A new machine is shaping the standard sector

The new warp knitting machine with weft-insertion facility from Karl Mayer bears all the hallmarks
of the high-end version in terms of its quality and reliability.

Karl Mayer is transferring its successful two product line strategy to its Technical Textiles Business Unit and is supplementing its premium weft-insertion machine with
a standard model. In addition to the WEFTTRONIC II HKS, there will also be a TM WEFT in future. This new warp knitting machine with weft-insertion facility bears all
the hallmarks of the high-end version in terms of its quality and reliability, but its optimised cost: benefit
ratio targets a different market.

The right machine for every market segment:
This new machine is a machine from Asia for Asia.
“Our target market is China and the mid-range segment in particular”, explains Hagen Lotzmann, the Sales Manager of Karl Mayer Technische Textilien GmbH.
To score points here, the TM WEFT delivers a 50 per cent higher cost:benefit ratio than the WEFTTRONIC II HKS. The considerable increase in speed has been achieved
by completely redeveloping the machine and modifying the production logistics.

The engineering know-how and the core areas
of expertise for the TM WEFT are being provided by locations in Germany, and all the other work is being done by Karl Mayer (China). With its fine gauge, the WEFTTRONIC II HKS is still the number one machine
for producing fine interlinings and high-quality automotive textiles, for use in e.g. sun protection.
Customised technical features: The TM WEFT is available in a gauge of E 24 and a working width of 247-inch, which can be reduced by 62-inch. Its features include two stitch-forming ground guide bars, the KAMCOS2 Single Speed and integrated Laserstop facility for the early detection of yarn breakages. Up to 24 wefts can be inserted at the same time during production.

The yarn is delivered from a creel with yarn storage feeders. An electronically controlled, four-roller system
is responsible for fabric take-down, and the fabric is wound by stand-alone batching unit no. 64. It has friction drive, with control in line with the stitches.

Five guide bars, countless fabric patterns

Karl Mayer presented its five-bar tricot machine,
the COP 5 M-EL, to the wider public at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2018 in Asia for the first time. The former COP 5 version has been combined with Karl Mayer’s EL pattern
drive in this model to create a tricot machine capable
of producing an extensive range of patterns. Its performance was demonstrated at the in-house show held at Karl Mayer (CHINA) at the same time as the
fair and was a complete success. The visitors were particularly impressed by the possibilities it offered
to produce shoe fabrics. A coarse machine gauge was developed at Karl Mayer to produce a multifaceted collection for this particular end-use.

The articles in this collection for use in tough, hardwearing sports and leisure shoes feature stylish, graphic patterns with a contrasting, two-tone coloured effect. Two fabric samples are shown in the pattern part of this issue. Polyester was used to produce all the types: a textured, spin-dyed black yarn was used in ground guide bars, GB 1, GB 2 and GB 3, and a smooth, semi-matt, raw-white version was used in GB 4 and GB 5.
The pattern is based on a 1 in/1 out threading arrangement in GB 4 and GB 5.

Openings of different sizes can
be produced in the ground by varying
the lapping. The wide variety of motifs is produced on the ground pattern during production and protrude clearly from the ground as a result
of the spin-dyed yarn. A fully threaded pillar stitch in GB 1 increases the stability of the fabric. At the same time, the underlaps of the other guide bars are protected in order to improve the abrasion resistance.