3D Printing of Surprising Objects
3D printing services have been used worldwide to create some incredible things over the past few years.
3-D printing has been used in cars , shoes, music instruments and generated all sorts of surprising objects. But this technology is not just for large companies; 3-D printers are capable of creating incredibly useful and clever objects that you may not have even considered in the past.
With this thought, I started “3Dwalla” which offers 3D printing services that empower manufacturers, designers, students and hobbyists to turn powerful ideas into successful 3-Dimensional products.
With the tagline “Print beyond paper”, our team encourages users to compete in a dynamically changing world as 3Dwalla offers printing and prototyping services that help accelerate innovation and product development. Rapid prototyping directly from computer aided design (CAD) streamlines the process of performance testing; at every stage of 3D design in a manner that is both, cost and time effective. Also, there is a little thrill and enthusiasm in watching something you designed gets built, layer by layer, by a 3D printer. To experience such enthusiasm, Devanshi Shah, a fashion design student, approached 3Dwalla to make 3D printed garments for her final year showcase at her fashion institute. Driven by the possibility of 3D printing garments, Devanshi used creativity to her full potential and created unique fabrics, than using the existing ones. Since Devanshi is passionate about experimenting with the use of advance technologies, the team at 3Dwalla is happy to have contributed to her unique and challenging project. “To be involved with the making of garments for a fashion project is fantastic for us as a company. Our team has a passion for collaborating and implementing big ideas and so I knew this was the perfect opportunity
to bring our 3D printing and manufacturing services to the forefront, as well as getting our brand out into an international arena,”. Inspired by a painting “Hope II”, which depicts the beauty of an expectant mother, Devanshi decided to make maternity wear garments. She started creating designs for her collection and would discuss those with the 3D team. 3D printing allows design verification to be an iterative process, where designers identify and address design challenges throughout the design process to spur innovations or quickly identify the need for design revision. Devanshi and the team explored various possibilities and techniques during design. Once Devanshi’s designs were complete, the next step was to 3D print the fabrics for the garments. 3D printing fabrics that match the creativity of the designs and elegance of the painting wouldn’t have been more challenging for 3Dwalla.
Printing garments is one of the recent additions to 3Dwalla’s collection. The most important part is to use the right material for specific print jobs. The fabrics had to be produced keeping in mind the right balance of comfort and style. The team experimented and tested the preferred concepts. Devanshi and the 3D team decided to use TPU and printed all the garments using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) was used by 3Dwalla’s team to innovate and print four-way stretch fabrics that allow the garments to stretch in both directions, crosswise and lengthwise. 3Dwalla’s recommended the use of TPU as it makes the fabric elastic in nature as well as more fluid in the bias direction compared to other materials which were tested. It gives a great fit thus offering a strong aesthetic appeal to the garments. Devanshi and 3Dwalla thus created fabrics that are 100% 3D printed. The team didn’t require combining or putting together materials other than 3D fabrics to form even the most complex parts of a design.
Along with TPU, flex was also used in the creation of useful wearable garments. Around 400+ pieces of fabrics and 350+ connectors were used to create patterns such as floral and wave’s patterns. Using flex and connectors, Devanshi and 3Dwalla team innovated with numerous interesting patterns thus celebrating all the design freedom offered by 3D technology.
The entire process of developing 3D printed fabrics made each one learn how technology-driven design is pushing boundaries of material and textile in the fashion landscape. Enthusiasts can design their own textiles and manufacture their own clothes, as people are accepting fashion innovation in 3D printing to create 3D couture.
As 3D printing takes a revolutionary shift, 3Dwalla prints about everything using the latest advances in technology. “The team’s dedicated efforts and passion has made this collaboration of 3D printing and fashion design truly satisfying. We hope the amalgamation of fashion design and 3D technology continues to be rewarding and enduring,”.