The Development and Role of Personal Manufacturing. Case Study: Knitic.

Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet Sola (2012)

Abstract

The paper argues about the importance of textile manufacturing in the age of digital fabrication. Today, the tools of desktop fabrication have been developing rapidly, at the same time the first digital personal manufacturing tool for home-use that is an electronic knitting machine from 1976 has been forgotten. The first part of article aims to bring forward changes in manufacturing industry starting from the Industrial Revolution up to the today's tendencies towards a one-person-industry. As well the phenomena of Fab Labs and open hardware are discussed, and the absents of textile fabrication underlined. Through several case studies, examples, and detailed technical realization of an obsolete electronic knitting machine's modification, we aim to demonstrate the efficiency and future possibilities for applying a knitting machine in the field of personal manufacturing and desktop fabrication. Keywords: digital fabrication; open hardware; personal manufacturing; textile fabrication.

Venue: MutaMorphosis Conference 2012, Prague.