The future form of Digital printing: How 3D Printing Will Transform the Textile Industry?
In recent years, 3D printing has completely transformed multiple industries, and now it may be changing the way we produce textiles. This article will explore the crucial role that 3D printing technology plays in the modern textile industry.
What is 3D printing?
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a recent innovation and has rapidly become one of the most important manufacturing methods. During this process, the product is constructed layer by layer from the extruded material according to specific computer-aided design.
Over the past few decades, several different types of 3D printing processes have been developed, including fused deposition modeling, stereolithography, selective laser sintering, selective laser melting, digital light processing and fuse manufacturing.
Compared with traditional manufacturing, 3D printing methods have multiple advantages, including cost-effectiveness, time, resource and energy savings, significant reduction in material waste, and increased design freedom. Multiple industries, including manufacturing, aerospace, transportation, aerospace industry and construction, have extensively explored the application of these methods and widely implemented 3D printing technology.
How does 3D printing help the textile industry?
The field of 3D printed fabrics is still in its infancy, but using these methods to produce textiles can bring some key benefits. The textile industry is a major consumer of water and material resources, which has imposed a huge environmental footprint on it. At present, the global textile industry is extremely unsustainable, and scientists are constantly exploring new ways to improve the methods used in this industry.
3D textile printing has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of resources required to produce fabrics for uses such as clothing and furniture. The process can be simplified, using less raw materials, chemicals and water. In addition, the use of 3D printing methods can significantly reduce the amount of waste generated.
Other benefits include reduced energy demand and the consequent carbon emissions, cost savings and increased design freedom. The multi-material printing capability offers opportunities for advanced and innovative material design that traditional manufacturing techniques cannot achieve.
Another key innovation achieved by 3D printing is the manufacturing of “smart” materials with embedded functions and unique structures. In short, 3D printing is a revolutionary solution for the textile industry.
3D printed textiles: Issues of flexibility and wear resistance
Compared with traditionally manufactured textiles, a key challenge for 3D-printed fabrics is their relative stiffness, which limits their wear resistance and comfort. In recent years, some 3D-printed textiles have been introduced to the market, but the wide commercial feasibility of these fabrics is limited by this issue.
Some solutions have been proposed to overcome this limitation and endow 3D printed fabrics with properties such as stretchability, softness and flexibility. The three main methods are printing flexible structural units, printing fibers and printing on textiles.
Several studies have explored this issue, providing different approaches for fully flexible and wearable 3D printed fabrics. For instance, the research explored the development of fabrics with chainmail structures, geometric structures and bionic structures. Other studies have explored the direct deposition of 3D printed polymers onto traditional fabrics to produce fabrics with unique structures and functions.
3D knitted goods
Knitted goods are produced all over the world, but the process of manufacturing clothing using traditional knitting methods is extremely resource-intensive, greatly increasing the carbon footprint of the textile industry. In recent years, research has been conducted on 3D knitted products. Companies such as New Industrial Order have developed machines capable of 3D printing single fibers.
This technology is expected to enhance the circularity of clothing manufacturing. Clothes can be produced according to orders, saving costs, materials, energy and waste. The seamless structure allows for the reuse of yarns to manufacture new clothing.
The work of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in soft fabrics
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed soft fabric using TPU. They focused on the structure of printed materials, inspired by collagen, one of the main proteins in biological organisms, which has an interwoven structure and offers enhanced flexibility and strength.
Researchers have proposed that their innovation can be applied in the textile industry as well as in the medical field, such as cardiovascular stents, surgical mesh sheets and stents.
Heat-absorbing materials: Produce 3D printed fabrics with enhanced cooling functions
Scientists from the University of Maryland have developed 3D printing materials with advanced heat dissipation capabilities. The innovative structure of this material is composed of polyvinyl alcohol and boron nitride, which can maximize thermal conductivity, absorbing heat into the material in one way and expelling it in another. Essentially, this turns the fabric into a low-cost, non-powered air conditioner, suitable for sportswear and everyday wear.
NASA’s Scale Maille project
The field of space exploration requires materials that can withstand harsh and extreme environments. NASA, which is at the forefront of 3D printing technology, has been seeking to develop fabrics that can enhance insulation and protect the harsh environment of outer space.
One ongoing project of NASA is to produce “scale maille”, which can be printed in one piece using innovative flexible metal. It is similar to scales, featuring enhanced thermal control, flexibility, foldability and strength. Both geometric shapes and functions can be printed, which has led NASA scientists to call it “4D printing”.
Materials with enhanced protective performance
A study by Wang et al. An innovative 3D printing protective material was produced using selective laser sintering technology. This material is composed of interlocking particles that can switch between a soft, flexible and wear-resistant state and a hardened protective state.
When pressure is applied, these particles interlock and form a hard chain-like structure with a stiffness 25 times that of their relaxed state. Analysis shows that in this hardened state, the material can withstand a load more than thirty times its own weight.
3D printed electronic materials
A conductive material has been created using 3D printing. This material is composed of a conductive core of carbon nanotubes and a silk fibroin dielectric sheath. This smart material has been proposed to be used as a bioelectricity collection fabric for a variety of wearable electronic devices.
In conclusion
3D printing offers some innovative solutions for the textile industry and related fields. Although still in its infancy, the number of projects that have provided interesting solutions to current business needs demonstrates the potential of this field. With the development of this field, the manufacturing of 3D printed fabrics will undoubtedly continue to innovate.
