Investing In New Production Technology Sewing Robots Brings New Productivity.

In 2017, the total sales volume of the global garment market will exceed 1.4 trillion trillion dollars. But what is surprising is that this huge volume of industry is not as modern as expected, especially in the production process. Although professional robots have learned to weave or cut, the more complex sewing work can only rely entirely on artificial clothing production, especially fast fashion, which requires precise production and quick loading at very low cost. All companies are eager to find the cheapest manpower, so they have no intention to invest in new production technology. " In the long run, manufacturing innovation and business partnership Medium and high end manufacturing The investment is sooner or later, but it takes time.

This is what Jonathan Zornow, a 30 year old American, is trying to solve. He was originally a web development programmer. In 2015, he founded a Sewbo venture company in Seattle. The only product is the sewing robot Sewbo. It allegedly completed the production of a basic single item (such as T-shirt) in half an hour.

According to the company's official website, Sewbo's work principle is very simple. The difficulty in assembling sewing is mainly because the cloth is too soft to operate accurately on the machine. Therefore, the whole system of Sewbo is composed of three parts: a robot arm produced by Denmark Corporation Universal Robot, a traditional sewing machine and a reusable thermoplastic solvent. The total cost is between 2.7 and 35 thousand US dollars.

Obviously, the most important part of the system is Thermoplastic solvent 。 This material is also very common in 3D printing. It can make cloth as hard as steel plate, easy to machine operation, and can be dissolved in water at the end of the process to restore the original appearance of the fabric. There is no difference between robot arm and metal products. First, two hardened fabrics are welded by ultrasonic welding machine, then they are sewn into industrial sewing machines to sew. Finally, the stitched clothes are softened in hot water.

Although the company has been established for only one year, Jonathan Zornow said that it has received considerable orders from overseas markets. "I can confidently say that if we put the system into a real production environment, it can reach the same speed as ordinary sewing workers. And it can work 24 hours a day without any interruption. " He said to fastcompany.com.

However, from the current situation, this set of Sewing robot There are still many problems to be solved to popularize. First of all, thermoplastic solvent has one drawback: to achieve the hardening effect, the fabric must be thoroughly soaked. Therefore, Sewbow can not handle wool and leather with strong waterproof.

Another problem is that each basic single item takes half an hour to complete, but costs 27 thousand to 3.5 dollars, and does not include the cost of long-term maintenance. Compared with cheap labor in China and Southeast Asia, the system seems to have long-term investments to create cost advantages for employers. Generally speaking, clothing brands are more willing to invest large amounts of investment in channels or marketing, rather than relying on cheap labor to solve the production.

Atnyel Guedj is the purchasing manager of Delta Galil Industries, a multinational plant group. He has reservations about Sewbow, "I haven't seen anyone spending money on expensive production machines in the US. It is very difficult to reverse the current industry trend. Garment production, especially fast fashion, requires precise production and quick loading at very low cost. Profits are so thin that all companies are eager to find the cheapest manpower, so they have no intention to invest in new production technology. This is why even Chinese companies have begun outsourcing production to Vietnam, Bangladesh, Ethel and other countries.

But with the backdrop of the US government's "manufacturing return", Sewbo may also find some opportunities in the local market. According to the statistics of American (Apparel &Footwear Association), 97% of the country's garments are manufactured overseas. If it is necessary to move back, the expensive local labor cost means that the clothing enterprises must be like Adidas in Germany, the new factory "Speedfactory" in Bach, Germany, by improving the efficiency of production links, shortening the pressure of supply chain and enhancing competitiveness.

For more information, please pay attention to the world clothing shoes and hats net report.