Gerard Rubio, graduated in Audiovisual Design has taken another step in its democratic idea of making their own clothes. The first was with their final grade, Open Knit, a kind of open source 3D printer powered wires. The invention was more successful than expected. Uploaded a video to Vimeo, dressing fun with their colorful pieces of mannequins Mango and Zara, which aroused the interest of media and 'makers'. So a few months ago he co-founded in London Kniterate because their machines are not left in a simple project. A few months ago, received the support of the hardware accelerator Hax, located in Shenzhen, China. With the funding they have achieved (about 90,000 euros) and all you have learned working in Silicon Valley Chinese electronics have been able to perfect their machine. Kniterate system essentially allows you to digitally design your own knitting clothes through an easy to use design software. The software, which is pre-loaded with templates for hats, scarves, socks, sweaters and other clothing series, allows you to decide on the model, size, detail, and even the text you want to include in the piece before be sent to the knitting machine. Once the design process is complete, the file data is sent to a weaving machine Arduino Mega equipped with 80-gauge needles knitting 5. According to Rubio, while the current prototype machine has 80 industrial knitting needles, the next prototype will be as many as 240. For now, the current prototype of the sewing machine is capable of printing an entire scarf around two hours. The next step, before the end of the year, it launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds and through financing rounds to begin production of the first hundred machines. Rubio estimates that each will cost between 3,000 and 5,000 euros, for the moment planning to sell them to design schools, studies fashion universities 'FabLab' workshops or small business and online stores, as well as the individuals most enthusiastic. Besides working to develop printer clothes, have created a free online platform: who wants to can easily design their own pieces using templates or even start from scratch. As a collaborative project, others can enjoy their designs and may request the establishment or Kniterate nearest you print dress.
