Fabric Inspection Machines

Fabric inspection machines allow every metre of finished fabric to be examined before it reaches the customer. Holes, stains, missing stitches, barré (shade streaks) and width variations are caught at this stage; faulty lengths are marked, recorded and separated where necessary. This protects the quality of what you ship and prevents waste that would otherwise appear during garment making.

A different machine for each fabric type

The design of an inspection machine depends on how the fabric behaves. Stretchable knitted fabric and non-stretch woven fabric cannot be inspected efficiently on the same machine, because tension is managed differently in each case.

• Knitted fabrics — elastic, often with elastane; tension is adjusted automatically.
• Woven fabrics — non-stretch; tension is set manually by the operator.
• Tubular fabrics — come off circular knitting machines as a tube; both faces are inspected and the fabric is rewound as a tube.

Greige fabric versus dyed fabric

Greige (raw) fabric is inspected before dyeing, usually on machines with an enclosed cabinet. UV lighting inside the cabinet reveals barré and yarn-related faults that are not visible under daylight. Inspection of dyed and finished fabric is preferred in dyehouses; fabric can be fed from a trolley, in open width, from plaits or from a decatizing machine, and leaves the machine wound into a roll.

Winding method and roll diameter

Front-winding machines work up to roughly 450 mm roll diameter. On platform models the winding takes place behind the operator, so diameters of 450 mm and above can be reached; these machines can also be configured to feed a packing line directly.

Browse the categories below to find machines suited to your fabric, or contact us for a configuration matched to your plant.

Specifying textile inspection equipment

Selecting textile inspection equipment starts with the fabric, not the machine. Fibre content and elastane ratio determine whether tension must be automatic; whether the fabric is greige or dyed determines whether an enclosed UV cabinet is required; working width and target roll diameter determine the frame and drive sizing. Metering accuracy — in the region of ±0.2% on a well-specified system — decides how reliably delivered length can be documented, which is what protects an exporter in a dispute.

Inspection equipment is most effective when it is not treated as an isolated station. Placed directly ahead of winding, cutting or packing, the fabric is handled once and leaves the line measured, inspected and ready to ship.