Smart Manufacturing Researchers Demonstrate Novel Robotic Sewing System BENEFITS TO OUR NATION The implementation of smart manufacturing tools may allow American
Project Objective
Develop Smart Manufacturing Profiles and software to enable robotic sewing systems to bi- directionally communicate real- time production, product, and machine data with plant and enterprise systems to lower the adoption costs of robotics in the apparel industry.
Benefits to Industry
To date, apparel production has resisted automation. The sector currently requires vast numbers of human sewing machine operators to assemble fabric into clothing. Manufacturers have been unable to design automated machines that can handle cut pieces of fabric, leaving apparel production as one of the last industries that require laborers to perform repetitive, difficult tasks. If the technology developed in this project can be implemented by American clothing companies, the domestic apparel manufacturing industry could be revitalized. Clothing companies could evolve from brand and fashion houses to complete vertically integrated design, manufacturing, and distribution enterprises.
Technical Approach
- Develop Smart Manufacturing Profiles for edge devices to communicate with a Robotic Sewing Work Cell. The SM Profiles will incorporate the reporting and control parameters required by the Work Group Controller (WGC) of the Work Cell.
- Develop the WGC application to perform real-time process reporting from the robotic sewing system to the Shop Floor Control System.
Accomplishments
- Developed SM Profiles for sewing system components.
- Developed a bi-directional ingestion pipeline to transmit and retrieve data between the Work Group Controller and the CESMII Server.
- Developed an information management application that sends real-time part and process data from the Work Group Controller to the CESMII server.
Deliverables
- Delivered sewing system components SM Profiles.
- Delivered complete source code package for SM Profile interface ingestion pipeline.
- Delivered complete Sewing System Management Application Source Code package.
Reusable Outcomes
- *profiles. Sewing system component SM
- Sewing Machine System Management Application.