Computer Aided Design for 3D Fabrication Using Knitted Structures

针织结构在纺织生产中应用广泛。使用许多不同类型的缝合规则的纱线环的复杂联锁使得针织结构自然地呈现出3D形状，即使底层纱线材料几乎无法拉伸，也能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针织机相结合，为超越传统针织服装的通用3D制造开辟了新的途径。然而，现有的计算机辅助设计方法和工具只适用于简单的二维图案。该奖项支持对3D编织结构建模所需知识的基础研究，与其他形式的定制制造（如3D打印）相比，这将使快速设计和生产具有完全不同物理特性的3D表面成为可能。这项研究的结果将使美国经济和社会受益，并在许多领域有潜在的应用，包括生物医学、医疗保健、家具、汽车和航空航天工业。这项计划的多学科性质，将扩大工程研究中代表性不足的群体的参与，并对教育产生积极影响。丰富多样的编织操作和针脚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属性的3D表面的缝线图案的方法和工具是原始的。由于特定针迹的自然形状取决于它周围的针迹，现有的刚性材料的计算机辅助设计方法不适用。本研究旨在填补在预测不同类型不同配置的针线所形成的织物结构的自然三维形状方面的知识空白。研究团队将探索计算机辅助设计界面，用于指定编织操作以产生所需的三维表面，对针织结构进行实验，以识别不同针法引起的自然三维变形，建立预测这些变形的规则，并开发基于物理的模拟模型来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.