Design and Development of an Architecture for Computer-Integrated Manufacturing in the Apparel Industry

Abstract

To be successful and competitive and achieve excellence in manufacturing, the textile/apparel industry must successfully use the most advanced concepts and meth ods, including computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). Successful implementation of CIM requires a fundamental analysis of the three major facets of the apparel en terprise : function, information, and dynamics. We discuss the concept of an architecture for apparel manufacturing, which will serve as the blueprint for implementing CIM. We present the various methodologies for developing the architecture, as well as a detailed disc on of the U.S. Air Force's integrated computer-aided manufacturing definition (IDEF). We also propose specific criteria for evaluating methodologies and software for developing the architecture.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

AAMA's Apparel Import Digest, 1987, American Apparel Manufacturers Association, Arlington, VA, 1988.

CAM-I, Computer-Aided Manufacturing-International, Arlington, TX.

DYNAMOD: IDEF Modeling Software, CASE Consulting, Incorporated, Richardson, TX.

IDEFine: IDEF Modeling Software, Wizdom Systems, Inc., Naperville, IL.

IDEF/Leverage: IDEF Modeling Software, The D. Appleton Company, El Chico, CA.

Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing (ICAM) Manuals, Materials Laboratory, Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories, AFSC, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 1981.

Jayaraman, S. , Design and Development of a Generic Architecture for Apparel Manufacturing , Georgia Tech Research Proposal submitted to Defense Logistics Agency, Cameron Station, VA, April 1988.

Jayaraman, S. , Design and Development of an Architecture for Computer-Integrated Manufacturing in the Apparel Industry, Technical Report, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, July 1988.

Jayaraman, S. , and Malhotra, R. , Weave Room of the Future Part I: Team Approach to Operations—A Simulation Study, Textile Res. J. 59 (4), 237-243 (1989).

10.

Jayaraman, S. , and Malhotra, R. , Weave Room of the Future Part II: Monitored Data for Real-Time Resource Allocation, Textile Res. J. 59 (5), 271-274 (1989).

11.

Martin, J. , and McClure, C. , "Diagramming Techniques for Analysts and Programmers," Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1985.

12.

Stradis : Information Systems Development Methodology, Product Description Manual, McDonnell Douglas, St. Louis, MO, 1988.

13.

Voelcker, J. , Automating Software: Proceed with Caution, IEEE Spectrum 25, 25-27 (1988).