Karl Mayer has launched a new version of its HKS 3-M warp knitting machine for pile fabrics. The leading German company shows that there is always room for improvement, even with high-performance machines, by extending the HKS 3-M to incorporate a completely revised pile mechanism. The key element of the mechanism is the pile sinker bar, which is now made from carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP).

The high-speed HKS 3, three-bar tricot machine has been one of Karl Mayer’s most successful machines and was showcased ITMA 2007 in Munich equipped with bars made from CFRP. The company has used the material and adapted the design concept to maximum effect. The lightweight, highly stable, temperature-resistant material has enabled the production speed to be increased by as much as 35% compared with the machine’s predecessor, even at a working width of 218 inches and in fine gauges. One hundred and fifty HKS 3 machines fitted with CFRP bars have been sold since the series went into mass production.

Karl Mayer says that the pile option will be available from January 2009, which will increase the appeal and number of end-uses of the high-speed machine. Customers can order the HKS 3-M factory fitted with the pile mechanism or in a configuration which will allow the pile mechanism to be retrofitted at a later date.

By using CFRP in the pile bar, rotational speeds of up to 2000 rpm can be achieved, depending on the width and gauge and machine performance is increased by as much as 25% when producing pile fabrics. The new HKS 3-M offers a high level of stability and production reliability and the advantages are the result of the lower weight, as well as the low thermal expansion of the CFRP bars.

Karl Mayer claims to be meeting the demands of the market by extending the product range of the HKS 3-M so that it can produce top-quality pile fabrics extremely efficiently. The company says that enquiries were already being made about the machine, even before it was ready to go into mass production.

The HKS3-M with CFRP supersedes Karl Mayer’s HKS 3 M (P) high-performance tricot machine.  Applications range from light tulle to high-quality plush fabrics and when equipped with an elastane device, the HKS 3-M can also produce elastic articles. Karl Mayer says that the HKS3-M can be used to produce fabrics for automotive, upholstery, sportswear, toy plush, shoes, outerwear, bunting, ground fabrics for printing / advertising media, mosquito nets, coating substrates and cleaning textiles.