
Kniterate is a 3D printer for clothes [video] - kevcampb
https://blog.arduino.cc/2016/06/07/kniterate-is-a-3d-printer-for-clothes/
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paulhart
Most knitting machine manufacturers that targeted the prosumer market have
gone out of business (or left the business of making knitting machines).
However, there are large communities of owners who still keep the flame
burning.

One of the most interesting hacks I've seen is from a German hackerspace, who
have taken two Passap E6000 machines and merged them into a fully computer-
controlled "Frankenpassap" (only one bed on a normal machine is dynamically
controlled).

[https://www.hackerspace-
bamberg.de/Passap_pfaff_e6000](https://www.hackerspace-
bamberg.de/Passap_pfaff_e6000)

I have a Passap E6000 at home and will soon start working on reverse
engineering the firmware in the computer that comes with the device so that we
can start the process of migrating to a more modern toolchain.

~~~
xaybey
What migration? They really can't be used for anything automated - the tension
control of a Passap is notoriously flimsy. I can't tell you how many half
finished garments I have lying around because the yarn snapped halfway
through.

~~~
paulhart
Migration away from depending on a 6809 doing things for you... and the built-
in form computer.

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jrk
The paper isn't up yet, but Disney has a paper at SIGGRAPH this year on a DSL
and compiler for controlling knitting machines:

[http://s2016.siggraph.org/technical-
papers/sessions/cloth](http://s2016.siggraph.org/technical-
papers/sessions/cloth)

Unlike most additive manufacturing, knitting is an area where industrial-
standard machine technology used for much of the fabric you already wear is
very advanced, but computational technology for driving it in nontrivial ways
seems to be the main limiting factor in realizing this potential.

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bitwize
Wow, even better than the Nintendo Knitting System!

(Nintendo should bring that idea back and make patterns featuring Mario,
Goombas, etc. available in the eShop. They'd make a killing off the hipster
market.)

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grizzles
There is a good link here about the tech already in this industry:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2S3eLrdqk4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2S3eLrdqk4)

In my opinion end to end automation in the textile industry is only a few
rethink robotics style robots away from feasibility. It's only a question of
investment.

It will be pretty cool when a company puts it all together, because they will
be able to deliver a tailor made product and slaughter the competition on
costs & overall quality.

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vessenes
There are tons of industrial knitting machines out there, check Alibaba. A
home knitting machine that was the equivalent of a C&C machine for knits would
be pretty rad. I'd use it all the time.

The reality, last I looked, is that the gap is pretty large -- the industrial
machines are very feature specific "25 sizes of socks in up to 10 yarn
weights!" and the home knitting machines are for hobbyists, full stop.

~~~
hengheng
How would one go about renting machine times on, say, a sock machine?

~~~
tcdent
I don't see how that's different from contacting a manufacturer and having
them produce your product.

If you want the first-hand experience, it's usually up to you. Shared tool
access is becoming more popular with the (hac|ma)kerspace scene, but even they
have a hard time acquiring professional/industrial machinery of that scale.
The insurance/risk in allowing you to operate it is not insignificant, either.

Best thing to do is to continue promoting personal-scale projects (like the
one linked) that are developed to be accessible, but don't necessarily meet
criteria to be production machines.

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imaginenore
Computerized knitting machine from 2010:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q4tPYavChI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q4tPYavChI)

Knitic: open hardware, open source knitting machine (though you still have to
push it by hand, the actual pattern knitting is computerized)

[http://makezine.com/2015/01/07/circular-knitic-an-open-
hardw...](http://makezine.com/2015/01/07/circular-knitic-an-open-hardware-
knitting-machine/)

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aaron695
DARPA is looking at similar

[http://www.economist.com/news/technology-
quarterly/21651925-...](http://www.economist.com/news/technology-
quarterly/21651925-robotic-sewing-machine-could-throw-garment-workers-low-
cost-countries-out)

It will really fk up a lot of low income earners.

But like a lot of these techs I'm hoping with freeish food, clothing and
housing we'll pop out the other end with everyone better off.

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mdorazio
Thought I had seen something similar before, and it turns out I was thinking
of OpenKnit (at least two years old), which this is based on (as referenced in
the article). Good to see that they're evolving the tech still.

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vegabook
Nice machine, but what exactly is "3d" about this other than the hype-factor?
Knitwear is 2d last time I looked, unless this thing does pom poms too.

~~~
anmorgan
It's not necessarily 3D in the sense a 3D FDM/SLA printer is, but can do
things like tubes and complex forms, which come out with no seams. For
example, a whole t-shirt could be printed that is seamless. There are also
more yarn types than you would think, including conductive yarn.

Some companies that are using the production-level technology are Warrior
Lacrosse ( [http://warpforward.com/](http://warpforward.com/) ) and Nike
Flyknit shoes ( [http://m.nike.com/us/en_us/pw/flyknit-
shoes](http://m.nike.com/us/en_us/pw/flyknit-shoes) ).

~~~
vegabook
Just a question. I have gone to your site www.kniterate.com, and the image
very clearly has a bunch of garments with seams in them, and if I am honest,
they do not look revolutionary at all. Please could you comment on this fact?
Is this a non-representative stock image? I am very intrigued by your idea of,
for example, the seamless t-shirt but the (admittedly single) image on your
site does not do this pitch justice. Please prove me wrong. By the way, I am
assuming that you are affiliated with kniterate, given that your profile on
Hacker News is new.

~~~
anmorgan
I'm actually not affiliated with Kniterate, but I do work at a product design
firm and we have a production 3D/Digital knitting machine from Stoll, one of
the smaller units seen here: [http://stoll.com/stoll-
produkte/2_1](http://stoll.com/stoll-produkte/2_1)

I can't speak for Kniterate, but by just looking at their machine, it doesn't
seem to be large enough to do a whole shirt. If you take a look at the
production machines, like Stoll's, they are much larger/wider/have more
needles and are capable of doing a whole garment.

And I would agree, that first image of sweaters on their website look like
regular sweaters, but still could have been made piece by piece and sewn
together.

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MichailP
How could this be modified to make something more complex like knitted gloves?
Although there are machined knitted gloves they really don't look handmade. In
my opinion handmade look increases value.

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foota
I wonder if you could operate one of these at home for a profit.

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thedogeye
Cool name

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powera
How is this used any differently from a sewing machine?

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tcdent
It's a knitting machine, so it's nothing like a sewing machine.

It's not a new concept; I have a manually-operated Brother machine from the
mid-60's intended for home use, and industrial knitting machines for socks,
etc. have been around for decades. Hobbyist computer control, is of course,
the significance here.

[https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5491/2393/320/tn_DSCF003...](https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5491/2393/320/tn_DSCF0031_edited.jpg)

~~~
DanBC
There've been a few attempts to hack knitting machines that look interesting.

2012:
[https://learn.adafruit.com/electroknit](https://learn.adafruit.com/electroknit)

2014: [https://hackaday.com/tag/brother-knitting-
machine/](https://hackaday.com/tag/brother-knitting-machine/)

There are probably some nice hacks in these types of machines.

