CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
19 June 2008
Company News
Tukatech™ First to Offer Apparel 3D Prototyping Curriculum for Pattern Engineering Students
The TUKA Academy of Pattern Engineering (TAPE) has formally announced that this year’s curriculum will include classes on 3D design and digital prototyping for garment development. Never before has 3D design and prototyping been offered as a career option in an apparel institute anywhere in the world.
Outsourcing 3D prototyping and 3D CAD in the engineering, architectural, and construction/planning industries has grown tremendously in India due to Western outsourcing. Recently, the garment industry has followed their lead. In the face of increasing demand for better fitting garments and faster turnarounds, apparel manufactures quickly started to embrace 3D prototyping for garment manufacturing and design to save cost and increase quality.
3D prototyping of garment samples, visualization of a garment, and verification of its construction elements are becoming critical to reducing development stages and going to production more quickly. "Designers in the US often have to wait weeks to get a physical sample of a garment,” noted Iva Sareen, founder of TAPE and president of Tukatech.
“They often find that the fit or balance of the garment is not right on the first sample sent. A new sample is made and shipped again, and the process can be quite laborious and time consuming. It’s like a civil engineer building a prototype house, then shipping it overseas for comments on whether to move the windows. 3D prototyping on computer systems allows Asian vendors the ability to send a digital image or movie of a 3D prototype via email, speeding up communication between the buyers and vendors."
TAPE Directors were quick to realize that knowledge of 3D prototyping is a vital addition to a strong career in product development, and decided to integrate Tukatech's e-fit Simulator software into TAPE’s coursework. "We have found in the industry that there is an increasing need for pattern makers and designers to learn how to engineer garments in a 3D virtual environment. As a leader in teaching pattern making, grading, and marker making for many years, we took action," said Ila Mittal, principal of TAPE.
TAPE was founded in 2006 by Tukatech to provide training to students of all types and economic backgrounds in the art of pattern making, to address the growing need for this skill in India. The new course includes both theory and hands-on practical knowledge of how to develop sample patterns, add grading and make markers using TUKAcad software. All students are taught how to develop a pattern and drape it electronically on a 3D virtual model. The students are also taught conversational English as part of the curriculum, so they can communicate competently in the global apparel industry.
Sambit Nayak, a recent graduate from TAPE, learned 3D prototyping on e-fit Simulator. “TAPE placed me at Timex garments in Sri Lanka where Tukatech had implemented 3D technology. It was perfect for me because I was already working on 3D systems at TAPE, and I easily found success making 3D prototypes in addition to making patterns on CAD.”
Placement services, including assistance in job interviews with leading export houses in Asia, are offered to all candidates. For more information, visit the TAPE website at http://www.tukatech.com/tape.html
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