Influence of sewing parameters on the energy consumption of the sewing machines

Abstract

The clothing industry due to the rapid changes in the technological and economical fields faces continuously new challenges like efficient machine and process settings’ changes for individual production orders for smaller quantities; increased product and materials variety and increased competitiveness through higher quality and lower production costs. Energy consumption is very important because, besides the varying costs (material, labour), the costs of energy are one of the key factors affecting the manufacturing costs, which is the main factor affecting the final price of the clothing products. It is well known that energy costs constitute 10–15 % of the overall manufacturing costs in the apparel industry. In the present study, the correlation of the various sewing parameters with the energy consumption and thus the energy costs are examined. In order to obtain this goal, a data collection system has been designed in order to meet the needs and the nature of the measurements. Sewing experiments were carried out on different samples using various sewing parameters and the consumption of the electrical power was monitored. Additionally, the measurements obtained during the experiments were sent and stored in a computer for the processing of the signals and their statistical evaluation.