The New Way to Modernization: Fully Automated Textile Mills
May 20, 2020 4:56 pm Leave your thoughtsWe’ve come a long way from the days of having to hand-sew each garment we wear. Textile mill automation in Lubbock, TX is the wave of the future, and makes it possible for robots to do the bulk of the labor for us.
Machines and robots make a good deal of our everyday products as it is, from cookie cutters to electronics, so it’s no surprise that manufacturers are interested in automating wardrobe production. With advances in technology, t-shirts can be made every 30 seconds, never having been touched by human hands. Some opponents are concerned that this could put Americans out of work—on the contrary, even fully automated mills in Lubbock, TX require human supervision.
A brief history of textile mills
Textile mills began appearing in Europe in the mid-18th century, as a part of the Industrial Revolution. As inventors continued to design machines that would help refine raw materials and weave textiles, towns and cities would crop up around the locations. Throughout the Industrial Revolution, textile mills were a major boon to the local economy both in Europe and in North America. Many mills were located near rivers, as they relied on the natural movement of the water to help power their machines. In the late 18th century, mills began to use steam power, which made it possible for them to be located in other areas.
Eventually, the textile mill technology spread to the Americas in the early 19th century, and quickly became an integral part of the United States’ economy. Automated carding, spinning and weaving machines made fabric more readily available and at a lower cost. For the first time in American history, poorer people had access to similar fashions as the well-off, and many related industries sprung up as a result of the textile mills’ success.
Over the years, textile mills have all but disappeared from the landscape. Our fabric often comes from Asian countries due to the low cost of labor—but with fully automated textile mills in Lubbock, TX and beyond, we may see the textile and fashion industry return to America.
How automated textile mills will benefit Americans
The development of fully automated textile mills isn’t the cause for alarm that many people think it is. Since the textile industry has been dormant here for decades, bringing new automated factories to America creates jobs. The robots, called “Sewbots,” are able to produce full garments in as little as 30 seconds, without human intervention—but highly-educated humans who understand automation are still needed to supervise the factories. In turn, more jobs creating Sewbots and in related industries will be necessary—the designer of the Sewbots expects that the new textile opportunities could create up to 100,000 jobs in the next decade. In addition, hosting textile production factories in America will help bring down the cost of clothing, thanks to our access to a superior cotton supply.
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