Texprocess 2017, the leading international trade fair for processing textile and flexible materials, slated to be held on 9-12 May, 2017 in Germany, will showcase a digital textile micro factory to make a live demonstration of the entire networked production of clothing items – from the design stage to digital printing, automatic cutting out and fabrication.
“Especially when it comes to fast fashion, micro factories offer the opportunity to put ideas into practice immediately and to try out new business models, based on specific customer requirements. They facilitate a type of production that is responsive to the market and, as an additional bonus, ensure optimised use of material, so as to contribute to greater levels of sustainability in textile processing,” said Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles and Textile Technologies, Messe Frankfurt.
The first stage in the micro factory is the CAD/Design area. Texprocess partner for the Design area is Assyst, a company in the Human Solutions Group. The next stage (printing) demonstrates large-format inkjet printing, involving sublimation printing on polyester and pigment printing on cotton and mixed fibres. Texprocess partners in the software and hardware business Ergosoft and Mimaki, as well as Coldenhove and Monti Antonio. After this comes the cutting area. Texprocess partner in this area is Zünd.
The next section of the production process (assembling) partnered with Dürkopp Adler. Finally, in the last step (labelling) the garments will be provided with logos and graphic details that will be washable, can be ironed and are suitable for dryers. Partner in this area is Seripress.
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“The demand for individualized products necessitates making the entire production process more flexible. Serial production with, at the same time, smaller and smaller batches, right down to batches of just one, is only possible with industrially manufactured individual products. These fully automated and networked processes can now be implemented through the use of digitalization,” commented Elgar Straub, General Manager –Textile Care, Fabric and Leather Technologies Division, VDMA.
