Laser assisted design for three-dimensional pleated structures

The paper is an examination of a novel process of combining a traditional textile technique with laser cutting to produce hybrid constructions of interest to the garment and interiors industries. Pleating of fabric is a technique performed either mechanically or by hand to manipulate flat sheets into three-dimensional structures. In combination with laser cutting, pleats or folds may be made in strategic locations to produce three-dimensional constructs not previously achieved. Uniquely, precision cutting and pleating may be combined with fabric patterning to produce three-dimensional surface structures and pattern placements not available through traditional means. This novel process has been applied in the conventional areas of fabric manufacture for garments and interiors but recent experiments have demonstrated the capability of the process to be used in other areas ranging from architecture to bio-implants.