are the knitting elements which carry the yarn packages to feed the knitting zone. The
number of feeders in the knitting machine is equal to the number of cones in the creels.
Reserve cones also can be placed in each position. In accordance with the number of feeders,
two cone supports per feed are equidistantly fixed on a ring over the circumference of the
machine is mounted in the lower part. On machines having yarn meters or yarn storage
devices, an additional ring is mounted in the lower part. Fan blade with motors, oiling system
for needles and sinkers, knot catchers and stop motion are also mounted on creel section.

Apart from the overhead ring creels, depending on the number of feeders and space
availability, creels are arranged on two or three sides of the machine. These construction keep
off fiber fly from the machine and are more suitable for high speed circular knitting machines.
Differences in yarn tension due to variation in yarn length from the cone to the feeder can be
eliminated with these side creels compared to overhead creels. Yarn guiding via yarn guide

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tubes normally reduce the yarn tension than the open guiding system. Closed yarn guiding also
reduces fiber fly and yarn entanglements. Side creels also make easier threading in operation.

Feeders are the yarn guides placed close to the needles to the full circumference of the
knitting zone. The feeders feed the yarn into the needle hooks and control the needle latches
in their open position while the needle attain their clearing position. They consist of a yarn
guiding hole and a bevel edge to guard the latches of the approaching needles. They are
slightly curved to the corresponding curvature of the needle bed. Feeders may have two holes
also for the purpose of plating.

In circular knitting, the tubular fabric descends from the needles is converged into flattened
double layer and rolled into yard goods. During such conversion, irregular tensions are
developed throughout the fabric due to distance variations which leads to unwanted wrinkles,
crease marks and stitch deformations. They can be only removed with great difficulty during
fabric finishing. To overcome this problem knitting machines are equipped with spreaders
which apply a more uniform tension to the fabric. A simple fabric spreader is a solid wooden
plate, placed above the takedown rollers and held in position by the fabric tube. Another type
of fabric spreader consists of two curved metal bars with adjustment for their length. The
device is placed secured inside the fabric roll.

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It is important that the spreaders should not bend the courses and increase the takedown
tension. Heavy tension on the fabric affects the life span of the knitting elements such as
needles, cams and needle bed.

This mechanism withdraws the fabric from the needles and winds them into the cloth roll. The
takedown mechanism consists of grooved rollers through which the fabric is nipped and pulled
downwards. The roll winding mechanism facilitate the convenient storage of fabric in which
the flat, double ply fabric is wound on a revolving square bar. The take down and winding
devices are either driven mechanically by the main drive of the motor or through an additional
direct current motor.

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Circular knitting machines are used to knit all types of hosiery. The raw materials used are
chiefly polyamide and cotton yarns. Machines of this type have internal specialization for
various types of finished products.
The primary working elements are latch needles, housed in grooves along the periphery of a
needle cylinder, and sinkers set in radial grooves of a ring around the upper edge of the
cylinder. The motion of the needles and sinkers along the grooves of the rotating cylinder is
imparted by fixed cams that act on the base of the needles and the sinkers. The interaction of
the needles and sinkers with the yarn, which is fed to the needles from bobbins through a yarn
guide, forms the loops. The sock is drawn through the inside of the needle cylinder by a
current of air from a special fan. The finished sock is then tossed into a bin. The toes are
usually sewn on special sewing machines (linking or serging types). The newest automatic
circular hosiery machines complete the sock with a closed toe.
Womens socks are usually made on single-cylinder (single-knit) machines with two, four, or
eight loop-forming systems. Patterned full-length stockings are knit on single-cylinder hosiery
machines equipped with a pattern mechanism. Three- and four-system machines can knit
stockings in three and four colors, respectively.
Technical specifications for hosiery machines include the diameter of the needle cylinder (2.5
4.5 inches), the number of needles in the cylinder (40480), the gauge (measured by the
number of needles to 1 inch of the cylinder circumference), the number of loop-forming
systems (from one to 12), and the presence of special mechanisms. The productivity of hosiery
machines varies greatly, depending on the type of article and the type of machine. The time it
takes to knit a womans sock varies from 1 to 4 min; full-length stockings require from 0.5 to 4
min.
Circular knitting is advantageous because garment-ready fabric is produced. Circular knitting
machines have less production costs due to less preparatory processes. Also, the fabric
produced is seamless and can be used to make innerwear, socks and hosiery. Also, the
diameter of the fabric can be varied within the length of the fabric to create fitting garments.

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Circular Knitting; Chandrasekhar Iyer, Bernd Mammel and Wolfgang Schch. Meisenbach
Bamberg Publications (Reprint Edition 2004).
Knitting Fundamentals, Machines, Structures and Developments, Anbumani, N., Asst.
Professor, Dept. of Textile Technology, P.S.G. College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Textiles Technology by Barbara Lawler, Helen Wilson (2002)
Knitting Technology: A Comprehensive Handbook and Practical Guide by David J. Spencer
Fundamentals and Advances in Knitting Technology by Sadhan Chandra Roy
Knitting Technology by David J Spencer
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). 2010 The Gale Group, Inc.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/48965152/Knitting-Machine-Types
http://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2012/01/rib-circular-knittingmachine.html#ixzz3XmAWMVWZ

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