Introduction:
Fast fashion is a never ending problem in a world where overconsumption is rampant. The presence of social media and the latest trends circulating worldwide contribute to an economy where we view clothes as a disposable commodity rather than something that will last for the rest of our lives. This quick disposal of clothes leads to a massive surplus of clothes in our landfills and dumping sites in African countries such as Nigeria, where over 500,000 tons of textile goes to waste (Adow & Arsenault, 2012), ending up in oceans and waterways. Our invention provides a purpose for old textile waste.
Our 3D printer model allows for old textile and clothes to be spooled into completely new pieces with the use of already existing 3D printing technology. The need for this innovation can be seen in the multitude of dump sites present throughout Nigeria. Textiles are flooding the nation at an unprecedented rate. More often than not this textile cannot be worn and are pieces and bits rather than a full shirt. Today 3D printers are extremely common and this allows us to be able to use components from already existing 3D printing models and adjust them to create a device where old clothes and textile can be created.
In order to decrease overconsumption and to remediate the amount of waste present at these textiles dumps not only in Nigeria, but worldwide we propose the creation of a 3D printer, which takes old clothes and binds the thread and fabric to make completely new pieces of clothing. We call this printing model the XXF-D6.
The XXF-D6 3D printing model could have certain sites and locations, allowing easy public access to the device for a small cost. The cost of the XXF-D6 will be less than buying a new piece of clothing, increasing its likelihood of being used due to its affordability. This will not allow for the complete stop of overconsumption, but will allow us to use old textile to create clothes, keeping textile out of waterways and in landfills, helping aid the consequences associated with fast fashion and overconsumption.
Drawbacks of Other inventions:
The first ever 3D printer to print fabric was the Electroloom. First launched in 2013, it would’ve been a major innovation in the fashion industry. According to Kickstarter, electroloom’s intention for the innovation of the 3D printer “ Design and create seamless, ready-to-wear garments based on custom 3D geometries. All from your desktop. No sewing required.”. (Electroloom, 2016).
With this invention 3D printed clothes had the possibility of becoming more mainstream, but funding for the project stopped. Our invention is similar in design and purpose to the electroloom, but more efficient as it allows for old clothing to be recycled, this can decrease the amount of clothes being disposed of, using old clothes the printer shreds those clothes, then uses that fabric to create new clothes, with this we can see less clothes ending up in landfills.
Additionally, the fabric produced by the electroloom was delicate and easily torn apart as electrospinning, a means of textile production without stitching was present. In theory this seemed like the production of textiles and clothing would be faster however, the lack of stitching left the textile to be of poor quality and uncomfortable to wear. There needs to be some sort of machinery present in the electroloom which binds the fabric in a way where the textile can be strong and durable.
Another notable project that has failed in the 3D printer fabric industry is the ‘FDM Type 3D printer’ The FDM is similar to our invention as it’s also a 3D printer that makes an attempt to create clothes that are fashionable. “Global 3D printer manufacturing companies such as Stratasys and 3D Systems are collaborating with fashion designers to exhibit distinctive designs” (David 2012). As you can see this invention is attempting to create a possible new brand of fashion and rather than focusing on everyday clothes the inventors chose a much more closeted approach in only attempting “exhibit distinctive designs” making the use of this machine very limited; in which only the most out there and not practical designs are being made with this machine rather than serving a greater purpose.
“In total, an amount of 1,464 g of filament was used to print the entire piece, with 546 g in printing basic patterns for the top and 910 g for the bottom.” (Kim et al. Fash Text Page 18) This quote is exactly what sets our invention apart from our competition as our invention will be able to recycle old clothing bringing the same feel of natural woven clothes that we are used to instead of the ‘filament’ used in normal 3D printers that can make the clothing feel odd or weighed down such as this quote suggests “thus had heavier weight. This was due to the fact that the ‘infill’ option which indicates the rate for falling inside the model was set up to ‘medium (50%)’ from the default ‘light (10%)’, because ABS is easily broken when thinly printed during the printing process.” (Kim et al. Fash Text Page 19. Also what was stated in the quote is that the materials and clothing may be thinly printed and easy to break and this gives our invention a clear advantage as you will get the same quality as a regularly stitched and woven shirt but it has the benefit of being constantly recyclable and gains a new life after being re-woven making just as strong as when it was first bought unlike the FDM in design 3 which gives the clothes a limited time of use.
Breakdown of Parts:
1. Frame:
The frame of a XXF-D6 has metal alloy frames made of steel. These frames ensure that the structure of the printer is supported in order for the printer to work in multiple axes without breaking down. The frame is rigid ensuring precise movement of the printer.
Figure 1
Entire Frame, (OpenBuilds, 2015)
2. Extruder:
Filament feed is mechanically brought in through a spool, where newly made thread is. Filament in traditional 3D printers is either metals or plastics, however in XFF-D6 the filament being used is thread. This spooled thread is fed into the extruder where fabric is melted onto the build plate. The extruder is essentially a mechanism where old fabric will be fed in through the spools and then combined into layers of fabric on a single flat surface.
Figure 2
Entirety of Extruder working in the 3D printer , (Dr.Dflow, 2023)
3. Build Plate:
The build plate serves as the foundation where the fabric layers are stitched together and bonded to ensure durability. The build plate in the XXF-D6 will specifically have needles built in which rise up and down sewing the fabric together. These needles are size 11/80 needles and 16/100 needles which are suitable for medium to heavy fabrics as well as thicker fabrics such as denim (Spahiu, Canaj, & Shehi). These needles can be programmed to create pleats and other decorative elements in addition to the foundational structure of the article of clothing.
Figure 3
Steel build plate, (OpenBuilds, 2015)
4. Stepper Motors:
These motors have extremely high torque, while moving at a low speed. This allows the motors to print objects accurately with little to no mistakes. A stepper motor is located at various locations amongst the frame of the XFF-D6 at various angles, allowing for exact measurements to be executed from multiple axes (Anderson, 2016). . These motors are responsible for the movement of the print head and build plate and are used as a mechanism to feed fabric into the extruder.
Figure 4
Stepper motor, (Anderson, 2016)
5. Belts and Pulleys
Belts and pulleys work with stepper motors in a mechanical manner to ensure movement of parts of the printer. The belts are looped around the pulleys and attached to the stepper motors, so as stepper motors rotate belts move, which then moves components along a certain axis or angle required for accuracy of printing (Anderson, 2016).
Figure 5
Belts and Pulleys , (Amazon, 2024)
6. Control Board:
The control board is like the brain of the 3D printer, managing all the electronic components and interpreting instructions from the slicer software.
Figure 6
Image of a Control board
(Anderson, 2016)
The control board, also called the motherboard, is the brain of the printer. Using commands given by a computer. The motherboard is essential for running certain components of the printer, Joseph from 3DInsider states that “It’s the one responsible for the core operation, directing the motion components based on commands sent from a computer and interpreting input from the sensors. “ (Flynt, 2018). The motherboard is essential for executing commands given to the printer’s motors and sensors allowing for more accurate prints.
7. LCD Screen:
Many 3D printers have an LCD screen and control interface for user interaction, allowing you to monitor the printing process and adjust settings.
Figure 7
LCD screen located in the back of the printer (Ozrobotics, 2017)
An LCD Screen allows users to control the printer without a computer, “An onboard user interface allows you to check and adjust the machine parameters as well as initiate the filament loading/unloading process” (Flynt, 2018). There are many different kinds of interfaces; some have entire displays with wifi connection, this can allow the printer to work as its own machine. The addition of an LCD screen or an onboard user interface allows the printer to become a standalone machine, meaning it can run without the use of a computer. Although a computer would be required for more precise and accurate edits to the design.
8. Endstops: These are sensors that help the printer determine the position of the print head and ensure accurate movement within the printing area.
Figure 8
Endstop (Visual Shapers, 2017)
Endstops tell the printer the position of the print head along the X,Y, and Z axis. Endstops are tiny switches that are pushed when the axis reaches the end. (Anderson, 2016). Each axis contains an endstop. They allow the print head to make accurate movements along the printing area, according to Joseph, “end stops are like markers that allow the 3D printer to identify its location along the three axes, preventing it from moving past its range, which can result in hardware damages.”. (Flynt, 2018). These endstops are essential for accurate prints and keeps the print head from damaging the printer.
8. Fans:
Fans are used for cooling the printed layers, especially in printers that work with materials like PLA that require cooling to solidify properly.
Figure 9
Layer Cooling Fan (Anderson, 2016)
Fans are used for cooling the printed layers, for our printer the fans would cool the fabric as it’s printed from the nozzle. Using cooling methods such as a layered cooling fan, this allows the fabric to cool which helps it become solid once it’s printed from the nozzle. According to Anderson “This fan cools off the plastic immediately after it is deposited by the nozzle. It helps the object hold its shape. The slicer will turn this fan on and off under different circumstances, depending on what material you are printing. It is not to be confused with the heat sink fan, which cools the hot end itself and not the printed object.” (Anderson, 2016). Instead of plastic the fan would cool the fabric as it printed which then solidifies. This can increase the durability of the clothing which previous inventions like the Electroloom failed to achieve.
9. Power Supply:
Figure 10
Power Supply Unit Two LED PSU Units. Source: Emmett Grames / All3DP (Grames, 2018)
A power supply unit gives the printer power. Similar to a power supply unit of a computer it’s a box that converts electricity into power for your printer. Emmet states “PSUs tend to contain a transformer (or a series of transformers), which receives the 110 to 240 volts from the wall and steps them down to a more reasonable 12 to 24 volts. Also within a PSU is a rectifier circuit, which converts the wall’s AC current to the DC current a 3D printer needs.” (Grames, 2018). The PSU takes the power from your wall or outlet which is then converted to low voltage power for your printer, the printer then uses this to power the components of the printer. The PSU is either mounted on the frame of the printer, or in a different container separately with a user interface.
It’s important to select the right Power supply unit depending on if the material being used melts at higher temperatures, a more powerful power supply unit would be necessary. Our printer would require a more powerful power supply unit since the addition of the shredder increases the power consumption of the printer, the cooling fans as well may use more power as well since high temperatures would be used to melt the fabric in order for it to be printed through the extruder.
10. Fabric Holder:
Figure 11
Image retrieved from via Amazon.com
A place to hold the filament spool and guide it into the extruder smoothly during printing. For our machine the fabric holder will contain the thread of the clothing that has been recycled and it will sew it and create the shirt. The fabric holder makes the process of threading the clothes easy as it keeps the material still while having minimal error.
11. Extruder Cooling System:
Figure 12
https://www.dummies.com/article/technology/programming-web-design/3d-printing/cooling-3d-printer-extruders-fans-244638/ – (Horne , Hausman; 2017)
A cooling system makes sure that the filament of a 3D printer is solid and remains that way for the sake of creating with the filament.For our machine a cooling system most of the time might not be necessary because if you are making casual shirts and using thread and filament it likely won’t get hot unless it’s constantly being worked.
12. Bed Leveling System:
The bed leveling system is crucial for clothing making as the bed system is responsible for moving the plate around so that the machine can sew the fabric together and prevent any mistakes from happening during sewing. The bed leveling system also allows for a stronger base to be created in that the machine can follow the pattern given to it to make the clothing. Having the print bed is just a general necessity because it gives each one of the products made from the device the same quality feel which makes the process very consistent.
Figure 13
3D Printer Bed Leveling: Easy Step-by-Step Guide (Kivelä 2024)
13. The shredder/spool:
Figure 14
https://prokato.engagewebserver.com/garment-shredder-machine/ – (PROKATO , 2021)
The shredder is one of the most important aspects of our invention. The shredder works similarly to a textile shredder but much smaller. The shredder’s job is to shred the old clothes and turn the clothes thin enough so that it can be used as thread. The shredder is extremely important to this invention because we believe that this can be a solution to waste, specifically clothing waste; this is also a solution to those who cannot or do not want to buy new clothes but would rather give life back into them in a different way with a possible new look. This shredder will be revolutionary as it will change the way people see old clothing and will give it a new use instead of throwing it away.
Image of the XXF-D6 3D clothing printer as a whole:
XXF-D6 in its entirety ( Created Using Microsoft AI)
This is an image of our invention as a whole. Although we cannot predict exactly what it
may look like that can change over time due to research and development, we have used the Microsoft artificial intelligence application to give us a good prediction of what it may look like implementing the parts we described above.
Cost and Time:
Since 3D printing technology has been in full swing for around a decade now, the time required for researching and testing for the creation of the XXF-D6 wouldn’t be as extensive. On average the earlier models of the 3D printers took at least four five years to test, calibrate and assemble ( Laplume, Anzalone, & Pearce, 2015). Additionally, costs for 3D printers used to be upwards of $10,000 to $20,000 ( Laplume, Anzalone, & Pearce, 2015). However, today 3D printing is commonly used and much more mainstream, which decreased the cost significantly to around $1,500 to $3,000. There are obviously more expensive models, but the parts used in the XXF-D6 are all common parts found in regular 3D printers, however there are more mechanisms added allowing for the creation of new thread and textile to make clothes. A complete list and breakdown of each part and its cost, as well as the total cost is shown below.
| ITEM | COST ( in $) |
| Frame | 175 |
| Steel for frame | 80 |
| Stepper motors and drivers | 250 |
| Belts and Pulleys | 150 |
| Extruder | 180 |
| Electronics and Control Board | 320 |
| Switches, bolts, fasteners, and other smaller screws and bits | 155 |
| Filament | 150 |
| Build plate | 50 |
| LCD screen | 115 |
| fans | 30 |
| Power supply | 40 |
| Shredder | 250 |
| Fabric spool and holder | 115 |
| Cooling system | 150 |
| Total cost | 2210 |
All materials shown above are easily accessible, which decreases the time and effort in gathering materials.
With this information in mind we have estimated the cost of the 3d printer to be around $2,000-$3,000 dollars and at least two years of required testing, calibration, and research to ensure stability and efficiency of the product. Our plan for the printer once it is complete in its entirety is to have public printing sites where the device can be available for everyone to use. In the early stages we will start with one location in the New York City Area. The printing will be taking place in around 1,500 square foot office space or warehouse. We estimate the cost for this warehouse or office space to be around $950-$1000 a month and will be concentrated in the Brooklyn Area. At the site there would be around three to four employees who have at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science or mechanical engineering or are pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering in their third or fourth year.
These employees will be responsible for day to day managing and programming of the machines, programming the machines to make whatever the customer desires. The customer will pay around $3 to $5 dollars per article of clothing, and designs and intricate patterns will be $1 to $3 dollars extra. The employees will be paid $21 dollars per hour.
With enough foot traffic and a good amount of publicity, if we can garner 150 to 200 customers a day then we will be able to get a full return on the money invested in the cost of the XXF-D6. If demand is high and supply can meet up with those demands, we will start actually making a profit from the operations about six months in.
References
Adow, M., & Arsenault, C. (2012, August 25). Contraband clothes dominate Nigeria’s market | Features. Al Jazeera. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2012/8/25/contraband-clothes-dominate-nigerias-market
Anderson, T. (2016, February 24). Anatomy of a 3D Printer: How Does a 3D Printer Work? MatterHackers. Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://www.matterhackers.com/articles/anatomy-of-a-3d-printer
Electroloom. (2016, 08 05). Electroloom – The World’s First 3D Fabric Printer. KickStarter. Retrieved 04 25, 2024, from https://engadget.com/2017-09-14-electroloom-clothes-printing-startup-death-aaron-rowley.html
Florian, D. (n.d.). How to build a 3D printer: Extruder. Building a 3D Printer. https://www.drdflo.com/pages/Guides/How-to-Build-a-3D-Printer/Extruder.html
Flynt, J. (2018, August 10). Parts of a 3D Printer: List of Major 3D Printing Components. 3D Insider. Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://3dinsider.com/3d-printer-parts/
Grames, E. (2018, November 3). 3D Printer Power Supply – How to Choose the Right One. All3DP. Retrieved April 28, 2024, from https://all3dp.com/2/3d-printer-power-supply-how-to-choose-the-right-one/
Joy, A., Sherry, J. F., Venkatesh, A., Wang, J., & Chan, R. (2012). Fast Fashion, Sustainability, and the Ethical Appeal of Luxury Brands. Fashion Theory, 16(3), 273–295. https://doi.org/10.2752/175174112X13340749707123
Laplume, A., Anzalone, G.C. & Pearce, J.M. Open-source, self-replicating 3-D printer factory for small-business manufacturing. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 85, 633–642 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-015-7970-9
Nema 17 Stepper Motor for 3D printer, 12V 0.4A, 2 phase 6 wires. ATO.com. (n.d.). https://www.ato.com/nema-17-stepper-motor-for-3d-printer-12v-0-4a-2-phase-6-wires
Spahiu T, Canaj E, Shehi E. 3D printing for clothing production. Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics. 2020;15. doi:10.1177/1558925020948216
Steel frame 3D printer. OpenBuilds. (n.d.). https://openbuilds.com/builds/steel-frame-3d-printer.2853/
Visual Shapers. (2017, January 12). Build a 3D printer – Part 8: Endstops. ezContents blog. Retrieved April 27, 2024, from https://ezcontents.org/build-3d-printer-part-8-endstops
Filament holder
Yidimu Falcon. Pro 10.1″ 2K LCD Screen UV resin 3D printer for toys, dental, jewelry and prototyping. Oz Robotics. (n.d.). https://ozrobotics.com/shop/yidimu-falcon-plus-13-3-4k-lcd-screen-uv-resin-versatile-msla-lcd-3d-printer/
Reflection
Throughout this project I have learned a great deal about what it means to work in a team and work as a team. During the beginning stage of my group project the group was very coy and not much was being done due to a severe lack of communication. I decided to combat this by asking everyone to participate in a FaceTime call in order to get things done in a timely manner. After this call my group and I had a lot of the work done.
I decided to just keep communicating back and forth expressing my ideas and they had agreed with me on multiple occasions. Although we were very productive, we still faced small conflicts here and there. At one point a group member was assigned work but did not finish it. In order to alleviate this problem I just simply asked if they needed help with their part of the project and how it was going.
I am a firm believer that we should work with all kinds of people of different backgrounds and abilities in order for us to gain more insight on how to be a better team member and leader.
Furthermore, this project allowed me to draw from my more creative side as we are quite literally assigned to make an invention. At first it was challenging because we had to think of something out of the box, but not something that was so outlandish that we could not explain it. At first our ideas seemed to have been already in use in the material world, such as an electronic wallet or an app that allows you to delete songs from your Spotify playlists. These ideas were not very out of the box. However, our final idea which put together already existing 3D printing technology with the means of a loom, allowed us to better visualize and conceptualize how we would go about the creation of such a printer.
This project also allowed me to think critically about budgets and costs, which are business aspects, which I never really thought about before. Overall it was a nice experience.
