15—INTERACTIVE COMPUTER-ASSISTED DESIGN OF CIRCULAR WEFT-KNITTING MACHINES

An interactive computer system used for the visualization of a circular weft-knitting-machine head is described. The system consists of a series of computer packages, which the designer, sitting at the graphics display, uses to build up progressively information describing the weft-knitting machine. The computer packages use Fortran and the graphics language GINO–F and were designed by using a Digital Equipment Corporation PDP 10 computer. One of the most significant advantages of the system is that it enables the machine designer to change the display quickly, for example, to alter positions of the thread guide or the stitch draw. It is also possible to have a display of resulting yarn tensions that occur as the needle passes through the knitting cycle. Work is proceeding to develop the system to generate tapes for numerically controlled machining of the knitting cams.