Clothing industry as a branch of light industry. Technologies, equipment and raw materials for the clothing industry

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The development of the clothing industry today is strongly influenced by new technologies. At the same time, in the harsh conditions of a market economy, only those players who offer not only high-quality, but also original products in aesthetic and design terms, manage to maintain demand for their products. There are also niches in which standard methods for the production of textile products are used, which are more often used in domestic needs. Regardless of the direction of the factory, the clothing industry requires participants in this market segment to regularly update the production infrastructure. Today, this is not just a matter of switching to automatic lines, but the task of a comprehensive modernization of the technical infrastructure.

Apparel Technology

Technological processes of garment production can be divided into three categories: cutting, manufacturing and control. The first includes technologies for forming a cutting map, calculating the material, preparing raw materials and flooring, drawing up a layout of patterns, etc. Depending on what tasks the clothing industry solves for a particular enterprise, employeesuse one method or another. For example, directly cutting the material is carried out manually or mechanized, by cutting or punching.

Technologies for the manufacture of garments also represent an extensive group of techniques. Among them, one can distinguish directly sewing, thread connection, grinding, stitching, stitching and quilting. Each operation is also implemented in several ways, the choice of which depends on the conditions of the factory.

As for the technologies for ensuring product control, production usually performs a kind of revision of materials according to qualitative and quantitative characteristics, after which they sort it out and draw up a product passport. The modern garment industry is actively introducing inspection steps using automated equipment or special measuring instruments to accurately assess product characteristics.

Equipment for making garments

A significant breakthrough in technical modernization in the clothing industry occurred 20 years ago, when engineers and technologists were able to achieve a sharp increase in the speed of machines. At the moment, the existing rates of sewing are considered optimal. Work in several modes today is implemented by units with thyristor control and AC drives. In this case, the technological process can be performed in a separate order or as one of a group of tasks that the universal installation solves.

For example, there arespecial units for laying finishing lines along the edges of turned materials. Such blanks include cuffs, valves, shirt collars, etc.

It is important to emphasize that the technology of the garment industry in the form of the same stitching or cutting is implemented with different parameters. That is, even if the machine is focused on performing one function, the operator can set the characteristics of the operation in different formats.

For example, the mentioned thyristor control implies the possibility of changing the stitch length and the direction of the ruler running along the edge. The most advanced mechanisms also provide for the ability of machines to carry out automatic corrections of the work process, depending on the performance of the sensors. Of course, the clothing industry is not complete without auxiliary equipment. This group can include support, fixation and transportation units that implement an indirect additional function in the production process. These are usually semi-automatic machines controlled by the operators themselves.

Concept related equipment sets

Practice shows that effective optimization of production is possible only if the equipment is not isolated, but combined into one complex. Sewing machine developers have been working in this direction for a long time, offering multifunctional installations. Such models perform several operations at the same time, at the output providing a product with a certain degree of readiness. Can't saythat the complex method makes it possible to cover the full list of technological actions, and it is also impossible to say that the units are combined into one machine. Still, this concept is conditional and only demonstrates the principle of the approach, which achieves a tight pairing of technical equipment, ultimately optimizing the technique of manufacturing products.

In particular, the modern garment industry operates machines that allow lysing armholes along the back and along the front, shirring sleeve rounds, sewing in sleeves and other related operations in a single complex of several machines.

But it is important to consider another aspect. While integrated production lines certainly provide high efficiency with minimal labor input, they cannot always compete with the traditional piecemeal approach to performing technical sewing activities in terms of quality.

Process management

Traditional methods of control and management come down primarily to the methods of technical organization of individual sections of the production workshop. Physically, operations can be controlled in three ways: manual, semi-automatic and automatic. Some equipment models provide three modes at once, but this is rare - more often there are two formats, one of which is automatic.

Using the user interface, the operator sets the program by which this or that operation is implemented with certain parameters. In particular, a modern sewing factory can lay out patternsautomatically in accordance with the scheme that was embedded in the computer. The schemes and commands themselves are usually set using the menu. Mechanized methods of control also do not completely leave the industry, since in some cases they turn out to be more efficient and economical. This applies to small enterprises and individual lines in which the use of automated production is not economically justified.

Computer technology as a means of management

Controllers and microprocessors are being actively introduced in the clothing industry. These are small devices responsible for controlling various technological processes. For example, one microprocessor can control dozens of operations simultaneously.

Of course, physical actions are performed by means of mechanized hydraulic and electromechanical units and assemblies, which are just given commands from the controller. The initial link for the generation of certain solutions are sensors and detectors. This may be, for example, a device for monitoring the remaining length of the thread. As it ends, the processor receives a corresponding signal, after which the controller gives a command to automatically insert a new coil. A vivid illustration of such approaches is the thread trimming mechanism. With this equipment, the sewing factory can automatically reduce the length of the cut ends of the threads so that they correspond to the thickness of the eye of the needle without the participation of the operator. Most often, trimming moving mechanisms are used in machineszigzag stitch.

The difficulty of operating computerized production lies in the fact that the operator or a group of maintenance personnel must work out in detail the programs and modes of operation of the controller, otherwise the slightest error in the parameters set will lead to large-scale rejection when it comes to serial production.

Raw materials used in production

Sewing production requires the use of a wide range of materials, including accessories. The raw material base is formed mainly by textile materials. These include polyester, woolen, half-woolen, cotton and viscose fabrics. For some clothing models, a group of duplicating materials is also required, which includes dublerin, interlining and various linings in the form of twill, polyester and viscose. Fur of natural and artificial origin is also in demand. We can say that this is a premium raw material for the clothing industry, which ultimately affects the price tags of products.

As for fittings and finishing materials, they include sewing cotton-lavsan threads, reinforcing fibers, buttons, rivets and various hardware. It is important to note that fittings differ in many characteristics, even if functionally the same elements correspond to each other. Through shape, color and texture, manufacturers convey the design nuances of a particular part.

Manufactured products

The range of clothes is huge, but do not forgetthat clothing factories are engaged not only in the production of such things, but also produce technical products using the same textiles. One way or another, the basis of the assortment of any clothing factory is clothing, which is presented in different groups and subgroups. In particular, it can be coats, hats, pants, sundresses, swimwear, etc.

Different signs are used to order and classify products. In particular, products are distinguished by material, shape, seasonality, purpose and other parameters. Apparel industries that specialize in the production of certain products can be classified accordingly.

Recently, highly specialized factories have also become widespread, covering a specific segment and striving to take the lead in it. These include enterprises engaged in the manufacture of extreme clothing, uniforms, things for anglers and travelers, etc.

Main consumers of garments

Most of the products produced are for the domestic segment. Participants in this market are guided by the needs of the average consumer, offering not only clothing, but also carpet materials, home textiles, and consumer goods. Again, specialized enterprises in the clothing industry often cooperate with law enforcement agencies, medical institutions and representatives of the construction industry. They offer these consumer groups products in the form of geotextiles, membraneinsulators, substrates and other specific materials.

Separate areas in which clothing factories also present their products include furniture production, sports, tourism, and engineering. In these areas, the clothing production of the light industry is represented only indirectly, but some products in this segment are produced only with the use of textiles. For example, for tourists, manufacturers offer backpacks, sunbeds and tents made of high-strength materials. Large factories are developing unique technologies for the production of raw materials, which are subjected to multi-stage processing to obtain the necessary protective properties.

Development of the garment industry in Russia

The future of the industry largely depends on technological innovations, but not only they determine the direction of further development. Small and large enterprises pay more and more attention to logistical optimization. Transportation, storage of raw materials, circulation within production lines - these and other stages require high efficiency to be maintained, otherwise their organization costs unreasonably high cost. Of course, the clothing industry in Russia has also advanced in terms of technological support in recent years. But, unlike foreign manufacturers, the same automated and robotic lines are more often used on conveyors of large enterprises that manufacture standard products.

Original products produced in small batch formats are still produced in the traditional mechanizedequipment. Computerization, in turn, affects more than just controls.

Thanks to special programs, the clothing industry in Russia has been able to effectively develop new design solutions within individual production units.

Conclusion

The success of garment factories depends on a wide range of different factors. Among them are the level of technical equipment, the quality of raw materials used, as well as labor productivity. At the same time, the modern clothing industry cannot but be guided by the needs of the target audience. Some manufacturers initially choose a specific narrow niche, while other factories cover a wide audience of consumers, adjusting the direction of production depending on the trend. Also, the chosen development approach to a large extent determines the methods of planning the activities of the enterprise.