Reliable precision at high speed

The ball screws from August Steinmeyer are characterised by a wide range of uses in various applications. Among other things, they make an important contribution to the smooth operation of a tricot machine of the Karl Mayer Group. The company is the world market leader in textile machinery manufacturing and thus an important driving force in the industry. The manufacturer offers innovative, economical and technically sophisticated solutions for the two most important stitch-forming processes, warp knitting and knitting, as well as for the fields of technical textiles, warp preparation, weaving and digitisation.

For the production of elastic and non-elastic plain and pile fabrics, Karl Mayer offers, among other things, tricot machines with three electronic guide bars. The HKS 3-M ON is the latest generation of three-bar high-performance warp knitting machines and a pioneer in the field of increasingly networked and digital warp knitting machines. It is suitable for a wide range of applications in textile production and enables flexible pattern changes to reduce downtimes. In addition to outerwear and sportswear, the machines can also be used to produce articles for automotive interiors, automotive seats, upholstery fabrics, velour as well as coating and advertising media.

Continuous operation with high-frequency oscillating movements

"Never before has it been possible to operate a three-bar warp knitting machine with electronic guide bar drives at such high speeds," reports Alexander Meyer from Global Sourcing at Karl Mayer. "This places the highest demands on all the components installed, but especially on the precision of the guide bar drives, which have to manoeuvre guide bars between the knitting needles at top speed - and with a gauge of up to 32 needles per inch."

The textile machine manufacturer relies on the high-quality precision ball screws from August Steinmeyer GmbH & Co. KG with diameters of 16 mm and 20 mm because these have been specially optimised for continuous use with high-frequency oscillating movements. "Another decisive factor for using Steinmeyer ball screws is their very good quality and durability - even under difficult operating conditions," Meyer continues. "Thanks to the freedom from backlash at high forces, the needles can glide through the lanes without contact." Friction, wear and energy consumption are thus reduced to a minimum. For use in the tricot machine, August Steinmeyer manufactured some ball screws with a guide tube that is screwed to the nut. Depending on the operating conditions, these are equipped with special nut seals.