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Annual Conference 2008 "FUTURE FIBRE MATERIALS - RENAISSANCE THROUGH INNOVATION" |
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This program is part of VicStart - the Victorian Government's technology commercialisation initiative |
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| 2008 Conference Speakers: | |
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Adrian Wilson (Video Presentation) Future Materials Magazine is an international journal showcasing new and innovative technologies and processes in the textiles and clothing materials arena. Adrian Wilson is also the editor of Smart Textiles & Nanotechnology, Nonwovens Report International, and Textile Month. Each year Adrian identifies what he considers the top 100 Textile Innovations in the world and he will share his thoughts on the best of these that are entering the international market place in 2008. |
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Jeff Dugan Presentation Title: Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dynamite Subtitle: A Chef’s Approach to Fiber Development Results in Explosive Growth in Innovation Abstract: New fiber technology offerings in the past may have sometimes seemed rather bland. But in recent years, Fiber Innovation Technology has focused on an approach to new fiber development that blends a dash of this with a splash of that to concoct fiber performance features that are made-to-order to suit each customer’s taste. The resulting expansion in new developments includes such recent offerings as fibers with novel antimicrobial performance, electrically-conductive fibers at dramatically-reduced cost, and fibers that may improve the results of coronary angioplasty. Reviews and recipes for these new developments will be shared. |
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Rudolf Hufenus EMPA is a Swiss materials science and technology research institution. It specializes in applications, focused research and development, and provides high-level services in the field of sustainable materials science and technology. EMPA’s laboratory for Advanced Fibers develops synthetic fibers with distinct functionalities in new combinations. Rudolf’s presentation will provide insight on the novel methods to modify synthetic fibers, which enable them to develop complex fiber surfaces. Techniques like vacuum plasma treatment, continuous dip coating and 360° roll embossing are applied to create micro- and nanosurfaces with given properties such as water repellency, abrasion resistance, flame retardance, biocompatibility or conductivity.
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Armin Lau With about 250 employees, the German Institutes for Textile and Fibre Research (DITF) in Denkendorf is the biggest textile research centre in Europe. Armin Lau (Dipl.-Ing.), studied Engineering Cybernetics at the University of Stuttgart with a main focus on the field of Business Cybernetics. Finishing his diploma thesis about the possibilities and challenges related to cooperative and collaborative process- and product-oriented risk management, he graduated in 2007. Armin’s presentation will focus on textile high value-added networks and in the introduction of cross-sectoral collaboration to spur innovation. He will elaborate on the outcomes of the European project AVALON, which brings together 31 partners from different industry branches to develop new multifunctional textiles for a multitude of different applications. AVALON is aimed at cross-sectoral development of novel hybrid textile structures integrating multi functional Shape Memory Alloys for application into new and novel textile areas. Armin will also discuss developments with their latest project - INNO-vention, which is focused on boosting technology transfer between the aerospace, textile and automotive industries. |
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Ken King Micronisers Pty Ltd is a company specialising in advanced milling and chemical processes to produce products at the molecular level. Kenneth King has had a distinguished career working initially as a scientist for the department of agriculture in Victoria, he then became the business development manager for Unichema International where he managed the sales and marketing for the Asia Pacific region of approximately $250 million per year. He is currently working jointly with Malaysian JV partners for the development of nanotechnology based products and has published 25 papers in recognised international scientific journals. Ken’s presentation will provide an insight into some of the work that Micronisers has been doing in nanotechnology and the potential applications in the textile and fibres industries. |
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Thomas Seeger Thomas will outline Bruck Textile’s experiences in commercializing new technologies and taking scientific developments to market. Bruck has a strong history of commercializing new and innovative products enabling it to be an Australian leader in textile manufacturing. Thomas will discuss how a company like Bruck develops ideas and commercializes new products. |
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Robin Cranston Robin has been active in CSIRO’s research into the textile, clothing and footwear industries for more than 37 years and is developing textile arm and leg sleeves for protecting skin tears in the elderly and bed-ridden. Other fundamental research areas he has worked in include: the protein structure of wool, collagen, myosin, and flu virus coat protein, enzymology, development of new processing technologies for the leather industries, and the industrial transfer of technologies worldwide. Robin and his team at the CSIRO TFT are conducting high level research into smart textiles and their applications in healing and medical monitoring. Robin will discuss the medical textiles market and provide insight into the potential market opportunities, the path to market, the emerging areas and how new fibres and technologies can be used to produce new structures and platforms for sensor technologies. |
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Michael Schwager Interwoven: Biotechnology and the textiles industry In the textiles sector, examples ofthe industrial applications of biotechnologydate back to the early 1900's, with the use of enzymes to remove starch deposits from woven fabrics. More recent examples include the use of biologically derived flame retardant treatments and enzymes to 'acid wash' jeans. There is increasing international interest in the potentialof biotechnologies to provide innovative industrial products and processes. Global companies including Proctor and Gamble, DuPont and NatureWorks are actively exploring the opportunities presented by newer applications of biotechnology including in the textiles sector. The Australian Government released an industrial biotechnology Strategy in November 2007. The Strategy aims to enhance the development of internationally competitive and sustainable industries through the adoption of relevant biotechnologies. An important initiative of the Government's Industrial Biotechnology Strategy is a series of workshops around Australia which will feature presentations by representatives from international companies, Australian biotechnology organisations, venture capital providers and government representatives. Of key interest to the Australian textiles industry will be the Melbourne workshop which will explore industrial processing including enzymes, chemicals and plastics, textiles and leather. |
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Professor Gordon Wallace (PhD, DSc, FTSE) Putting Function into Fashion Textiles have been employed over the centuries with great utility in areas as diverse as fashion through to technical textiles. In all these instances the textile itself has been a static element that once fabricated has limited utility beyond the intended structural and aesthetic application. The new paradigm for textiles is the development of systems that not only provide the more traditional aspects of textiles but expands upon this to provide materials capable of responding to external stimuli, modifying features of the textile in a direct response to its working environment. This can be achieved by integration of novel organic conducting materials into the textile structure by dying or printing. Alternatively organic conductors can be produced as micron dimension fibers (using wet spinning) that can be integrated into the textile. Our work has involved the integration of organic conductors to produce new sensing technologies for monitoring human movement (e.g. knee flexion or breast bounce) as well as new wearable platforms for chemical or biosensing. We have also demonstrated the ability to induce dramatic colour changes in textiles in response to electrical stimuli. One more ambitious use of textiles involves the biomedical area. Using fiber wet spinning techniques we are producing materials capable of controlled interactions with living mammalian cells, including nerve and muscle cells. It is envisaged that the integration of such fibers into textiles will provide the basis of future medical implants (advanced stent technologies) and new dressings for wound healing. |
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Mark Pedley Cool Sensors for a Freer Lifestyle Fabric based sensors are seen by SmartLife as the future of personalised remote monitoring for critical health conditions as well as improving people’s lifestyle. As data capture is ‘next to skin’, SmartLife systems appear as normal garments, are comfortable to wear and are tailored to the individual wearer. Smartlife currently focuses on measuring ECG, heart rate, EMG, respiration and tidal flow. The SmartLife system functionality is flexible, expandable and affordable, which through the GUI interface, offers cross functionality and the scope to embed additional sensors detecting, for example, ambient, movement and environmental parameters. And all this data emerges from easy to use, stylishly-designed garments which are fully washable. The interoperability of the SmartLife system underpins the vision of holistic and personalised lifestyle monitoring for individuals. With highly valuable data sourced from a range of Healthcare and Wellbeing applications the accent is on ‘cool to use, for a freer lifestyle’. |
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Sam Cassarino Yakka has been actively involved in the development of new and innovative products and is well versed in the process of taking an idea or new development to the market place. Sam Cassarino will discuss the process that Yakka undertakes in commercialising new products. |
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Jo Kellock A Vision for Australian Apparel Jo Kellock will present on the new technologies and developments coming online in Australia and internationally in the fashion and apparel sector. Global innovations in production, mass customisation, merchandising, digital technologies, web platforms for apparel manufacturing business systems, seamless and 3D knitting technologies are just some of the new technologies starting to change the way apparel companies do business. Jo will discuss some of these technologies and the impact that they could have on Australian manufacturers and suppliers of apparel. |
To view our previous conferences and seminars please visit the Resources section or the News section. Presentations and summaries will be placed on the website approximately three weeks after the event.
Ph +61 3 8680 9400 Fax +61 3 8680 9499 email info@tfia.com.au
| VicStart
A Victorian Government initiative |
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