CN
ENHaining Enterprise Breaks Foreign Monopoly, Masters Grooved Needle Manufacturing in 6 Years
来源：本站 | 发布日期：2020-11-05 | 访问：370
A few years ago,the "Ballpoint Pen Question"struck a raw nerve in China's manufacturing sector.
Much like this question,a similar "Grooved Needle Question"has long plagued China's warp knitting industry.
Across the country, thousands of warp knitting enterprisesand over 50,000 warp knitting machineshave all relied on imported grooved needles from abroad,with the core technology long monopolized by foreign companies.
Until now.
A Haining enterprise has broken through this foreign monopoly,and the technological barrier held by overseas players for a centuryhas finally been surmounted!
It is hard for many to fathom that the production of such a tiny grooved needle could become a choke point technology hindering the development of China's warp knitting industry.
In fact, product R&D is never an easy feat. This core technology has long been tightly held by foreign enterprises. Not only was mass production out of the question, but even the molds and machinery for processing grooved needles were unavailable for purchase. Yet hard work always pays off. Today, this century-old technological monopoly by foreign companies has finally been shattered by an enterprise from Haining.
This enterprise is Haining Xinyi Precision Machinery Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Haining Xinyi Electromechanical Co., Ltd.
“Cross-Boundary Breakthrough, Forging a "Needle" in Six Years”
Haining Xinyi Electromechanical Co., Ltd. got its start in manufacturing rotary shaver heads, and has focused on this field for more than 20 years. Its core products hold a market share of over 60% in China, making it a key supplier for major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of well-known domestic shaver brands such as Xiaomi and Superman.
Why would an enterprise specialized in shaver heads make a cross-boundary foray into manufacturing grooved needles for warp knitting machines? The story dates back six years.
Six years ago, Huai Huap Pei, the helmsman of Xinyi Electromechanical, held in-depth discussions with senior executives of warp knitting enterprises in Haining. They all voiced the same grievance: grooved needles for warp knitting machines were almost entirely reliant on imports from Germany. A single imported grooved needle was priced at 1 euro, and during the peak periods of needle replacement for warp knitting machines, not only did enterprises have to wait in long queues to secure supplies, but the prices also kept surging.
Back then, a conservative national estimate put the number of warp knitting machines at over 50,000 units. Each machine required thousands of grooved needles, driving the annual demand for such needles to more than 150 million pieces. With such robust demand, coupled with a technological monopoly and a complete lack of alternative products, foreign suppliers naturally called the shots on pricing.
Back then, someone asked Huai Huap Pei: “Can you crack this technology?”
“You never know until you try.” His confidence stemmed from the rich experience the company had accumulated over the years in manufacturing high-precision, high-performance products.
Even so, the R&D and manufacturing challenges of grooved needles exceeded all his expectations. “We originally planned to develop the technology in three years, but it ended up taking six years from start to finish—doubling both the investment and the time we’d anticipated.”
Processing precision reaches the micron level
Grooved needles are tiny components: their tips are shaped like ear scoops with a small hook at the top. As the core basic parts of warp knitting machines, they are used for weaving operations. To put it in a vivid way, just as people use knitting needles to weave sweaters, warp knitting machines use grooved needles for their weaving work.
The difficulty in manufacturing grooved needles lies in their ultra-high precision requirements, which must reach the micron level.
First and foremost, the raw material requirements are extremely stringent: the surface flatness tolerance of the steel strip used must not exceed ±1 micron—equivalent to one-thousandth of a millimeter—otherwise, the material will be deemed non-conforming.
Second, the machining precision requirements are equally exacting: the runout tolerance of the needle tip after machining must not exceed ±0.015 mm.
Third, heat treatment poses a great challenge: grooved needles must undergo heat treatment to maintain specific mechanical properties—too soft and they tend to bend, too hard and they are prone to breaking.
Independently developed over 100 sets of equipment
Such ultra-high machining precision has deterred numerous domestic manufacturers. Even a few that attempted production failed to pass the initial assembly stage due to inadequate machining accuracy.
Most importantly, the molds and machinery for processing grooved needles were simply unavailable: none were manufactured domestically, and foreign suppliers refused to sell them. The only option was to rely on our own efforts and pursue independent R&D.
To overcome these successive technological hurdles, Huai Huap Pei set up a dedicated R&D team to tackle the challenges head-on. After investing over 10 million yuan and enduring more than two years of painstaking efforts, the team ultimately developed more than 100 sets of processing, production and testing equipment with independent intellectual property rights.
In 2016, the company’s first batch of grooved needles rolled off the production line smoothly and underwent trial use on the warp knitting machines of several manufacturers. However, the actual performance fell short of the goal Huai Huap Pei had set—to match the quality of German manufacturers—and issues such as needle marks appeared on the fabric produced by some machines.
A miss is as good as a mile. For grooved needles that demand ultra-high precision, only by fully meeting the designed machining accuracy can we effectively prevent knitting defects from occurring when warp knitting machines operate at high speeds.
Thus began another round of research dedicated to advancing process technologies—a quest that would take another two years.
Completely break the foreign technological monopoly
In 2018, Xinyi Electromechanical established its wholly-owned subsidiary Xinyi Precision, and adopted the slogan of "Replacing Imports, Bringing Glory to the Nation" to continue refining the grooved needle manufacturing processes and technologies. It ultimately broke the foreign technological monopoly completely, with its product quality basically on par with that of German manufacturers, yet the price is only half of what the German counterparts charge.
Today, the grooved needles produced by Xinyi Precision have been installed on the machines of more than 100 warp knitting enterprises in Haining, capturing a market share of approximately 25% to 35% locally and 20% in Fujian Province. The total installed capacity has exceeded 500 sets, and the products have earned high recognition from the market and customers in practical use.
Beyond its focus on grooved needle R&D and manufacturing, Xinyi has also set its sights on other core basic components of warp knitting machines. Needle core blocks, sinker blocks, yarn guide needle blocks, and more—all are manufactured to the same ultra-high precision standards.
It took six years and an investment of 30 to 40 million yuan to develop this tiny grooved needle. Many people said: “Only a ‘fool’ would take on such a task.”
Far from being offended by such comments, Huai Huap Pei is instead immensely proud. In his view, China’s manufacturing sector needs more such “fools”: “Someone has to do this work. If none of us step up, we will always be at the mercy of others.”