Fused Deposition Modeling 3D Printing Technologyin Textile and Fashion Industry: Materials andInnovation

3DP is a computer assisted design (CAD)/computer assisted manufacturing (CAM) technology where a component or the whole substance is manufactured in a layer-by-layer fashion based on a 3D digital model utilizing liquid or rigid materials [13]. Using exact proportion of materials to produce each layer and trimming the unneeded materials to get the required shape makes this process more sustainable and cost effective compared to conventional production process [4]. There are two major phases involved in 3D printing pre-processing and post processing [5]. Vanderploeg, Lee, & Mamp (2017) presented a general outline of 3D printing production. The pre-process of this production starts with designing the model using required software (e.g. Rhino, Materialise Magics software, Repetier-Host software, AutoCAD, 3Ds Max etc.) [6]. The design can be altered by adjusting the computational algorithms in order to correct any measurement or add any size parameter for individual customers [4]. The next stage involves dividing the model into horizontal layers and then converting each layer into x and y dimensions. “The printer defines the coordinates and print the layers, fusing the material to shape a physical object” [7]. Then this CAD controlled digital file data is transferred to the printer to set up a communication between CAD and CAM. The CAM part of the printer then starts producing the final object based on the design instruction sent to it. The post process phase includes sanding, polishing, further dyeing or painting that are done to enhance the surface finish of the object followed by removing the unwanted print edges [4,8].