The automation revolution has arrived in fashion!

The apparel stitching by robots has shown that the

clothing industry was among the first to be mechanized. Electric sewing machines have been in use for

well over a hundred years. But the need is that they require skilled human hands to guide the materials.

Now as robotic automation has evolved, it has considerably reduced the number of workers needed for

mass production of clothing.

Sewbots have evolved by Igniting a transformation in the field of clothes manufacturing! The apparel

manufacturing, supply chains and speed of delivery can all be brought to limelight in case of speedy

processing. These could have significant implications for the promotional products industry, where apparel

accounts for 39% of annual industry sales, according to SOI data.

A Georgia Tech spin-off, SoftWear Automation in Atlanta, claims to have built a practical sewing robot.

And it doesn’t need starch. Rather, it’s based on a much higher-tech approach, one that combines machine

vision and advanced manipulators.

This is a big achievement for Atlanta based brand SoftWear Automation, which launched in 2012! The

company’s Sewbots use a combination of patented high-speed computer vision and lightweight robotics to

steer fabric to and through the needle with greater speed and accuracy than humans!

Adidas and automated Sewbots!

This is a major breakthrough in the automation of garment assembly by the global partnership! Leading

sportswear brand Adidas is planning to produce 800,000 T-shirts per day using fully automated Sewbot

Workline’s supplied by SoftWear Automation, of Atlanta, GA.

Tianyuan Garments Company, of Suzhou, China, the largest producer of apparel for Adidas worldwide,

has partnered with SoftWear Automation to produce the T-shirts.

From fabric cutting and sewing to finished product, it takes roughly four minutes,” said Tang Xinhong,

chairman of Tianyuan Garments. “We will install 21 production lines. When fully operational, the system

will make one T-shirt every 22 seconds. We will produce 800,000 T-shirts a day for Adidas.

The Manufacturing Scenario Using SewBots!

By using advanced machine vision, cutting-edge computing and robotic sewing, the Sewbots will be able

to handle soft fabrics and actually “make” T-shirts, says SoftWear Automation CEO, Palaniswamy Rajan.

Indeed, China-based Tianyuan Garments Company, which owns the Arkansas plant, aims to produce

massive volumes of tees for Adidas with the Sewbots.

“From fabric cutting and sewing to finished product, it takes roughly four minutes,” Tang Xinhong,

chairman of Tianyuan Garments, recently told China Daily. “We will install 21 production lines. When

fully operational, the system will make one T-shirt every 22 seconds.” Labour costs, Tang says, will be

about 33 cents per shirt. “Around the world, even the cheapest labour market can’t compete with us,” he

says, noting the plant’s operations will ultimately generate 400 new jobs in Arkansas.

Manufacturing in its Many Forms

It takes a cue from established robot counterparts. It works by using a water-soluble thermoplastic to

stiffen fabric to be as sturdy as cardboard, which can then be manipulated by an off-the-shelf universal

robot and fed into a sewing machine. Once the seams are stitched, the stiffened garment is put into hot

water, where the plastic melts off and the shirt emerges in its soft, finished state.

Sewing Automation at Different Companies

Today, clothes must still be hand-fed into a sewing machine. Also to consider is the labour costs involved!

There is no doubt about the fact that sewing automation has ignited the world of automation! And other

startups are working on it.

Different companies use different methodologies for sewing automation! For instance,
 Kniterate, was founded several years ago and is trying to knit together ready-to-wear garments.
They perform this by the 3D printing of fabric. Here they establish that it requires no fabric sewing at
all!
 Fabrican uses a “spray-on fabric,” where a chemical is applied directly to the body to create a
garment that moulds to any individual’s physical form.
 SoftWare Automation uses computer-enabled cameras to track the location of the fabric and
determine stitching position. But
 Sewbo appears to be the only startup using a stiffener to make fabric adaptable to existing robots–a
cheaper solution than building a machine that uses cameras and algorithms to manipulate fabric, since
 Zornow estimates the cost of plastic needed to stiffen one shirt is less than 10 cents.

Future Robotic Automation In Garment Industry and

Its Impact!
The biggest concern about the rise of robots, automation and artificial intelligence is the job

loss! According to the statistics on the apparel industry revolution by sewing robots, the entire garment

industry employs 60 to 75 million people worldwide. In a report by the International Labour Organization

(ILO says that automated assembly lines will most likely cost the jobs of 90 per cent of garment workers!

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https://www.fastcompany.com/40454692/this-t-shirt-sewing-robot-could-radically-shift-the-
apparel-industry

http://fashion2apparel.blogspot.com/2018/02/future-trends-automation-garment.html

Advantages and Disadvantages of Automation in Garment

Manufacturing
in Automation

Presently, garment production is extremely personnel dependent and therefore cost intensive. The
use of automation in garment manufacturing provides several benefits and helps the industry to
gain competitive advantage and produces good quality product at lower cost. The automation
process also suffers from drawbacks, which are discussed in the following section.
 Fig: Automation in garment manufacturing

Advantages of Automation in Garment Industry:

There are several benefits of using automatic tools and equipment in garment manufacturing, which
are mentioned below:

1. Increase in productivity: Automation increases the productivity by increasing the efficiency of the
process. When the job is performed by a labor, there are chances of error, reduced efficiency due to
fatigue, and the breaks taken by the worker. However, automated process of performing the job
eliminates these and increases the productivity.

2. Increased inventory turnover: As the productivity of the industry increases, the material turnover
also increases. With manual operations the raw materials, cut components, and semifinished
components have to wait longer to get converted into the final garment. Hence, with automation
increased inventory turnover is achieved.

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3. Improvement in quality: As mentioned above, automation leads to reduced amount of error of

garments because of human intervention is eliminated. This leads to the products with less defects,
improved quality, and reduced rejection rates.
4. Replacement of repetitive and monotonous work: Majority of the garment manufacturers use
progressive bundle system (PBS) of production. In PBS one worker performs a specific job and passes
to the other. Hence, the work becomes repetitive and monotonous for the worker. This can lead to
fatigue and reduced efficiency. However, automation can help to avoid these as all these repetitive
works are performed by the machine.

5. Reduction of variability among products and product batches: As the involvement of labor is
reduced, the variability of the products produced by different workers is also reduced. Similarly, the
variability of the same product manufactured in different batches (manufactured over different
times or in different industries) is also reduced.

6. Performing jobs beyond human capability: Automation can perform some jobs, which needs high
skills of the labor. As today’s garments are moving toward the integration of electronic devices and
other gadgets, high skill is needed many times to perform these operations. Automation can achieve
these objectives much easily.

7. Reduction of direct human labor costs and overheads: Automation helps to achieve increased
productivity and efficiency. Automation also helps to perform the task of multiple operators.
Furthermore, the need for training of workers for each new style and other quality- related training
is reduced. Hence, the cost of human labor and labor overheads are reduced.

Disadvantages of Automation in Clothing Industry:

Automation not only provides several advantages in garment manufacturing but also suffers from
some drawbacks (disadvantages), which are discussed bellow.

1. High initial cost of installation: The initial cost of installing automated tools and equipment is high
compared with the unit cost of garment. The cost of investment may be beneficial when the
automation is applicable to many products over a period.

2. High cost of research and development: The cost involved in the research and development of
automatic tools in garment industry is high. Therefore, it may take long time to realize the benefits
and cost savings from automation.

3. Security threats: As the automatic systems lack intelligence, it is common to encounter errors
when there is an unexpected change from the normal operation or deviation from the immediate
scope. The automated subsystems cannot apply the general principles for simple logic to solve
common problems.

4. High cost of maintenance: Automated equipment need special spare parts too, to repair and
skilled people to do the repair and maintenance. Hence, the cost of care and maintenance will be
higher compared with the normal machineries.

5. Unexpected production delays: This situation will arise when the automated equipment
malfunctions or ceases to function. As it will take longer time to repair the automatic equipment,
there will be production delays. The whole product line will be suffered in case of mal- or
nonfunctioning of automatic equipment.

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6. Limited scope: Automation cannot be extended to all the processes involved in garment
manufacturing. Some processes are hard or more expensive to automatize. Fabric flexibility, proper
alignment of two components joined together, correct tension during sewing, and slippage of fabric
during garment manufacturing are some of the factors that limit the scope of automation in garment
manufacturing.

7. Lack of flexibility: Automation is not a flexible and convertible process in production of clothing.
Garment manufacturing demands more flexibility as there are many style and size changes in a short
time. Automation should allow the switching of production line from one to the other without much
hassle. The use of digital electronics is helping to achieve more accuracy and flexibility in the product
line.

6. Unemployment: Many workers may lose their jobs because of automation as automatic
equipment can perform the job done by multiple workers. Hence, the workers doing the job will be
at the risk of losing their jobs by automation. However, there will be some new jobs emerging
because of the automation, which will provide employment. A recent report published by the
International Labour Organization revealed that about 88% of workers in Cambodia’s textile,
clothing, and footwear industry are at high risk of losing their jobs because of automation. Various
advanced technologies such as 3D printing, CAD, 3D body scanning, and robotics application are the
potential areas that need less people. Similar problems will be faced by the garment manufacturers
in many other developing countries. The use of automatic cutting equipment and the increased use
of robots in sewing (or sewbots) will be the most influencing areas. Several manufacturers in the
Europe, the United States, and China are facing the problem. Although there is no immediate threat
in ASEAN region, it will impact more with increased automation.

You may also like:

1. Automation and Process Control in Textile Industry

2. Automation in Apparel Manufacturing Industry
3. Future Trends of Automation in Garment Manufacturing
4. Global Scenario of Automation in Garment Industry
5. CAD Software in Garment Industry
6. List of Technologies Used in Apparel Manufacturing
References:

1. Automation in Garment Manufacturing by by Rajkishore Nayak Rajiv Padhye

2. Garment Manufacturing Technology by Rajkishore Nayak Rajiv Padhye
3. http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/5913/automation-in-apparel-industry
4. Application of robotics in garment manufacturing by Thomas Gries and Volker Lutz

https://www.fastcompany.com/40454692/this-t-shirt-sewing-robot-could-radically-shift-the-
apparel-industry

https://www.textiletoday.com.bd/automation-threat-apparel-industry-workers/

https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/business-analysis/automation-apparel-1523047

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/10.1108/01445159610126429

http://www.sastrarobotics.com/ultrasonic-sewing-robots-transform-clothing-industry/