Leading Japanese computerised flat knitting machine manufacturer Shima Seiki Mfg., Ltd. has announced the release of its new Shima KnitPLM® software specifically engineered for the flat knitting industry. Today’s apparel industry is evolving at a rapid pace. New forms of retail such as fast fashion and e-commerce require new production infrastructure that support quick response and mass customisation, and smart factories utilising Industry 4.0 and IoT are key to the future of industry success. To that end Shima Seiki has been introducing various products and services to enhance its Total Fashion System which advocates fully integrated apparel manufacturing from planning and design to production and sales promotion. Initiatives that have already materialised include the new “staf” web-based fashion trend archive that supports fashion planning, the SPS (Shima Private Server) cloud-based point of-sales tool, and the Virtual Fitting System virtual-reality based fitting room.
To further support knit manufacturing in the 21st century, Shima Seiki has developed the world’s first PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) system dedicated to flat knitting as a powerful implementation of IoT for realising factory automation. With Shima KnitPLM, the entire manufacturing process of knitwear from planning to production can be visualised to support efforts in maximising production efficiency throughout. To this end, Shima Seiki has released the following software as part of Shima KnitPLM®.
SPP: Shima production planning (production planning system)
SPP software manages production scheduling and machine assignment based on manufacturing order (MO) information managed by the user’s existing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. Even users without ERP can input MO information from a dedicated input menu. Production plans created with SPP can be sent automatically to SPR3, where progress can be managed according to schedule.
SPC: Shima production control (data distribution system)
It is still the norm for knitting data at the factory to be prepared and sent manually to each machine via network or USB device. SPC can automatically send the required production data to individual machines based on scheduling data provided by SPP, reducing workload and preventing mistakes.
SPR3: Shima production report 3 (production management system)
As a new and improved version of Shima Seiki’s SPR2 production management software that is already used by most of Shima Seiki’s mid- to large-scale customers, SPR3 can provide high-level solutions through linkage with existing ERP systems, management of machine operators, and—when production stops for some reason—the time and cause of stoppage. Moreover, by using cloud service, factory operating conditions and production status for individual orders can be confirmed remotely at any moment. Shima Seiki will continue to provide solutions for customers facing new issues such as diversified fashion trends, globally expanding production bases, and shortening of production lead times.
