Ever wanted to be able to make any stuffed animal you desire? Thanks to a new technology by Disney Research this may be possible sooner than you think.
Making a stuffed animal yourself can be tricky. You need to know how to design the needed pieces, how to cut them and how to sew them. But this new tech can make things a lot simpler.
All you would have to do is download a 3D model of the stuffed animal you want and then “print it”. But you won’t use paper. Instead, you will use a special 3D knitting machine.
3D knitting any stuffed animal you want
The clothes for the teddy bear you see in the picture above is created by this new technique. All of it. The tech is called A Complier for 3D Machine Knitting and is created by Disney Research.
Granted, the current name doesn’t sound all that thrilling, but the possibilities are. The Complier uses techniques from 3D printing, but it has customized them to be suitable for knitting.
The technique allows for the knitting of all shapes and forms. Thus you could theoretically design and 3D knit any stuffed animal you want. All you would have to do is add stuffing and sew the pieces together.
Currently, the team has just finished the Complier in its first form. The Disney Research team is already planning the new version. It will incorporate surface texturing options and a lot of other things. This means the technique will be able to make even more complex and detailed objects.
While the possibility of 3D home knitting machines is still in the future, it is entirely possible that very soon 3D printing companies will offer 3D knitting service. This means you will still be able to make pretty much any stuffed animal you have ever wanted. And that’s marvelous.
