Application of additive manufacturing on textiles

3D printing is being increasingly explored in textile manufacturing, not only for producing yarns and fabrics but also to enhance their properties through direct printing on fabric. This technique offers the potential to create metamaterials that combine conventional textiles with functional, structural, or protective elements tailored for specific applications. This study aims to define and optimise the printing parameters of Poly-Lactic-Acid (PLA) and Thermoplastic-Polyurethane (TPU) filaments on Calico fabric. Key parameters such as filament temperature, layer height, and initial print speed were systematically varied to assess their influence on the adhesion properties of calico fabric. Initial testing has provided suitable ranges for these properties, but further testing is required to optimise the setting for each fabric-material combination.

Currently, there is no guidance for printing on fabric or a standard for testing adhesion; these results could be used to create a database that provides optimised 3D printing parameters for printing on fabrics. The findings from this study would provide information to textile manufacturers and designers interested in 3D printing on fabric to enhance its properties. Further work would involve printing metamaterials to tailor certain properties of the fabric, thereby improving and adapting its functionality.