The development of sewing robots in the United States is expected to be fully automatic

In 2017, the total sales of the global apparel market will soon exceed $1.4 trillion. However, this huge industry is not as modern as it is supposed to be, especially in production. Although professional robots have learned to weave or cut, the more complicated assembly and sewing work can still rely solely on labor. In the long run, instead of looking for cheap manpower everywhere, it is better to invest in new production technologies...

This year's 30-year-old American Jonathan Zornow wants to solve this problem. He was originally a web development programmer. In 2015, he founded a startup called Sewbo in Seattle. The only product was the sewing robot Sewbo. It is said that Sewbo can complete a basic item (such as a T-shirt) in half an hour. ) production.

It is understood that Sewbo's working principle is actually very simple. The difficulty in assembling the sewing thread is mainly because the fabric is too soft and it is difficult to operate accurately on the machine. So Sewbo's complete system consists of three parts: a robotic arm from a Danish company, Universal Robot, a traditional sewing machine, and a reusable thermoplastic solvent. Their total cost is between $27,000 and $35,000.

American Jonathan Zornow and his sewing robot Sewbo

Obviously, the most critical of the systems is the thermoplastic solvent. This material is also very common in 3D printing. It can make the fabric as hard as steel, easy to machine, and dissolve in water after the end of the process to restore the original appearance of the fabric. What the robot arm needs to do is no different from dealing with metal products: firstly weld the two hardened fabrics with an ultrasonic welder, then stuff them into an industrial sewing machine to sew, and finally soften the sewed clothes in hot water. .

Although the company was founded only one year ago, Jonathan Zornow said that he has received a considerable number of orders from overseas markets. “I dare to say with confidence that if the system is placed in a real production environment, it can reach the same speed as a regular sewing machine. And it can work 24 hours a day, while ensuring basic error-free.” He said .

Judging from the current situation, there are still many problems to be solved in order to promote this sewing robot. First, thermoplastic solvents have one drawback: to achieve a hardening effect, the fabric must be completely saturated. Therefore, Sewbo cannot handle wool and leather with high water resistance.

Another problem is that each basic item takes half an hour to complete, but it costs $27,000 to $35,000, and does not include the cost of long-term maintenance. Compared to cheap labor in China and Southeast Asia, the system seems to have only long-term investment to create cost advantages for employers. In general, clothing brands are also more willing to put large investments in channels or marketing rather than on cheap labor.

Atnyel Guedj is the Purchasing Manager of Delta Galil Industries, a multinational factory group. He has reservations about Sewbo: "I haven't seen anyone in the US who is willing to spend money on expensive production machines. It is very difficult to reverse the current industry trends - clothing production, especially fast fashion, needs to be extremely low The cost is to complete precision production and fast delivery. The profits are so thin, all companies are eager to find the cheapest manpower, so they are not interested in investing in new production technology. This is why even Chinese companies are looking for Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Ethel. Biya and other foreign packages have been produced."

However, combined with the background of the US government's “manufacturing return”, Sewbo may also find some opportunities in the local market. Currently, 97% of clothing in the country is manufactured overseas. If it is necessary to move back, the local expensive labor costs mean that the clothing company must enhance its competitiveness by increasing the efficiency of the production process and shortening the pressure on the supply chain, just like Adidas' new factory “Speedfactory” in Ansbach, Germany.

In the long run, manufacturing innovation and corporate investment in mid- to high-end manufacturing are also a matter of time, but it will take time.

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