Innovative Technology Development Research by a Textile Engineer from Bangladesh
Samit Chakraborty
Technology is now considered to be at the heart of the textile, apparel and fashion industry’s emergence towards a new era. Digitalization of fashion retailing and technology based manufacturing process improvement will create a new world of supply chain in the post-pandemic world.
There have been numerous researches on 3d printing, digital printing, block chain and automatic defect detection in the recent years. Researchers have predicted the implementation of these technologies will reshore textile and apparel industry in the western countries like UK, Germany and USA as well. The quality of products and skills of workforce will be crucial for Asian countries to continue their progress in the textile and apparel market. Samit Chkraborty’s research on technology development and implementation aims to improve the manufacturing process and product quality as well as ensuring sustainability in textile manufacturing and retailing process. According to him these research will play crucial role in the near future in including textile manufacturing and fashion retailing processes as part of Internet of Things (IoT) and industry 4.0.
His doctoral research is based on automatic defect detection in fabric during printing using image classification. His research used fabric image dataset containing fabric images with and without defects. He developed a machine-learning model that can automatically identify defect in the fabric images. The main convolutional neural network algorithm used here will classify the two major types of print defects in fabric. This type of research can be used for real-time fabric defect detection. The extension of this research will be predicting the digital print fabric quality and visual appearance using a statistical Design of Experiment. Besides these, his research “3D printing technology of polymer-fiber composites in textile and fashion industry: A potential roadmap of concept to consumer” published in high impact journal Composite Structures explored different application of this cutting edge technology in textile and fashion industry. The research study provided an integrative review of the existing literature to identify current state-of-the-art additive manufacturing methods for application in the textile and fashion industries The paper presented described the evolution of 3D printing technology and its continuous diffusion into different industries including textile and fashion industry. It also stated the materials and process descriptions relevant to manufacturing 3D printed textile and fashion products. The study showed the use of popular 3D printing method named as inkjet printing for producing garments and accessories using multiple materials. Inkjet printing is also widely in making electronic textiles, where the sensors or circuits are printed on the textile fabric. The paper reported that fashion designers in their innovative fabric used this multi-material technology and exhibited them in different fashion weeks. The paper proposed the future applications of this disruptive technology in smart textiles such as electronic and protective textiles.
Apart from working on these technology development researches he has published articles on sustainable textile manufacturing and supply chain management. His recent research article “Impact of COVID-19 on Textile, Apparel and Fashion Manufacturing Industry Supply Chain – Case Study on a Readymade Garment Manufacturing Industry” to be published in Journal of Supply Chain Management, Logistics and Procurement has also explored what the post-COVID-19 textile and fashion industry will look like and what kinds of measures should be taken to overcome the challenges ensued due to COVID-19 pandemic. The study presented the adverse impacts of COVID-19 on textile manufacturing and fashion retailing industry supply chain based on the statistical data used to project consumption of textile and fashion items in coming quarters. It explored and described the key points related to supply chain disruption and also reported the impact of the pandemic on the global production, import, export, GDP, employment and consumption. The case study presented in this paper showed how COVID-19 significantly affected the supply chain management of the entire textile, apparel and fashion manufacturing industry.
He worked as a consultant with denim manufacturing industry in Bangladesh, where he developed a denim wash technique using white paste, a sustainable product development approach. His research article “A Detailed Study on Environmental Sustainability in Knit Composite Industries of Bangladesh” explored the prospects and challenges related to sustainable textile and apparel manufacturing. This research paper illustrated different forms of contemporary sustainable measures that can be applied in knitwear manufacturing industries. It also reported the types of sustainable measures that are usually taken by knitwear manufacturing industries of Bangladesh. Existing and new opportunities of implementing sustainability in garments industry have been elaborately presented in this paper. Besides of these, it reported the sustainable practices that have been taken by knit composite industries in Bangladesh in recent years. The research also described the difficulties that industries face in adopting or executing sustainable manufacturing practices in the textile and apparel production. This research on sustainable textile manufacturing addressed key issues that can benefit textile and apparel manufacturing industries in Bangladesh. It reported the raw materials that can be prepared and used sustainably in manufacturing processes. He worked on similar projects as an R&D intern at DyStar USA.
Textile and fashion industry is known as late adopter of technology. Technology, data and sustainability driven research are needed to renovate the entire textile and fashion industry supply chain. Moreover, it is expected that the technology and big data based manufacturing and retailing process will shape the post-COVID-19 pandemic age. More textile researchers like Samit Chakraborty should come to this field for conducting research on these topics and implement innovative technologies for the betterment of textile industries and its stackholders.
About Samit Chakrobarty: Samit Chakrobarty is a textile engineer from Bangladesh with an undergrad degree from Bangladesh University of Textiles. He got his Masters from the renowned Manchester University, UK under Equity & Merit Scholarship and now he is pursuing his PhD at the Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, USA which is one of the best institutions for textile and apparel research in the World. He also has 5 year’s professional experience working as a Merchandiser at Fakir Apparels Limited and two other industries in Bangladesh before resuming his research career. Developing a quest for research and interest in technology development during his professional work at Fakir Apparels Limited he decided to explore academic research opportunities. He has conducted several impactful research in the areas of fashion retailing, technology management and sustainable supply chain during his Masters study at the Manchester University. Now he is specifically concentrating on technology development research as he is pursuing his PhD at NCSU, USA. His area of research covers automatic fabric defect detection, quality assessment of inkjet printed fabric and sustainable textile manufacturing.
