3D Garment Design with Automated 2D Pattern Flattening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional garment design methods are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and require significant skill, as they involve manually arranging and sewing flat patterns around a manikin, with limitations in designing realistic and manufacturable garments for both real-world production and virtual applications, and existing CAD tools do not ensure that virtual garments can be decomposed into developable panels.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method for designing manufacturable garments by providing a 3D shape modeling, automatically generating 2D manufacturable patterns, and simulating draping over a manikin, eliminating the need for manual positioning of flat patterns and allowing for iterative design improvements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional manual pattern design and arrangement methods are used, then design flexibility and creativity are maintained, but the design process becomes labor-intensive and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations of pattern arrangement and seam definition with automated computer-based algorithms. The system automatically computes seam locations, generates flattened patterns, and performs draping simulations, eliminating the need for manual manipulation while maintaining design flexibility through interactive modification capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables designers to work directly with 3D garment models and automatically generates the corresponding 2D patterns and seam definitions without requiring manual intervention for pattern arrangement. The automated pipeline serves the design process by handling computationally intensive tasks such as pattern flattening and draping simulations.
2Productivity
If existing CAD tools are used to generate virtual garments, then design iteration is faster, but manufacturability cannot be ensured as virtual garments cannot be decomposed into developable panels
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs pattern flattening and seam definition as preliminary steps before finalizing the garment design. By computing developable patterns and their corresponding seams upfront, the system ensures that virtual garments are always decomposable into manufacturable components, enabling both fast iteration and guaranteed manufacturability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates accurate 2D copies of 3D garment panels through automated pattern flattening algorithms. These flattened patterns are precise representations that can be directly used for manufacturing, bridging the gap between virtual design and physical production by maintaining geometric fidelity while ensuring developability.
3Manufacturing precision
If manual seam definition and pattern arrangement are required, then design control is precise, but the process becomes tedious and requires significant skill and experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex manual procedures for seam definition and pattern arrangement with automated computational algorithms. The system automatically computes optimal seam locations, generates accurate flattened patterns, and manages the complex relationships between 3D panels and 2D patterns, reducing process complexity while maintaining precise design control through interactive capabilities.
4Productivity
If 3D to 2D pattern flattening is performed automatically, then productivity increases, but ensuring developability of all panels becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs automated computational algorithms with mathematical guarantees to perform 3D to 2D pattern flattening. The system uses algorithms that inherently preserve developability by computing isometric or conformal mappings, ensuring that generated patterns are mathematically guaranteed to be flattenable while maintaining high precision and enabling rapid design iteration.
Data Source
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Figure 1c~1d
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AI summary
A computer-implemented method for designing a manufacturable garment comprising: a) providing a three-dimensional shape representing a garment segmented into a set of three-dimensional panels (3DP); b) computing, for each three-dimensional panel, a corresponding flattened pattern (FP); c) defining a mesh (MF, M3D) on each of said three-dimensional panels and flattened patterns; and d) simulating a draping of the segmented three-dimensional shape over a three-dimensional manikin (MK) by progressively imposing a constraint that each mesh element (ME3) of said three-dimensional panels adopts dimensions (EEL) of a corresponding mesh element (MEF) of the corresponding flattened pattern while it conforms to the manikin shape. A computer program product, a non-volatile computer-readable data-storage medium and a Computer Aided Design system for carrying out such a method. Application of such a method to the manufacturing of a real garment.