Complete garment knitting technology is a method of producing knitted products, generally fashion garments, ready-made directly in the knitting machine without additional operations such as cutting and sewing. This makes it possible to manufacture a knitted fashion garment with fewer processes then with conventional production methods. In the fashion business customer demand is always changing due to fashion trends, so to be able to manufacture and deliver products rapidly is important. Mass customisation is a customer co-design process of products and services that tries to meets the needs of an individual customer’s demand for certain product features. In the fashion business this means that the customer can order a garment with a customised style, colour, size, and other personal preferences. The principal objective of this dissertation was to examine if and how complete garment technology can be applied to the customisation of knitted fashion products. It was pursued through several independent studies in knitting technology, mass customisation, and fashion logistics against a theoretical frame of reference in these areas. The papers in this thesis present various examples of how knitted fashion garments can be customised and integrated into fashion retailing concepts. The starting point of the research was the Knit-on-Demand research project conducted at the Swedish School of Textiles in collaboration with a knitting manufacturing and retailing company. The aim was to develop a shop concept built on the complete garment technology where a garment could be customised, produced, and delivered as quickly as possible. This initial idea failed due to the expense of investing in complete garment knitting technology, and so other avenues of research had to be found. The Knit-on-Demand project continued, using a business model similar to the complete garment concept but with the retail store and the production unit situated in different locations. The overall research question addressed in this thesis is: How can complete garment knitting technology be applied in a retail concept for customised garments? This question is then divided in two problems: What are the fashion logistics effects of combining complete garment technology and mass customisation? How does the co-design process function in the customisation of knitted fashion garments?The following is a qualitative study based on five research articles applying different research methodologies: case studies, simulations, and interviews. The empirical context is the area of mass customisation of fashion products and knitting technology, more specifically called complete garment knitting production technology. No prior studies describing mass customisation of complete garment knitting technology in combination with fashion logistics were found in the literature. The main contribution of this study is the demonstration that complete garment knitting technology can be applied in the customisation of fashion products. It also illustrates the importance of the co-design process between the company and the customer through which a knitted garment can be customised, produced, and delivered to the customer in three to five hours. The process of co-design and manufacture of a customised complete fashion product is examined, and the advantages and disadvantages associated with customisation of knitted garments are identified and described.

Knitting is a class of techniques for production of textile fabrics by inter-looping yarns withthe use of hooked needles. The new loops are created when the yarns drawn through thepreviously formed loops. An apparatus for two needles with adjustable geometry resemblingthe knitting process in weft knitting machines has been constructed and mounted in anordinary tensile testing machine in order to study stress build-up, fibre damage, needle wearetc. The merits of the knittability test-rig set-up are the possibilities to test the performance ofthe yarns with the geometry of the machine and to simulate and identify some of the problemsthat can occur between needles and yarn in the knitting process. Well-defined mechanicalconditions with the static pre-load weight and the possibilities to identify the location of theevents of damage on the fibres during the testing of the specimens and to do furtherexamination before knitting are some obvious merits. The knittability of some extreme yarns,PET-monofilaments, carbon fibre roving and aramid yarn has been studied with respect tofriction and bending stiffness. Friction and bending characteristics exhibit viscoellasticfeatures. The needles have diameters of the same order of magnitude as the diameters ofmonofilaments for example for use in knitted spacer fabrics and the results of this workillustrate strong influence of the fibre diameter on the knittability. / <p>Program: Magisterutbildning i textilteknologi</p><p>Uppsatsnivå: D</p>

Meniscal tears are the most common intra-articular injury of the knee joint. Due to the avascular zone with limited blood supply, treatment of the injury is a complex process. Today, research on the development of efficient treatments and meniscal replacements is of increasing interest. However, there are few alternatives of meniscal replacements available on the market and research has shown uncertain results in their ability to restore the natural biomechanics of the knee joint or prevent development of osteoarthritis. Furthermore there is no comparable method to evaluate tensile stresses caused by axial compressional load on a whole meniscus replacement. Therefore the possibility of knitted casing to contain, fixate and mechanically stabilize a cell seeded bioprinted gel and develop a methodology to characterize its compressional behaviour was analysed. By interlock knitting with segments of partial knit a 3D crescent-shaped biodegradable casing was produced mimicking the dimension of the medial meniscus. In the casing design, an Artelon® Flexband™ was incorporated functioning both as reinforcement at the peripheral rim and as fixation method. Moreover radial threads were added to the casing design by inclusion of weft inlays in the knitting pattern. In the non-destructive characterization of the compressional behaviour of the prototype, axial compressional forces of 10.82 N and 29.77 N were achieved. However the forces achieved were significantly lower if compared to the high force that is applied to the menisci in the knee joint. Furthermore a high influence of the coefficient of friction of the casing in the axial compressional force was concluded. Nevertheless refinements of the methodology are required to perform evaluation with comparable and reliable results.

Sjöräddningssällskapet har sedan 1907 räddat liv genom frivilliga sjöräddare. De har en vision om att kunna effektivisera sina räddningsaktioner genom att skicka ut en drönare till olycksplatsen för att få en övergripande bild av händelsen och på så sätt kunna anpassa rätt utrustning och personal. Idén var att konstruera drönarens kropp i form av en textil 3D-struktur, detta skulle underlätta dess användning då den skulle bli flexibel och vid olycksplatsen kunna stuvas undan och förflyttas smidigare. Tanken är att drönaren ska ha en konstruktion som kan blåsas upp och bli styv för att sedan kunna tömmas på luft och bli flexibel. Syftet med denna studie är att ta fram en flatstickad distanstextil som ska fungera som en kropp till en drönare där förhoppningen är att den textila 3D-kroppen ska kunna formstickas som en vinge. I distanstextil skapas luftrum mellan lagren vilket möjliggör att en uppblåsbar konstruktion kan skapas. Genom att variera olika parametrar kan man även ta fram önskade egenskaper som styvhet, form, flexibilitet samt lättvikt. För att skapa en distanstextil som är styv i uppblåst läge krävs en beredning. Trikåvaror är generellt svåra att bereda, därför har studien undersökt olika trikåbindningars förmåga att vidhäfta mot beredningar.   Den formstickade distansstrukturen i väfttrikå tillverkades på en flatstickmaskin, där formen skapades genom masköverhängningar. Genom att binda distanstråden på olika nålavstånd kunde ett ovalt tvärsnitt uppnås. För att undersöka olika bindningars förmåga att vidhäfta mot beredningar testades flatstickade 2D-prover. Bindningarna var slätstickning, pikévariant över 2 system, pikévariant över 4 system samt slätstickning med plätering. De olika beredningar som undersöktes var silikonbeläggning, polyuretanfilm, polyetenfilm tillsammans med polyuretanfilm samt en polypropenfilm. Syftet var att hitta en beredning som är lätt i vikt, luft- och vattentät. Ett vidhäftningstest utfördes på bindningarna slätstickning, pikévariant över 2 system samt pikévariant över 4 system med hjälp av en dragprovare för bestämning av de olika bindningarnas vidhäftning mot olika lamineringar. De tre bindningarna i kombination med laminering testades även för luft- och vattentäthet.   Studien visar att det finns goda möjligheter att formsticka en flatstickad distanstextil som ska fungera som en kropp till en drönare. Resultatet visar att provkroppen som var stickad med pikévariant över två system samt laminerad med polyuretanfilmen gav bäst resultat vid utfört vidhäftningstest. Vid test av luftgenomsläpplighet visade pikévariant över två system med laminering av polyuretanfilm tillsammans med en polyetenfilm tätast resultat med låg luftgenomsläpplighet. Test för bestämning av vattentäthet visar att den slätstickade varan med en laminering med polyetenfilm och en polyuretanfilm gav bäst resultat. / Since 1907, the Swedish Sea Rescue Society has saved lives with the help of volunteer workers. Their vision is to be able to improve their rescue operations with quicker respond times by sending out a drone to the scene of an accident. The idea is to get a comprehensive picture of the scene, so they can adapt the right equipment and personnel for the job. The idea is to create a drone with a textile 3D structure, which would ease use as it would become flexible and easier to remove from the scene of the alarm. The drone should have a structure similar to a stand-up paddle board, where it can be inflatable and become stiff and then be deflated and folded and tucked away.   The purpose of this study is to develop a flat knitted spacer fabric that will serve as a body of the drone, hoping that the textile 3D structure can be shaped like a wing. With spacer fabrics, space for air is created between the layers, enabling an inflatable construction to be created. By varying different parameters, one can also develop desired features such as stiffness, shape, flexibility and decrease weight. To be able to create a spacer fabric that is stiff when inflated, a finishing process is required. It is generally hard to find a finishing to a knitted fabric, therefore the study investigates the ability of different bindings on a knitted fabric to adhere to finishes.   The shaped spacer fabric was manufactured by weft knitting on a flat knitting machine called Stoll CMS 822 HP. A wing shaped spacer and an oval cross section were achieved in this study. To investigate how the binding affects the adhesion of the finishing, three different bindings of flat knitted 2D- structures were tested. The bindings were: plain fabric (single jersey), pique structure over 2 feeders, pique structure over 4 feeders and plain fabric with plating. The finishing processes that were studied were silicone coating, a polyurethane film, a polyethylene film and a polypropylene film. The aim was to find a finishing with the properties of light weight, air and water tightness. An adhesion test was performed on the bindings plain fabric, pique structure over 2 feeders and pique structure over 4 feeders by a tensile tester to determine the adhesion between the tested bindings and finishes. These test specimens were also tested to determine resistance to water penetration and air permeability.   The study shows that it is possible to create a shaped spacer fabric by flat knitting, that will act as the body of a drone. The result of the adhesion test shows that the test specimen with binding pique over 2 feeders and laminated with a polyurethane film performed the best. In the air permeability test the same binding showed the best result but with a lamination of a polyurethane film and a polyethylene film. The test to determine resistance to water penetration showed that the binding plain fabric was the best, with a lamination of a polyurethane film, and a polyethylene film.

Textilindustrin är en industri som ständigt växer och utvecklas. År 1995 introducerade det japanska företaget Shima Seiki den första maskinen med de tekniska egenskaperna, som gjorde det möjligt att producera ett trikåplagg med complete garment teknik. Denna introduktion revolutionerade tillverkningstekniken för dessa plagg. Denna studie har skrivits som ett examensarbete på kandidatnivå inom Textilingenjörsprogrammets avslutande del på Högskolan i Borås. Studiens huvudsakliga syfte var att undersöka vilket produktionssätt som var mest effektivt tidsmässigt vid produktion av ett plagg i finstickad trikå, ur ett supply chain perspektiv. Två olika tillverkningsmetoder valdes ut, konventionell och complete garment. Jämförelsen baserades på tidsbedömning av tillverkningsmetodernas supply chain som undersöktes med hjälp av en värdeflödesanalys. Plagget som valdes ut var en tröja, i finstickad trikå, och utifrån detta utfördes en litteraturstudie med fokus på olika produktionsmetoder och logistik. Med utgångspunkt i litteraturstudien upprättades två varianter av varuflöden till de olika tillverkningsmetoderna. En tidsstudie utfördes grundat på de två olika varuflödena, som baserades på egna studier i kombination med intervjuer av experter inom området. Sammanställning av tidsstudien och värdeflödesanalysen visade att det fanns för- och nackdelar med de båda tillverkningsmetoderna. En nackdel som framkom var non-value-added faktorerna väntetid och planering inför produktion, som visade sig vara svåra att undvika i de båda tillverkningsmetoderna. Fördelarna var att de non-value-added faktorerna i complete garment tillverkningens supply chain kunde kortas ner. Efter analys av vilka krav som ställdes, på non-value-added faktorerna för varuflödet hos respektive tillverkningsmetod, kunde slutsatsen dras att complete garment tillverkningens varuflöde är att föredra om man ville ha en snabb påfyllnad av varor till butik utan att ha varorna på lager. / Program: Textilingenjörsutbildningen

The possibility of direct preforming in the near net shape of final component structure with load- and shape-conforming fiber orientations is highly essential in composite production, not only to reduce costs but also to attain better mechanical properties and form stability. Based on the concept of varying the reinforcement yarn lengths during the feed-in (warp yarn delivery) and segmented doffing, synchronous working numerically controlled warp yarn delivery and doffing machine modules have been newly developed for multiaxial warp knitting machines to create a resource efficient textile process chain by a single-step, large-scale oriented production of load- and form-conforming warp knitted three-dimensional shell preforms with free-form geometrical surfaces. Such customized preforms in the near component net shape offer higher material utilization and increased lightweight potential.