3D Printing, The Third Exploration In 3D

In order to understand where we are headed with 3D technology it is important to look back and see where we have come from and to put it into perspective, Julia Haselhorst from TFIA presented an excellent overview in her presentation at 3 Explorations in 3D held earlier this month.

Outlining what Chris Anderson, CEO of 3DRobotics, had described in relation to the Maker Movement when he spoke of the industrial revolutions that we have experienced over the past century. The first industrial revolution was about mechanisation, replacing people power with machine power, creating intelligent and efficient production lines where before it was all manually done. The second being a computer revolution and the democratisation of computers, when everyone gained access to a PC and the internet. This digital community has changed the way we live and work in the world today. The third revolution in his opinion will be the meeting of the two, which is what we are experiencing now with 3D printing. The combination of the industrialised machine and the digital space, with designing and printing of products in new materials.

This begs the question of, “is everyone then a manufacturer?” It certainly means that everyone is able to make a prototype of what they would like to see manufactured. We see this now with 3D printed accessories ranging from sunglasses, to necklaces, bracelets and shoes. Similar in a way to everyone having a sewing machine at home you can make your own clothing.

The 3D printer is fairly easy to use and with access to open source software, we can collaborate on designs, and share ideas, and in doing so remix, refine and in some instances improve on the original product. This can however have copyright and design ownership issues when large profits are gained from a new or reworked design. There is a shorter lead time from prototyping with a 3D printer to entering the commercial space. Commercialisation is made easier by awareness through social media helping to promote products and start-ups having platforms like Etsy to sell their items on. Websites like Kickstarter campaigns encourages entrepreneurs to put their ideas online to get sponsorship in order to enter the commercial domain.

There are many opportunities to be explored with 3D printing. Julia spoke on the work being done at Cornell University, lead by Dr Hod Lipson director of Creative Machines Lab; also a co-author of the book “Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing”. One of the points he makes in regards to 3D printing is that “complexity is free”, as apposed to traditional manufacturing where any depth of complexity is expensive. Julia used high heel shoes to illustrate this, pointing out that although the design time for a complicated heel could take longer in drawing, the actual printing of the intricate shapes and twists take the same amount of time as a standard heel shape. Thereby, allowing designers infinite possibility and freedom with shapes, because there are no longer financial constraints or worry about how much that is going to cost in production. An example of this is Marla Marchant’s shoes which have a strong architectural reference shown at the Digital Fashion conference in London, as seen below.

Another great aspect to come with 3D printing is that “variety is free”. Designers no longer have to commit to one style, and multiple styles in a range of colours can be tested on the target market, without the minimum unit orders that come with traditional manufacturing. This also offers great opportunities for personalisation and one-offs in an ever increasing market for customised products. There is also little to no assembly required, especially for smaller objects which are printed in one, because with 3D printing it prints in layers and so reduces the cost of manufacturing further. Although, currently dresses are printed in parts and fused together which may change with large capacity printers. Printing on demand means shorter lead times, it has implications for the supply chain but also means less waste which is environmentally sustainable, if we are mindful of what we print. Little to no inventory or sample sales means businesses only make what is needed without holding stock where demand is uncertain. This is greatly advantageous to small companies who often can’t make the minimum number of units required in manufacturing and when taking risks with design innovation could mean make or break. It sets creativity free!

 "Unlimited design space” The concept is realised in a work of collaboration between designer Michael Schmidt and architect Francis Bitonti, with the nylon dress made to measure for Dita Von Teese. Fashion draws on the experience of architecture when it comes to CAD systems and structure. As 3D clothing advances so fashion will rely heavily on other disciplines for example science labs to develop new materials. Another example of this fashion/architecture cross disciplinary collaboration is Iris van Herpen’s white coat from Spring Summer 2013 Voltage collection, which looks like it has been made of paper. Iris has this to say: “That piece was made from a very light but very strong technical material that the architect Philip Beesley has introduced me to. The material is super thin and it’s laser cut, and Philip has balanced out the shape so well – cutting it a little bit shorter here, and then a little bit longer there – that it just stands out and holds  itself. It’s really a miracle structurally!” The quote is taken from Talking Fashion by Jan Kedves.

 Joshua Harris, an industrial designer who helped create and conceptualise an in-house clothing printer for use in 2050 is a fascinating futuristic example of where you print what you need for immediate use and recycle the material at the end of the day. The project made it into the semi-finals of the annual Electrolux design competition. Although this idea of never wearing anything twice or washing and returning to a wardrobe may seem unrealistic, elements of this concept could very well be a reality one day. 3D printers are already coming down in price and are relatively easy to use if set up by a technician for a low skilled operator. 3D printing as a process creates less waste and is far more efficient in carving, cutting and moulding than traditional manufacturing which has been responsible for polluting and sometimes wasteful in energy and resources.

 

3D printing also necessitates the need for innovation in materials, for example printing leather and silk. Printing materials with properties that can be programmed, to create fabrics which are sturdy in parts and thinner in other areas, which have strength and get thicker by stretching them because that is the way they are programmed, or a material that repairs itself!! My favourite to date is the idea of a garment made of a metabolic fabric that could potentially grow with you from childhood into adulthood.

Touching on the skills that a modelista might need in the future and how to educate for this new revolution is challenging, when we see at the forefront of this technology industrial designers and architects tinkering in fashion. It is still craft meets technology, but this will change as demand grows for higher level technicians and specialists. Merging ideas from different industries is very exciting in developing this new technology, a very interesting aspect of 3D printing is the ability to manufacture via remote access, for example in emergency situations to print out what may be needed to potentially save a life.

With all revolutions come risks. Julia mentioned some forerunners to this technology such as photocopiers, scanners and printers. As with the internet and the music industry, file piracy and counterfeiting will need to be controlled through legislation. Perhaps in future we will have “iTunes for fashion”!

Natasha Fagg has made some of the most exquisite 3D printed designs, based on her knowledge of hand embroidery and experience from travelling through India. Through her intense curiosity she began exploring 3D and digital design in 2011 as an elective subject. Natasha graduated from RMIT Bachelor of Design in Fashion with first class honours. For her graduating parade titled “Arthropoda”, she created a range of wearable styles embellished with 3D printed trim elements and motifs. The significant contribution of the collaboration between science, medicine and fashion in this instance can not be overlooked and for many 3D designs the inspiration comes from nature. In this case from insects under the microscope, intimately studied and broken down into a voxel stack and replicated for printing the surface textures that you see on the garments. Natasha is currently London based working at
Alexander McQueen.

 

Iris van Herpen is a pioneer in 3D printing, she is a Dutch fashion designer who also interned at Alexander McQueen before starting her own fashion label in 2007. Her early collections are themes of intricate and dense thread work with panelled corsetry lacing entire areas. crochet panelled leather strips, with sheer fabrics combined with metallic armour is another strong element of her design. She embraced 3D printing in 2010 her with her collection “Crystallization” which was shown at Amsterdam Fashion week, this was a collaboration with London-based architect Daniel Widrig.

Since then this exploration into 3D printing has become her signature and has lead to many creative partnerships, for example architects Philip Beesley and Julia Koener in “Hybrid Holism” 2012. As well as, Neri Oxman of the MIT Media Lab in “Voltage Haute Couture” with new softer more fabric like materials. Her partnering with United Nude’s Rem D. Koolhaas and Stratasys, in “Wilderness Embodied” 2013 led to the tree-root like bootlets. The imagination and science behind her work is truly impressive, considering that when she grew up she was never interested in computers until she was introduced to 3D technology. 3D technology offered her limitless design possibilities and attracted her to this way of working and collaborating.

 

The collaboration between jewellery designer Silvia Weidenbach and architect Tobias Klein in 3D Print Show, London 2012 is a beautiful example of small scale versus large scale and the virtual meeting of two minds. “Impressum”, is in essence a friendship necklace that is printed as one piece, but when broken in two the necklaces separate and the chains fall out of the case becoming individual pieces. So save the elephant ivory and 3D print instead!

 

 “After me, the flood” Valentino said these words in the autobiographical movie “Valentino, the last emperor”. His prophecy is coming true, when everyone is a designer and everyone can be a manufacturer. Apart from 3D printed clothing, the list for 3D printed products is long and varied some examples are edible meat in the food industry, bionic ears and jaw bones in medicine, guns, bullets and rockets in defence. There is a lot of money being invested in research and development. Everyday there are new stories and innovation is moving fast. It is exciting to be witnessing this revolution!

I would like to thank Julia Haselhorst for the fascinating, informative and entertaining presentation. 3D technology is a broad and new subject which she was able to condense into easily understandable and tangible ideas. The TFIA’s Textile and Fashion Hub supports learning and research with the latest cutting edge technology, workshops and training. I have attended a number of these sessions and always come away inspired and motivated to do better. I recommend you check out their website it’s a great place to learn!!

3D Body Scanning, The Second Exploration In 3D

My first experience of 3D body scanning was standing dead still in my undies in a curtained cubicle to capture my form using a Cartesia Body Scanner at the Kangan Institute’s Textile and Fashion Hub in Richmond. It was very exciting to see my body in a way that I had never seen it before, in an avatar (sans alter ego), how cool! My dimensions were then imported into Grafis to create individual basic blocks (but that is another blog on Grafis individual measurement charts).

During a recent lecture of 3 Explorations in 3D, Kate Kennedy from RMIT University discussed 3D body scanning. Ms Kennedy is an expert in anthropometry, 3 dimensional body scanning and CAD systems. She also attended the DigitalFashion Conference in London and gave an overview of this 'new world' in the following 4 ways.

1. New Materiality in terms of 3D printing and the new polymers, also touching on laser cutting technology not just as a surface treatment, but as a way of integrating modern technology into commercial garments. Ms Kennedy referenced The Cutting Class blog quoting “…it is going to be essential that the technology serves the design, and that the design has not merely been shaped to fit with the technology.”  
2. New Media and the changing environment for business that comes with enhanced access via Social media. Me-commerce; as the personalisation of e-commerce when consumers look for customised, bespoke products and experiences. 3D printing in the home makes this possible, taking manufacturing from the factory to the studio or garden shed. Currently platforms like Etsy.com and madeit.com.au create unique hand crafted products using an e-commerce platform to sell their wares. Re-commerce; or reverse commerce refers to the recovery of products, whether it be recycling or re-selling. Some designers will exchange clothing and accessories for vouchers or discounts, as well as designer vintage clothing shops going online, BuyMyWardrobe. There is a plethora of new ways to sell online and these are just the tip of the iceberg.
3. New Fast Fashion - consumption of a purely virtual clothing collections or “assets” shown by example from Marvellous Designer (MD) a website creating digital clothing for the online world. MD – is a 3D virtual database of fashion and costumes, the software uses pattern making and simulated draping techniques to create digital images of clothing, with various features such as quilting, pleating, darts, top stitching and trims. Instead of illustrating garments in a sketch, the garment illustrations are based on pattern making principles and technical drawings, giving realistically proportioned and functional looking apparel. Whether these patterns would actually sew together correctly in ‘real’ fabric is perhaps a FAQ. However, that is not the point, and it’s hugely advantageous to show/sell a virtual range without having sewn a thing, another case for pre-commerce – (selling something you haven’t actually made yet ;-). Not to overlook the obvious benefits of receiving feedback from buyers and taking pre-orders before you engage in manufacturing costs or contribute ultimately to landfill.
4. New Luxury – as I understand it is defined as the coming together of creativity and craft with innovative methods and cutting edge technology. Local innovator Douglas McManus an artist and textile teacher at RMIT University is experimenting constantly with all the tools and up-to-the-minute technologies available to create extraordinary textile specimens. Mr McManus along with other artists will be showing their work at the Melbourne Now exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria from 22 November 2013. His work incorporates dye-sublimation printing, laser cutting, digital printing and more to create remarkable pieces of art which have direct connections to textiles. This experimentation is essential in developing new materials, techniques and thinking for both commercial and conceptual work.        

Body scanning technology has been around for 15 to 20 years. Now with either direct body scanning or image capture from a webcam or mobile phone camera, a series of photos can be converted into a 3D model using software for example, Autodesk 123D. 3D body scanning allows us to generate measurements for a very wide range of human shapes and analyse them accurately. As an industry we cannot afford to be locked into a stereotypical (standardised) and binary (male and female) vision of the ideal size because it’s counter intuitive when faced with mass market customization. We are also missing the opportunity to wear clothing that actually fits!                

“Going toward Z” was the way that Ms Kennedy described the upskilling from traditional clothing design to computer based design. The drivers being a shift in the clothing industry from flat 2D paper pattern making cut and sew model to a new community within a 3D virtual and digital space. Clothing factory practice in Australia has dissipated as manufacturing has gone off shore. To compensate for this loss the local clothing industry needs to remain technically skilled and efficient in design innovation and sizing for a broader more diverse target market. In order to make money in clothing you have to dress all shapes and sizes, moving away from the traditional stereotypical woman’s figure. Diversity is being embraced across the fashion world, for example Ben Barry a Canadian ‘crusader for diversity in fashion’ researched and wrote a PhD Thesis submitted in 2011 titled “A Dream We Can Believe In: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Consumers’ Responses to Models and Promotional Copy in Fashion Advertising” at Cambridge University.  Mr Barry runs an unconventional model agency. The women on his books are an empowering and beautiful collection of frankly quite normal people!

Having the correct size mannequin and body forms to work on within the studio is also vital to achieve excellent fit results. Toni Stalls proprietor of Integral-T has been a pioneer in understanding and using a broad variety of mannequins not only in standard shapes but also customised size forms. Toni who has taught me Grafis this year also attended the lecture, Ms Kennedy mentioned how lucky we are in Melbourne to have practitioners who for a long time have understood variety in body sizes, and who work with correct trade practices and keep a detailed audit trail. Berlei also by example did a targeted sizing survey in 1927. They were experienced corset makers (making corsets from the time of scraping the flesh off the whalebones) when they conducted an anthropometric survey of 6000 women using 23 measurements in conjunction with the University of Sydney. The results known as “Berlei Figure Type Indicator” changed the lingerie fitting process and corset making around the world by introducing a metric “Figure Type Classification”. They identified the need to change, as body shapes and fashion changed and by doing so stayed in business; surviving an economic depression.

Ms Kennedy has been analysing body scans to look at shape definition and new classifications. Within her lecture she described the discussion around male and female shapes, in relation to menswear/womenswear and how today’s students are increasingly gender neutral in designing unisex clothing.

Body scanning in 3D allows you to look at the human form on every level in a topographical way. “A landscape of mass” a “somatic topography” is how Ms Kennedy describes it. The transverse body sections in slices, like bacon, reminded me of the exhibition Body World by Gunther von Hagen, fascinating and remarkable work of real human bodies displayed in slices. Extending this idea it’s possible to build your own bodies and models using the bifurcated body areas. These are then used to build, compare, describe and categorise particular sets of shapes.  For example scale and repeatability – select a minimum number of lines to be used on the body as landmarks. The more complex an area, the more lines there will be needed to describe it i.e. shoulders and bust. The lower body by comparison needs fewer lines to describe the shape as it is a simpler form i.e. waist to hips. The students realised this by experimenting with cardboard, creating human forms in 90 minutes, much in the same way that the elks head is sculptured.

 

The cookie cutter way that the clothing industry currently manufactures clothing is systemically wrong when reflecting on the variety of human shapes and sizes observed with 3D body scanning surveys. Ms Kennedy showed a slide of two waist circumferences superimposed one on top of the other, one waist measurement a solid line (female) and the other a dashed line (male). The waist measurement was taken from a 3D scan of the cross section of male and female model of approximately the same age. The only difference was in their Body Mass Index (BMI). The male model had a BMI of 23 and the female model a lower BMI of 18. The fact is that the lines followed the same path and only deviated slightly from each other. Within this size category the waist is very similar and debunks the girls have smaller waists and guys are broader through the waist myth.   

The subject of 3D printing and body scanning is very new and still on the periphery of the fashion industry, but the implications that it has for the future of the industry are indisputable. The way we buy clothing online these days is to select category of men women child, then the garment type ie jacket, skirt, trousers, tops etc and then the size. Perhaps this will be turned on its head when everyone knows their size, because its part of their online profile. Instead we put in our size spec and the store returns clothing that would fit our individual frame perfectly, this would mean that clothing sold online would have to be tagged with accurate specs in the metadata. Maybe this is asking to much? I for one don't think so.

I would like to thank Ms Kennedy for the inspiration to write this blog and furthering my interest in 3D technology. The in-depth and insightful research that went into this lecture is built on years of work in this field. Her lecture was both informative and thought provoking.

Have a go and get into it with the following links!!

MD – virtual pattern making

Blender  
Lynda

Scultptris – digital art without barriers

Google SketchUp 

Autodesk 123D – turn ordinary series of photos into 3D models

Upcload

Constrvct

Metail

3D Knitting, The First Exploration In 3D

3 Explorations in 3D was presented by TFIA in collaboration with RMIT. The event was held at RMIT Design Hub, level 10. When I walked to lecture room 6 the high corridor of silver weathered wood and polished concrete, surrounded by luminous circular disks increased the excitement and the expectation on what I was about hear.

picture from pagesfrommymoleskine.com 

 The 3 Melbourne fashion designers and researchers who presented their work were RMIT University’s Dr Jenny Underwood on 3D knitwear, Kate Kennedy on 3D body scanning, both of whom had presented their latest research in London at the inaugural Digital Fashion Conference in May. Julia Haselhorst from TFIA then presented a fascinating overview of 3D printing.

Dr Jenny Underwood is a lecturer and researcher in Textile and Design at RMIT University, as well as working with transdisciplinary design projects, for example her collaboration with RMIT Architecture on Dermoid III and Glow Space 2013.

Her research into 3D technology from a fashion and textile perspective raise questions about what potential 3D offers for creative practitioners. What 3D means for fashion designers and for the clothing industry both in Australia and globally. Asking the question, “Where will we be in 2050?” As a fashion design educator she is repositioning the next generation of technicians and fashion designers who will be dealing with the challenges of this century. Technology might be the common language between disciplines and industries to address the critical issues first world countries face. Consumption and climate change being just two.  

Dr Underwood opened the talk by making us look into the future. Asking what does the future look like when everyone has a 3D printer at home?  Answered by another question, “will this printer be the new bread machine” you bring it home for Christmas, use it a couple of times and put it into the back of the cupboard, because it takes too long to print and it’s not that great.

Is 3D printing going to change our lives, and if so, in what way? And how will it be legislated? But what of the potential it offers to industry. Leading onto the question of “what might a new fashion system look like?”

The internet is supporting this revolution with open source software, 3D modelling software with parametric modelling (CAD software allowing you to go back into the history of your model and by changing its parameters altering the design), as well as the potential of new materials to print with. With these exciting developments and knowledge, comes the need for real time feed back to inform our design process and constant critic.

Surface and Form was the title of the next slide, talking further about 3D printing, digital printing and knitting. We were also shown a slide from the designer Mary Katrantzou, the image was from Winter 2012 with the placement printing of the blue wrist watch on centre front. Illustrating the ability to position a print on the body using 3D software and then digitally printing high definition patterns and curiously what implications this has for patternmakers.

Mary Katrantzou Winter 2012

One of my favourite placement prints is from Mary Katrantzou Spring-Summer 2014 collection of magnified shoe details. Perhaps a nod to the successful merging of 3D printed components combined with traditional shoe making techniques, a marriage of old and new.

Mary Katrantzou SS 2014

Knitwear manufactures have been pioneering the integration of 3D and 2D technology, and the market leaders in computerised knitting technology are companies like Stoll, Shima Seiki and Santoni. These companies have a long history of high tech design; using software to programme the knitting machines to knit seamlessly and efficiently, increasing complexity and reducing waste. It also changes the way a designer visualises the garment and the possibilities for that garment using 3D modelling. There is an increased need for team work as designers become more creatively aware and technicians expertly skilled.

Alongside code development is also the increased scope of material and textiles becoming available. Textiles that have properties like elasticity and strength and can be used in other industries for example Aerospace. Begging the question; “what is a textile? If it performs and behaves like a textile, is it a textile?” The traditional definition of a flexible woven network consisting of natural or artificial fibres may no longer apply and will need to encompass other materials.

Big corporations for example Trimera who design, produce, distribute and license apparel are also early adopters of 3D knitting and have R&D in swimwear, lingerie and Shapewear/Slimwear. Nike is licensed to Trimera and they are running with this new technology (pun intended), introducing Nike Flyknit earlier this year. This lightweight and formfitting running shoe is almost entirely seamless. Embedded in the knitted trainer are different materials in different areas, which is a new level of complexity in knitwear.

Keeping with footwear we had a quick look at the most recent work from London graduates of the London College of Art, printing prototype shoes. The high heeled shoes ranged from baroque in style, to minimalist modern platforms and organic shapes that we were told are not wearable because the material is not sturdy.

The lecture then went onto describe four phases for the advancement of this technology.

1. Software – form building and code development
2. Material – plastic objects are printed from a polyamide (nylon) powder, there is a need to develop more choice in materials, and a possibility of a whole new generation of non-wovens.
3. Build Robotics – multiple materials printed simultaneously by robots
4. Nano Scale Technology – machines building machines within a printing environment.

What I found interesting was the sampling of chain mail knitted swatches that Dr Underwood showed us. As these are the beginning stages of future ‘fine textiles’ that will speed up and created commercially viable 3D printed clothing in the industry. Most of the 3D printed dresses that I've seen are printed in parts and made using selective laser sintering (SLS). The sintered nylon is lightweight but appears rigid; it has the appearance of fine sandpaper, corduroy or shark skin. There are also examples of designs made using fine repetitive ribbon and lace-like lattice structures.

To give us an idea where the design processes and systems are going we looked at a basic skirt shape created with 3D software CAD. By using parametric design principals you can set up variables for width, length, shape and styling. This is very similar to what the Grafis pattern making software does with construction parameter x value, in that you can have an infinite number of variations from one basic style.  The good thing is that you can test ideas without producing a sample until you are satisfied with the design, so prototyping comes later on in the process, reducing costs and material.

There are other disciplines that are working in this same way, for example Architecture, Industrial Design, Engineering and Aerospace, where I can imagine the scale of their projects makes it expensive to prototype until the merits of their designs have been closely examined.

Concluding this fascinating lecture were some of Dr Underwood’s work from her research and thesis in knitting textiles. Describing how knitting is a highly organised system, made up by a single stitch type that can knit to shape by a tuck or miss of a stitch, that these shapes are described by the number of stitches and number of segments. The variables achieved in shape and texture and the complexity of these structures where extremely impressive. As I am not a knitter they looked incredible! Comfortingly the skills of knitting and felting and other crafts that have a long history are something that can be leveraged on in this new world of 3D.

I would like to thank Dr Underwood for sharing her insights into 3D technology and her extensive research into knitwear.

Other references and background reading:

http://3dprintingindustry.com/

http://www.trimeragroup.com/

http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/running/stories/2013/02/flyknit-lunar-one-plus

http://www.rhino3d.com/

http://www.designhub.rmit.edu.au/

http://www.kangan.edu.au/departments/centre-of-fashion/textile-and-fashion-hub/about/