Frankfurt – Italian yarn specialist MIC Spa is showcasing its next generation of technical knitting yarns at Techtextil Frankfurt, in partnership with Shima Seiki Italia, the Italian subsidiary of the Japanese flat-knitting machinery leader.
The two companies are showing how carefully engineered yarns and advanced knitting technology together can turn knitted structures into responsive devices.
At the centre of MIC’s presentation is its EXTE 2.7 yarn, a high-performance elastic yarn originally developed for demanding knitting applications.
At Techtextil, however, EXTE 2.7 is positioned as a functional component in its own right, used to produce technical gloves directly on Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT machines that combine comfort, durability and mechanical precision in a single knitted piece. The concept underlines a shift in thinking: yarn not just as a textile ingredient, but as an integral part of a mechatronic system.
The glove application forms part of MUSE, an R&D project carried out by Shima Seiki and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa to create an automated glove and soft robotic device that supports hand motor functions. The system incorporates textile-based pneumatic actuators inside a wearable knitted structure, mechanically programmed using Shima Seiki’s Wholegarment technology and special yarns developed by MIC.
These actuators generate biomimetic forces that assist finger opening and closing, offering a concrete demonstration of how knitted structures and tailored yarns can deliver controlled motion for rehabilitation or assistive wear.
Within this framework, EXTE represents a broader MIC innovation platform: a family of yarns engineered to optimize performance and available in multiple counts and gauges, with different elasticity and resilience levels for both technical and aesthetic end-uses.
The portfolio covers yarns based on polyester, cotton, polyamide and polycotton in a wide choice of formats, treatments and colours.
MIC operates a continuously monitored stock system to safeguard production continuity, supported by a STOCK SERVICE that keeps 450 colors permanently available in the warehouse for immediate global shipment and updates them each year in line with chromatic trends.
