Comparison of Cad and Manual System Efficiency in Pre-Production Preparation Process

Abstract

In the apparel industry, computer aided design (CAD) systems are most commonly used for basic pattern making, grading and marker making processes. Even though there are various software in this area in the market, pattern making process is still performed manually in several apparel businesses. In this research, the amount of time required for the processes of garment technical pattern making, modelling, grading and marker making via CAD systems was compared to time required for the manual method, with the aim of determining the more efficient approach. To this end, time measurements for the steps of these processes, specified by 3 expert pattern designers and 3 CAD operators, were taken and compared. The comparison was focused on the aspects of processes that made a difference in terms of time, the effect of these processes on total time and the identification of the factors that resulted in the time difference. Upper-body garments was chosen as the focus of this study due to the involvement of several steps in the processes of basic pattern making and grading. The acquired data shows that the process times required for CAD systems was shorter than that for manual design in every step that have an important role in the pre-production preparation process.