Citation
Stylios, G.K. (2000), "Fabric objective measurement; FAMOUS, a new alternative to low stress measurement", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 12 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijcst.2000.05812aaa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2000, MCB UP Limited
Fabric objective measurement; FAMOUS, a new alternative to low stress measurement
Fabric objective measurement; FAMOUS, a new alternative to low stress measurement
Fabric objective measurement; FAMOUS, a new alternative to low stress measurement
A promising new system in the field of fabric objective measurement has been developed. The equipment which is British in design and manufacture is seen as closing the circle of R&D in this field, which started with Peirce in the UK, then moved to TEFO in Sweden, to Kyoto in Japan and has now returned back to the UK.
For more than a decade the UK textile and clothing industries have been trying to implement fabric objective measurement and in the last six years consistent use of the technology in woollen and worsted manufacture revealed shortcomings in existing devices and methods. With the encouragement of the Department of Trade and Industry a new alternative system was researched, designed and built. This device has received a SMART award and is now being made commercial.
The aims of this new alternative are to provide totally automated solutions to fabric objective measurement at low cost, so that companies can use and benefit from this technology. A paragraph of the patent application reads and I quote:
It is an object of the present invention to provide a single apparatus for the measurement of the mechanical properties of a single sample of limp sheet material in order to reduce the equipment costs compared with that of the number of existing devices required. It is also an object of the present invention to reduce the time and complexity of making such measurements and to increase the accuracy and reproducibility of such measurements compared with the existing methods.
A fabric sample is placed at one end of the device and its fingerprint is received in less than five minutes at the other end without human intervention. The system is modular and can be purchased in modules; the first being the tensile, shear and flexural rigidity module and the second the thickness, compression and surface module. It utilises optimisation software for interpretation of the results which accompany the automatically produced snake charts.
The name of the device is long but catchy; Fabric Automated Modular and Optimisation Universal System; FAMOUS. A lot of interest is said to have been generated already by industry and research organisations. Without the official launch of FAMOUS purchase orders are said to have already been placed.
The release of the only technical specifications that we have are that it is a six axis automated all in one but modular bench top system capable of performing extremely accurate measurement in tensile, shear, flexural rigidity, thickness, compression and surface properties.
For further information you may contact: ideal.cloth@lineone.net
With the opportunity of this first issue of IJCST, I wish you all a healthy, creative and prosperous new millennium.
George K. StyliosEditor in Chief, Heriot-Watt University