This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to industrialize a radically new laminar material to demonstrate the value of non-textile but flexible fabric for a variety of different commercial applications. This new material has no fibers and requires no weaving or knitting. Instead, it uses hard and rigid ?elements? - digitally precise shapes of polymers, ceramics or metals - that are simultaneously formed and hinged together in a rapid process called ?Direct Forming,? - a close relative of 3-D printing. Thus, even though the individual elements are hard and tough, and therefore extremely durable, the way these elements are hinged together creates flexibility that allows the new material to conform to rounded or irregularly shaped surfaces like leathers and textiles do. Once this research establishes the optimum hinge configurations, the Grantee intends to be the first in the marketplace with this technology, concentrating on the technical textiles segment for applications where standard textiles, such as ballistic nylon, canvas, or woven fibers cannot meet requirements. This Phase I project is to conduct the engineering and testing of the exact hinging structures that will allow the new material to exceed tensile and impact strength standards for specific target markets, such as commercial seating.
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes the initially targeted $180 million annual commercial seating textile market. Transportation, consumer products, architecture and civil engineering uses are some of the over 400 applications in over 16 industry sectors also identified. But even more important is the manufacturing process referred to as ?Direct Forming.? When fully industrialized, it will localize the production of high performance, robust technical textiles, stemming the trend of offshoring upholstery textile production. This will allow the U.S. to recapture the production of complete parts now lost to overseas cut and sew operations. The direct forming process will severely undercut the true costs of offshoring mass-produced items, and its attendant material waste and extensive use of hydrocarbon fuel associated with international shipping and warehousing. Direct forming will bring about a different industrial model, ?mass customization,? that along with 3-D printing will revolutionize the way thousands of parts and materials will be manufactured in the very near future. Computers will form textiles and other products exactly to manufacturer specifications in a single ?additive? process, rather than manufacturing pieces from a larger bolt or hunk of polymer or metal in more wasteful ?subtractive? processes.
Amalgam Industries, Inc. research under the National Science Foundation SBIR Phase I Grant IIP-1314207 developed critical structural geometries needed to eventually industrialize a radically new flexible laminar material for a wide range of commercial applications. This new material is called a non-textile fabric (NTF) because it has no fibers and requires no weaving or knitting. Instead, it uses hard and rigid elements or components. Even though these individual elements are hard and tough, and therefore extremely durable, the hinging connections of these elements create flexibility that allows the new material to conform to rounded or irregularly shaped surfaces, similar leathers and textiles. The preferred way this new material will be made is called "Direct Forming", where the individual elements are formed by solid phase forming (a forging-like operation) from low cost preforms and assembled at the same time at high speed. This research focused on improving the connection portions of these rigid elements by using iterative design processes, SolidWorks CAD/CAM tools, sophisticated finite element analyses, and 3D printed models. The result was a new NTF that, if made from even conventional thermoplastic polymers like nylon, would meet or exceed the physical robustness required for coverings in the commercial seating industry. The accompanying photograph shows a 3D printed sample of the resulting non-textile fabric geometry. This non-textile fabric substantially meets all the following Phase I research objectives: Be manufacturable at high speed Use simple, clamshell-type molds Exceed minimum physical strength Not be constrained by equal volume requirements Have multiple knuckle and pintle connections Have a range of different hinge knuckle/pintle diameters NTF should be able to fold over onto itself Mimic textile fabric by sharing tensile forces over a broad swath The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes the initially targeted $180 million annual commercial seating textile market. Transportation, consumer products, architecture and civil engineering uses are some of the over 400 applications in over 16 industry sectors also identified. When fully industrialized, Direct Forming will localize the production of high performance, robust technical fabrics, stemming the trend of offshoring upholstery textile production. This will allow the U.S. to recapture the production of complete parts now lost to overseas cut and sew operations. Direct Forming will severely undercut the true costs of offshoring mass-produced items, including the attendant material waste and extensive use of hydrocarbon fuel associated with international shipping and warehousing. Direct forming will bring about a different industrial model called mass customization, which along with 3-D printing will revolutionize the way thousands of parts and materials will be manufactured in the very near future. Direct Forming will produce flexible coverings and components exactly to manufacturer specification in a single additive process, rather than cutting pieces from a larger bolt of textile as in more wasteful subtractive - type processes.
