Location Technologies for Apparel Assembly

Abstract : A survey was conducted to determine the requirements for location technologies to be employed in apparel manufacturing systems. The survey included review of tolerances in specifications for military shorts and trousers, both civilian and military apparel manufacturing plants, leading advanced apparel manufacturing technology demonstration centers, apparel equipment manufacturers' plants, and major apparel manufacturing machinery exhibitions in the U.S. and Japan. Survey results suggest that location technologies for apparel manufacturing must be capable of placing a part or a seam to within 1/32 of an inch in a time of approximately 10 seconds at a cost of less than $500. A review is also given of state-of-the-art vision systems. These systems have the necessary accuracy and precision for apparel manufacturing applications and could conceivably meet the targeted time and cost constraints in the near future. Two applications for currently available location technologies -- part location and edge following -- are discussed and will be the subject of future work.