Microfactories and Automation the Stars at TechTextil/TexProcess

As players in the textiles and apparel markets continue to look for ways to streamline product life cycles and supply chains, digital technologies are playing a significant role. While not everything will be produced on-demand for the foreseeable future, there is significant opportunity to do so with a portion of production. The Holy Grail is the ability to build to order, rather than guesstimating what sizes, colors, and quantities will be able to be sold. Brands and retailers would also like to reduce lead times for getting products to market. One supplier we recently spoke to is producing leggings on demand, for example, and has reduced lead times from nine to 18 months, from design to customer delivery, to a startling nine hours for customized leggings. This growing number of digital technologies can be combined into microfactories that can produce fairly significant quantities on demand—even mobile microfactories that can visit sites and regions to produce event- and region-specific items. Imagine a semi tractor/trailer pulling up in Minneapolis to produce Super Bowl memorabilia that can be sold on site. This is a reality today that was prominent at the show.

In an ideal situation, such as the leggings microfactory, an order is received through an ecommerce interface where the consumer can specify everything about the garment they are ordering: size, color, fabric type if appropriate, shipping information, etc. Ideally, of course, they pay for their order at that time. The order then seamlessly moves into pre-production, where the file can be checked for any defects or problems. It then proceeds to marker making, printing, cutting, and sewing.

In a true microfactory, all of these steps are automated with little human intervention, even cutting. Sewing is still a bit of a bottleneck, but is getting more automated by the day, with a growing number of “sewbots” being introduced by Brother, Henderson, and others. Even transporting components from one stage to another can be automated, using conveyors, gantries, or robots.

At the show, Gerber Technology showed how its AccuMark platform is used to create the pattern, seamlessly check fit and drape using its 3D module, and create the marker as well. There is even a Made-to-Measure module for manufacturers of custom clothing that automates the process from pattern modification to order creation. Gerber partnered with Kornit at the show for printing on its Allegro direct-to-fabric digital printing system using pigment ink. They used their own cutting table, the Z1, and offloaded cut pieces to Gerbie the robot, who transported them down the aisle to the Henderson Machinery booth for sewing. The demo product was a pillow…and the sewing process here is about as automated as it can get. More complex garments require a bit more human intervention, but the use of smart robotics is already removing significant labor—and opportunity for error—from the process. According to Kornit representatives at the show, retailer H&M logged $4.6 billion in unsold inventory in 2017. By manufacturing to demand, much of this waste can be eliminated, reducing the overall cycle from an average of eight months to eight days.

Another microfactory demo was hosted by NextWave, an integrator that works with organizations to provide the umbrella integration once the individual components have been installed. The microfactory demo at the show was based on EFI components including the EFI Fiery DesignPro Print Suite, a collection of design tools that lets designers work in familiar design environments, either Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop; EFI Optitex, an integrated 2D/3D sample making platform; EFI Digital Storefront ecommerce and web-to-print solution; and EFI Reggiano digital textile printers. This demo used a Zünd cutting table and automated sewing solutions from Henderson Machinery. For purposes of the demo, the fabric was printed (heat transfer dye sublimation) offsite, but the rest of the manufacturing process was being shown on the floor.

Lectra also introduced its Cutting Room 4.0 at the show. This is part of an overall platform that includes 2D/3D pattern making software; a new cloud-based fabric manager that enables users to build a library of fabrics with all of the relevant metadata available to all stakeholders from a single database; and a new automated cutting table. The company is working to ensure an open environment where it is easy to connect with ERP solutions and third-party components, since many production operations include multiple vendors and systems. In the spirit of Industry 4.0, Lectra’s Cutting Room 4.0 is an interesting component in an apparel microfactory.

These three examples just scratch the surface on what’s happening in the analog-to-digital transformation the textiles industry is undergoing. For companies that wish to introduce more automation into their operations – or entrepreneurs who are interested in getting into the business – industry associations such as SEAMS can be a valuable resource. At the show, SEAMS was discussing its Made in the USA initiative, which must take advantage of automation within the manufacturing process to ensure competitiveness.

The bottom line is that these initiatives are revitalizing the textile and apparel industry in North America, enabling reshoring of selective work, creating jobs, and providing both brands and consumers with the faster time to market and customization/personalization they are increasingly seeking.