New shoe fabric patterns. © Karl Mayer

Karl Mayer presented its five-bar tricot machine, the COP 5 M-EL, to the wider public at ITMA Asia + CITME 2018 in Asia for the first time last year. The former COP 5 version has been combined with Karl Mayer’s EL pattern drive in this model to create a tricot machine capable of producing an extensive range of patterns. Its performance was demonstrated at the in-house show held at Karl Mayer (China) at the same time as the fair and was a complete success.

The visitors were particularly impressed by the possibilities it offered to produce shoe fabrics, the company reports. A coarse machine gauge was developed at Karl Mayer to produce a multifaceted collection for this particular end-use.

New shoe fabric patterns. © Karl Mayer

The articles in this collection for use in tough, hardwearing sports and leisure shoes feature stylish, graphic patterns with a contrasting, two-tone coloured effect. Two fabric samples are shown in the pattern part of this issue. Polyester was used to produce all the types: a textured, spin-dyed black yarn was used in ground guide bars, GB 1, GB 2 and GB 3, and a smooth, semi-matt, raw-white version was used in GB 4 and GB 5.

The pattern is based on a 1 in/1 out threading arrangement in GB 4 and GB 5. Openings of different sizes can be produced in the ground by varying the lapping. The wide variety of motifs is produced on the ground pattern during production and protrude clearly from the ground as a result of the spin-dyed yarn. A fully threaded pillar stitch in GB 1 increases the stability of the fabric. At the same time, the underlaps of the other guide bars are protected in order to improve the abrasion resistance.

New shoe fabric patterns. © Karl Mayer

The patterned fabrics weigh approximately 300 g/m². They are produced in a gauge of E 20 and can be worked at an exceptionally high operating speed. The COP 5 M-EL has a maximum speed of 1.200 min-1.

As well as shoes, the COP 5 M-EL in a gauge of E 28 can produce sports goods, apparel fabrics and other semi-technical textiles, such as upholstery fabrics, automotive textiles and coating substrates. “The electronic guide bar control, in combination with the five guide bars, gives this all-round machine maximum flexibility,” according to the manufacturer.

www.karlmayer.com