Karimoku maintains top quality with DesignConcept and Versalis

Karimoku needed software to speed up furniture development and a leather cutting solution to standardize quality

As lifestyles and demographics have changed in Japan, so has the furniture market. The desire for traditional furniture has given way to rising demand for customization. In addition, Japan’s shrinking population means competition between furniture companies has become even more intense. Furniture manufacturers must also boost flexibility and agility to keep up with rising demand for fast furniture. 

Karimoku previously relied on a traditional product development process that entailed manual creation of prototypes, heavy reliance on an upholsterer’s skill, and long validation cycles. The leather cutting process was also heavily dependent on worker skills. One worker was responsible for flaw identification, nesting and cutting. Operator training and ensuring that all workers had the same skill level was difficult.

Karimoku chose Lectra’s virtual prototyping software to accelerate development of new models

Karimoku chose DesignConcept, Lectra’s CAD/CAM software, with the aim of significantly reducing product development and customization time. With DesignConcept, Karimoku will be able to reduce the number of physical prototypes and minimize lead time by simulating technical feasibility and production cost with virtual prototyping. Moreover, using DesignConcept will help Karimoku move towards its ultimate goal of establishing an in-store customization system.

For details on how virtual prototyping and costing can help you speed up time-to-market for your new models, go to the DesignConcept product page.

Digital leather cutting delivers consistently high quality and increased hide yield

With Versalis, the automated leather cutting solution, Karimoku can evaluate hide quality and choose suitable hides for each production model. Automated nesting ensures that the company maximizes hide yield, no matter the skill level of the operator. With Versalis, Karimoku increases hide yield by 4.5%.

For details on how you can improve hide yield and gain consistently high quality cut pieces, go to the Versalis product page.