When I first started doing research on 3D printed textiles, I think the first thing I learned was that to my delight there actually are several prototypes of flexible fabrics that are already out there. The article “3D Printed Flexible Textiles – a Stitch toward Personalized Clothing,” which can be found on www.3ders.org, explores the current possibilities of additive manufacturing in the realm of textiles. Also, the website itself is quite intriguing as it is specifically dedicated to 3D printing news and one can always find a variety of articles about different applications of 3D printers.
Anyway, according to the article, Flexible Textile Structures by the [trans]LAB team – Negar Kalantar and Alireza Borhani works in cooperation with the Design, Research, and Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems (DREAMS) Laboratory at Virginia Tech to produce textile prototypes which are resilient, form-fitting, and soft to the touch.
The main design concern of Flexible Textile Structures was designing a fabric that was both flexible and rigid. The shape remains fixed – no matter how the shape is manipulated. Prototypes were generated by Rhino, Grasshopper, and SolidWorks and fabricated with two additive manufacturing processes, Powder Bed Fusion and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM).
Kalantar and Borhani use simple shapes – like circles –to interconnect and form meshes of criss-crossing patterns and möbius motifs. Both the digital and analog models of these designs are kaleidoscopic and totally mesmerizing.
Prototype #1 uses Powder Bed Fusion and has a medieval aesthetic, looking like a patch from a 3D-printed coat of mail.
Prototype #2 uses Powder Bed Fusion and has a ‘strategically-knotted-string’ quality which is fitting for fabric design.
Many will recognize Prototype #3 as a fantastic, interconnected 3D version of designs produced with their childhood Spirograph set. This prototype was also made using Powder Bed Fusion.
Prototype #4 uses Powder Bed Fusion is another woven mesh design.
Prototype #5 uses Powder Bed Fusion and resembles interconnected metal clothes hangers.
In the future, 3D printing technology may be used to create unique flexible textile structures tailored to specific individuals; 3D data may be used to develop bespoke, skin-conforming fabric structures. Such future developments in textile manufacturing may be seen as a figurative extension of the intricate prototypes of Flexible Textile Structures. And, if these prototypes are any indication, then the future of textiles promises to be complex and exciting.
