The purpose of this study is to develop a women's short-sleeved jacket using 3D printing technology and investigate the effect of the structure of the infill patterns, combination methods and the connection method of the 3D printed garment on wear com...
The purpose of this study is to develop a women's short-sleeved jacket using 3D printing technology and investigate the effect of the structure of the infill patterns, combination methods and the connection method of the 3D printed garment on wear comfort. Through this study, we aim to propose an effective way to produce apparel using 3D printing and provide basic data to the fashion industry to commercialize 3D printing apparel.
In this study, we developed a total of four short-sleeved jackets for women in their 20s using TPU material and FDM 3D printing technology, with different structures, combinations, and connection methods. The first and second developed jackets were made entirely from 3D printed prints with a grid and a triangular structure. The third and fourth garments were made by combining fabrics from grid and triangular 3D printed prints. For each developed jacket, the wearers’ wear evaluation, experts' appearance evaluation, and material mechanics evaluation were conducted to analyze the comfort and manufacturability of 3D printed apparel. The results of this study are as follows.
Firstly, the wear evaluation and experts' appearance evaluation showed that the grid structure provided a better wear comfort than the triangular structure. The grid structure provided a more flexible and comfortable wearing experience compared to the triangular structure. On the other hand, the triangular structure was evaluated as less comfortable due to its stiff and rough texture. The results show that the grid structure has distinct strengths in improving the wearability of 3D printed apparel, indicating that it is more suitable for creating 3D printed apparel.
In addition, the developed jackets combined with the 3D printed prints and fabrics were found to deliver a better wear comfort, showing that the combination with fabrics can improve the wear comfort and appearance of 3D printed garments. We believe this is because the 3D printed print itself is limited in flexibility and lacks the ability to form curved surfaces, so the fabric allows for more fluid movement in areas of the body that are more curved. These results show that combining fabrics is an effective way to improve the wear comfort and appearance of 3D printed apparel.
Secondly, the aesthetic value of the 3D printed apparel was highly valued in both the wear evaluation and the experts' appearance evaluation. Both wearers and experts gave positive evaluations of the appearance of garments made with 3D printing technology, suggesting that 3D printed apparel can be positively accepted in the fashion market.
The mechanical evaluation also showed that the grid structure had better tensile strength than the triangular structure. This means that the material has better elongation and resilience, which can be interpreted as a positive impact on the suitability of human motion when wearing the garment. In addition, the grid output structure has relatively better mechanical properties, which can lead to a longer service life as an apparel material. Therefore, it is found to be more suitable to produce 3D printed apparel than the triangular structure.
Finally, in this study, we experimented with the effective production method and connection method of 3D printed apparel to explore the feasibility of 3D printed apparel production. We found that using a 3D pen iron and a sewing machine to connect the 3D printed output was effective, and TPU material was found to be able to produce natural clothing and minimize activity restrictions.
In conclusion, this study explored the feasibility of creating garments using 3D printing technology and provided important insights into the wear comfort, aesthetic value, and manufacturing methods of the garments produced. However, to further develop and broaden the scope of applications of 3D printed apparel, further studies should be conducted on various materials, evaluations, output structures, and fashion items, which will provide new possibilities for the fashion industry.