Random Puff 4D Borduerwurkklean by Rosalie Hsin-Ju Lin

Random Puff 4D Borduerwurkklean by Rosalie Hsin-Ju Lin is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award yn Izer in Tekstyl, Stof, Tekstueren, Patroanen en Doekûntwerp Competition Category.

IzerTekstyl· 2023

Random Puff 4D Borduerwurkklean

by Rosalie Hsin-Ju Lin

Client: MIT Media Lab

A' Design Award yn Izer Winner in Tekstyl Category

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Colors

The Design

About Random Puff 4D Borduerwurkklean

RandomPuff is in nije puffer dy't 4D-borduurpuffs brûkt foar kleanisolaasje. Puffs wurde yn 't earstoan flak makke en ferskine yn koepels as se bleatsteld wurde oan waarmte. De aktivearre puffs fange lucht tusken de bûtenomjouwing en de drager om it lichem waarm te hâlden. De ûntwikkeling omfettet it oanmeitsjen fan in bibleteek fan ynteraksjes fan 4D-borduurmateriaal tusken 'aktive fezels' en 'statyske stoffen'. Untwerpers en ûntwikkelders kinne ark foar komputerûntwerp brûke om gear te wurkjen mei ein-brûkers, it meitsjen fan nije tekstyl- en softgood-ûntwerpen dy't high-tech moade, personaliseare en duorsum binne.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award yn Izer

Random Puff 4D Borduerwurkklean is in winner fan de A' Design Award yn Izer, in prestisjeuze erkenning foar goede ûntwerpen dy't foldogge oan de profesjonele en yndustriële easken dy't ferwachte wurde fan goed ûntwurpen skeppings. Izerwinners litte grutte feardigens, hege spesjalisaasje, deskundich begryp en kreatyf fermogen fan har makkers sjen. Fan Random Puff 4D Borduerwurkklean wurdt ferwachte dat it in tige heech achte, bewûndere en dierbere skepping is dy't praktysk en ynnovatyf is. Dit winnende ûntwerp fan de A' Design Award yn Izer yntegrearret de bêste praktiken fan de sektor en hat feardige technyske skaaimerken ferbûn mei kennis en talint. Random Puff 4D Borduerwurkklean wurdt respektearre foar syn yngeandens en is ûntwurpen om ferbetteringen fan de kwaliteit fan it libben te leverjen dy't helpe de wrâld ta in bettere plak te meitsjen.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Random Puff is a garment application leveraging the puffy transformation that traps air within the dome pocket to keep the body warm. The double curvature geometry becomes easily fabricated, and personalizable styling is available through the computational design process, which opens up a new design/manufacturing space for a puffy garment.
Dimensions & Packaging: 500mm x 30mm x 700mm. However, since it's a garment, it can be fold into the size of 300mm x 20mm x 200mm.
Tags: 4D embroidery
Production Technology: Heat-shrink thread. Neoprene. Machine embroidery. Processing visualizer.
Design Challenge: First, the force balance between active thread and static fabric is a fundamental challenge. There is too much fabric out there with labeled information that does not necessarily lead to our purpose. Second, tension issues happen when new threads or fabric are introduced to the machine. It takes a while to calibrate, and sometimes break the machine if the thread is too thick/thin, or the fabric is too thick/slippery/crispy. Third, to achieve the maximized bi-layer bending, we want to vary the force on both sides so that the inner side does not constraint the outer side.
Research: Research background:
This research demonstrates how machine embroidery with heat-shrinking fibers enables existing fabrics to be augmented with morphing fibers.

Methods/Tools:
Similar to sewing, embroidery is a technique of interlacing upper and bottom threads with the substrate in between, but digitally. For the hardware, a desktop, hobbyist embroidery machine can easily execute wanted samples. For the software, I mainly explored PEmbroidery and Inkstitch for different purposes. PEmbroider is an open-source library housed in Processing that offers a procedural coding environment to generate detailed embroidered files at point and line levels. Inkstitch is also an open-source plug-in embedded in Inkscape that provides a graphical user interface, which is more friendly for primary users.

Results/Insight:
I started off the material characterization by testing different substrates with the same embroidery parameters. Out of 10+ fabrics, fabrics that are lightweight with high springness can hold the morphed structure better. A series of embroidery parameters were also tested systematically with stroke width, density, peak-to-peak distance, stitch spacing, and threading material. The fiber actuator can be tuned from crease(low res) to bend(high res) in a linear pattern. The fiber can be arranged in curves, origami creases, or arbitrary shapes to form more complex pop-up geometry.
Inspiration: Working at a NIKE shoe industry, I realized the challenge of transformation between 3D to 2D or vice versa. There's still no clear solution for the tedious, laborious, wasteful process from prototyping to production.

Working as a R&D at a carbon fiber company, I got to witness the power of machine embroidery, where it can digitally place fibers. This way, it can reinforce the artifact in any direction, replace the lamination thus reducing the material waste, and digitalize the process from start to end.
Project Duration: The project started in September 2021 and finished in December 2021 in Cambridge, MA, United States.
Operation Flow: First, a closed-curve set of circles, squares, or other arbitrary shapes is generated within the area of a 2D clothing. Second, the design file will be translated to an embroidery file via Processing, a visual output, and procedural coding environment. Third, upload the file to a desktop hobbyist embroidery machine and start embroidery. Lastly, the garment comes out flat from the machine and users can customize where to activate the puffs by heating the embroidery pattern with a steamer or iron.
Team Members: Rosalie Hsin-Ju Lin
Skylar Tibbits
Jack Forman
Hiroshi Ishii
Image Credits: All IP, copyright, images, video credits belong to Rosalie Hsin-Ju Lin.