Software tool development for marker making operations in textile industry

This paper discusses the design and development of a software tool for marker making operations in textile manufacturing using a top-down design paradigm. The software requirements have been analyzed and specified in order to address practical requirements by the users. The software is implemented in a CAD software environment. Its aim is to find an appropriate stencil layout on fabric surface such that the stencils do not overlap one another while trim loss is minimized. The software can be used to find the stencil layout on plain fabric, fabric with horizontal or vertical stripes and fabric with checkered patterns. A heuristic search strategy is developed to find such a layout. In order to evaluate the program´s performance, case studies with actual fabric and stencils from a garment factory are used. The layouts generated by the program are then compared with those produced by a human expert. The results indicate that the developed program cannot outperform the human expert in the case of marker making on plain fabric. However, in the case of marker making on the fabric with stripes or checkered patterns the program can provide better results in terms of the required length of fabric and the trim loss percentage. Suggestions for further improvement on the functionality and efficiency of the program are also given.