Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH, organiser of the international fabric trade show Munich Fabric Start and the International Denim Trade Show Bluezone, is now offering the digitisation service FABRIC.iD to support digital processes in the first step of the textile supply chain.

From structure to colour composition to rigidity, the innovative texture and colour scanners xTex and can:scan from software companies Vizoo GmbH and Caddon Printing & Imaging GmbH, capture all the details of the texture and translate them into virtual data.

A milestone for the industry – not only in the direction of digitisation, but also in the direction of sustainability

Digitisation generates a unique fabric ID which makes the textiles technically identifiable, traceable and usable. The result is digital, realistic fabrics, the company declares. The service was presented during Munich Fabric Start, which took place from 31 August - 2 September 2021 in Munich. Visitors had an insight into the individual steps in the process and experienced the digitisation process live.

Interested parties can send their fabrics to the FABRIC.iD studio in Munich to benefit from the service all year round. The process expands Munich Fabric Start's range of products to digital, indefinitely, the organisation says.

"We are incredibly proud to be able to offer FABRIC.iD at MUNICH FABRIC START – a technology that is unique in the world," says Sebastian Klinder, Managing Director of Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH. "From now on, our customers can send their fabrics to us or bring them directly to us to see the process – our team will then take over the scanning process and digitize the textiles, at the trade fair and throughout the year. We then make the data available for further processes. The samples can be measured without restriction on any monitor with a click of the mouse and used for sales, product presentations, design processes, trying on avatars and other areas of application – the perfect addition to the physical experience at the trade show."

A new digital dimension

Until now, analogue processes between buyers and suppliers have taken a lot of time, often with the result that the exact colour, pattern and the right material cannot be found. can:scan and xTex offer a unique solution for this: they enable the exact colour detection of textiles and the creation of colour-fast digital patterns, so that interactive approval processes can be carried out online and 80% of the previous time required for analogue processes can be saved.

Three-dimensional objects are scanned with the highest precision – even colour nuances that are created by light and shadow can be differentiated, measured and displayed using the new technology. The digital data renders time-consuming and costly transportation obsolete; lead times are reduced as well as costs for textile samples, with more precise results delivered – always in good time before the start of the collection.

 “Everyone who works with such processes knows the effort involved in the analogue coordination between buyers and suppliers. These can drag on for a very long time and in the end a substance is released that does not actually meet the original idea, but instead comes as close as possible. In some cases, collection components are completely cancelled because a consistent result simply cannot be achieved in the allotted time. We are solving this problem with the new technology from FABRIC.iD”, says Michael Nothelfer, Managing Director of Caddon Printing & Imaging GmbH.

The innovative digitisation takes place in the Fabric Studio, the showroom of Munich Fabric Start Exhibitions GmbH. There the textiles are scanned – the exact texture can be recognised and transformed within a very short time. In the first step, the exact colour and pattern are determined, then the surface structure is determined. A physical material analysis is then carried out, in which the weight, rigidity, thickness, elasticity and other material properties of the textile are precisely determined. This enables an accurate simulation of the drape properties of the fabric. In addition, FABRIC.iD also understands the spectral yarn colour values of the dye works and the weaving data of industrial looms in order to generate visually correct and colour-correct textures for 3D applications.

Modifications are not made subjective, instead, validly collected data ensures a high degree of authenticity and coordination between the physical and virtual product. By using the open source U3M format, the digital material is compatible with almost every 3D-capable application. Since fabrics can differ greatly in their properties, three different categories are offered: Standard for less structured and monochrome materials, Advanced for strong structures and colours, and Complex, for complex patterns and very shiny materials.

“It's the latest technology on the market with uniquely advanced methods that outcompetes any other solutions in the world. At Munich Fabric Start we are now making the technology accessible in our FABRIC.iD studio. A milestone for the industry – not only in the direction of digitisation, but also in the direction of sustainability,” says Martin Semsch, Managing Director of Vizoo GmbH.

Further information on FABRIC.iD can be found on www.fabric-id.de/en.