Massachusetts Institute of Technology photo.

A graduate student from MIT Media Lab developed a tulle-like textile - called DefeXtiles - by controlling a common 3D printing error, polymer filament extrusion technology. Jack Forman uses a standard, inexpensive 3D printer to produce complex 3D geometries with a woven-like structure based on a "glob-stretch" model created by method of extrusion printing.

Forman, who works on the Tangible Media research group with Professor Hiroshi Ishii, prints these thin and soft cloths as a lampshade, dresses of all sizes, a roll of fabric long enough to stretch across a football field. pestles, materials such as intricately patterned lace fabric and a number of other items. Forman demonstrated the DefeXtiles product research on October 20 at the Computing Machinery Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology Conference.
Forman said this material can be applied immediately to modeling and design in fashion design, in the future it can also be applied in other areas such as 3D printing surgical mesh with special features. mechanical properties can be adjusted, or application among other products.

"Overall, what excites me the most about this job is that it is immediately applicable to many manufacturers," says Forman. “Unlike previous work, the fact that there is no need for custom software or hardware - just a relatively cheap printer around $ 250, the most common type of printer used - really makes this technique. can reach millions of people ”

"We envision that the materials of the future will be highly dynamic and have high accuracy," Ishii said. We call it "Radical Atoms". DefeXtiles is a great example of "Radial Atoms" that can be programmed to simulate the properties of existing materials and beyond. We can touch, feel, wear and print them ”

Joining Forman and Ishii on this project are the Laboratory of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, graduate student Mustafa Doga Dogan of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Hamilton Forsythe, a graduate researcher. Faculty of Architecture at MIT.

Forman experimented with 3D printing during the course of the Science and Media Arts class - How to Make (Almost) Anything - led by Professor Neil Gershenfeld - Director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. Forman's experiments were inspired by the work of a friend from Carnegie Mellon University, who used extruded fiber technology to create a flower vase. With his first attempts at applying 3D printing by extrusion, he said: “I was very upset because defects in the printing process happened repeatedly and periodically, but then when I started working on it, bending it and even stretching it, I had to say, "Wow, wait, this is a textile!". It looks like it, I love it, it can be bent, and it prints very quickly. ”

"I brought a small sample to the class to display and recount my progress, although I didn't really think much about it, Professor Gershenfeld saw it and he was also very excited about it." Forman added.

When the 3D printer impacts the material, it creates certain, cyclical gaps on the material when finished. Using an inexpensive extruded 3D printer, Forman has developed an extrusion process called "spherical stretching", in which pieces of thermoplastic polymer are connected into fine filaments. This results in a flexible, stretchy weave with a clear curvature and weft just like a woven fabric. Forman says it feels like a mesh fabric.

Not only are these fabrics thinner and print faster than other approaches, but the complexity of the samples shown is also improved, says Forman. With this approach, we can print 3-dimensional housings with conventional 3D printers and do not need special cutter software. This is interesting because there are so many opportunities with the 3D printed fabric, but it is actually very difficult to disseminate it easily since many of them use expensive machinery and special software or special commands. is usually specific to the printer.

The new fabric can be sewn, pleated and heat bonded like a metal sandpaper. Forman and his colleagues printed the fabric with many popular 3D printing materials, including the conductive filament they use to produce a lamp that can glow and dim by touching the creases. folding on the lampshade. Researchers propose that base materials or other auxiliary materials can either create textiles that are magnetic or optical, or that textiles are more biodegradable by the use of algae, coffee grounds or wood.

According to Scott Hudson, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Forman's work represents a very interesting addition to the ever-evolving suite of 3D printing techniques.

“This job is especially important because it works in the same printing process as other conventional techniques,” noted Hudson, who was not involved in the study, noting: “This will allow us to integrate well. more than custom 3D printed textile elements - components that can be flexible and pliable - into products with conventional hard materials ”.

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