The application of additive manufacturing, well known as 3D printing, in textile industry is not more totally new. It allows is giving significant increase of the product variety, production stages reduction, widens the application areas of textiles, customization of design and properties of products according to the type of applications requirement. This paper presents a review of the current state-of-the-art, related to complete process of additive manufacturing. Beginning with the design tools, the classical machinery building computer-aided design (CAD) software, the novel non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) based software and parametric created models are reported. Short overview of the materials demonstrates that in this area few thermoplastic materials become standards and currently a lot of research for the application of new materials is going. Three types of 3D printing, depending on the relation to textiles, are identified and reported from the literature—3D printing on textiles, 3D printing of flexible structures and 3D printing with flexible materials. Several applications with all these methods are reported and finally the main advantages and disadvantages of the 3D printing in relation to textile industry are given.

The tensile properties such as tensile strength which is measured as breaking force in Newton (N) and elongation percent (%) at break of single jersey and 1×1 rib (knitted with full needles) knitted fabrics made from 100% cotton and cotton/Lycra yarns (5% Lycra yarn content in 95% combed cotton yarn) are investigated in this research. The sample fabrics are conditioned for 24 hours at20±1°C temperature and65±2% relative humidity before testing. Ten specimens (five for lengthwise and five for widthwise) have been taken from each of the two knitted structures, those made from 100% cotton and cotton/Lycra (at 95/5 percent ratio blend) yarns. According to the discussion and as found from the investigations, the tensile properties of single jersey and 1×1 rib knitted fabrics made from 100% cotton and cotton/Lycra yarns are significantly different from each other and both of the knitted fabrics have high elongation percent at break with cotton/Lycra blend yarns as compared to 100% cotton yarn. Knitted fabrics made from cotton/Lycra blended yarn have low breaking force and high elongation percent at break relative to knitted fabrics made from 100% cotton yarns.

The dimensional characteristics such as loop length (l), wales per centimeter (wpc), courses per centimeter (cpc), stitch density (s), tightness factor (K), loop shape factor (R) and take-up rate (T) of single jersey, 1x1rib, 1x1 interlock, single pique, and two-thread fleece knitted fabrics made from 100% cotton and cotton/elastane yarns (5% elastane yarn content) are investigated in this research. Dimensional properties of knitted fabrics are an important property and determine the materials consumption during production, productions parameter, and applications of different knitted structures. The sample fabrics have been conditioned for 24 hours at 20±1°C temperature and 65±2% relative humidity. The specimens used for sampling are determined as per the test standards described in the paper for each yarn type, property, and structure. As observed in the result, the properties are related to each other. It is found that the loop length, wpc, cpc, stitch density, tightness factor, loop shape factor and take-up rate of single jersey, 1x1rib, 1x1interlock, single pique, and two-thread fleece knitted fabrics made from 100% cotton and cotton/elastane yarns are significantly influenced by the presence of an elastane yarn. The loop length of single jersey, 1x1rib, and interlock knitted fabrics made from elastane yarns reduced while the single pique and fleece increased. Similarly, other dimensional properties are significantly influenced by the yarn types used during knitting.

The physical properties of wool fiber considered as vital attribute to grade, classify and select a raw wool fiber for different textile applications. Limited works have been done in Ethiopia to address this subject. In this research, the physical properties (mainly the fineness, crimp and strength) of wool fiber of Ethiopian indigenous sheep breeds have been investigated. Four Ethiopian indigenous sheep breeds such as Menz, Wollo (no wool from its belly), Farta and Tikur (no wool from its belly) were considered. Fibers sampled from four body parts at four defined ages of each sheep breeds. All samples have been conditioned for 24 h at 20 ± 1 °C temperature and 65 ± 2% relative humidity. The results revealed that the fineness, crimps and strength of the four indigenous sheep breeds are significantly different from each other. The wool fiber from Ethiopian sheep breeds is suitable for textile production. Hence, these wool fibers are classified based on their breeds to use for different textile applications.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has been attracting a great deal of attention in recent years in many application fields, for example, in the aerospace, construction, industry, art, education, protection, security, and medical fields. Printing methods, materials, and parameters influence the performance quality and determine the application sector of 3D prints. In this study, the print parameters are used as independent variables to investigate the compression strength of 3D printed cubes/cubes. The prints were produced by considering infill type, infill percentages, vertical wall, horizontal contours, and dimensions of items as the product parameters. The different printed samples were subjected to atmospheric conditions for 24 hours at (20 ± 1)°C temperature and (65 ± 2)% relative humidity. The samples were then subjected to a cyclic compression test with an indentation depth of 5 mm. The compression force to the planned displacement was measured. As seen from the results, the print parameters investigated in this research significantly influence the compression force and determine the performance of 3D prints according to the application sector. Although all parameters significantly influence the compression force of 3D prints, the magnitude and level of performance are different. Vertical walls relatively withstand high compression force while filling type gives soft and weak products with a relatively low mass. However, the choice of different pressure parameters can influence the compressive strength. With this knowledge, it will be possible in the future to print human soft tissues with a specific compressive strength using the FDM printing process.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years in many application fields, for example in the aerospace, construction, industries, art, education, protection, security and medical fields. Some of these application fields of 3D prints depend on the adhesion of imprint polymers on textiles. Adhesion is the tendency of unlike surfaces to cling to one another due to the intermolecular and interatomic interaction of the two surfaces. This study investigated how water and oil resistant treatment of woven fabrics influence on the adhesion strength of 3D prints. The prints were produced from Onyx using Markforged Mark Two 3D printer on Fluorocarbon (FC) treated and untreated woven fabrics. The different printed samples were subjected to a 180° peel test for the full detachment of the prints from the fabric. The result showed that the treatment of the woven fabrics had a significant influence on adhesion force. Further, the results revealed that the treated woven fabric limited the penetration and passage of the melted Onyx through the fabric which gave low adhesion strength between the print and the fabric. The microscopic analysis revealed that the back of the detached 3D prints from the untreated woven fabrics contained many fibers still attached because of the high adhesion strength.