Thursday 29 June 2017

East Midlands Techology

Should have oosted this earler to record two rather intriguing visits. Earlier in the month went to Abbey Pumping Station, which is Leicester's Museum of Science and Technology. As it was a small group of Friends of Ruddington FKM, we were let in the Storage Shed. Dozens of old frames and machines jammed in there, including this rather splendid massive circular knitting machine. Only 9 days later, thanks to Google news snippets, I was at the Open Day/Private Show of Shima Seiki, which, amazingly, is here on the industrial estate in the village. The latest machines for Whole Garment Technology use slide needles now, not latch needles, so I will have to be amending my talks! I have found a website that explains bearded, latch, and slide needle: https://www.slideshare.net/jijomathewz/knitting-needles-41819204 WGT machines have four flat beds, arranged in to V's so they are actually form an X. They can knit down to one needle. The computer aided design system can scan apiece of yarn and project it into every knitted stitch and print it out - had to touch the paper to establish it wasn't actually a piece of knitting stuck on the page. I am very proud to be part of this continuous thread, from William Lee via the frame knitters, the circular knitters and beyond. Despite the b**** racetrack, the airport and the frequent road jams, I couldn't be in a better place.

No comments:

Post a Comment