Development of whole garment formed on four-bed computerized flat knitting machine

Abstract

Purpose The whole garment technology offers a solution for the production efficiency by directly knitting a seamless tubular garment. Due to its complexity, high requirements and few references, the technology has not been widely applied in mass production. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to show garment technology’s detailed design method, the technique calculation process and its merits compared than common technology. Design/methodology/approach This paper first analyzes the knitting principle of the four-bed computerized flat knitting machine from its configuration. After that, the design method is putted forward as well as the technique calculation process. To reveal the advantages of the whole garment technology, this paper builds a comprehensive evaluation system by comparing the knitting time, labor cost and the yarn consumption. Findings With the evaluation system, the whole garment technology is proved to be more productive, cost-saving and less materials-consuming. Moreover, this advantage stands more out when the machine gage is higher. Research limitations/implications Due to limited research time and references, this paper only presents the whole garment technology for knitting common and traditional styles. More complicated and fashioned garments can be studied in the future research. Practical implications The design method and technology presented in this paper can be used as a reference for both the designers in the manufacture industry and the scholars for academic research works. Originality/value This paper has presented the whole garment technology and a specific method for technique calculation with consideration of garment structures. It also builds a evaluation system to show the advantages in terms of knitting efficiency, labor cost and yarn consumption.