Citation: Robotic Needle Felting Stitches New Possibilities

“This project opens new territory for a material that has connections to art, to architecture, and to the domestic space. This is a novel way of working with felt and it has many applications.” —Juror Florencia Pita

Binding thermoplastic textiles was already familiar territory for Tsz Yan Ng, an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Michigan, so she turned to the newfound possibilities offered with needle felting, the age-old process whereby a barbed needle pushes through layers of fabric and, as it pulls back, entwines the threads and thus the layers, uniting the plies.

Ng wondered whether she could integrate this low-tech process with robotic manufacturing to create a more efficient way to produce complicated needle felting. But getting the robotics to execute the inherently simple actions was deceptively difficult. “A lot went in to tuning the process, and making the needle bind correctly,” she says. “We went through a lot of trial and error.”

The result, developed by Ng and her team at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning’s Digital Fabrication Lab, which includes director Wesley McGee and research associate Asa Peller, is an additive process somewhat analogous to 3D printing: A robotic head equipped with a needle is fed a strip of felt that it then lays out and attaches onto a foam substrate.

“Integration into a robotic process not only enables precision and speed in manufacturing but also extends needle felting as a 3D process, especially for surfaces with complex geometries,” Ng and her team wrote in their submission. Because the robot arm can move in multiple directions and angles, it can create complicated fabric topographies all without thread or glue, making the process environmentally friendly and visually captivating.

Ng focused on three methods of needle felting: quilting, or the binding of two similarly sized felt sections; shiplap, in which entire felt strips successively overlap; and shingling, in which individual felt pieces are laid down, each partially over the previous. Depending on the method deployed, the robot can complete up to several inches a second.

Even without glue or thread, the binding between each layer is incredibly strong. “There are hundreds of fiber interactions per square inch,” Ng says.

Possibilities for the technology abound, she adds. “If you look at most acoustic treatments, they’re pretty generic,” she says. “So there’s a lot of potential there.” The process can also bind conventional felt over a substrate of insulation, creating a finished insulative surface. A third application would be the incorporation of needle-felted fabrics into furniture or wall treatments.

And Ng is investigating what happens when different types of felt, bound together, are heated. “Once baked, felt creates a different curvature and form with a slight stiffness—and that has all sorts of potential,” she says. “Right now, we’re testing it to see how far we can push it as a structural element.”

Project Credits
Project: Robotic Needle Felting
Design Team: University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Ann Arbor, Mich. . Tsz Yan Ng, Wesley McGee, Asa Peller (project team); Rachel Henry (research assistant); Jared Monce, Drew Bradford, Carlos Pompeo (production assistants)
Funding: 2018 Taubman College’s Research Through Making grant program, University of Michigan, and the University of Michigan Office of Research’s Small Scale and Preliminary Projects grant

Note: This article has been updated since first publication.

• Citation: Buoyant Ecologies Float Lab Aims to Save Communities Above and Below Water

  To preserve and promote indigenous marine life, the Architectural Ecologies Lab at the California College of the Arts turned to the phenomenon of biofouling.

  

• Citation: Limb, a Fantastical Take on Timber Construction

  University of Michigan faculty members Steven Mankouche, Peter von Bülow, and Kasey Vliet leverage the inherent strength of tree crotches to create 3D structures.

  

• Citation: MineralBuilt, a New CMU Block Designed by Architects

  In searching for a product with the strength of concrete but flexibility of wood framing, Francisco Gomes and Dabney Staub created their own building block.

  

• Citation: Robotic Needle Felting Stitches New Possibilities

  University of Michigan faculty members Tsz Yan Ng, Wesley McGee, and Asa Peller take the age-old process to the next level: automation.

  

• Citation: Thinness Redefines Lightweight Concrete

  Aptum Architecture, in Syracuse, N.Y., and global concrete manufacturer Cemex create a 10-foot-tall pavilion with walls that are a mere 2 centimeters thick.

  

• Honorable Mention: Functional Façade, Made with a Robot for Cornell Tech’s Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Center

  Automation helped Morphosis and A. Zahner Co. realize a bespoke rainscreen for the innovative academic building in New York.

  

• Honorable Mention: Here East Gantry, a Medley of Studios From a Kit of Parts

  HawkinsBrown Architects deploys WikiHouse software to output 23 memorable studios in a steel gantry in London.

  

• Honorable Mention: Hydroformed Shading, a Metal Feature Shaped by Water

  For Harvard University's Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Behnisch Architekten created a system that would minimize the building's energy load and maximize visual interest.

  

• Honorable Mention: Precautionary List, a User-Friendly Guide to Green

  As part of Perkins+Will's effort to make the construction process more transparent, the firm created a free, online database of materials and chemicals often found in building products.

  

• Honorable Mention: Social Sensory Architectures Offers Comfort and Healing Through Design

  University of Michigan assistant professor Sean Ahlquist explores the impact of architecture on autism and sensory processing disorder.