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Fashion Design

The Sewbot, a Fully Automated Sewing Machine, is Cool. It's Also Bad News for Garment Workers

CNC finally comes to a sector that it previously couldn't

By Rain Noe - August 15, 2017

This is one of those things that's technologically impressive and socially terrifying.

CNC technology has spread into most areas of manufacture. One large component with CNC operations is "hold-down," or affixing the material firmly in place so that the business end of the tool can work it precisely. Hold-down has been solved with rigid materials, but flexible things like fabric provide a problem. Fabric puckers and shifts as it's being manipulated. This is why there's still a demand for human seamsters/seamstresses around the world. The human eye, coupled with trained hands, can make the constant microadjustments necessary to feed fabric through a sewing machine.

But now even the job of seamstress is on the verge of being erased. An Atlanta-based company called SoftWear Automation has harnessed machine vision and robotics to create the Sewbot, a fully-automated garment-producing machine:

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That video above was shot nearly two years ago. SoftWear Automation now says the Sewbots are ready for prime time, and last month they signed an agreement with a Chinese company, Tianyuan Garments, to set up a fully-automated T-shirt production line based in Little Rock, Arkansas. According to China Daily,

"From fabric cutting and sewing to finished product, it takes roughly four minutes," said Tang Xinhong, chairman of Tianyuan Garments. "We will install 21 production lines. When fully operational, the system will make one T-shirt every 22 seconds. We will produce 800,000 T-shirts a day for Adidas."

Tang said that with complete automation, the personnel cost for each T-shirt is roughly 33 cents. "Around the world, even the cheapest labor market can't compete with us. I am really excited about this," he said.

Those who are pro-American-manufacturing might also be excited: American technology turning the tables, and stealing Chinese jobs? Well, yes and no. Tianyuan's Little Rock factory will create just 400 jobs "in time." I'd wager it takes more than 400 conventional seamsters/seamstresses to manufacture 800,000 T-shirts per day.

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Viewed from an America-vs.-China perspective, yes, American technology is siphoning away Chinese jobs and creating several hundred American ones. But from a global perspective it is of course a net loss of jobs.

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The larger picture is that technology is now supplanting workers around the world who are trained in performing a task that was previously impossible for a machine to accomplish. In many regions, a person with little education but good manual skills could earn wages, however paltry, by filling demand at a garment factory. That opportunity will evaporate.

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As Sewbots proliferate, SoftWear Automation and companies like Tianyuan Garments will undoubtedly profit. What will happen, we wonder, to the would-be seamsters/seamstresses?

Prudence Epson

a year ago

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Robotics have been on the horizon for many years so we knew it was coming. The seamstress that's been sewing for umpteen years can still work only in a limited arena. People will still need seamstress for personal items, adjusting prom dresses, adjusting bridal gowns, etc. They have to get creative and put their skills to work, maybe open their own shop for alterations. No, that won't cover all that become unemployed, but it will help some and some is better than none. Brides, prom, etc will continue forever. The only field that "Robots" can't take over is going out on the trades job site and building houses, buildings, wiring electrical, installing plumbing, etc. AND THE TRADES PAY DARN GOOD!!! I know I'm retired. Progress hurts but it happens and the only way to survive is to get creative, They need to advertise their skills and I bet someone will call them because everyone (especially small businesses) can't afford using, renting or leasing a "Sewbot". I know a small business looking for a seamstress (or two) that can mass produce at least 100 items (easy sewing) per day. (they need them like yesterday)!!! If you know someone that can provide this service AND IS REASONABLE with their prices please send me a message on facebook - Prudence Epson, thanks!!!

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Eric Bender

2 years ago

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You should show this to a professional Seamstress who's been sewing for 30 years and tell them the 14 hours a day they work to support their family is a "menial" job. I warn you, they're pretty strong. Robotics are the future but humans were here first.

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Crystall Banks

2 years ago

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Luv the whole modern sewing machine. Less slave labor with awful pay , medical & transportation coverage.

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Scott Watrous

2 years ago

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How is the takonf jobs argument even stil the thing?

All the jobs are going away. Not some, not many menial ones. All jobs. 100%. 200%. ROBOTS, will have robots doing jobs that werent jobs in the human labor era because we diddnt have those jobs yet.

Humans will still work, they just wont have jobs. Humans will still think and invent and create just not as an employee who must do it as a job. Humans mah well volunteer their art and mind towards some challenge but the robots will be the workforce in every role.

Whatever job one has, it will be best filled by an automated worker. Even us designers are on borrowed time as AI continually surpasses expectation and we more and more uncover the limits an flaws of human cognition.

As long as society accepts that we are almost certainly on a crash course with an era of post human labor, we can put in place the structures that keep the huans free and empowered vs, you know, enslaved by our robot masters.

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Donald Jones

2 years ago

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You have to start some where. I think, that it is the clothing design, that needs to change. Think oxford shirt versus Kimono. The robots could clean are whole house, if it wasn't for the furniture and floor plan.

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- Donald Jones
  
  Donald Jones
  
  2 years ago
  
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  our not are and Kimono versus shirt and pants.
  
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Thomas Elliott

2 years ago

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Henry Ford's genius was not the assembly line automation. It was that he made cars that his workers could buy. Robots don't buy t-shirts, so who will buy them when there are no more workers? Invent robots that buy things...then I'll be impressed!

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Nik Mart

2 years ago

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What about all the seamstresses out there that will be put out of work and out of work. What happens to the work force then.

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