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| Issue date:01/02/2008 |
| ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Feb 2008 Issue |
| Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel |
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| As Asia's domestic markets rapidly expand, one-piece garment knitting technology is becoming a valid option for previously export-only operations, Adrian Wilson writes |
Advances in software, running in parallel to those in machine technology, are ensuring that the ability of seamless knitting machines to handle increasingly complex articles is growing every year.
At the recent ITMA textile machinery show in Munich, Germany, the key developers of seamless technology, including Italy's Santoni, Shima Seiki of Japan and Germany's Stoll, were keen to display the latest advances they have achieved and the vast range of one-piece products which are now being made by their customers.
Seamless technology takes 5% market share
Being both a comparatively young technology and aimed at the high-end segment of the market, sales of seamless units currently represent a below-5% fraction of the entire knitting machinery market.
To give an idea of the size of the overall market, the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) reported that in 2005, some 30,500 large circular knitting machines were delivered, and investments in this area jumped to an all-time high, representing a 32% increase on a comparable basis from 2004 levels. ITMF puts the total number of large circular knitting machines (over 165mm) shipped between 1996 and 2005, at 137,000, with an estimated 8,000 of them having electronic jacquards.
Some 90% of all 2005 shipments went to Asia, with China alone investing in 22,500 circular knitting machines.
A total of 10,500 electronic flat knitting machines were also shipped during 2005. In this category, 85% of all shipments went to Asia and 12% to Europe.
Similar figures were reported for knitting machinery in 2006 and are very likely to be matched also this year, but despite of the steady expansion, the market for seamless technology itself has yet to escalate to match the hopes of its developers.
Changing market needs
One change identified by Shima Seiki is that previously there was a duality to its knitting machine sales in terms of geography – with seamless knitting machines catering to what remained in the way of production operations within consumer-orientated markets such as Europe and Japan, and its conventional shaping machines being sold to export-orientated, mass-production markets in Asia.
Now, however, the company believes the boundaries are steadily blurring as the performance of conventional machinery is increasingly found to meet the demands of healthy consumer markets, while what were formerly export-only operations in countries such as China and India, are now viewing seamless production an attractive option, particularly due to an increase in domestic consumption of fashion goods.
Range of WholeGarment articles |
Last year marks the 45th anniversary of the first Shima Seiki seamless glove production unit in Japan – a deceptively simple textile innovation that both revolutionized the electronics industry during the 1960s, and also sparked the whole idea of making one-piece garments without seams.
Prior to the famous invention by Dr Masahiro Shima, the tiny parts of electronic circuit boards were almost impossible to handle in conventional gloves, but at the same time, cleanroom manufacturing meant that no skin contact was possible.
Shima Seiki's WholeGarment knitting technology, introduced 12 years ago with great fanfare at ITMA 1995, was originally developed as a tool with which knitters in consumer-oriented markets could perhaps survive the then-emerging onslaught of cheap imports. WholeGarment knitting technology provided value-added high-quality knitwear quickly and economically, with individualized detail and in small lots as required.
Despite the accolades, however, early scepticism towards new technology, the complex nature of WholeGarment programming, limited patterning capability, and to an extent the failure by consumer-driven markets to recognize or react to the trend in market saturation by imports, prevented WholeGarment from making an initial impact.
The situation is now quite different.
Vast improvements in ease of programming, patterning capability and subsequent market acceptance have proven the validity of WholeGarment production as a viable alternative to conventional types of knit production.
Advancements for more flexibility
At ITMA 2007, Shima Seiki demonstrated seven of its WholeGarment knitting machines, amongst them the latest prototype equipped with the SlideNeedle on four needle beds that greatly improved productivity.
Maximum knitting speed has increased to 1.6 meters per second and the new R2 Carriage system originally developed for other machine models has been adapted to allow quicker carriage returns. A special version of the SlideNeedle is employed for knitting fabrics at 15-gauge needle pitch. Split stitch is now possible, allowing higher quality and efficiency when widening at the sleeves, while requiring fewer knitting courses. The 15-gauge needle pitch also allows for tighter loops, contributing to higher-quality WholeGarment production, especially for ribs. The i-DSCS digital stitch control system also contributes to quality and consistency by actively controlling yarn feed for each garment.
Additional improvements include a new control unit that is built-in to the machine for simplified shipping and installation, easier maintenance, and more efficient use of space. A USB memory interface and a backup power supply are standard. The new machines also feature a lower overall height for improved access to top tension units.
"There are many more needles per inch on this machine and it has mechanical, hardware and software improvements including rapid carriage return, aided by light small carriages," said Dr Shima at ITMA.
Other new models including the SWGs 041N, 061N and 091N have compact knitting widths and are able to knit complete garment accessory items such as gloves, socks, hats, scarves and baby clothes, opening up a new field of WholeGarment production.
"Knitting such small items on WholeGarment machines was not possible in the past as the machines were so large and long and it cost too much," added Marketing Manager, Masaki Karasuno.
"Until now, it took 50 hours to program only 14 colors for intarsia," Dr Shima added. "With the STS1 system, you can program up to 30 colors in 50 minutes. This revolutionizes fashion. You can create 30-color arrangements very easily, whereas you used to hesitate at 14 colors."
Knitwear producers in consumer markets such as Europe and Japan need passion to survive, commented Mr Shima.
"They are still able to achieve a level of quality that China cannot provide at this point," he added.
As the pioneer in WholeGarment knitting technology, Shima Seiki has filed over 150 patents and has over a decade of field experience.
Its high-end model SWG-X is able to far outperform other complete garment machine and in fact is the only machine specially developed for and dedicated just to seamless knitting.
With four needle beds and an additional loop presser bed, SWG-X is capable of producing beautifully shaped, high-quality WholeGarment products, which conform perfectly to the body for improved comfort and elegant silhouettes.
These are made possible through such innovations as the SlideNeedle, whose slider mechanism eliminates the need for the transfer clip, allowing it to be centrally-mounted in the needle groove. The centre-mounted design places less stress on yarns, allowing beautifully formed loop structures using a wider range of more delicate yarns. Also featured is the pulldown device, which adjusts takedown tension independently for front and back bodies, allowing unprecedented three-dimensional shaping control across the entire garment.
For multi-color applications, the Air Splicer cuts then twists together yarns with a burst of pressurised air and split-second accuracy. Working in precise co-ordination with the i-DSCS, the Air Splicer is able to time each splice so that perfect color changes occur exactly as programmed. Available in 5G, 8G 12G and 15G versions, SWG-X covers the spectrum from high-quality coarse-gauge knitting to highly refined ultrafine gauge applications.
Ready-to-wear solutions
Both seamless garments and conventional knitted fabrics can be manufactured on the Stoll CMS 730 S Knit&Wear machine, which also made its debut at ITMA 2007.
Stoll's ITMA fashion display has a space age theme |
On this machine, the motor -controlled, spring-loaded holding-down jacks make creating the most complicated shapes possible, while a presser foot unit ensures high process reliability. A variable motor-controlled second stitch tension makes additional pattern effects possible and the use of preparing stitch increases knitting reliability, even when transferring.
One of the CMS 730 S Knit & Wear units demonstrated at ITMA had a gauge of E9.2 and a working width of 183cm.
The Stoll CMS 730 S Knit & Wear machine made its debut at ITMA07 |
Ready-to-wear articles are processed using the "1x1" transferring principle, which only every second needle actually knits – the needles in between are used for the back.
Among items being created by Stoll in Munich was a man's pullover with a saddle shoulder. The 2x1 rib start was made with 66% needle occupation at a speed of one meter a second.
Stoll also recently applied for a patent for a seamless top for sports activities such as cycling, taking into account the concept of "body mapping" – achieving differing areas within the structure to most effectively respond to exertion in sports activity and heating and cooling of the body.
Stoll employs body mapping to produce a one-piece article for performance sports |
The patent provides detailed information on the latest techniques for seamless garment manufacturing. The garment article is being knitted in gauge E 7.2 machine on its CMS 730 T Knit & Wear with additional needle beds, and the fabric edges are designed to appear like linked seams, knitted in a purl stitch pattern.
In its production, three round fabrics are started simultaneously – the body in the middle and the sleeves on the left and right. The shape of different pieces is realized during knitting by widening or narrowing stitch groups at the fabric edges or within the fabric pieces by goring.
When the underarms are begun, the body is opened on both sides and the sleeves on the respective inner side, and all three pieces are unified to form a round fabric.
The fabric is formed by a plating technique, which two different yarn threads are fed to each needle. Stoll's soon-to-be-patented process enables the ground thread to be reliably covered by the plating thread in the stitches formed with this plating technique.
Meeting with physical properties
Body mapping now plays a major role in the development of sports clothing. In order to exactly adapt properties of the knitted top to various physical properties of the body, it was divided into different areas.
Seamless fashions by designer Alice Favardi of the Lonati Fashion and Design Institute |
These were accommodated by the selection of special yarns or through special knitting structures to enable optimum results based on the moisture and temperature management of the skin.
The special feature of the top is in its shaping.
The posture of a cyclist was taken into account by extending the back to prevent its lower section from cooling down and ensure optimal ergonomic wearing comfort.
To prevent the sleeves from sliding up, a thumb opening was worked into the sleeve seam and the section for the ball of the thumb was expanded.
While Shima Seiki and Stoll make flat knitting machines, Santoni of Italy produces circular knitting technology. As far as seamless garment production is concerned, the Italian manufacturer claims 97% of the market for the machines employed in this field.
Santoni's stand at ITMA |
At Santoni's stand at ITMA, a complete display of knitted fashions by designer Alice Favardi of the Lonati Fashion and Design Institute, produced entirely on Santoni's seamless knitwear machines, was showcased.
"These garments are normally manufactured using flat bed machines, taking longer to produce than with our technology," said Santoni Sales Manager, Marco Poddine, adding that the company's latest machines can knit outerwear in one-third of the time taken by a flat knitting machine.
Finer gauges are also said to be possible using circular knitting machines, enabling manufacturers to meet the latest trends towards fine gauge garments.
Among machines being shown was the SM4-TM2, a four-feed single jersey electronic knitting machine with a reciprocal movement and two selection points per feed and per rotational sense.
Designed for the manufacture of seamless outerwear, underwear, swimwear, sportswear and sanitary wear, the machine features Santoni's patented system to allow four-feed knitting of highly defined patterns with sharp colored outlines.
Also on display was the SM9-MF.
"This has a totally redesigned knitting head compared with the previous model, as well as modular feed," said Mr Poddine. "It can be customized so that a customer can order a machine with six feeds on the cylinder and three on the dial, for example, or maybe a 12-feed cylinder, depending on what they make."
The machine demonstrated at ITMA was an 18-gauge machine, which will be in production by the end of this year or early next year, according to Mr Poddine.
"By the end of next year, we will have a 20-gauge machine available," he added. "This will be suitable for fine lingerie production and also outerwear and silk knitting."
See also a report on Shima Seiki's 45th Anniversary Garden Fashion Show, "Fashion Voyage on stage", in the Retail Scene column
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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