Knitting Machine

Knitting Machine: Needle Router Working!

Check this out! I’ve actually had the main design on the whiteboard for a few weeks, but I wanted to play with other things for a bit: This is v2.1 of the needle router. I don’t think showing the intermediate v2.0 is very interesting: the changes were important, but minor. Anyway, let’s compare the designsContinue reading “Knitting Machine: Needle Router Working!”

Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Controller First Test Print

I decided it was time to try out the prototype design! I printed half of the needle movement model to save on time and materials. As a result you need to move the carriage in both directions to see the full needle movement. I also adjusted the design slightly, adding in some fillets to roundContinue reading “Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Controller First Test Print”

Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Model

I spent some time this evening turning the sketch into a proper Fusion360 3D model, as above. Key features: I’ve inserted holes for all the M3 bolts I need to use to hold the moving parts together. I’ve also added some more chunks of plastic to try to prevent needles getting stuck. I’ve already gotContinue reading “Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Model”

Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Controller Design

I’ve been busy in Fusion 360 this morning. Previously I had mocked up a design for the needle movement controller on my whiteboard: This morning, I’ve been translating this into a “Sketch” in Fusion 360: I designed the left hand side and then simply mirrored the design to create the right hand side (remember, itContinue reading “Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Controller Design”

Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Analysis

I had a look into how the needle is controlled by the carriage in this video (I’ve removed a few needles to help with the video). Obviously the yarn wouldn’t actually pop up on top (it would be caught beneath the bed), but it shows what happens. There are four “needle positions” on my machine:Continue reading “Knitting Machine: Needle Movement Analysis”

Knitting Machine Project

I’ve been interested in building a knitting machine for some time, and I’ve just got round to looking into it again. I found a few other projects in this area: Knitic – this re-uses Brother electronic knitting machines. I did some research and they’re pretty expensive, even second hand. Circular Knitic – this builds aContinue reading “Knitting Machine Project”