Innovations galore at KARL MAYER

At ITMA 2015, which was held from November 12-19, 2015, KARL MAYER presented its new corporate design, a stylish, ultramodern stand and impressive, groundbreaking technical innovations.
KARL MAYER´s exhibition stand at the leading trade fair in Milan had a lighthouse effect: trend-setting, eye-catching even from some distance away and outstanding. At ITMA in Milan the innovative market leader in the fields of warp knitting and warp preparation machines presented in Hall 5, Stand C 101, expecting its guests with a futuristic stand, the first port of call for the trade. Important cornerstones with great appeal will be a multimedia presentation, the release of a completely revamped corporate design and, of course, a choice of technical innovations which will surely attract the experts´ attention.

Innovations in the HKS sector
In the tricot machine sector KARL MAYER was showing a stylish, energy-efficient and ergonomic HKS 2-SE and a HKS 4-M of the next generation which will be processing patterned sectional beams produced on the new DS Opto-EC.

During the trade fair, the HKS 2-SE with a width of 130´ and a gauge of E 36 will be producing an elastic locknit (charmeuse) for sportswear. This newcomer is the flagship that typifies all of KARL MAYER´s innovations in the tricot machine sector, including:

• A new, ergonomic machine design with a high-tech appearance; the look of the machine is unique and instantly recognizable.
• The Low Energy Option LEO – based on an improved interplay of drive technology, oil viscosity, heat-resistant machine components and operating temperature – reduces the energy consumption by up to 10% compared to similar, conventional models, which reduces costs and improves the sustainability of materials, thus, being a contribution to environmental protection
• An integrated camera system for complete fabric inspection provided as standard equipment, ensuring total coverage, i.e. 100% monitoring of the finished fabric; the monitoring zone now starts much closer to the knitting point. Defects can therefore be spotted much earlier, and the machine can be stopped sooner.
• An LED lighting system as standard in two colours: i.e. bright white for a clear view of the yarn sheet, the knitting elements and the fabric, as well as red, which is visible from some distance away, for signalling a machine stoppage in the event of a fault.

The HKS 4-M EL complements the four-bar high-speed tricot machine with N pattern drive which had already been presented to a wide audience Order virtually, profit in reality ´ with the new SPARE PARTS WEBSHOP: at ShanghaiTex 2015. The speed of the EL version, same as that of the model with N drive, has been increased, so that it is up to 25 per cent faster than its predecessor; at the same time it also offers the usual high level of flexibility. The EL configuration enables the patterns to be changed very quickly and easily by inputting data at the machine´s display unit. In this way, the machine can process even small batches efficiently, and can reduce the amount of time needed to develop new and innovative fabrics. Moreover, the EL feature opens up completely new design possibilities due to shog paths of 2" and almost unlimited repeat lengths. But this new machine does not occupy any pile position, since it is one of the seldom-selected types. The version with the pile mechanism, the HKS 4-M P, will continue to be included in the range.

During the machine show, the HKS 4-M EL produced a fabric for outerwear at a width of 180" and a gauge of E 28. It will be processing sectional warp beams (SWBs) with a sequence of colours in the warp to match the pattern (Fig. 3). The SWBs were produced on a newly developed warp preparation machine, the DS Opto-EC.

The DS Opto-EC as such will not be presented at ITMA only i