Textiles - Page 8

Engineers at the University of Wollongong are collaborating with surgeons at the University of Texas at Dallas to develop materials that can provide targeted medical treatment. An emerging field called electroceuticals, where electrical stimulation is used to modify the behavior of tissues and organs affected by illness, reportedly shows promise.

Part of this research focuses on utilizing new material developments and additive manufacturing techniques to develop implantable structures that can monitor, maintain and restore function in neural tissues. However, one of the biggest barriers is finding electrode materials that can be safely implanted in the body. Materials like metal are too rigid and can damage tissues.

Directa Plus and clothing group Alfredo Grassi have extended their exclusive relationship to develop graphene-enhanced clothing for up to a further three years. The two companies will focus on the use of graphene to enhance military outerwear as well as work-wear for organizations like the Italian police and fire services.

Directa Plus and Grassi have already been working together for three years and reportedly produced more than 80,000 meters of fabric enhanced with graphene.

Researchers at the National Graphene Institute (NGI) have created a method to produce scalable graphene-based yarn. Such e-textiles may have great potential for sportswear, healthcare, aerospace, and fitness applications, and so are attracting research attention worldwide.

Integrating textile-based sensors into garments in the manufacturing process is still time-consuming and complex. It is also expensive non-biodegradable, unstable, metallic conductive materials are still being used. Now, the NGI researchers have developed a process that has the potential to produce tonnes of conductive graphene-based yarn. It is possible to do this using current textile machinery without any addition to production costs. The produces graphene-based yarn is also said to be flexible, cheap, biodegradable, and washable.

It was recently announced that graphene technology developed by Directa Plus will be used to "enrich" textiles made by Italian high-end clothing and fabric maker Loro Piana.

The deal, which is for an initial duration of three years for a minimum value of €0.8 Million, will see Directa's G+ graphene technology incorporated into some of Loro Piana's fabrics and garments.

Haydale is working alongside Swansea University, GTS Flexibles, Alliance Labels, Tectonic International, ScreenTec, Alliance Labels, Malvern Panalytical and the English Institute of Sport on a Welsh Government SMART Expertise program.

The program, funded by the Welsh Government as part of its European Development Fund, is intended to benefit industry in Wales through the development of new concepts and advanced functionalized inks using Haydale’s advanced materials.

Garmor, manufacturer of low-cost graphene oxide, rGO and developer of innovative GO production methods, recently developed a graphene-enhanced polymeric coating with a 390% reported improvement in tensile strength. Garmor stated that it is already marketing this technology as it has already been fielded and used in commercial applications. Here's a video showing side-by-side testing of the original polymer (left) and the graphene-enhanced polymer (right) shown at 4X normal speed.

In addition, Garmor announced the development of an innovative process for converting insulating polymeric fibers into electrically conductive fibers with minimal cost and no waste products. The method has resulted in composites with single-digit graphene loadings delivering conductivity as high as .023 S/cm. Garmor sees such performance as ideal for wearable sensors and other applications that require integrated approaches to solving weight and measurement issues.

An international team of scientists, led by Professor Monica Craciun from the University of Exeter's Engineering department, has reported a new technique to create fully electronic fibers that can be incorporated into the production of everyday clothing. The researchers believe that the discovery could revolutionize the creation of wearable electronic devices for use in a range of every day applications, as well as health monitoring, such as heart rates and blood pressure, and medical diagnostics.

Currently, wearable electronics are achieved by essentially gluing devices to fabrics, which can often mean they are too rigid and susceptible to malfunctioning. The new research avoids this by integrating the electronic devices into the fabric of the material, by coating electronic fibers with light-weight, durable components that will allow images to be shown directly on the fabric.

Directa Plus, producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has announced the receipt of two orders from an Italian work-wear customer with an aggregate value for Directa Plus of approximately €500,000 over the next two financial years.

Directa Plus’s Planar Thermal Circuit graphene technology will be incorporated in around 10,000 work-wear garments. The first order for approximately 2,000 garments with a value for Directa Plus of €150,000 is expected to be delivered in the 2018 financial year, with the second order for approximately 8,000 garments with a value of €350,000 expected to be delivered by mid 2019.

Haydale has been jointly awarded a contract by the English Institute for Sport (‘EIS’) for the development of advanced wearable technology for elite athletes in training for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The EIS will use Haydale and its long-term partner the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating at Swansea University to incorporate graphene coatings into a range of clothing for elite performers.

Liquid X Printed Metals, an advanced material manufacturer of functional metallic inks, has announced a collaboration effort with Bonbouton (a company focused on developing thermal sensing applications using a smart textile platform) to build graphene-enhanced temperature and pressure sensors directly on textiles using additive manufacturing techniques.

Through Bonbouton's inkjet-printable graphene technology, licensed from the Stevens Institute of Technology, the Company is developing thin and mechanically flexible sensors for wearable physiology monitoring. This gives consumers wearable personal health options that are unobtrusive, comfortable and attractive, while still enabling the collection of accurate, precise and useful data.