Experimental Analysis of the Relationship between Textile Structure, Tensile Strength and Comfort in 3D Printed Structured Fabrics

In this article, an experimental investigation was conducted to study the effects of 3D printed structured fabrics on the tensile strength of two additive manufacturing technologies: (i) fused deposition modeling (FDM); and (ii) stereolithography (SLA). Three types of structured fabrics were designed in a linked fabric structure, which resembled the main characteristics of a conventional textile. Through computer-aided design (CAD), the textile structures were sketched, which, in a STL format, were transferred to 3D printing software, and consequently, they were printed. The specimens were subjected to tensile tests to analyse the behaviour of the linked structures under tensile loads. The results obtained indicated that the elements structured in a linked fabric pattern showed a statistically significant effect between the design of the 3D printed structured fabric and its tensile strength. Some important properties in textiles, fabric areal density, fineness (tex) and fabric flexibility were also analysed. This study opens an important field of research on the mechanical resistance of textile structures manufactured by 3D printing, oriented for applications in wearables that have a promising future in the fields of medicine, aerospace, sports, fashion, etc.