Intercomp Wearables eBook

Optimizing Performancewith Technology Embedded Apparel

2

ABOUT INTERCOMP USA

About Intercomp USABased in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Intercomp USA specializes in offering active and passive electronic components such as A/C converters, memory products, potentiometers, sensors, microprocessors and more. Beyond its wide array of electronic components, Intercomp USA offers key services like value analysis/value engineering (VAVE), BoM analysis and scrub, reverse engineering, communication gateways and more.

Intercomp USA also shares the insights its team accrues about the latest technology developments in seminars, e-books and its blog: http://www.intercomp.com/blog/

As an independent franchise distributor for leading-edge technology companies like Gowanda, EON Instrumentation, Cortron, Hoffman + Krippner and more, Intercomp delivers customized supply chain solutions to some of the world’s largest manufacturers, including:

We deliver the future for visionary companies.

954.493.6461 | intercomp.com

CONTENTS

The MarketPG. 4-5

The TechnologyPG. 5-6

The ApplicationsPG. 7-11

Next StepsPG. 12

We deliver the future for visionary companies.


THE MARKET

2012

0.71

2013

0.9

2014

1.06

2015

1.24

2016

1.47

2017

1.72

2

1.5

1

0.5

0

SOURCE: MarketsandMarkets © Statista 2015

Smart Garments Surging QuicklyGlobal smart, intelligent, digital & interactive fabrics/textile market revenue from 2012 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)*

Mar

ket v

alue

in bil

lion

U.S.

doll

ars

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Worldwide

2018

2.03

2012

0.75

2013

1.05

2014

1.48

2015

2.08

2016

2.93

2017

4.12

5

6

4

3

2

1

0

SOURCE: MarketsandMarkets © Statista 2015

Smart Growth for WearablesForecasted value of the global wearable devices market from 2012 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)*

Mar

ket v

alue

in bil

lion

U.S.

doll

ars

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Worldwide

2018

5.8


The Market: Smart Garments to Dominate Wearables

THE MARKET

201470.2 million units of wearables shipped, only .01 million were smart garments*

201510.1 million smart garments will ship*

201626 million smart garments will ship—they will overtake smart watches (24 million to ship in 2016) and become become the most popular type of wearable*

The Technology: LayStitchTM Tailored Fiber Placement (TFP)

• Invented in 1992 at Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research in Germany

• TFP begins with a substrate—a veil or woven fabric—or a matrix-compatible foil material when producing a themoplastic composite

• Automated via purpose-built stitching machines to place continuous tows or rovings in any direction

• TFP employs biomimetics: the concept is to imitate lightweight structures in nature (grass, bones) with geometries that are optimally adapted to specific loads


THE TECHNOLOGY

Key Advantages of TFP

Lower cost: as much as 75% to 90% cost reduction with preform material

Extremely lightweight compared to traditional carbon fiber lay-ups—or even titanium

Free fiber orientation Local reinforcements

Minimizes production waste

Allows for combining various types of materials within a single design, like carbon, glass, aramid, natural fibers and more

A range of different shapes are possible, including circles, arcs and angles


THE APPLICATIONS

Window frame for Airbus A350 aircraft

• The TFP technology combines fabric with other materials to produce lighter, stronger composite materials at a lower cost than that of traditional carbon fiber

• It’s suitable in a wide range of industrial & garment applications which require extremely lightweight and exceptional thermal protection

Robotic arms

Dry Fiber TowCarbon/Glass Etc.

TFP Preform

TFP Preform

Resin Transfer MoldingCompression Molding

Injection Molding

Thermoplastic Tow Preg or Commingled Tow

INSERT

PART

PART

In most cases, TFP preforms are combined with other materials and then put through molding to produce a single homogeneous part.

Bike brake boosters


THE APPLICATIONS

TFP is also much lighter

2,5

2,0

1,5

1,0

0,5

0,0

CF Material: Toho-Tenax HTS (800 tex)

Experimental Testing

Mas

s-sp

ecifi

c pa

rt st

iffne

ss (n

orm

alize

d)

0,52

AI NCF-QI

1,00

TFP 2

2,24

TFP outperforms other materials—such as aluminum alloys—by significant marginsExample: Stiffness optimization bicycle brake booster

TFP 1

1,64

AI: Aluminum alloy

NCF-QI: Non crimp fabric, quasi-isotropic

TFP 1: TFP, material optimized

TFP 2: TFP, topological optimized

ALUMINUM ALLOY1.0 (reference)

NCF QUASI-ISOTROPIC0.7 - 0.5

TFP OPTIMIZED0.4 - 0.28


THE APPLICATIONS

This technology will give smart garments their intelligence by allowing them to monitor body vital signs and communicate wirelessly. Wires and sensors in clothes can transmit information about the body to deliver actionable information in a variety of applications:

WIRE ON FABRIC

FITNESS HEALTH MILITARY

RECESSED LAID WIRE WIRE ON NONWOVEN

WIRE ON FOAM HEATING ELEMENT HEAVY GAUGE WIRE ON NET

Smart GarmentsTailored Fiber Placement is significant for developing smart garments, because it allows for tailored wire placement to produce:


THE APPLICATIONS

Examples of Sensors in Action

STRETCH SENSORSDescribed as “rubber bands with Bluetooth,” they change shape as a person moves and transmit data to a mobile phone or tablet. These sensors measure movement accuracy, position over time and risk of injury.

SOFTSENSORSIntegrated into clothing, these pick up vital body signals and send them to a “brain” for processing so as to deliver helpful information about a user’s heart rate, breathing rate and calorie burn. Via Bluetooth, this goes to an app on a user’s smartphone or tablet.

BODY MOVEMENT SENSORSAnother role for sensors is tracking how we move when we exercise. For example, adding a sensor to shorts can measure your cadence, braking, stride and ground contact. The shorts can take the sensor data and use an iOS app to give a user live coaching as he or she runs. Or they can sync data after the run to see where they can improve.

ELECTROMYOGRAPHY (EMG) SENSORSThese detect electrical activity that’s produced when a muscle contracts. When used in smart garments, they can help users know which muscles they’re working when they lift weights and correct form or avoid injury. As with other sensors, their data is transmitted to a smartphone via Bluetooth.

MEASUREMENT SENSORSThese measure key indicators like heart rate, breathing rate and calorie count to help users understand the target heart rate they should be going for and even how hard they’re pushing themselves during strength training.


THE APPLICATIONS

GRAPHENE FILAMENT: A NEW WAY TO PRODUCE SENSORSWhile TFP offers excellent inlays to work in more precise sensors, the next key factor in successful 3D printing is producing the sensors themselves. Good materials are out there for producing sensors, but a new one is even better: graphene filament.

Key advantages include:

End result: stronger, better sensors and a better wearable produced with greater ease

• Superior conductivity because of graphene’s volume resistivity of .6 Ohms versus the 15 Ohms per cm of other filament types used in 3D printing – 25 times better.

• Graphene is mechanically stronger than PLA or ABS, 207 times stronger than steel by weight.

• Graphene filaments are also lightweight, meaning lighter sensors and much more comfortable smart garments.

• Circuitry can be produced simultaneously with the 3D-printed product, not after it’s created—a more efficient process.

Intel’s Adrenaline Dress, a designer smart garment

12

As one of the premier providers of electronic components like sensors, LEDs, diodes, circuits and more, Intercomp is uniquely positioned to make smart garments even smarter.

To that end, Intercomp is combining its engineering and components capabilitieswith the latest in LayStitchTM TFP technology.

Questions?DAVID HOFERExecutive DirectorO 954.493.6461C 248.930.9260F 954.493.6573E [email protected]

DAVID SEPANIKDirector – Engineering & Supply Chain ServicesO 954.493.6461C 954.706.9050F 954.493.6573E [email protected]

GET STARTEDBEING SMARTContact Intercomp USA at 954.493.6461for Smart Resources for Smart Garments

INTERCOMP.COM


LayStitch and Tailored Fiber Placement (TFP) are registered trademarks owned by LayStitch Technologies.

Intercomp Wearables eBook

Documents

Transcript of Intercomp Wearables eBook