Lycra Feeders for Textile Machinery

Lycra — the elastane fibre that puts stretch into modern fabrics — cannot be fed like an ordinary yarn. It is knitted under controlled extension: the feeder must deliver it at a precise, steady draft so every course carries the same elastane tension, or the fabric's width, weight and recovery vary from metre to metre. Lycra feeders are the dedicated units that do this on circular knitting machines, metering the bare or covered elastane from its package to the feed under positive control.

How Lycra Feeders Control Elastane

A Lycra feeder draws the elastane from its package over driven rollers at a set ratio to the machine's yarn feed, holding draft constant through package run-out and machine speed changes. Jen-Haur of Taiwan, listed below, builds Lycra feeders that can be assembled with different parts for different functions: put on the metallic roller for running metallic yarn, or put on the bracket and the cover to avoid dust getting on the yarn. That modularity reflects real mill needs — the same feeder family serves plating positions, full elastane feeds and specialty yarns, and covers and brackets protect fine elastane from the lint-laden air of the knitting shed.

Lycra Feeding Faults and Setup

Elastane faults are unforgiving: a wandering draft shows as width variation, grin-through or baggy recovery in the finished garment, and a broken elastane end can wrap a roller and stop the machine. Setup discipline — correct draft ratio for the fabric specification, clean rollers, guides threaded exactly as the maker intends — is most of the craft. Jen-Haur, established in 1976 and a leading circular knitting machine spare parts manufacturer, supplies Lycra feeders within the same range as its multi-function positive feeders (which supply two or more yarn types at different tensions for striper and jacquard machines), creel stands and testing equipment. Background on the fibre itself is on the Lycra fibre page linked from this page.

Companies Supplying Lycra Feeders