A collaboration between the Swedish University of Borås; French universities GEMTEX and Université Lille Nord; and the Chinese College of Textile and Clothing Engineering have published an investigation into the direct 3D printing of PLA onto fabric.
The research is funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus Mundus Programme, encouraging collaboration to achieve a universal goal. The study,Investigation of the adhesion properties of direct 3D printing of polymers and nanocomposites on textiles: Effect of FDM printing process parameters,2017年1月在应用表面科学上发表的纺织品（SMDTEX）的可持续管理和设计有关。
纺织品制造中的水
在传统的纺织品制造中，水是无价的。根据世界自然基金会全球的数字, it takes around 20,000 liters of water to produce 1kg of cotton. In post-processing, water is also used to print designs onto the fabric.
如报告所述，使用3D打印代替典型的屏幕或喷墨打印技术可以avoid unnecessary use of water”in addition to“energy [and] chemicals”and, overall “improve ecological footprint and productivity”of fabric printing.
PLA：耐用，可持续和生态
PLA作为一种材料具有许多综合品质，使其理想：它轻巧，防水且具有良好的颜色。此外，它比其他合成纤维更可持续，因为它是由玉米而不是汽油制成的。这就是为什么SMDTEX研究人员选择PLA作为研究的主要重点的原因。
该研究着眼于合成纤维的四种不同的聚合物组合，分析了材料彼此粘附的效果。组合是
- Nylon on Nylon 66 fabric – as a PLA alternative
- 尼龙PA66上的PLA
- PLA织物上的PLA
- 和PLA在PLA织物上含有碳黑色的PLA
With further emphasis on cost, the research used commercially available materials and a two-head WANHAO Duplicator 3D printer for the study.
实验发现,粘附的解放军面料depends chiefly upon the balance between a platform temperature that heats the fabric, and the temperature at which the PLA is extruded.
In order to achieve adhesion, both polymers have to be in the ‘flow’ state of matter, rather than the ‘glassy’ point, when they become hard and the molecule chains within the polymer are immobile.
未来的聪明面料
Conclusions show that PLA based filaments showed greatest adhesion to PLA fabrics.
As PLA can be reinforced with all manner of materials, i.e. the carbon nanotubes in this experiment, it gives scope to using the process for manufacturing smart materials that have enhanced functionality. Possible uses suggested by the paper are:
智能绷带，虚拟现实手套，带有传感器和热能的可穿戴设备，防御工业的安全设备，管理体温，医疗设备，汽车，航空和航空航天配件的独特运动服
In 2016, Israel-based 3D printed electronics company Nano Dimensions used their DragonFly 2020 3D Printer to createan electrically charged fabric.
时装设计师，例如那些3D打印：好，坏和美丽的展览在林肯郡UK, are increasingly harnessing 3D printing to push boundaries of materials and design.
这些智能策略有可能比目前的面料更好地满足人类的需求，并与IoT vision of a world in which devices talk to each other.
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Featured image shows a cotton field in Missouri. Photo via: University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) on Flickr
