The knit industry has a great future ahead, this can be assessed from the fact that in the first quarter of 2010, exports of men’s cotton T-shirts alone has grown 10.37% in value and 32.16% in volume from India while total US import in the same category has grown by 11.13% in value and 13.85% in volumes. The potential for growth is immense as casual wear dominates trends globally.
While Tirupur and Ludhiana remain the major hubs in India, Delhi-NCR, particularly Noida, and Kolkata are fast developing as a knitting hub with many players investing in circular knitting technology and adding to processing and finishing capabilities. The major thrust from the technology suppliers is towards improved quality and machine productivity enhancing features along with the ability to knit different structures using specialized yarns.
At present the knit fabric quality is decided by few physical parameters namely GSM, loop dimensions, fabric width, dimensional stability and defects in the fabrics. However, aesthetic value is not measured by these parameters and the comfort properties of the fabric are determined by different loop properties. Thus the knitter should start looking into these parameters for the machine before placing an order in order to get an edge.
The focus of researches and advancements in the knitting technology in the past few years has been on electronically controlled needle selection at each feeder, any optional number of colours, different constructions in the fabric, transfer sinker technology for an even loop length, consistent level of thread tension, speed factor, lint cleaning system and reduction in needle and thread breakages.
However, there are still some issues which are not completely solved. In the quality area, fault detection is one of the most important tasks, and the solutions commercially available do not detect all kinds of faults such as spirality and colour mismatching which can seriously impair production and delay the repair of the damaged element. Moreover, they are incapable of preventing faults. A combination of needle and yarn break detectors with optical sensors is required to fulfil only part of this task.
Another important issue is the control of the yarn input tension. The problem occurs when yarn feeding is not continuous. However, new solutions are now available with feedback for controlling the feeding rate of all feeders.
Nowadays garments with a seamless appearance are gaining in popularity in both flat and circular knits for greater comfort, durability and reduced bulk are finding favour in different sectors of the apparel market, including performance apparel. Seamless technology has also emerged into areas such as upholstery, industrial, automotive and medical textiles apart from apparel.
Seamless knitting holds a lot of scope in bra manufacturing but the problems of underband tension and cup strain for optimal comfort and shape are the current deterrents in its successful application.
The knitting industry is continuously coming up with new solutions to eliminate the current problems and to take this sector to yet another level of advancement. The ITMA Asia – CITME 2010 show, held recently in China too had knitting technology in focus. Not many companies brought in any new technology this time, but there were still a few of them that presented new solutions and improved machines.
We present here some major names that participated in the fair with their latest developments.
