raspberrypi.org/magpi The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book 89
RAPANUI CLOTHING Projects
Above Running
Rapanui’s factory
is a complex
business, hence
the mass of
Pi-powered
screens at this
computer terminalsmall sensors and mobile devices
called MQTT and this allows the Pi
boards to broadcast their behaviour
to other machines or human
interfaces. Using Node-RED, the
hardware devices, APIs and online
services are wired together.
“We use Node-RED in live
production to broadcast order data
between two specific machines that
are time-critical,” Mart tells us.
“More recently we used Node-RED
for cool stuff like joining an Alexa
API to our factory systems so that
you can ask the factory questions
such as how many jobs are pending,
which lets us direct staff to the
areas where they are needed. It also
controls some robotic equipment
we’re working on.”
Creating tech jobs
The firm has since built on that
system to produce Teemill.com,
which lets users create an online
store, sell T-shirts, and take the
profits of each sale. “People can
join and access the API directly via
Teemill,” Mart says. But just as
importantly, Rapanui’s approach
to the development of its clothes
has created desirable tech jobs
on the Isle of Wight, with the
company able to show its young
>STEP-01
Creating an order
A customer can create any product
they like at Teemill.com. When a
T-shirt is ordered, Holly picks the order.
The Pi runs the interfaces, which are
connected via Node-RED/MQTT.>STEP-02
Printing the T-shirt
The lights change colour, alerting workers
to the location of the next task. The
workstation interfaces broadcast the
machine’s status to the MQTT broker,
which is run centrally on a Pi.>STEP-03
Sending it out
When the T-shirt is ready, Pam scans
and packs it. The interface tracks her
work, broadcasting the status back to
the systems. The customer is notified
that the order is on its way.GETTING THE PROCESS DOWN TO A ‘T’
employees how to code though
programming apprenticeships.
“The Pi has given us a great way
to build confidence at the earlystage in people who want to start
a career with us in computing,”
continues Mart. Indeed, today
the company invests a lot of its
time developing automated, real-time production systems which
allows products to be made in the
seconds after they are ordered.
“The breakthrough has massivelyreduced waste and cost,” Mart tells
us. “And since we’ve doubled in
size every year and the Raspberry
Pis are modular, they have scaled
with us.”The whole operation is powered
by renewable energy and a
creative, hackathon, DIY spirit