Knit · Shima Seiki DAT
Shima DAT File
Shima DAT — a knit program the machine can run.
DAT is the knit program format for Shima Seiki flat-knitting machines — a stitch-by-stitch instruction map (knit, tuck, transfer, colour) rather than an image. The pattern is built into the knitting, so the file is a machine program, not a picture. It is a core format for industrial flat knitwear.
How PatternAI writes a Shima DAT file
PatternAI’s knit technique composes the design and writes a knit program (via a knitout intermediate) into the machine’s format, so intarsia, jacquard and structure knit correctly — a real program, matched to the machine, not a converted graphic.
Machines that read Shima DAT
- Shima Seiki
- Flat-knit (via knitout)
Native file vs auto-converter
A converter traces a picture into a Shima DAT; the result usually fights the machine — poor registration, wrong density or an outline that won’t run. PatternAI’s knit technique instead writes the Shima DAT natively from a design built on a real grammar, and validates it against the format before it ships — so the file is one your machine can actually run.
Frequently asked questions
- Is it a real knit program?
- Yes — the knit technique writes a stitch-by-stitch program (knit, tuck, transfer), not an image.
- Does it do jacquard and intarsia?
- Yes — jacquard and intarsia patterns are composed and written into the program.
- Which machines?
- Shima Seiki flat-knitting machines, via a knitout intermediate.
Turn a design into a real Shima DAT file
PatternAI turns a prompt, your artwork, or a live trend into a production-ready design and writes the exact Shima DAT your machine runs — verified before it ships.