Basic Knitting Elements of a Circular Knitting Machine

NEEDLES

The needles are the most important stitch forming elements. They are displaced vertically up and down and are mounted into the tricks or cuts of the knitting cylinder.
There are three types of needles namely:
1. Latch needle
2. Spring bearded needle 

3. Compound needle.

We can divide a needle into three main parts:
A. the hook, which takes and retains the thread tube looped;
B. the hook opening and closing device, that allows the hook to alternatively take a new thread and release the previous one;
C. a system allowing the needle to move and form the loop.

 

1=Butt,2=Butt height,3=Back shank,4=Stem,5=Crimp,6=Groove,7=Cheek,8=Hook,9=Hook width,10=Latch,11=Rivet 

                                                                     Fig: Needle

Sinker

The sinker is the second primary knitting element. It is a thin metal plate with an individual or a collective action operating approximately at right angles from the hook side of the needle bed, between adjacent needles.

1=Butt,2=Butt breadth,3=Height of shank,4=Buldge,5=Neb,6=Length of neb,7=Throat angle,8=Sinker platform height,9=Breadth of lower shank,10=Clearance,11=Throat

       Fig: sinker.

CAMS

The knitting cams are hardened steels and they are the assembly of different cam plates so that a track for butt can be arranged. Each needle movement is obtained by means of cams acting on the needle butts.

The upward movement of the needle is obtained by the rising cams or clearing cams. The rising cam places the needle at a certain level as it approaches the yarn area. Cams controlling the downward movement of the needles are called stitch cams.

Fig: Cams