Abstract
The adoption of Additive Manufacturing (AM) has gradually transformed the fashion industry through innovation and technology over the last decade. Novel AM systems and techniques are continuously being developed, leading to the application of AM polymers with textiles and fabrics in the fashion industry. This work investigates the development and testing of polymer–textile composites using polylactic acid (PLA) filaments on synthetic mesh fabrics using direct material extrusion (ME). An aspect of this paper highlights the appropriate combination of printing material, textile substrate, and printer settings to achieve excellent polymer–textile adhesion. Details of the printing process to create polymer–textile composites are described, as are the interfacial strength results of the T-peel tests, and the observed failure modes post-testing. The peel strengths for different ME bonded polymer–textile composites are examined and used to identify the compatibility of materials. This work visualised the potential of direct ME of polymers onto textile fabrics as a material-joining approach for new textile functionalisation, multi-material composite explorations and innovative aesthetic print techniques. This work also adds to the limited knowledge of AM polymer–textile composites, which can provide helpful information for designers and researchers to develop new applications and facilitate future research development in smart embedded and programmable textiles.
Highlights
Additive Manufacturing (AM) commonly known as 3D Printing or Rapid Prototyping enable the fabrication of geometrically complex components by precisely placing material(s) one layer at a time in position within a design domain
This paper focuses on the development and testing of material extrusion (ME) AM polymer–textile composites, which involves direct printing of thermoplastics onto conventionally manufactured textile fabric substrates
Similar to their failure modes, the force versus extension responses for polylactic acid (PLA) on Nylon net structure and voile structure were similar, far better results as compared to Polyester. For both PLA—Nylon composites, the initial force exceeded 40 N and included a few force peaks, up to a maximum extension of about 20 mm, which subsequently dropped leading to failure of the PLA polymer, reflecting a relatively stronger bond compared to PLA on Polyester textile
Summary
Additive Manufacturing (AM) commonly known as 3D Printing or Rapid Prototyping enable the fabrication of geometrically complex components by precisely placing material(s) one layer at a time in position within a design domain. The rise in the adoption of AM has led to a significant transformation of the fashion and textile industry through innovation and technology. In 2010, she showcased her first 3D printed dress, which led to greater awareness and exploitation of the technology being employed in the fashion industry (Van Herpen 2010). The number of research publications on “3D Printing Textiles” has continuously increased over the past few years with over 4000 publications on Google Scholar in 2019. We show that AM will potentially open up new opportunities in fashion and textile innovation, promoting localised production of on-demand and personalised garments, allowing smaller batches or home production to compete in the market (Table 1)
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