A Study on the Fabric Drape Evaluation Using a 3D Scanning System Based on Depth Camera with Elevating Device

Abstract

Abstract Properties of textile fabrics influence the appearance, aesthetics, and performance of garment. Drape and related properties of fabrics affect profoundly the static and dynamic appearance during wearer’s movement. The three dimensional shape of the folded structure often deforms with time or with subtle vibration around the fabric specimen during the drape measurement. Due to the uneven and complex nature of fabrics, the overall shape of the fabric specimen on the drape tester often becomes unstable. There is a need to understand the fundamental mechanisms of how draping may generate pleasing forms. Two drape test methods, conventional Cusick drape test, and in-built drape tester, based on a depth camera, are compared. Fabric specimens including cotton, linen, silk, wool, polyester, and rayon are investigated for the fabric drape and other physical/mechanical parameters. Drape coefficient values of fabric specimens are compared based on the final drape images, together with the intermediate 3D drape images of the specimens during elevation process of the drape tester equipped with a stepper motor system. The correlation coefficient between the data based on the two methods is reasonably high. Another advantage from the depth camera system is that it allows further analysis of three-dimensional information regarding the fabric drape shape, including the shape of nodes or crest and trough. Keywords : fabric, drape, 3D scanning, depth camera, elevating device