As a follow up to last autumn's international textile machinery show, ITMA, in Barcelona, UK headquartered Shima Seiki Europe opened its doors this week to showcase the Japanese company's latest advanced flat knitting technologies.

European visitors were invited to attend demonstrations of the Wakayama based company's latest Wholegarment and fully fashioned knitting machines as well as the SDS One Apex 3 Apparel Design Station.

Speaking on the second day of the in-house exhibition, Shima Seiki Europe's Sales Manager Richard Webster reported good interest in Shima's latest generation Wholegarment knitting machines as well as the company's entry level SSR112 computerised flat knitting machine with fully fashioned capability and the latest coarse gauge Slideneedle SCG122SN machine.

SSR112

Shima's concept with the SSR112 is to offer the most advanced technology whilst keeping it affordable. Of course, with changes in the world economy the company has had to redefine what is now meant by affordable.

Shima says it performed a complete rethink of what it takes to produce a flat knitting machine, from research and development, parts procurement and manufacturing to assembly and quality inspection. The 50 year old company says all aspects of machine building were re-evaluated and the result is a completely new computerised flat knitting machine - the SSR112.

Shima says it not only pursued higher cost-performance with the SSR112, but also succeeded in achieving a new perception of value through benefits like: ‘Made in Japan' without compromise; The experience of a ‘Best Seller'; Innovation for the Future of Knitting; and Benchmark technology.

The SSR112 on show in UK this week was a 7 gauge SSR112-SV model with variable gauge capability where multiple gauge looks can be incorporated into the same garment. Alternatively the machine can be switched from medium to heavy gauge production and vice versa - 5 to 7 gauge or 7 to 5 gauge without the need for cam, needlebeds or needle changes.

The SSR112 retains proven Shima innovations such as spring-type sinkers and stitch presser for versatility, maximum knitting speed of 1.2m/sec and R2CARRIAGE for high productivity, as well as DSCS digital stitch control for quality and consistency. The SSR112 comes in two versions - the SV (variable gauge) which is available in 7, 12 and 14 gauge and the SC (classic) which is available in 7, 12, 14 and 16 gauge.

SCG122SN

Another Shima highlight shown this week was the impressive SCG122SN coarse gauge Slideneedle machine which was launched at last September's ITMA. This is a 48 inch needlebed fully fashioned machine, available in 3 and 4 gauge, which uses Shima's unique Slideneedle technology for the first time in coarse guage flat knitting.

Slideneedle features a special slider mechanism which effectively eliminates the transfer clip and allows the needle to be mounted in the middle of the needle trick or groove for high quality symmetrical loop formation. According to Shima Slideneedle opens the door to possibilities never imagined before through superior transfer capability and brand new knitting techniques. The machine exhibited was producing a heavy cabled flared fabric which varied from 2 gauge to 4 gauge in the length of the piece.

The SCG122SN is a striking and robustly built coarse gauge flat knitting machine which is capable of knitting an impressive range of hand knit look type garments. The machine is fitted with many Shima innovations such as DSCS, R2 Carriage and of course a double racking mechanism which allows the knitting of some beautiful coarse gauge structured patterns. Shima Seiki Europe reports good interest and says it has been busy producing samples for customers ever since the machine's recent arrival in the UK.

MACH2X in 18 gauge

Also on show at Shima's impressive Castle Donnington showroom was the world's only 4-bed Wholegarment machine in the new amazing ultra fine gauge of 18 needles per inch. The MACH2X153 18L is a new machine which produces even finer, more sophisticated fabrics than ever before where a special large-hook version of the SlideNeedle is mounted at 18-gauge pitch, allowing production of very tight, high-quality fabrics in the 14 to 18G range.

High productivity is achieved with a maximum knitting speed of 1.6m/sec combined with quick carriage returns achieved with the R2CARRIAGE. MACH2X153 18L also features i-DSCS+DTC for supporting high-speed knitting of fine and delicate materials such as cashmere and fine count yarns.

The MACH2X153 18L being exhibited was knitting an elegant ribbed fashioned Wholegarment dress with a 60 minute knitting time.

MACH2S

On the half gauge Wholegarment side Shima Seiki Europe showed the high speed flexible MACH2S machine in 12 gauge. This is a versatile machine which can be used as a conventional shaping machine in gauges 10, 12, 14 and 16. However, it can also knit Wholegarments in half gauge at high speed - at up to an impressive 1.6 metres per second in fact.

The MACH2S was producing a half gauge striped Wholegarment womens sweater style and was fitted with i-DSCS (Digital Stitch Control System with Intelligence).

SWG091N

Shima's ‘mini' Wholegarment SWG091 was also on show. This is the widest needlebed version in the SWG mini series at 90cm. Other variants are the SWG041N in 40cm and SWG061N in 60cm working widths. The mini series is a completely new genre of Wholegarment machines for the production of gloves, scarves, hats, other accessories and complete garments in small sizes.

The machine on show was knitting a vertical stripe intarsia scarf to demonstrate the impressive movement of the belt driven yarn carriers. All three variants of the SWG mini are available in 7, 10 and 15 gauge. Top knitting speed is 1.5 metres per second.

Shima Seiki Europe's in-house show was said to be well attended, demonstrating that there is still a good appetite for new Shima flat knitting technology in the UK.