Dispenser-printed sound-emitting fabrics for applications in the creative fashion and smart architecture industry

Abstract This paper presents a printing technology for the design and manufacture of interactive planar speakers. With this technology, sound emission can be easily integrated into various textiles at the design stage with minimal assembly after printing. This paper reports direct-write dispenser-printed sound-emitting smart fabrics, aimed at creative fashion and smart architecture applications opening up new opportunities in product design. Planar spiral speakers generate a membrane vibration and so emit sound when driven from an a.c. audio source if a magnet is in close proximity to the spiral. These speakers can be integrated on fabrics to form the basis of clothing in fashion applications. The speaker designs were printed on woven polyester fabric and produced a measured peak sound output level of 85 dB with a wide frequency response from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. This research demonstrates a straightforward fabrication method, based on dispenser printing, to achieve sound emission from a fabric. The fabrication process requires a processing temperature of 130 °C for 10 min which is compatible with the majority of fabrics which are used in fashion and architecture industries. This paper reports on the theory and the manufacturing technology to achieve direct-write dispenser-printed planar spiral speakers on fabrics.