April 28, 2014

Disney Research along with Scott Hudson of Carnegie Mellon's Human-Computer Interaction Institute have developed a new type of 3D printer that is capable of turning wool and wool blend yarns into fabric objects into soft, interactive objects.

A 3D printer developed by Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research Pittsburgh feeds yarn into desired shapes and uses a needle to turn the yarn into a loose felt. Credit: Carnegie Mellon University/Disney Research Pittsburgh

The device looks something like a cross between a 3D printer and a sewing machine and produces 3D objects made of a form of loose felt. Scott Hudson, a professor in CMU's Human-Computer Interaction Institute who developed the felting printer with Disney Research support, said the results are reminiscent of hand-knitted materials.

According to Hudson's research paper, 'Printing Teddy Bears: A Technique for 3D Printing of Soft Interactive Objects,' the printer 'allows the substantial advantages of additive manufacturing techniques (including rapid turn-around prototyping of physical objects and support for high levels of customization and configuration) to be employed with a new class of material. This material is a form of loose felt formed when fibers from an incoming feed of yarn are entangled with the fibers in layers below it. The resulting objects recreate the geometric forms specified in the solid models which specify them, but are soft and flexible – somewhat reminiscent in character to hand knitted materials. This extends 3D printing from typically hard and precise forms into a new set of forms which embody a different aesthetic of soft and imprecise objects, and provides a new capability for researchers to explore the use of this class of materials in interactive devices.'

"I really see this material being used for things that are held close," Hudson said. "We're really extending the set of materials available for 3D printing and opening up new possibilities for what can be manufactured."

That could include apparel, accessories such as scarves and hats and even Teddy Bears. It also might be used to produce parts for so-called "soft robots" – robots designed to touch or be near people.

The operation of Hudson's machine is similar to Fused Deposition Modeling, or FDM, the most common process used in low-end 3D printers. The printer can make objects by working directly from computerized designs. In this felting printer, the printer head feeds out yarn instead of lines of melted plastic. A barbed felting needle attached to the printer head then repeatedly pierces the yarn, dragging down individual fibers into the yarn in the layers below, entangling the fibers and bonding the layers together.

Needle Felting Print Head. The dark mounting plate is laser cut acrylic, while white parts are 3D-printed

Hudson said the printer doesn't achieve the same dimensional accuracy as conventional 3D printers because the yarn is much thicker than the layers of plastic deposited in FDM printing. The felt also is not as strong as typical fabric, he noted, so if the soft objects are to be attached to a hard object, a layer of nylon mesh fabric must be incorporated during the printing process. This provides reinforcement to prevent the material from ripping away at the attachment point.

Hudson demonstrated techniques for bridging between the soft and hard materials, for manipulating the degree of stiffness in the soft objects and for incorporating electronic components.

Partially printed arm example showing embedded components. Here we can see an embedded black nylon mesh tube (left) which holds a yellow tendon wire. This wire loops around a bolt which attaches the (white) assembly under it that is being printed over at this point. This assembly contains an embedded metal nut, nylon mesh to spread forces from the hard attach point and 3D printed stiffening material.

These techniques require some assembly of objects because the printer now produces only fabric objects. But Hudson said it should be possible to design a printer that could produce both fabric and plastic elements in a single fabrication.

"A number of researchers are looking at mixed materials in 3D printing," he added. "That's one of the most interesting challenges now."

Hudson will discuss the felting printer April 28 at the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Toronto.

Watch below videos showing how the felting printer works and how it might be used:

Posted in 3D Printers

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