SM3727 Wearables:

Digital Fabrications for Wearables

Kening Zhu (Ken)
Assistant Professor
School of Creative Media

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 What is Digital Fabrication?

Computer-Aided
Fabrication
Design (CAD)
 Digital Fabrication
• Machine is controlled digitally (computers)

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Manual Skills becomes Computer Skills

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 Manual Weaving

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 Semi automatic Weaving

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 Fully automatic weaving

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 Manual to Computer
• What does the difference mean?
– Traditionally, craftman think and do at the same
time.
• Idea can evolve during making
• But are we good at multithreading?

– With digital fabrication, we now can focus on idea

mainly, and the machine will make it.
• But what if we want to change while it is being made.

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What uses Digital Fabrication?
 Revolution is afoot
• Removes barrier
• No stock
• Customisable
• Complexity is free
 Tools Available to You
• Laser Cutter
• 3D Printing
• CNC (computer numberical control) Machining
 CNC Routing
• Milling wood, metal, plastics, and foams

• 3/5/6 Degree of Freedoms

• Architecture, Furniture,
Sculpture

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 CNC Milling
• ‘Subtractive’
 Details on CNC
• 2.5D to 5D
• Bits, routing, drill, tap
• Plastic, wood, metal, glass
 2.5D CNC Milling

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 5Dof CNC Milling

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 5Dof CNC Milling

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 The FreeD - a handheld digital milling
device for craft and fabrication

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 The idea behind FreeD
• To allow us to engage with the physical material, not just with the CAD
environment, freeing us to create our own interpretation of the virtual
model.

• 3D modeling software and digital fabrication always create things same

to each other.

• With FreeD, even though we are working based on a generic design,

we can create something that is one of a kind.

• More towards craftmanship

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 When to use CNC Milling?
• Harder materials
• 2.5D/3D, highly accurate

What is 2.5D?
Laser Cutting
 How it works
• High powered laser on an X Y plotter
– Cuts
– Engraves

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Raster Engrave + Vector Cut
 Laser-cut Wearables

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 Gomma Fashion | Laser Cut
Accessories

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 Wood Fabrics

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 Reference Design File will be available
in Canvas Later

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 So laser cut is only about 2D?

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 LaserOrigami

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 PLATENER: FAST FABRICATION BY SUBSTITUTING 3D
PRINT WITH LASER-CUT PLATES

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 LaserStacker

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 How laser-cut fits in
• Paper, plastic, wood, metal
• Limits (2D, thickness, materials)
• Cards, cogs, jewelry, rapid mock
• Great for: 2D, engraving, snap together,
precise cuts, ~ zero tool diameter, kerf
manipulation
 Think about…
• Material burns
• Material warping
• Kerf
3D Printing
 The work flow
A person creates a 3D image
of an item using a computer-
aided design (CAD) software
program.
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The printer forms the item
by depositing the material in
layers—starting from the
The CAD information is sent
bottom layer—onto a
to the printer.
platform. In some cases light
or lasers are used to harden
the material.
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STEP 1 (CAD FILE IS CREATED)
 STEP 2
The CAD file is exported to a 3D printing machine.
LAYER BY LAYER
STEP 3-ACTUAL OBJECT
Working
 But..

This is not the only way

to print 3D
 Different types of 3D printing
• FDM
– Use filaments
– Squeeze the materials out

• SLA
– Use liquid resin
– Solidify the liquid

• SLS
– Use powder
– Melt powder together

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 Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

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 MakiBox

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 FDM 3D Printing

Fused deposition
modeling (FDM) is an
additive
manufacturing
technology
commonly used for
modeling,
prototyping, and
production
applications.

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 Materials

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 Just like squeezing cream out
(3D Cheese Printer)

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 Selective Layer Sintering (SLS)

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 Stereolithography (SLA)

Stereo
lithography is an
additive
manufacturing
process using a
vat of liquid UV-
curable
photopolymer
”resin” and a UV
laser to build
parts a layer at
a time.

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 SLA is one hot and fast-developed
technology these days
• Pulling things out
from liquid

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 Just like..

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 Materials in SLA
• Photo-reactive Resin
– Become solid under light

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 Light source: laser

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 Form 1 SLA 3D Printer (Laser)

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 More DIYable by using DLP Projector

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 Carbon3D prints object in 6 minutes

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 Compared to FDM
• Higher speed

• Higher resolution

• Higher quality

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 Leverage the benefit of liquid

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 When to use 3D printing?
• Internal geometry
• Multiple parts
• Prototyping
 Think about…
• Overhangs + supports
• Bed lift
• Material selection
• Infill
 New Balance
3D printed
spike plates on
running shoes

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 Not just 3D printing machine
• 3doodler

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 Making fashion
with the pen

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 Making fashion with the pen

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 Continuum: 3D-Printing the Future of
Fashion (Mary Huang)

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 3D Printing Fashion: How I 3D-Printed
Clothes at Home (Danit Peleg)

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 ExoSkin: On-body Fabrication

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 3D Print Fabric

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 4D printing

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 You may say..
• These may be too advanced and expensive for
us…

• What if we want to print in low cost.

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 FDM 3D Printer is the cheapest
nowadays
• We will learn to use it next week
– There are a lot of existing wearable models online
• www.thingiverse.com

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 Some other fabrication techniques
• Foam cutting

• Hot air gun + plastic

– Forming

• Plastic moulding

• Paper folding

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 Form-cutting

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 Paper Folding to Make Fashion
• Origami Fashion
– Paper, Clothe, Textiles
– Are all foldable

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 Software for laser cut/3d print
• Adobe illustrator
• CorelDraw
• Rhino

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 Input for 3D Print: 3D Scanning

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 TeamAssignment
• You need to form your groups
– Maximum 2 members

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 Teamwork practices
the teamassignment
• We will begin the collaboration with an
exercise that willallow the students to:
– Get to know eachother
– Set up a communication channel
– Work together in a quick turn-around project.
 Team work practices
• Teams need to fabricate a team logo.

• Your team logo needs to be unique, creative

and reflect a futuristic wearable design team.

• The final artifacts needs to be in the form of a

wearable accessory (i.e. ring, earing, necklace,
bracelet etc) and it needs to be lasercut.
 Team work practices
Ice-breaking exercise
• Work Process:
– Discuss among your team and come up with aconcept
– Design your logo
– Prepare a laser cutter friendly file (in corel draw or illustrator)
– Optional: fabricate your product
 Teamwork practices
Ice-breaking exercise

• On Wednesday Week 7, you will need to present your team

logo

• Your presentation needs to:

– Be a maximum of 8 minutes (Including Q&A)
– All Members should participate in the presentation
– You need toexplain the though process of your chosen design:
• Concept
• Iteration/Evolution of ideas
• Meaning of design
• Fabrication process
– Identify any challenges (team communication, preparing the file,laser
cutting etc)
Examples of logos: