OptiTex in Project With U.S. Navy
CAD company OptiTex Inc. and fellow software developer Zweave Inc., both of New York, are helping the U.S. Navy develop better-fitting apparel.
Zweave is using OptiTex’s 3D Runway and pattern design products to link to its own product lifecycle management (PLM) software designed for the apparel industry. The company has received funding from the U.S Department of Defense and the Small Business Industrial Research Program to research, develop and build next-generation PLM software that will address the gap between out-of-the-box PLM software and software with apparel-specific needs.
Zweave and OptiTex products are among the tools being employed at the U.S. Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility, located in Natick, Mass. The lab develops clothing for Navy personnel and conducts research on new types of clothing and materials that may be introduced into the field. Among these are fire-resistant clothing, anti-exposure suits, ballistic- protection clothing and dress uniforms.
The tools are also being used to implement an anthropometric software solution called FitComm. The product addresses sizing and fit, design visualization and pattern development using anthropometric data (related to the measurement and study of the human body), 3-D digital fit models, and sizing and fit document management.
Zweave’s David Buck said the company decided to work with OptiTex because of the software’s Windows-based environment, which can integrate pattern-making and made-tomeasure solutions with 3-D virtual models.
OptiTex recently opened an office in Los Angeles catering to the apparel and textile industries.
—Robert McAllister
