Textile and Apparel Science

Identifying Challenges of Fabricating E-textile Garments Via a Case Study

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Abstract

Integration of electronic components and circuits into clothing is a key requirement of garment-integrated technologies, especially when the electronics need to be distributed over the clothing surface, which allows power and networking to be localized, placement of electronics to be more broadly distributed, and reduces the necessity of using and managing many body-worn units. The disparity in material properties between electronics (primarily hard goods) and textiles (primarily soft goods), as well as differences in their manufacturing processes, exacerbate the difficulty of scalable integration of electronics into clothing. Though many researchers have developed example applications of e-textiles in fashion and other artistic applications, these garments often use hand-sewing methods that are not efficiently replicable in the industrial setting. In this paper, the scalable manufacturing technique we have developed that facilitates surface-mount soldering of discrete components and ICs directly onto fabric surfaces is translated into garment form as an intermediate step toward full-scale manufacturing. Through the fabrication process of an example garment, variables relevant to manufacturing garment-integrated electronics are discovered and discussed.

Keywords: smart clothing, garment-integrated technologies, manufacturing., E-textiles, wearable technology, manufacturing

How to Cite:

Islam Molla, M., Compton, C. & Dunne, L. E., (2019) “Identifying Challenges of Fabricating E-textile Garments Via a Case Study”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 76(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.8285