To contribute towards countering the global pressures experienced by the clothing and textile industry in South Africa, the clothing technology competency area of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) regional office in Port Elizabeth commissioned a 3D full body scanner.

This body scanner has been acquired as part of the advanced manufacturing technology that will contribute towards the existing South African anthropometric database, and will provide data for body shape analysis of the general population in the country.

The 3D body scanner is a point data cloud capturing technology used to generate virtual models and extract body measurements for individuals.

It is aimed at assisting manufacturing companies to use standard clothing sizes for the general population.

The technology was developed as a result of the global challenge of variance in the way body measurements were taken, necessitating a need for equipment that would be more accurate, reliable and efficient.

For South Africa, the acquisition of this machine means that retailers will be able to access the database, spend less time measuring people and save costs.

Dr Pinkie Zwane says that South Africa is not immune to the challenges facing the manufacturing industry worldwide and this machine will assist in coming up with standardised sizes in the country and even throughout Africa.

“It is envisaged that the machine will go a long way in curbing the high return rate of ill fitting clothing for retailers and will help in providing clothing for population segments that are currently not well catered for by the clothing industry.”

The CSIR team received training on the equipment by Directors of Shape Analysis, a UK-based company.