In order to open up significant additional applications for circular knitting, as the world’s leading manufacturer Mayer & Cie. has developed a circular knitting machine capable of processing inelastic yarns such as copper, steel and silver wire, glass fibres, carbon fibres and carbon – also in conjunction with cotton and synthetic yarns. This machine, designated Relanit 0.8, will be exhibited at the Tech-Textil in Frankfurt in Hall 3, Stand H 37.
Relanit stands for relative movement technology, which was developed to the series stage by Mayer & Cie. This technology has long since become established in the world of textile production. Its special feature is the relative movement of needles and sinkers, which enables the deflection points of the yarn during stitch formation to be halved. This in turn helped bring about a decisive drop in friction for considerably more reliable production. This technology is brought to bear particularly when using inelastic materials, where friction at the deflection points and gentle feed of the material to the needles are of particular importance. Fewer deflection points mean fewer bending processes.
This positive effect has been combined by Mayer & Cie. with a classically extended stitch cam. This creates ideal conditions for knitting “exotic” threads ranging through to spin steel fibres to create compact knit fabrics.
The Relanit 0.8 is a single jersey machine with 4 needle types. The exhibit has a diameter of 22 inches with a gauge of E12.
The conceivable application possibilities for circular knitted, elastic fabrics using inelastic yarns are wideranging.
Single-jersey fabrics can be used as carrier materials for artificial leather or for fluorescent-coated safety jackets as used by the fire brigade and police, and for safety gloves. Also conceivable is the manufacture of new innovative high-tech textiles with yarns made of aramide, carbon, glass and steel fibres. The use of the circular knitting technique ideally unites the elasticity of knit goods with the specific characteristics of these high-tech yarns.
Products could include, for instance, fire resistant and heat resistant glass fibre fabrics or high strength, cutproof energy absorbing knits in aramide and kevlar yarns, as well as steel wires. Electrically conductive textiles using silver and copper wires can already be produced on circular knitting machines.
Medical fields of application call for innovative, highly elastic lightweight fabrics with optimum skin compatibility properties. From replacement skin through bandaging materials to filter technology, the conceivable fields of application are enormous – particularly for fabrics with highly elastic properties.
Another almost unlimited field of application is the entire mobility and transport sector. This includes technical textiles used in automotive engineering, buses and trains as well as aerospace applications. Fabrics used in these applications not only make stringent demands on fastness (e.g. ageing, UV resistance, dirt repellent properties) but are required to have optimized strength characteristics coupled with minimal weight. Full recycling capability plays an important role too, particularly in the automotive engineering industry.
Circular knitted fabrics from Mayer & Cie. machines fulfil the stringent test requirements imposed by the international automotive industry already today. Plush and single jersey fabrics for vehicle head linings, pique structures
and single jersey for side panelling and jacquard plush and plain jacquard fabrics for automobile seat covers knitted on Mayer & Cie. machines have been in successful use for many years.
Other products to emerge from the field of circular knitting technology and used in the mobile technology sector include spacer fabrics with optimum restoring capabilities and mesh fabrics made of glass fibre. Knits incorporating a copper wire appr.0.10 mm thin are used in the automotive sector, e.g. for heatable seats, but are also conceivable for heatable underwear or for defence against electro smog.
In the Hometech sector, stretch bed sheets made of single jersey or terry are in widespread use.
Geotextiles can be used in road building, construction and landscape engineering projects, as well as in general building work. Rot-proof textiles also provide an invaluable aid as reinforcing material in bank stabilization projects. Circular knitted fabric is also used, for example, to produce sandbags used in flood defences. Geotextiles are frequently combined with other materials such as non-woven fabrics. Wide ranging further applications are conceivable in the Geotech sector for circular knitted, seamless and flexible hoses as well as fabrics made of monofil yarns.
The topics of radiation and electrosmog are coming increasingly under debate. Already today, there are people so sensitive to these influences that they require antiradiation protection. The key word here is "smart clothing": Conductive, soft fabrics featuring fine silver and copper wires can be manufactured by circular knitting which provide a shielding effect for the wearer in keeping with Faraday's principle.
The future of technical textiles produced using circular knitting has only just begun. The Tech-Textil in Frankfurt, and in particular the Mayer & Cie. presentation, will provide an interesting forum for discussion of the wideranging possibilities for more efficient, productive manufacture in the field of technical textiles produced on circular knitting machines.
