3d knitting / weaving machine OpenKnit printer lets you print your own clothes from digital files

3d knitting weaving machine OpenKnit digital printer machine

3D printed clothes could be the next big thing to hit the fashion world. Companies such as Continuum andElectroloom are among the first to create clothes using 3D printing. But creating woollen garments using an affordable robot knitting machine has always been difficult – until now.

OpenKnit, 3D printed clothes, 3D  clothes printer, digital 3d knitting machine,  fashion world, Digital OpenKnit printer, Digital Knit printer, 

3d garment maker,  3d weaving machine, 3d weaving printer, digital weaving machine,3D clothes printer, 3D clothe maker printer, 

Gerard Rubio has created a new open source knitting machine called OpenKnit that is able to knit anything from a sweater to a dress using open source hardware and software.

OpenKnit, 3D printed clothes, 3D clothes garment printer digital knitting machine

“OpenKnit s an open-source, low cost (under 550€), digital fabrication tool that affords the user the opportunity to create his own bespoke clothing from digital files. Starting from the raw material, the yarn, and straight to its end use, a sweater for example, in about an hour.” explains Rubio.

OpenKnit, 3D printed clothes, 3D clothes garment printer digital knitting machine

The OpenKnit printer is built from 3D printed parts, aluminum extrusion, sensors, stepper driver, stepper motor, servomotor and many knitting needles. It is used in conjunction with Knitic software, which lets you design your customized clothes and communicate with the knitting machine. The software is based on Knitic, an open source knitting machine, which controls a Brother electronic knitting machine via Arduino.

OpenKnit, 3D printed clothes, 3D clothes garment printer digital knitting machine

his collection above is made with OpenKnit printer.

Deeply inspired by the RepRap project, OpenKnit will share 3D model of the machine, .stl files for printing, bill of materials (parts / provider / price), assembly manual and circuit diagram on Github soon.

OpenKnit, 3D printed clothes, 3D clothes garment printer digital knitting machine

Check out the video below to see the system in action.

Presently, production outsourcing has become the norm: mass fabrication of goods at low costs improves corporate profit margins but pushes precarious labour conditions due to a race to the bottom in competing developing markets. Production entails long and precise processes before those goods reach our hands, many of which are pervasive in our daily life, and frequently in intimate contact with us, such as textiles. In such a context the market price we pay for goods has not absorbed the externalities created, thus we end up paying far less for them than the real impact they have in society and the environment.

OpenKnit offers an alternative landscape to this production model. It’s an open-source, low cost (under 550€), digital fabrication tool that affords the user the opportunity to create his own bespoke clothing from digital files. Starting from the raw material, the yarn, and straight to its end use, a sweater for example, in about an hour. Designing and producing clothes digitally and wearing them can now happen in the very same place, rewarding the user with the ability to make decisions regarding creativity and responsibility.

OpenKnit, 3D printed clothes, 3D  clothes printer, digital 3d knitting machine,  fashion world, Digital OpenKnit printer, Digital Knit printer, 3d garment maker,  3d weaving machine, 3d weaving printer, digital weaving machine,3D clothes printer, 3D clothe maker printer, 

In order to increase accessibility to this new tool, a step by step assembly manual is published while the software Knitic allows you to design your customized clothes easily and feed them into the printer, just a few clicks away. Do KnIt Yourself, acts as an open-source clothing platform, a virtual wardrobe that allows users to share clothes, not only with those near you.

Deeply inspired by the RepRap project, OpenKnit is an ongoing project that waits to evolve organically with/for the community. There’s a long and exciting way full of possibilities to be developed, I can think about many of them, but happily some are still unknown. Join the project openknit.org/


3d knitting weaving machine OpenKnit printer… by PakistanAlbum