{"id":743,"date":"2026-11-09T09:36:26","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T08:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/insights\/microfactory\/"},"modified":"2026-11-09T13:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T12:45:13","slug":"microfactory","status":"publish","type":"smake_insight","link":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/en\/insights\/microfactory\/","title":{"rendered":"Printed before it's a shirt."},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea: produce when it's ordered<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Conventional textile production thinks in quantities and standard sizes. The microfactory turns this around. Customers enter their own measurements, and an individual cutting pattern is created from them. Production only starts once the order is in, for a single piece just as for a small series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example from the project: a short-sleeved basic shirt became a long-sleeved shirt, made exactly to the requested measurements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Print first, then sew<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The decisive difference lies in the order of steps. It is not the finished garment that gets decorated, but the flat fabric, before it is cut and sewn. This allows designs to run across seams, edges and sleeves. Areas that no printing machine can reach on a finished shirt become part of the design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Capture measurements<\/li>\n\n
  2. Generate cutting patterns<\/li>\n\n
  3. Print the fabric<\/li>\n\n
  4. Cut and sew<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"Black
    AI-generated illustration: the print runs across the sleeve seam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n

    Printing where it's no longer possible on a finished shirt.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    The role of Smake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    For many individual parts to become a garment that fits, every station needs to know what it is working on. This is where Smake comes in: the software guides the order from the online shop through pattern data and printing all the way to the sewing station. At every step, it is clear which cut piece belongs to which order and what happens next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The process fits seamlessly into the existing Smake workflow. For producers, this means new decoration possibilities without giving up the familiar control of their production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Together with partners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The microfactory started in 2022 as a funded research project. Alongside Smake and the ITA, partners from Brazil were involved, including a sportswear manufacturer. Together, the process from order to sewn piece was played through and tested in a prototype.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A look ahead<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Set up as a research project, the aim was to test and understand the process. Back then, the idea was ahead of its time. Today, more and more companies are turning to microfactories, and AI makes steps such as capturing measurements, generating cutting patterns or placing designs much easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The idea from back then is closer to reality than ever. And Smake already knows how it fits into a connected production.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":744,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_smk_in_lead":"Was w\u00e4re, wenn ein Kleidungsst\u00fcck erst entsteht, wenn es bestellt wird? Exakt nach Ma\u00df und bedruckt an Stellen, die am fertigen Shirt keine Maschine mehr erreicht. Genau daran hat Smake gemeinsam mit dem Institut f\u00fcr Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen geforscht.","_smk_in_featured":"1","_smk_in_quote":"Bedrucken, wo es am fertigen Shirt nicht mehr geht: \u00fcber N\u00e4hte, Kanten und \u00c4rmel hinweg.","_smk_in_num":"2022","_smk_in_num_text":"startete das Forschungsprojekt Microfactory mit Partnern in Deutschland und Brasilien.","_smk_in_facts":"Projektstart: 2022\nArt: Gef\u00f6rdertes Forschungsprojekt\nPartner: Institut f\u00fcr Textiltechnik (ITA) der RWTH Aachen University, Partner aus Brasilien\nErgebnis: Prototyp einer Microfactory f\u00fcr ma\u00dfgenaue Kleidung on demand","_smk_in_steps":"Blue, Purple, Orange, Orange","footnotes":""},"smake_insight_rubrik":[9],"class_list":["post-743","smake_insight","type-smake_insight","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/smake_insight\/743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/smake_insight"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/smake_insight"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/smake_insight\/743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":751,"href":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/smake_insight\/743\/revisions\/751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"smake_insight_rubrik","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smake.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/smake_insight_rubrik?post=743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}