Computer Aided Design for 3D Fabrication Using Knitted Structures

针织结构广泛应用于纺织生产中。使用许多不同类型的缝合规则的纱线环的复杂互锁允许针织结构自然地呈现3D形状，即使底层纱线材料几乎不可拉伸，也表现出相当大的灵活性。这些特性与新形式的纱线和现代自动化针织机相结合，为通用3D制造开辟了新的途径，远远超出了传统的针织服装。然而，现有的针织结构计算机辅助设计方法和工具仅适用于简单的二维图案。该奖项支持对3D针织结构建模所需知识的基础研究，这将使3D表面的快速设计和生产与其他形式的定制制造（如3D打印）相比具有截然不同的物理特性。这项研究的结果将有利于美国经济和社会，在生物医学、医疗保健、家具、汽车和航空航天等众多领域具有潜在的应用价值。该项目固有的多学科性质将扩大代表性不足的群体在工程研究中的参与，并对教育产生积极影响。丰富多样的针织操作和针迹类型允许生产复杂的3D表面。然而，用于确定具有所需几何形状和特性的3D表面的缝合图案的方法和工具是原始的。由于特定针脚的自然形状取决于其周围的针脚，因此现有的刚性材料的计算机辅助设计方法不适用。本研究的目的是填补在预测由不同类型的线圈与不同配置形成的针织结构的自然三维形状的知识空白。研究团队将探索计算机辅助设计界面，用于指定针织操作以产生所需的3D表面，对针织结构进行实验，以识别由不同针脚图案引起的自然3D变形，建立预测这些变形的规则，并开发基于物理的仿真模型，用于计算针织结构的自然形状。

Knitted structures are widely used in textile production. The intricate interlocking of yarn loops using numerous different types of stitching rules allows knitted structures to naturally take 3D shapes that exhibit substantial flexibility even if the underlying yarn material is barely stretchable. These properties combined with new forms of yarn and modern automated knitting machines open up new avenues for general purpose 3D fabrication well beyond traditional, knitted garments. However, the existing computer aided design methods and tools for knitted structures are suitable only for simple 2D patterns. This award supports fundamental research to the needed knowledge for the modeling of 3D knitted structures that will enable rapid design and production of 3D surfaces with drastically different physical properties as compared to other forms of customized fabrication, such as 3D printing. The results from this research will benefit the U.S. economy and society with potential applications in numerous fields including biomedical, healthcare, furniture, automotive, and aerospace industries. The inherent multi-disciplinary nature of this project will broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in engineering research and positively impact education.A rich variety of knitting operations and stitch types allow for the production of complex 3D surfaces. However, the methods and tools for determining a stitch pattern for a 3D surface with desired geometry and properties are primitive. Since the natural shape of a particular stitch depends of the stitches around it, existing computer aided design methods for rigid materials are not applicable. This research is to fill the knowledge gap in predicting the natural 3D shape of a knitted structure formed by different types of stitches with different configurations. The research team will explore computer aided design interfaces for specifying the knitting operations to produce a desired 3D surface, conduct experiments with knitted structures to identify the natural 3D deformations induced by different stitch patterns, establish rules for predicting these deformations, and develop a physics-based simulation model for computing the natural shape of knitted structures.