Japanese flat knitting machines manufacturer Shima Seiki celebrated its 50th anniversary in November at Shima’s hometown, Wakayama, Japan. 1400 customers and 1000 employees participated in the event in which two new machines from the latest WholeGarment line were introduced, the two machines being MACH2X173 5S knitting machine and SRY123LP four-needle bed machine. Besides, several rooms were prepared for demonstrations of the SDS-ONE APEX3 design systems.
The MACH2X WholeGarment knitting machine features four needle beds and Shima Seiki’s own SlideNeedle. It has a 68 inch (170 cm) knitting width and 5G standard-hook needles. Capable of knitting fabrics ranging from 4G to 6G, the MACH2X line up now covers a full range of gauges from 4G to 18G possible for all-needle knitting of WholeGarment items.
MACH2X173 is a high speed four-needle bed machine and SRY123LP is a flat knitting machine for inlay fabrics with company’s loop presser technology.
The SRY123LP four-needle bed machine features two loop presser beds on top of a conventional V-bed. The machine also features the current iteration of a long evolution of patents surrounding the holding down of knitted loops for permitting the formation of various knit structures. This makes the SRY123LP especially effective in knitting inlay patterns for all-needles, permitting users to explore applications for non-elastic knits outside the realm of fashion such as carbon fibre and other industrial materials, paving the way for new non-garment applications such as industrial and technical textiles.
