Everything (else) I learned about knitting machines while designing one of my own

[@nobodybirthday]

I have a mild obsession with knitting machines this video series so far has been absolutely fascinating

[@scaredyfish]

I’m a programmer with a 3d printer, and my wife does machine knitting, so this is the perfect intersection of our interests.

[@MartinMakesThings]

Your long and detailed videos are a true joy to watch. It’s always fascinating to see how people approach the design of machines like this. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@tfpanda9050]

I'm very happy to know that someone is working on this. I appreciate how detailed these videos are as well. Thank you for your hard work. I will be following this project with excitement.

[@galaxythree4653]

I would suggest you take a look at the Passap Vario plastic bed knitting machine. Here you can see another way of making the needle spacing plates without the screws. This machine knits both 5mm and 10mm seperatly or at the same time on different sides of the bed. I would love to explore this with you in a bit of conversation. You can google this machine to find the manual as well as 2 youtube videos about it. Also as to needle background. Early on needles were more rigid than on many machines today. They did not use a sponge bar as the needle retainer. The needle retainer could also be more durable. The sponge bar used today is for more flexible metal needles that actually bend slightly for lace knitting performance. This is way too much to text into a comment box. Even in the much older home knitting machines there are several different construction designs. The practicality is based on the desired use. Most all machine can do the same things just differently. A study of the cam systems of different brands is also interesting. This is for the locks, AKA carriage or basically the needles paths. The Bond system used easy to drop in key plates of different configurations. Some machens have disc's like older sewing machines, still others have a series of buttons, levers and timing belts to produce different needle paths. 🫠🤗

[@SquiddyKy]

Thank you for the brilliant deep-dive into your process! It's fantastic to see all the hurdles, stumbles, and triumphs you've had through this whole thing, and I can't wait to see how future iterations of your machine turn out. If you get around to making a ribber, I am *absolutely* going to alter and print one to pair with my own Knitmaster 360K machine.

[@yttube4865]

respect the subtitles - effort shown

[@matthewdoane4781]

You don't really need to use torsion springs in this application. A linear spring (or a rubberband) combined with a lever arm wold work just fine. Torsion springs are usually only necessary when space is a concern and you have the entire carriage to work with, in some respects. This would also allow you to easily adjust the force of the cams by varying the lever length or linear spring. Also, this is an awesome idea and I am looking forward to more content on this.

[@shoofle]

if you're looking for configurable spring solutions, you might look into using flexures, wherein you print thin bits of material and use the springy properties of the plastic to generate bendable and spring-like behaviors - they might be a great fit for switchable gates! you could also look into winding your own springs out of piano wire, which might be out of scope for this project but could be a solution. and could be useful for researching what kind of springs you want.

[@bruceconnervo2142]

As a former Agile trainer, I just want to thank you for going into depth about your process. Don't be too hard on yourself about that first stumble, it obviously helped you find out what you needed to nail down to effectively move forward (especially re: organization - it's just not as fun as all the coding and building, is it? 😀) Anyway, I've 3D printed some sock machines already, and was having vague thoughts about a flatbed design when you popped up in my feed. Thanks for doing all this pioneering work! You know *exactly* how much time you've saved me. Looking forward to watching the design grow and improve and printing my own soon. Not to stir the pot (much!), but have you considered applying compliant mechanisms rather than pivots/springs/etc. to the design? 3D prints work pretty well for those if you don't ask too much of the material.

[@SparksCuriosity]

Haha, totally, I learned so much from doing it badly first, I'm glad I got the chance to get that out of my system early! And yes, I have been looking into compliant mechanisms and I've got a few ideas but haven't had a chance to test anything yet. Fingers crossed!

[@scaredyfish]

Yes, compliant mechanisms were my thought too. It solves the parts availability issue, and could end up simplifying the carriage as well.

[@quasistoic-all-in]

I really love this project, and I so much appreciate all the detail you give on your design, development, and refinement processes. I’m a former software engineer by trade, but a 3d designer/printer, knitter, crafter, and tinkerer by choice/nature, and designing and building a flatbed machine knitter has been on my todo list as well. Even if you chose to never release your designs themselves, the lessons you’ve been imparting through these videos are invaluable.

[@kristien2010]

I did not fully understand parts of this video, but watching you figure things out & beeak them down is so fascinating. I have a Bond USM that I love, but am excitedly following this project to see if I can print a slightly more advanced machine. Good luck with all the tinkering.

[@tomweinstein]

For small deflections, torsion springs should operate the same in either direction as long as they have enough space for the wound section to expand/contract.

[@doughntworry]

Love following your process.

[@SparksCuriosity]

I'm so glad! Thank you!

[@etienne6916]

super interesting! :) can't wait to try your machine out! I have a singer standard gauge and printed the Mr Roboto sock machine, so now I'm ready to try out a flat bed machine print haha

[@Falney]

I am in the process of developing a computerized Intarzia and Lace knitting machine. I am forgoing Cams for pnumatic or electric servos in the carriage to get over a lot of headaches involving cams and needle size. You just put the needle pitch into the computer and a bit of automatic math and step counting later, you can use the same carriage on any size/needle pitch bed.

[@nancymoore8949]

I really enjoy your videos and can sometimes even follow the technical explanations but will probably never build my own machine. But keep it coming! I am definitely curious.

[@MrGigs94]

Wow I found this series yesterday and then I see you uploaded less than 30 minutes ago. Ive been loosely obsessed with kntting machines for the last 2 years but havent been able to justify the cost of getting into them. I originally found knitting on a whim through loom knitting almost 4 years ago now.

[@sleepydrJ]

COVID crafter syndrome.

[@John-gw3mj]

I'm not a knitter but I'm glad KZbin suggested this to me, thanks for sharing such detail about an amazing project! Two thoughts that may or may not be helpful: Do you need torsion springs? Could you use a linear spring on top of the carriage instead? You might end up with some awkward binding but it might allow you to use a fully printed cam with a wider diameter (rather than the pin/rivet) Could you move the front rail screws behind the sponge strip? If you had "ears" on the back side of the rail, could you move the screws behind the sponge strip? This might interfere with the needle butts so it might need to be screwed in from the underside.

[@lvikng57]

can't wait to see the code for this, I have a lot of experience with CAD and writing software but just can't seem to connect them together

[@joshmyer9]

13:03 If the carriage couples to the bed via a conical cylinder, you could get infinitely variable pitch by moving the point of contact along the cone (see 507 mechanical movements #8, but make the "belt" be a ridge on the needlebed, it's a slightly janky infinitely variable pulley). (This is a terrible idea but it would be amazing if it wouldn't wear out super quickly, and slip all the time, and and and. Terrible, but fun!)

[@jacobdunning8373]

Mc-Master Carr can be a great resource for small parts like the springs and pins. If being able to handle them and decide is important, ACE hardware might be an option depending on where you are in Canada

[@DaveLeCompte]

yay, stubborn enthusiasm

[@claireoconnor6692]

It would be AMAZING to see a machine that could do garter stitch in the same way as a hanamaka or Pingouin machine.

[@claireoconnor6692]

The two flat beds (with a double ended needle) also make lovely ribbing.

[@LegoDan2002]

Microcenter has torsion springs in their 100 pc misc spring bags

[@sleepydrJ]

Your yellow and white components make me want one….. deceiving me into thinking it will all be friendly and easy. Please make your future versions puke-grey-green, or yell much louder with your “it’s not a product!!” section. Thank you.

[@rileyrustad5810]

Hey! I love your work, and it's exciting to find others with aligned interests! I've been working on a 3d printed knitting machine off and on for the last few years, and I think we're like 2 mirrored parallel lines here. I found this video and your motivations one, and it's spooky how close our projects are. I wonder if you'd be up for any amount of collaboration? I haven't posted any of mine publicly, but would if it's helpful?

[@SparksCuriosity]

Ooooh it must be something in the zeitgeist, that's very cool. I'd love to hear more if and when you post something!

[@super_jo_nathan]

Loved hearing you talk about your process! Have you maybe considered 3d printed flexure joints for the gates?

[@super_jo_nathan]

I'm pretty sure that there are some bistable flexure mechanisms out there that could fit your needs very well as they don't require sourcing extra parts

[@SparksCuriosity]

Thank you, and yes! Since filming I've been looking into a few different compliant mechanism ideas that I think could potentially work but I haven't had time to test anything yet. Being able to replace the springs would solve so many issues if I can figure out something printable that's still robust enough at that teeny size. 🤞

[@super_jo_nathan]

@@SparksCuriosity ah yeah, the size constraint does add a lot of challenges. Stuff like that doesn't translate well to screens 😅. I do hope you can figure something out! It would be a very elegant solution if you can make it work

[@enjoying28]

search for 3dpinted spring shapes for your cam and springs

[@DarrousHadiLEGO_ROBOTS]

Hi, I am a mechanical designer, and I would be more than happy to help you to develop this machine if you want help with design, CAD, or part sourcing and making it more user-friendly.

[@wyw876]

From a programmer that's worked with mechanical engineers, one takeaway lesson is "if you can't make it as precise as you need, make it adjustable". Another lesson, from James Bruton here on YT, is to implement that adjustability via minimal-volume 3d-printed sleeves to abstract away the bridge between your mechanical need and your available materials.