1 Adaptation of Design Techniques for CAD How CAD systems are used Jimmy Lam The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

2 Agenda  Just-in-time with CAD system in Garment  Today’s CAD: from concept to product  Mood-board: CAD for presentation  CAD application in Textile Printing  CAD application in design & product specification  2 ½ CAD image- Draping

3 Just-in-time Apparel CAD system (1)  In 1994, at Bobbin Show in Atlanta, hundreds of people witnessed CAD technology in action as a garment was designed and manufactured in a few hours  Presented by Textile Clothing Technology Corporation, it showed how various companies could work together to design, produce and distribute a garment within 48 hours

4 Just-in-time Apparel CAD system (2)  The example was a woman’s top and skirt  Print modifications could be made and through a video link  The buyer from US requested a modification in the print design  Through the video line, buyers could see the revised garment from all perspectives

5 Just-in-time Apparel CAD system (3)  The new approved print pattern was communicated electronically to the booth at the Bobbin Show  In-store merchandising materials, such as banners, posters, hangtags were developed by a digital printing company

6 Just-in-time Apparel CAD system (IV)  Base fabric was sent Gerber cutter, then to and automatic screen-printing area  Finally assembled by modular manufacturing station at Juki’s booth  What can you learn from this Just- in-time Apparel CAD system?  Why today (2004), this technique is still seldom used in industry?

7 Lectra System: 1: Concept  Idea, vision of clothes that are yet to made  Established in the imaginations of designers  Influenced by forecasting services, social trends, technologies, politics and other environment surroundings

8 CAD programs are not designed for generating ideas…….  but served as a storage system for a designer’s thoughts and ideas  Information provided by inventory control system helps design team to evaluate ideas about colour / silhouette direction based on past performance  Sales figures from previous seasons show consumers’ preferences

9 Lectra System: 2) Generating ideas  Once the direction of a line has been established, mood and colour are finalized  Moods are usually presented by mood boards or concept boards  It is a visual communication tool helps marketing and sales understand the seasonal direction of the line

10 Lectra System: 3) Mood board presentation  For most part, CAD is not required at this stage, but often the elements for the mood boards are scanned into computers  Any kinds of graphic systems could be used to organize and work with the images

11 Moodboards Ideas or concepts Presentation by CAD system

12 Moodboards

13 What are the limitations Of this Mood Board Presentation? What are the Advantages for these Kind of Mood board Presentation by CAD System?

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16 Theme boards presentation From concept to product  Yarns and fabric swatches can be scanned to illustrate seasonal colour palette  Theme boards – provide more specific direction for the line than the mood board, once established the theme, fabric design and selection begin  At this stage, selected CAD systems are used to design fabrics for the season

17 What is the different Between mood board and Theme board presentation ?

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19 CAD for Textile Printing  How many colours you normally scanned for your images?  Is it the more the better?  If not, how many colours you normally produced on textile printing?

20 Textile Printing: Colour Reduction A useful tool to screen down scanned in colours Not more than 8 colours Are normally produced on Textile printing

21 Textile Printing: Colour Combo  CAD allows the designer many options in working with prints  Resized, distorted, repeated, or generating new colourways  Very often, the unplanned accidents lead to exciting results

22 Fabric Simulation For presentation purposes, indicating shading and texture of the fabric without technical specifications Any Limitations for fabric simulation By CAD system?

23 Questions  What is just-in-time for apparel production?  Why implementation of just-in-time for apparel is still very limited?  Name the specific CAD requirements for textile printing?

24 Flat or Technical Drawings Containing garment components for designer or merchandiser to assemble/ reassemble

25 CAD for Fashion Design  CAD for illustration  CAD for technical drawing  CAD for sales presentation

26 CAD for concept and design illustration

27  The sketch and textile design systems can work together to show fabric on the silhouette

28 Mapping of fabric onto The garment by CAD system

29  These are then used for presentation boards, line boards, sales meetings, catalogues and in house records of upcoming season’s merchandise

30 Advanced Topic: CAD Draping  What is the unique feature of garment?  It is NOT a flat surface. A real garment (fabric) is 3-dimension.  CAD with draping can make it possible.  How can you make 3-D garment onto a 2-D display monitor?

31 Texture-mapped images (1)  2 ½-D representation  CAD-generated fabrics can be used with simulation program to drape the fabric on a figure Surface is curve, not flat as a piece of paper

32 Texture-mapped images(2)  The computer creates a “map” in the original photo and the new fabric replaces the old, maintaining folds and drape  Texture mapping is descriptive enough to use un place of samples  Saved cost of making prototypes

33 Question  What are the fabric requirements for texture mapping to drape a textile material?