Digital technologies/Textiles/3D printing on Fabric

From CEED Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Introduction

3D printing is so versatile that it can also be incorporated into fabric, hence bringing rise to futuristic garment features.

It has flourished in the fashion industry, and many famous brands are already making and selling 3D-printed garments.

3D printing enables you to create your own designs for your clothes and personalize them as you would like. From cosplayers' costumes to footwear to pieces of jewelry to intricate patterns for your old shirts, 3D printing can bring your creations to life.

3D printing on fabric
Figure 1. 3D printed fabric

This document will give you an overview of how to 3D print on fabrics.

It will show three examples, with different filaments used, but the technique remains fairly the same.

3D printing on fabric examples

The following figures depict the final products obtained:

Dragon Scales

Dragon scales are inevitable when you are dealing with cosplayers’ costumes.

Moreover, their whimsical look can be pleasant for fantasy fans.

As shown in the picture, you can create your own dragon scale fabrics by incorporating your fabric between your 3D printed parts.

Wood fill dragon scales
Figure 2. Wood fill dragon scales

Glow in the dark Hexagons

The hexagons form a delightful pattern which may be ideal for making pieces of jewelry.

Glow-in-the-dark hexagons
Figure 3. Glow-in-the-dark hexagons

Photochromatic Snap Buttons

Snap buttons can revolutionize the way you use buttons, which are usually sewn on your shirts.

Snap buttons
Figure 4. Photochromatic snap buttons on woven fabric


Snap buttons
Figure 5. Photochromatic snap buttons
Snap buttons
Figure 6. Photochromatic snap buttons under UV light



Different types of filaments were used. You can use the material of your choice and make the necessary changes in your 3D slicer.

Filament used

The following table shows the printers used for each filament type and some of the difficulties that came up.

The printer, Flsun v400 was the first option for all three examples since it is faster and was ideal for filaments of 1.75 mm, yet one filament type did not perform well with this printer, namely the Woodfill PLA.

Printer Filament Slicer Difficulties encountered
Colour fab Wood fill PLA (2.85 mm) Ultimaker 2+-Nozzle 0.4 mm Cura
  • Incessant clogging with Flsun v400 printer
  • Got burnt several times v400 nozzle
  • Over extrusion with a 0.8 mm nozzle-UMP
  • Was not adhering to build plate-UMP
Glow in the dark PLA (1.75 mm) Flsun v400 Cura No significant difficulties were encountered, it worked like normal PLA
Photochromatic PLA (1.75 mm) Flsun v400 Cura No significant difficulties were encountered, it worked like normal PLA
Table 1. Filament used

References