The eight-month period of the pandemic has made many realise that to move forward, greater digitisation needs to be built to take care of the evolving customer needs. Ideation was chosen by Gerber, the cutting room solution provider, as the platform to announce many new developments and meaningful alliances with progressive technology companies in pursuit of a stronger customer-centric strategy.
With digitisation as the core to managing all aspects of the smart supply chain, Gerber intends to help manufacturing companies execute a roadmap for successful transformation of mass production to customised production through various collaborations and technology developments.
New features added to AccuMark 3D put emphasis on Made-to-Measure…
AccuMark 3D doesn’t need any introduction as, over the years, it has helped connect the entire fashion supply chain in the most efficient way possible. The solution gives manufacturers the ability to develop 3D production-ready samples, with correct fit, cost estimation and reduction in the number of iterations of physical samples. The software also gives the ability to visualise the entire collection in multiple colourways and fabric options on digital models before making the physical samples.
During Ideation 2020, the Gerber team emphasised on the fact that AccuMark Platform allows a seamless connection within the design, print and cut process, while reducing the turnaround time to as little as 1-2 days. Below are the key offerings of AccuMark 3D:
- Its seamless integration with YuniquePLM helps in better planning as the manufacturers can keep a track of assets.
- For designing purpose, AccuMark gives an easy drag and drop images option to directly upload the image onto the pattern pieces and validate image placement in the software.
- It includes an automated Made-to-Measure option that helps in the development of custom fitted garments.
- The solution can also be operated with any digital printer which makes it easier to bring any design to life.
- The users can create and optimise markers in AccuNest, a module within AccuMark 3D, to improve material utilisation and send marker information to GERBERcutter Z1, ensuring a smooth and precise cut.
Gerber forges new industry associations with Alvanon, 3DLOOK and Embodee
- Partnership with Alvanon
Apart from talking about AccuMark 3D, Gerber Technology also demonstrated its partnership with Alvanon, a fashion tech company that focuses on fit, to further strengthen its 2D-to-3D fit solution. The collaboration is said to allow the fashion and apparel companies to accurately simulate their customer’s size and fit and therefore manufacture a right fit outfit.
As a part of this collaboration, Gerber AccuMark 3D users will now have access to Alvanon Body Platform (ABP) for the manufacturing of production-ready 3D samples and reduce fit errors. Since COVID-19 pandemic has made a severe dent in the supply chain, the partnership also aims at helping the e-commerce companies to recover at a rapid pace from the pandemic woes and enable digital product development as well in e-commerce sector. Leveraging the power of AccuMark 2D/3D and Alvanon Body Platform, fashion companies will be able to develop perfectly fitting garments that accurately reflect the sizes and body shape of their customer base, resulting in less returns and more satisfied customers.
What’s worth noting here is that Alvanon’s vast library of over 6,000 virtual bodies represents specific brands’ fit standards and fashion retailers, brands and manufacturers will have immediate access to this library now in order to download the 3D avatars for AccuMark 3D which will be further used to test patterns in all sizes and validate fit. Alvanon’s library offers both standard (ASTM) and brand-specific avatars.
- Partnership with 3DLOOK
When it comes to collaboration, Gerber Technology has come a long way lately with some interesting partnerships and, not just Alvanon; it also has a strategic collaboration with 3DLOOK that focuses to offer the customers a fully connected, digital remote supply chain experience.
Talking about this collaboration during Ideation 2020, Gerber team said that this step will allow the companies to leverage the use of technology from both the providers to seamlessly manage their on-demand workflow, made-to-measure and smaller demand production. 3DLOOK has come up with a special package that gives a digital tool to the small businesses which helps them manage their online operations and meet the consumer demand.
“We see this partnership as the first step towards providing brands, manufacturers and retailers with the digital tools needed to support a full end-to-end customisation platform which meets the needs of customers increasingly focused on products personalised to their fit and preference and who also care about supporting more sustainable supply chains and business models,” said Whitney Cathcart, CSO & Co-Founder of 3DLOOK.
The Body Data Platform by 3DLOOK maps body data to product data, transactional data and product return data to deliver analytics related to measurement, shape, 3D model accuracy, and fit, as well as customer profile insights through a dynamic dashboard. Customers using their smartphones are required to take two photos of them and then the computer vision algorithm detects the human body and renders 3D models and body profiles. The algorithm measures the 3D models to compute 65 ISO-compliant measurements. By using 3DLOOK’s platform, customers can easily understand how the garment will fit on their unique body shape.
As part of this collaboration, the visitors to the virtual Gerber Innovation Center can get an access of Gerber’s YOU website from anywhere in the world to customise garments to their individual fit preferences and measurements. These virtually customised garments will then be manufactured and brought to life using the Gerber’s fully-connected microfactory, giving them a fully-realised, production-ready garment. Gerber’s partnership with 3DLOOK will enhance the overall fit of the final garment, offering customers an even more personalised digital experience.
- Partnership with Embodee
Gerber Technology, in order to offer a seamless manufacturing facility, has collaborated with Embodee, a company that helps fashion companies collaboratively design and develop products online through a browser based 3D product data management tool. The users are allowed to create their product in AccuMark 3D and extend their use in the Orchids web platform where they can easily create their variants and assortments as well as prepare for merchandising and e-commerce connections.
The Orchid platform reduces the reliance on physical samples and offers a complete digital connectivity from design to review and final approval. It also provides a centralised web platform for different team members to collaborate and work together. According to Gerber, the users even with less and no knowledge of 3D can use the platform easily. It generates and presents web-accessible assortments and collections, collaboratively, leveraging high-quality renderings of product variants. The platform also accesses AccuMark 3D files and libraries of colours, materials and graphics from the platform.
Demonstration of Atria Digital Cutter was much-appreciated…
Another major highlight of the event was the company’s Atria Digital Cutter that’s made for mass production. The technology offers a fully integrated workflow that helps in reducing human errors and the number of labour required to do a task. With data management and smart machine fully integrated into the process, data can be passed on from one area of value stream to the other. The technology leverages the use of Internet of Things (IoT) and Quick Response (QR) code, which collectively reduce the manual data entry and also improve the cut quality as the data is transmitted directly into the production work. The use of these technologies helps in up to 5 per cent material savings, and an intelligent vacuum system.
Also, focusing on the ergonomics touchpoints, the design of Atria is such that it reduces the noise generation by least using motion algorithms. This makes it one of the quietest cutters in the industry, which is a subtle distinction—but could be valuable from the perspective of the day-to-day operator.
The Atria Digital Cutter also features a patented knife edge sensor that can monitor the knife wear as the machine works. This is done both at the cutter and remotely and can help predict what the usage is going to be. It can also automatically adjust the position of the knife based on the actual wear. This ensures that cuts are consistent despite expected wear of the knife itself. Without these adjustments, cut consistency and quality could change and lead to degradation of the product. Thanks to the intelligent knife sensor, the Atria cutters are smart enough to know how to reposition the knife so that the quality of your cut can always be guaranteed.
Moreover, the machine comes with a new intelligent head design that produces high quality parts consistently with up to zero buffer. The new head design also assists in a sustainable manufacturing process with higher first pass yield and less scrapped parts and material waste. The Atria Digital Cutter emphasises majorly on the sustainability part since this is highly energy efficient, and compared to the machines used even 10 years ago, consumes less electricity to run, saving major costs. The use of premium efficiency (IE3) motors and Variable Frequency Drive (VFDs) can help save energy. These features all help actualise real savings for customers while contributing to less material waste and a tighter carbon footprint.
The machine therefore assists the manufacturers in obtaining complete digitisation, reducing the number of physical sample creation and thereby saving the material and cost. Also, these are flexible and nimble enough to make quick small batch runs.
The machine can be seamlessly integrated with the cut planning and nesting tools such as AccuPlan™ and AccuNest™, therefore ensuring maximising material utilisation and achieving a precise cut.
Furthermore, the Atria Digital Cutter is also equipped with Gerber’s powerful Remote Device Management tool, GERBERconnect, authorised Gerber Service professionals to securely access the Gerber system to update software, detect system issues and troubleshoot them remotely, and provide assistance on operation. Additionally it can also be integrated with industry-leading Remote Support solutions such as TeamViewer and SightCall that allows diagnosis and resolving of any issue in a timely manner.
Therefore, with all these features in place, the solution offers complete connectivity in the supply chain. The Atria offers a seamless transition from CAD to cut room with several sensors that help transfer data. Gerber Consulting team further offers support to the company who are at various stages of their digital transformation journey. The team provides advice training required to help businesses take the next step in their digital transformation journey.
