3D Printer Archives - Circuits and Cable Knit

Nike Partners With HP For 3D Printing Technology

May 27, 2016

When you think of HP the first thing that comes to mind is probably computers or inkjet printers (or those terrible TouchPad ads). Moving forward, HP would like for you to add 3D printing to that list. The company has announced two new commercial printers which they believe will be game changers for both prototyping and manufacturing. We don’t normally cover industrial products, but the tech behind HP’s new Jet Fusion 3D printers is a significant step forward and could very well pave the path to an on-demand, 3D printed manufacturing economy. In fact, the technology is so game changing, Nike is partnering with HP to use the printers for future products.

by Doug Parker

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Year In Review

Year In Review: Editor’s Picks – Biggest News Of 2015

January 4, 2016

From smartwatches, to connected dressing rooms, to recycled clothing, 2015 was an incredible year for fashion and technology. We saw advances to help us be better global citizens, encourage kids to be smarter, and keep us connected at all times. While 2016 promises to be the year that fashion tech and wearables begin to find their audience, 2015 laid the groundwork!

Head past the break as we take a look at the stories we believe shaped the industry in 2015 and that will define where the integration of fashion and technology is headed.

by Doug Parker

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Manufacturing

MIT Develops Method To Easily Tweak 3D Printable Designs

September 4, 2015

If 3D printing is ever to become mainstream, especially for fashion, there needs to be a way to make simple tweaks to designs. Whether it is to switch from a v-neck to a crew, change heel hight, or alter a shirt size, customization is key. Currently the process entails editing complicated CAD files and then waiting for the software to determine if those changes will result a feasible object. But researchers at MIT have found a method to make altering the CAD files much simpler and consumer friendly. Designs are displayed along with sliders that allow you to alter predefined perimeters. Even better, the software analyzes your choices in realtime and will not allow you to select a combination of setting that would result in an infeasible object.

While the example from MIT shows off customizations to toy train, it is easy to see how important this technology will be for printing clothing and accessories at home. Unlike a vase or a toy car, fashion is almost never a one-size-fits-all business; there needs to be an ability for 3D printable fashion to be customized by anyone. MIT has created a vital element for on-demand manufacturing to succeed. This is not the only 3D printing news out of MIT this month. The university has also discovered a way to print with glass, print with 10 materials simultaneously, and print directly onto and around objects placed on a printer bed.

by Doug Parker

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Fashion, Manufacturing

Fashion Company Honest By Launches 3D Printable Accessories

June 19, 2015

In what marks a first in the fashion industry, a brand has launched a line of accessories designed to be printed at home by the consumer. Ranging from brooches to combs, Honest By has released 9 items for you to create at home with a 3D printer. The designs cost between approximately $35 to $80 and can be used an unlimited number of times. While the designs are mostly simplistic, a fashion brand testing the waters of selling printable plans to the consumer is a notable milestone. Honest By was founded by Bruno Pieters in 2012 with the goal of being the first company to have a 100% transparency policy.

by Doug Parker

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Manufacturing

Electroloom Debuting 3D Printer For Clothes

May 20, 2015

Electroloom is perhaps the closest thing we have seen yet to a true 3D printer for clothes. The concept is simple, insert a thin metal template into the printer and then it is showered with an electrically changed mixture of liquid polyester and cotton to produce a strong, soft, seamless garment. Currently on Kickstarter, Electroloom is not quite ready for consumers. Instead the company is borrowing the Oculus Rift model and using Kickstarter as a platform to get the device into the hands of developers and engineers, helping the company further refine the technology. The team at Electroloom thought of using an electrospinning process for creating garment from work they were doing with bioprinting blood vessels. One of the preliminary steps in printing blood vessels requires a scaffolding to be built via electrospinning. The technology needed to be re-conceptualized though to create something as large as an item of clothing. It will be interesting to see where this technology could lead. 3D printing of clothing has the potential to completely reshape an entire industry and democratize fashion. In addition to allowing anyone in the world to distribute and access garment designs, it would also help address worsening ecological and labor issues related to the manufacturing of clothing. Without a doubt, the team at Electroloom has succeeded in creating a device that fabricates fabric based clothing on demand, though the results are still rough. It will be interesting to see how it develops! Check out the Kickstarter video after the break:

by Doug Parker

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Organovo L'Oreal 3D Printer Skin Samples

Cosmetics

L’Oreal Plans to Use 3D Printed Skin To Test Cosmetics

May 20, 2015

L’Oreal is partnering with bioprinting company Organovo to print skin samples for cosmetic testing. Organovo has developed a technology that utilizes two print heads, one for human cells, the other for a hydrogel support matrix, to produce small skin samples at a commercial scale. Currently the French beauty company grows their own .5cm square skin samples for testing, breaking down a skin sample to individuals cells and then regrowing them. L’Oreal has been doing this since the 1980s and on a yearly basis creates approximately the amount of skin that is on a cow. After ceasing testing on animals in 2013, they have a growing need to more efficiently create skin samples. Organovo’s 3D printed bio-tissue will be able to generate significantly more skin samples for L’Oreal and with less labor. If all goes according to plan with the technology, the French beauty company will have exclusive access to the tech for non-perscription skin care use. If you haven’t heard of Organovo, it is worth checking them out; the bioprinting work they are doing is impressive.

by Doug Parker

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Crowdsource, Fashion

Trusst Uses 3D Printers To Design A New Type Of Bra

May 8, 2015

Trusst Lingerie has designed a new type of bra aimed at offering better support to bustier women. The technology behind the bra comes from the engineering world; the two women behind the project looked at the trusses that support bridges from underneath and sought to apply the same concept to a bra. Their design relies on the ribcage for support instead of the shoulders. The company, currently Kickstarting their first production run, relied heavily on MakerBot 3D printers to prototype and design the support for the undergarment. The entire support structure was modeled on a computer and then printed. Using the 3D printer, they were able to quickly and inexpensively tweak the design and test it with a wide variety of body shapes. It is exciting to see the fashion industry find new, out-of-the-box, and unexpected uses for 3D printers, creating items that would not have been possible only a few years ago.

by Doug Parker

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3D Printer

Nike Partners With HP For 3D Printing Technology

Year In Review: Editor’s Picks – Biggest News Of 2015

MIT Develops Method To Easily Tweak 3D Printable Designs

Fashion Company Honest By Launches 3D Printable Accessories

Electroloom Debuting 3D Printer For Clothes

L’Oreal Plans to Use 3D Printed Skin To Test Cosmetics

Trusst Uses 3D Printers To Design A New Type Of Bra

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