Thread Printing with Vision Feedback for Woven Pattern Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing woven fabrics with varied colors and patterns are limited by the number of thread spools required, leading to increased spatial requirements and manufacturing costs, and printed designs on fabrics suffer from ink wicking, limited visibility, and distortion due to fiber movement.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a thread printer with colored coating reservoirs and a printhead to apply colored coatings to threads, combined with a camera for vision feedback to ensure accurate pattern alignment during weaving, allowing for real-time adjustments to maintain design precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If numerous spools of different colored threads are used to achieve varied color patterns, then color variety and pattern complexity are improved, but spatial requirements and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single spool of white thread is used universally for all color positions in the fabric, eliminating the need for multiple colored spools. The thread printer applies different colored coatings to the same physical thread at different positions, making one thread serve multiple color functions that previously required multiple dedicated spools.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical system of multiple physical spools storing different colored threads is replaced with a printing system that applies colored coatings to a single thread. This substitution eliminates the spatial requirements of storing multiple spools while maintaining the ability to produce varied color patterns.
2Adaptability or versatility
If thread color changes are made to achieve different patterns, then color variety is improved, but production speed decreases due to shuttle interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The thread printer applies all necessary colored coatings to the thread in advance, before the thread is woven into the fabric. This preliminary coloring action eliminates the need for interruptions during the weaving process to change thread colors, as all color variations are pre-applied to the thread while it is being fed through the loom.
Solution Approach 2:
The thread printer operates continuously as the thread passes through it, applying colored coatings without interrupting the thread feed to the loom. This continuous operation maintains uninterrupted weaving, eliminating the stops and starts that occur when manually changing colored spools.
3Adaptability or versatility
If ink is printed directly on the fabric surface to achieve color variety, then spool limitations are overcome, but ink wicking degrades image quality
Solution Approach 1:
Colored coatings are applied to the thread before the thread is woven into the fabric, rather than printing ink on the finished fabric surface. This preliminary coloring action ensures that the color is embedded in the thread structure itself, preventing the ink wicking problem that occurs when ink is applied to the fabric surface after weaving.
4Device complexity
If patterns are printed on one side of the fabric, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but pattern stability degrades due to fiber movement
Solution Approach 1:
The colored coatings are applied locally to specific segments of the thread at the precise positions where colors are needed in the final fabric pattern. This localized coloring approach ensures that each thread segment has the exact color required at its final position, maintaining pattern stability even when the fabric is stretched or moved, as the color is permanently embedded in the thread structure rather than being a surface print.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the production of woven fabrics with complex color patterns and designs that are durable and evenly colored on both sides, reducing manufacturing costs and improving pattern stability against fiber movement.
Implementation Method 1
a printhead configured to selectively apply colored coatings from the reservoirs to a thread and yield a treated thread
Implementation Method 2
a camera positioned to capture images of the treated thread as it is woven into a fabric in the fabric weaving system
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for treatment of thread includes a thread printer that applies colored coatings to thread and that passes the treated thread to a fabric weaving system. A camera is positioned to capture images of the treated thread as it is woven into a fabric in the fabric weaving system. The system processes the images to determine whether the location of a selected segment of the treated thread in the fabric corresponds to an expected location in the fabric. If the actual location of the selected segment corresponds to the expected location, the system will continue instructing the thread printer to selectively apply the colored coatings to the thread according to the pattern. However, if the actual location does not correspond to the expected location, the system will modify the pattern so that thread printer adjusts the size of a segments to automatically account for the misalignment.