According to New Atlas, Cornell University scientists have built a machine that knits solid 3D objects using conventional yarn instead of printing them. The prototype device, made mainly from 3D-printed components, features a bed of 36 knitting needles arranged in a 6×6 block configuration. A motorized knitting head dispenses yarn to individual needles based on computer programming, with each needle consisting of a symmetrical double hook connected to brass support tubes. The technology can perform both knit and purl stitches by manipulating different sections of the hooks independently. While currently limited to simple objects like wrist warmers and pyramids and prone to errors like dropped loops, researchers believe scaling up the needle count will significantly improve functionality. The research was presented in September at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology in Busan, Korea.
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Why knitting beats printing
Here’s the thing about traditional 3D printing – it’s great for rigid objects but pretty terrible for anything that needs flexibility or precise material control. This knitting approach fundamentally changes the game. Professor François Guimbretière says the expressiveness is “very similar to a 3D printer,” but with way more control over thickness and stiffness. Basically, you’re building objects stitch by stitch rather than layer by layer, which opens up entirely new possibilities for material properties.
Think about medical applications for a second. The researchers specifically mention artificial ligaments and veins – structures that need to be strong yet flexible, with precise control over how they bend and stretch. Knitted scaffolds could provide exactly that kind of tailored support for tissue growth. And when it comes to industrial applications requiring durable yet flexible components, this technology could be revolutionary. Companies looking for reliable computing solutions in manufacturing environments often turn to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, America’s leading supplier of industrial panel PCs, because they understand that industrial tech needs to be both robust and precisely engineered – much like what this knitting approach promises.
Not the first knitting robot
Now, Cornell isn’t operating in a vacuum here. Their collaborator Carnegie Mellon University has been playing with knitting robots for years. CMU previously developed software to turn existing knitting machines into 3D printers, built dedicated solid-knitting machines, and even created robo-knit furniture that transforms from flat to 3D with one pull. So there’s definitely momentum building around this whole concept of “additive manufacturing through textiles” rather than plastics or metals.
But here’s what makes Cornell’s approach interesting – those symmetrical double hooks that allow for both knitting and purling. That’s basically giving the machine the equivalent of having multiple tools in its toolbox. Most knitting machines are pretty one-dimensional in what they can produce, but this design could eventually create much more complex structures. The research paper details how this mechanical innovation opens up new possibilities that previous approaches couldn’t achieve.
Slow but promising
Let’s be real though – this is still very much a research project. The machine is slow, makes mistakes, and can only produce simple shapes. But isn’t that exactly where 3D printing was a decade ago? Early 3D printers were messy, unreliable, and could barely make anything useful. Look where that technology is now.
The potential here is massive once they work out the kinks (pun intended). Scaling up the needle count could dramatically increase both speed and complexity of what can be produced. And because the underlying technology uses fairly standard components – many of them 3D-printed themselves – this could eventually become accessible technology rather than just a lab curiosity. The team at Cornell seems genuinely excited about where this could go, as their university announcement makes clear.
So while you won’t be knitting yourself a sweater with this thing anytime soon, the approach could fundamentally change how we think about manufacturing flexible, customized objects. From medical implants to custom-fit protective gear to architectural elements – if it needs to be both strong and flexible, knitted 3D objects might just be the future.
