Troubleshooting / Circular knitting machine

Circular Knitting Machine Troubleshooting

The most common circular knitting machine problems on the plant floor, with the likely causes and the fix for each. Part of the OEE Lab troubleshooting directory.

Not your exact symptom?

Describe it in the symptom finder and search the whole directory.

Open the symptom finder

Problems on this page:

Needles breakingHoles in the fabricDropped stitches or laddersOil stains on the fabricHorizontal stripes or barreFabric take-down problemsLint building upYarn breaks at the feedersSpirality in the fabricFabric weight or width off target

Needles breaking

Hits OEE: Availability

Symptoms: Needles break, often several in a row, and holes appear.

Worn needles or cams
Replace worn needles and inspect the cams.
Yarn tension too high
Set the yarn feed tension.
Lubrication low
Check the oiler.
Foreign matter in the needle tracks
Clean the cylinder.

Prevention: Needle breaks logged per machine.

Holes in the fabric

Hits OEE: Quality

Symptoms: Holes appear in the knitted fabric.

Yarn too weak or with thin places
Check the yarn quality.
Yarn tension too high
Reduce the tension.
Damaged needle latches
Replace the damaged needles.
Stitch length too tight
Check the stitch cam settings.

Prevention: Fabric inspected at roll doffing.

Dropped stitches or ladders

Hits OEE: Quality

Symptoms: Vertical ladders run down the fabric.

Needle latch not closing
Replace the needle.
Yarn not laid into the hook
Adjust the yarn guide.
Sinkers damaged
Replace damaged sinkers.
Take-down tension too low
Increase the take-down tension.

Prevention: Ladder detector or visual check at each doff.

Oil stains on the fabric

Hits OEE: Quality

Symptoms: Oil spots or lines appear in the fabric.

Too much oil from the lubricator
Reduce the oil setting.
Wrong oil type
Use a scourable knitting oil.
Oil leaking from the machine
Find and fix the leak.
Oil dripping after a long stop
Clean the cylinder before restarting.

Prevention: Oil settings checked weekly.

Horizontal stripes or barre

Hits OEE: Quality

Symptoms: Bands of different shade or texture run across the fabric.

Yarn lots mixed on the creel
Use one yarn lot per machine.
Feed tension different between feeders
Check the tension on every feeder.
Stitch length differs between feeders
Set the stitch cams evenly.
Positive feed belt slipping
Check the feed belt.

Prevention: Yarn lot control on the creel.

Fabric take-down problems

Hits OEE: Quality

Symptoms: Fabric winds unevenly, creases, or the tension changes.

Take-down rollers worn
Replace the roller covers.
Take-down speed wrong
Adjust the take-down for the fabric.
Spreader set wrong
Adjust the spreader.
Winding uneven
Check the winder.

Prevention: Take-down settings recorded per article.

Lint building up

Hits OEE: Availability

Symptoms: Lint collects around feeders and needles and causes stops.

Fans or blowers not working
Check the lint blowers.
Cleaning missed
Clean on the shift schedule.
Yarn shedding fibre
Check the yarn quality.
Humidity low
Raise the humidity.

Prevention: Machine cleaning on the shift checklist.

Yarn breaks at the feeders

Hits OEE: Availability

Symptoms: The machine stops on the yarn break sensors.

Package defects
Check the yarn packages.
Feeder tension too high
Adjust the tension.
Yarn guides worn
Replace grooved guides.
Sensor too sensitive or dirty
Clean and adjust the sensors.

Prevention: Yarn breaks counted per feeder.

Spirality in the fabric

Hits OEE: Quality

Symptoms: The wales lean at an angle and garments twist after washing.

Lively, high-twist yarn
Use yarn with a twist suited to knitting, or yarn that has been set, for this fabric.
Many feeders on a single jersey machine
Check whether the fabric construction and feeder count need compensation in finishing.
Fabric knitted too tight
Review the stitch length for the yarn count.
Finishing not correcting the twist
Agree the finishing route with the dye house for fabrics known to twist.

Prevention: Spirality measured after a wash test for each new yarn lot.

Fabric weight or width off target

Hits OEE: Quality

Symptoms: Grams per square metre or the tube width differ from the specification.

Stitch length changed
Check the stitch cam settings and the positive feed speed against the article card.
Yarn count varies
Check the yarn count of the lot on the creel.
Take-down tension changed
Reset the take-down for the article.
Fabric measured before relaxing
Let the fabric relax for the time the test method sets before measuring.

Prevention: Weight and width checked on the first roll of each article and lot.

Guidance only. Always follow lockout/tagout and your site's safe-work procedures, and verify against OEM manuals before acting.

Related equipment guides: weaving machine · air handling unit · lubrication system · electric motor · jet dyeing machine · stenter · carding machine · ring spinning frame

Stop the same fault coming back

Recurring circular knitting machine stops usually trace to a cause you cannot see by hand. The partner we recommend is Fabrico: it tracks OEE and downtime live from PLCs, IoT sensors or AI cameras; where cameras are fitted, the video of a stop sits next to its machine data so the cause can be reviewed; and a technician opens the work order from the stop in the same system. Data is hosted in the AWS EU region, and Fabrico and the company behind it hold ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 20000-1 and ISO 9001.

Book a Fabrico demo
The directory stays free.

Related tools: full troubleshooting directory · OEE calculator · downtime cost · MTBF / MTTR · glossary

Methods that cut recurring stops: the six big losses · root cause analysis · preventive vs predictive maintenance · TPM · SMED & changeover