Constant loops or parallel lines?
Major changes in textile manufacturing technology were found on either side of the two major fabric processes at ITMA 2023. Adrian Wilson reports

Despite its key theme of sustainability and circularity, what really drew the sizeable crowds at the ITMA 2023 textile machinery show, held in Milan on 8-14 June, were extremely high-speed weaving machine demonstrations. These were held at ear-shatteringly regular intervals in the weaving halls by the key players in this field, including Dornier, Itema, Picanol, Stäubli, Toyota, Tsudakoma and Vandewiele. This show of strength seemingly contradicts the message that so-called ‘fast fashion’ is on the way out and short-lot and customised production is taking over. For a lot of the market, it’s still about high-volume production at the lowest possible cost, which is only to be expected in providing the raw fabrics for what is in 2023 a US$1.4trn global market. It’s also notable that, software advances aside, when it comes to sustainability and circularity, all of the most commented-on changes are taking place at either side of the major bonding processes – in greener new raw materials and in dyeing and finishing, which has for a long time been the most resource-draining stage of the manufacturing chain.

Spinning
The major developers of cotton spinning technology, for example, are now responding to the recycling challenge, and Switzerland’s Rieter unveiled a high-quality Ne 30 compact yarn that contains an impressive 40% recycled post-industrial fabric waste. Typically, a recycled fibre content of only 20% is possible when producing ring yarns at high speeds. This has been achieved in a partnership with Spanish fibre recycling specialist Recover and Portuguese spinner and textile manufacturer Polopiqué. A second major Swiss spinning technology leader, Saurer, announced its own partnership with yarn producer Inovafil of Portugal and Renewcell: the Swedish company behind Circulose, the new fibre that can be made from 100% textile waste. Circulose is a renewable dissolving pulp made from cotton-rich textile waste that can be turned into new viscose fibres and filaments to allow a circular textile production system to be established. At ITMA 2023, Saurer demonstrated Circulose being spun on all three of its spinning systems – rotor, ring and air – and also introduced its rX Recycling Xtreme technology concept. “Extreme recycling is the new challenge for yarn producers, with ultra-short fibres bringing conventional spinning machines to their limits,” the company’s chief operating officer Marcus Rennekamp explained.

Bottleneck
In the area of dyeing and finishing, Dyecoo – the Netherlands-based developer of water and chemicals-free supercritical CO2 polyester dyeing – has been on a 13-year journey to fully prove the viability of such a disruptive technology. Now, however, it has received solid commitments from major brands that will see its wide adoption. In partnership with Portugal’s Borgstena, Circotex, a new sustainable dyeing and finishing company will now establish the first DyeCoo installation in the Netherlands and Europe to produce automotive textiles. Alchemie, Baldwin, Imogo and Weko, meanwhile, all reported major interest in their non-contact spray technologies, which guarantee significant resource savings for the dyeing and finishing processes. Digital printing was a further area where much progress continues to be made, and significant new machine sales were announced in Milan.

Differences
In general terms, woven fabrics – being made by two interlocking yarns at right angles – can be much more durable and robust than knitted fabrics as a result of their construction, making them ideal for heavier weight products, ranging from denim to fabrics for the home, the automotive industry and technical applications.

"Customisation and expanded design possibilities, as well as short-run production, was at the fore of displays by leading knitting technology manufacturers."

Knitted fabrics, being made from a single continuous piece of yarn looped together, have a natural stretch and are forgiving and comfortable in items worn close to the skin such as underwear, as well as leggings or T-shirts. Knitted fabrics are also more breathable than woven fabrics in their untreated state, with more gaps between the yarns, while woven fabrics have a tighter construction. These are, of course, not hard and fast rules, and many examples of both knitted and woven fabrics completely contradicting them due to the yarns employed and their constructions could be found at ITMA 2023.

Intuition
Both production technologies then, have developed organically in many directions over the decades. Weaving and knitting, however, are never just a matter of numbers, parameters and settings, but also rely on the intuition, experience and gut feeling of the expert weaver or knitter, who is able to feel when something isn’t right or a machine is off sync, and sense when settings need to be fine-tuned. It is this very intuition that many machine builders are now attempting to digitalise. The latest PicConnect platform from Picanol, for example, provides a wide range of features, from industrial IoT to service-related applications, as well as brand-new functionalities, such as applications for energy and production monitoring, digitalised gripper stroke setting and gripper tape monitoring, climate control and shed angle measurement. PicConnect enables the creation of a library of machine settings and when machines are connected, settings can easily be sent to and from the platform. Ensuring machines all use the optimal settings is extremely convenient and the settings can be easily visualised for an intuitive overview, and then edited, to further fine-tune performance. An additional feature is the ability to compare the settings of two different machines or the actual settings of a machine with a reference file. This highlights the differences between the two machines, and settings can be copied from one file to another. After settings have been changed or copied, all machines in a weaving mill can then be optimised with just a couple of clicks.

Design
Customisation and expanded design possibilities, as well as short-run production, tended to be much more to the fore in the displays by the leading knitting technology manufacturers such as Lonati, Pai Lung Shima Seiki and Stoll at ITMA 2023. Shima Seiki, for example, demonstrated nine flat knitting machines in its new R-Series range, with many new features, including the latest prototype WholeGarment machine. More than 300 sophisticated fabric samples were also showcased at the company’s always-busy stand, ranging from fashion, sports, shoes, bags and accessories to medical, safety, automotive and wearables. In addition, the company’s SDS-ONE Apex series graphic design system has been upgraded with significant improvements for knit programming, 3D functionality, speed and ease of use, making significant improvements in realistic virtual sampling possible, supported by full digital solutions and integrated web services. “We are using ITMA 2023 as a testbed for these machines to build on feedback from our customers for their later release,” said marketing manager Masaki Karasuno at the show. “Through the advanced technologies we provide with WholeGarment, a key aim has been to reduce the relocation of production in pursuit of ever-cheaper labour. Our technologies can enable the opposite – reshoring and production being brought back closer to the customer in high-wage regions.” The distinction between the two differing approaches for going to market in 2023 – on the one hand mass production and on the other of just-in-time, digital close-to-home production – cannot of course be neatly divided simply between weaving and knitting technologies, but sometimes at ITMA 2023 it felt like it.

Fuelling growth in knitwear microfactories
Knitwear microfactories are growing as demand for flexible and sustainable production increases. Consequently, new production systems are being developed that focus on innovative, customised products. Kathryn Wortley reports

Knitwear microfactories have been expanding in numbers this year (2023) due to industrial, regulatory and societal changes accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Manufacturers have been eyeing the potential of small-scale, high-tech facilities that can streamline production and be better suited to operate on an on-demand basis than larger plants. Such facilities can reduce knitwear’s environmental footprint and appeal to consumers who seek increasingly sustainable and customised goods. Moreover, microfactories can be located closer to the consumer and act as distribution hubs, while also reducing overproduction and loss, helping to reduce costs and offer greater production agility. The number of fashion-related microfactories worldwide is expected to total 200 by 2025, up from 100 in 2019, according to a report by global clothing and textile innovation platform Fashion for Good. Ongoing growth in demand for certain specialist knitwear lines that began during the pandemic’s lockdowns – such as comfortable and professional-looking apparel for remote workers – will support the development of knitwear microfactories able to respond to swift market shifts, said Linda Öhrn-McDaniel, professor and industry coordinator at Kent State University, in Ohio, US.
On the supply side, knitting technology companies have also continued to innovate, driving industry development. Masaki Karasuno, spokesperson of Japan-based Shima Seiki, a leader in flat knitting machine technology, told WTiN that Shima Seiki “offers systems to cover a significant portion of planning, design and production for a microfactory”. Its flagship Wholegarment knitting machines make it possible to design and manufacture custom knitwear in minimal quantities quickly and efficiently with little capital and in a compact space, he added. In September 2022, the company launched the SWG-XR machine under this brand, featuring an additional knitting system in its lightweight four-system carriage, which allows for the creation of “an unprecedented variety of designs and silhouettes and with even higher productivity,” according to a company note. The new machine also means that punch lace can be knitted without changing cams, while a renewed sinker system makes possible the creation of super-3D patterns. Masaki noted that more knitwear microfactories in Japan and the US are using Wholegarment technology, including at temporary pop-up stores or on department store floors, providing customers with the “chance to order custom knitwear on the spot, having the final product sent to them in about a week”. Shima Seiki exhibited eight of its Next-Generation line-up at the recent ITMA 2023 in Milan, Italy, along with the latest software upgrade of its SDS-One Apex series computer graphic design system, which the company says, “features significant improvements in knit programming, 3D functions and speed”.
Such software development is driving growth in microfactories, said Öhrn-McDaniel, an ITMA member. Industry and academia are also training more human resources skilled in using new applications, with Covid-19 having “hit the gas pedal even harder” towards the development of technology with more 3D visualisation, she added. Another example is Delaware, US- and Berkshire, UK-based firm Kniterate, which is offering a digital knitting machine and software that allows users to produce apparel, such as sweaters, dresses, scarves, shorts, hats and shoe uppers, and soft furnishings like rugs, using automated stitching and a desktop design application. A hybrid between industrial and domestic knitting machines, Kniterate machines are designed for small fashion businesses, studios and schools, and are hence well-suited to microfactories. In March (2023), the company launched a software update with features such as automated shaping commands for neck shaping, new ways to import images and new view modes including “stitch” and “pattern”, said the company in a memo. Kniterate also released a more comprehensive breakdown of assembly steps for use at workstations but noted that work is “still underway to create detailed instructions for every step of the process”. Knitting microfactories are aiming to make production processes kinder on the environment, including by becoming less energy- and water-intensive, as well as by sourcing more local and recyclable materials.
A representative of the Japan Knitting Industry Association told WTiN that an increasing number of its members, mostly microfactories, are developing their own recycling initiatives including “using cutting scraps to make new yarn and using banana peels and coffee peels in dyeing, to reduce each knit’s overall environmental impact”. UK-based knitwear and fabric manufacturer company Waring Brooke goes further, using biodegradable material to create bespoke knitwear, while creating biomass fuel on its site to supply local consumers. In January (2023), Italy-based company Maglifico FMF met with Italy-based yarn producer Cofil to consider its range of traceable and sustainable yarns due to customers becoming “increasingly demanding regarding the choice of yarns” used to make knitwear, said a company newsletter. Knitwear microfactory growth is also being driven by policy. The Circular Economy Action Plan of the European Union (EU) and the related European Commission EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles (released March 2022) have sparked recommendations including the reduction of material and consumption footprints and a ban on the destruction of unsold and returned textile goods. Such steps are likely to spur the development of knitting microfactories, said Professor Alenka Pavko Čuden, chair of textile and clothing engineering at the University of Ljubljana, in Slovenia. “As an important segment of the European textile and clothing industry, the knitting industry in all its diversity, including the production of knitting machines, knitted fabrics and knitwear production, will undoubtedly follow this strategy,” noted Čuden in a January 2023 report entitled ‘Knitting towards sustainability, circular economy and Industry 4.0’.
In Japan, where rapid demographic change such as ageing societies and rural depopulation is putting pressure on human resources, reducing the cost of time and labour and raw materials is driving development of knitting microfactories. A Japan Knitting Industry Association representative said its microfactory members are motivated by business efficiency: “More and more companies are utilising design systems’ virtual samples and focusing on production methods, such as Shima Seiki’s Wholegarment technology, that eliminate cutting loss, against a background of soaring raw material prices,” he said, adding that “making production in appropriate quantities is becoming the mainstream” in 2023. Kyushu Japan-based microfactory Fukuoka Knit Co Ltd, which produces made-to-order knit products for major designer brands in Japan, is among the Japanese companies aiming to increase production through greater digitisation of manufacturing in 2023, the company said in a corporate declaration.
Still, microfactories continue to face challenges, even amid the tailwind of consumer interest in small-scale, local and sustainable manufacturing. Portugal-based Tintex Texiles, which crafts smart jersey knits at its microfactory in Vila Nova de Cerveria, said in a corporate statement that the war in Ukraine “heavily disrupted supply chains” and continues to cause “not only shortages of critical materials and components but also energy prices to skyrocket”. Yarn sourcing, particularly for newly established microfactories, is also problematic as yarn mills prefer to sell in large quantities that do not suit small-scale or on-demand production, said Öhrn-McDaniel. This is driving microfactories to seek other ways to source yarn, such as from alpaca farms with support from Fibershed, a California, US-based non-profit organisation developing regional fibre production with a low environmental footprint, she said. Such innovation – meeting developing demand for sustainable production will only increase the growth of knitwear microfactories worldwide.