Creative Design: Professional

Embellished Modularity

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Abstract

Creative designs combining 3D printing and 3D pen with flexible materials is still limited. 3D printing materials such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) filament have elasticity and are flexible, providing designers unlimited opportunities to explore fabric-like textures for creative designs. Additionally, as most fused deposition modeling (FDM) printers have limited printing bed size, adhesives are often used to assemble smaller pieces of printed materials together to form a larger size textile. Previous studies by the researcher have explored modular designs which are formed by slotting together pieces of modular textiles to create garments without sewing. Therefore, the purpose of the design research was: 1) to explore a new digital handmade technique by merging the state-of-the-art tools, 3D printer and 3D pen, into one design, and 2) to combine modularity with 3D printing technologies with flexible filament to create a wearable design.

Keywords: 3D printing, 3D pen, modularity, TPU filament

How to Cite:

Chen, C., (2022) “Embellished Modularity”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.16015