Virtual Knitting with Cotton Store and Shima Seiki
September 2010
The new Shima Seiki SDS-ONE technology and the Cotton Store color palette ushers in a new era of virtual knitting. The real Cotton Store yarns digitalized by Shima Seiki with a very precise detail - both in terms of the structure of the yarn, and color and tone - become digital yarn that can now be knitted virtually using elaborate compositions, patterns, and stitches so that a garment can be completely simulated and dressed on a mannequin. The SDS-ONE system (hardware + software) gives a level of accuracy and realism never before achieved in virtual knitting. Until now, to see the yield of a yarn knitted according to a certain pattern in different colors, the only option was to load the yarn on the machine and weave various samples - which might even entail repeating operation several times to test the result. Today Shima Seiki SDS-ONE allows these samples to be displayed on a computer with exceptional realism. Just like seeing the finished garment!
The network pursues its mission, and is always true to itself: to exploit and manipulate every feature of cotton, which is such an extraordinary raw material, in order to create truly unique yarns that are ideal for being interpreted by the most demanding fashion designers, and perfect for becoming fascinating plies that are full of emotion.
SDS-ONE offers the chance to test any kind of pattern or stitch, and with any type of yarn in all the colors available, without having to reset the machine each time, and create a model for each individual test desired. This translates into significant savings in time and cost (man hours, machine hours, electricity, and yarn sampling). Shima Seiki chose Cotton Store to present their innovative system to the market. This was because of Cotton Store’s extraordinary and always up-to-date color palette of yarns in stock service. All Cotton Store colored yarns are available on a USB stick, ready for use in Shima Seiki SDS-ONE. With Cotton Store, the advantage of the rapid prototyping offered by Shima Seiki SDS-ONE is complemented by a wide range of colors and the ability to translate the virtual garment into a real garment with minimal times in stock service. Also available on a USB stick are the digital yarns of Stock Service ZERO, zero pilling cotton, in 68 colors.
