L.G.L Electronics S.p.A, a manufacturer of yarn feeders for knitting and hosiery machines has reported that it has recently started to take orders for and deliver its Attivo yarn feeder which it introduced at ITMA 2007 in Munich. Until recently Attivo had been on test with customers.

Attivo is the Bergamo company’s latest development which it claims is the first yarn storage feeder with electronic braking used in knitting. At the recent Santoni Days event in Brescia, no fewer than four Santoni machines, an SM8 TOP2, an SM8 EVO4 and Santoni’s new SM8 EVO4-J and SM8TOP 1V were equipped with LGL’s Attivo.

LGL spokesperson Enrico Guerinoni told Knitting Industry: “Attivo has been developed for knitting and hosiery machines in order to eliminate variations in tension experienced whilst taking yarn from a full yarn package to an empty one. Guerinoni explained: “A tension sensor senses the variation in yarn tension during knitting and feeds back this information to the microprocessor. A motor is then used to move the TWM Tension Modulator and this controls the pre-programmed desired tension between the yarn feeder and the knitting machine.”

A relative newcomer to knitting and hosiery with a good pedigree in the weaving sector, LGL prides itself in its research and development capability. The company says that its TWM (tension with modulation) unit is its most innovative tensioning system in recent years.

Attivo’s main features

• Yarn tension sensor, remotely programmable by laptop or palm

• Button for opening the brake for easy yarn threading

• New ceramic tension sensor for precision and accuracy

• Highly visible signalling lights

• Can be used with a wide range of yarns, coarse and fine

• Self cleaning

• Can be retrofitted to all versions of LGL Vector

LGL have also recently been selling around 500 units per month of its Primo yarn feeder for delivery to a number of factories in El Salvador which have been installing new Lonati Group sock knitting machines.