Cost-Effective, Custom Soft Goods Manufacturing
Design aesthetics drive competitive differentiation
“In today’s hypercompetitive, global marketplace, manufacturers need effective tools to survive and thrive, and design is one of those tools,”
Jason Schupbach. Director of Design and Creative Placemaking Programs
The comment and paper sited above refer to the need for increased attention to the creative aspects of consumer product design. The competitive advantages achieved by focusing on design aesthetics is commonly accepted. The challenge in recent years has been in finding the right balance between stylistic concerns and fabrication costs or limitations.
Caption: Consumers demand more input in to designs of products they purchase. Manufacturer’s need ways to address this and still maintain cost. Digital patterning closes the automation gap, helping to ensure continued profitability
Digital processes have a direct impact on the delivery of Stylish Products
The transition to digital technologies has become the primary enablers for expanding creativity of consumer goods design. Digital technologies such as 3D direct modeling, virtual sample rendering, digital patterning and textile printing allow industry innovators to:
Expand design flexibility
Predict and even drive style trends
Cost-effectively deliver exactly what their clients want today and tomorrow
Key components in the technology stack are the pre-production or design for manufacturability tools for textile products. Digital patterning software for example, elevates the consumer goods manufacturer’s capabilities by directly linking the output from creative design (3D CAD) with automated fabrication equipment.
Caption: Digital Patterning bridges the gap between creative design and manufacturing , eliminating the limitations to mass customization and design innovation.
Picking the right solution saves time
Pre-production software bridges the gap between digital design and manufacturing. The right tool for this critical time and cost saving part of the workflow must incorporate several specific characteristics:
1. Does it work with your design tools?
Many digital patterning software tools require you to add or purchase new design software. The right tool works with the design environment that you have already invested in.
2. Can you implement without a lot of training?
Digital patterning tools need to be powerful enough to do the job. That doesn’t mean that they also need to be too complex to be usable by your staff. Take a good look at the training requirements before selecting a solution.
3. Are you confident that the 3D to 2D flattening results are accurate?
There’s an old saying in manufacturing quality control,
“… if it’s wrong or off 10% of the time, then you need to check it 100% of the time.”
Cut and sew teams need assurance that your flattening software generates accurate, production ready output. The digital patterning solution that’s right for your business provides ways to validate fit before you commit materials to cutting. The others, don’t.
4. Is the output right for your equipment and suppliers?
The main reason to implement digital patterning is to close the automation gap and reduce the time between design and production. Running a few 3D-to-2D-to-Cutter samples helps verify seamless integration between the flattening software output and your textile printing and cutting equipment.
Savings from transitioning to digital go directly to the bottom line.
Design style, flair and customizability drive consumer product sales. Producibility tends to be the only limit to design expression. The combination of 3D design software, digital patterning technology and automated production equipment eliminates this limitation.
Click on the link below to schedule a time with one of our experts. Use the session to gain insight into cost-effective ways to implement the advantages of digital solutions.