1. Development of Personal Manufacturing.
Knitting Printer
Varvara Guljajeva
PhD candidate
Estonian Art Academy
Mar Canet Sola
Co-author

2. FAB LABs
● Started in 2005 in the Center for Bits and Atoms, MIT by Neil
Gershenfeld
● Today there is a significant and growing number of FAB LABs around
the world -> at the beginning of 2011, the international Fab Lab
network consisted of over 50 Fab Labs in 16 countries.
-> The real impact of digital communications and computation came in
giving ordinary people control over the information in their lives; digital
fabrication will likewise give individuals control over their physical world
by allowing them to personally program its construction.

3. Machine list recommendation
Flexible manufacturing equipment within a fab lab can include:
● Laser cutter, plasma cutter, water jet cutter, knife cutter: sheet
material cutting
● 3-axis CNC machines: 3 or more axes, computer-controlled
subtractive milling or turning machines
● Rapid prototyper: typically a "3D printer" of plastic or plaster parts
● Printed circuit board milling: 2 dimensional, high precision milling to
create circuit traces in pre-clad copper boards
●
Microprocessor and digital electronics design, assembly, and test
stations

4. Origin
● Digital fabrication tools were originally used for prototyping purpose
by the industries. -> NOW the manufacturing machines are used for
end-product manufacturing by small-scale producers and one-
person-factories.
● These tiny manufacturers kicked off without or very little external
funding. The main reason for that is low-cost of machines and open
source code and design.

5. Probably the best known example of the emergence of a personal
technology is that of the personal computer (Lipson and Kurman
Factory@Home). -> The history of personal computers began in the
1970s (Wikipedia).
Xerox Alto, 1973
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Xerox_Alto.jpg

6. Industrial revolution Personal manufacturing “evolution”
Communication Telegraph, telephone, improved Internet, online shopping, online user communities,
commercial printing technologies search and rank algorithms that enable users to
find what they’re looking for in the chaos, online
blueprints
Power Steam, coal, electricity Powerful computing technologies bring formerly
industrial-scale design and analytical capabilities to
the masses
Machine Steam engines, coal burning Personal fabrication machines are ready for home
technology machines, looms, automated use, outside the factory.
agricultural technologies. Cheaper and easier CAD software Hardware and
Factory-scale machines mass electronic components get smaller and cheaper
produced standardized objects very and more powerful
quickly
Distribution Rail ways, improved roads, the The Internet becomes the distribution
postal system infrastructure + local Fabbers
Consumers Emerging consumer markets Today’s consumers want to be unique and express
eagerly purchased lower-cost mass themselves with custom objects
produced items
Labor Unskilled labor could assemble Unskilled consumers, like unskilled computer users,
objects on an assembly line can design and operate their own manufacturing
machinery

7. What about knitting and craft in general?
● Knitting is very old craft.
● The origins of knitting go back to 400-500BC
Source: http://maryhanna.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/KnittingOldLady.jpg

8. Knitting Machines
The 1st stocking frame knitting machine
Invented by William Lee in 1589.
Source: http://larkabout.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/the-hosiery-factory/

9. Circular knitting machine
Hand-powered circular knitting machine of the Chemnitz-
Based "Strumpfmaschinenfabrik" (Stocking Machine Factory)
for the production of stockings with toes and heels, 1880.
Source: http://www.german-hosiery-museum.de/technik/07rundstrickmaschinen/Bild_rundstrick_02.htm

10. When did a knitting machine appear at home?
The first simple hand-powered flat-bed knitting
Machines were constructed for home use by the
cottage industry in 1890.
As well small-size factories were using these
machines.
Source:
http://www.german-hosiery-museum.de/technik/06flachstrickmaschinen/Bild

11. Brother knitting machines' models
MODEL YEAR
KH-500 1955
Non punch-card machines
KH-511 1960
KH-561 1964
KH-581 1966
KH-588 1969
Punch-card machines
KH-800 1971
KH-810 1973
KH-820 1974
KH-830 1976
KH-840 1978
KH-890 1979
Electronic knitting machines
KH-910 1976
KH-930 1980
KH-940 1988
KH-965 1992
KH-970 1996
-> although Brother knitting machines have been discontinued, they are still the ones that people have at ho
The two most popular knitting machine lines in the market, namely Brother and Silver Reed/Studio

12. Electronic/computerized knitting machines
- 200stitches can be used for a
pattern
- has about 600 preprogrammed
patterns in internal memory
- pattern input waus:
mylar paper
INPUT mode (manual)
Floppy drive
The PPD110 and PPD120 allows
you to create your own stitch
pattern designs or to input stitch
patterns from knitting patterns,
magazines or books, using a TV as
your screen, and then to transfer
your stitch patterns to your
knitting machine.

14. Stitch = pixel

15. => knitting machine is a 1st personal manufacturing
tool at home

16. Knitting with C64
Source: http://www.mos6502.com/2011/04/

17. Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1DKX1Jq-54

18. Nintendo Knitting Machine (1987)
Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/31/nintendo-almost-made-a-knitting-add-on-for-nes

19. The ad says:
● “You're looking at the Nintendo Knitting Machine. It's not a
game; not a toy; not something a young girl can outgrow
in three or six months or even a year. It's a machine that
interacts with the powerful Nintendo Entertainment System
to actually knit sweaters: and not just one or two patterns
but a multitude of different and unique designs. The
Nintendo Knitting Machine is just one more example of the
innovative thinking that keeps Nintendo on the cutting
edge of video technology. And your customers on the edge
of their seats. Of course we should probably mention that
no other video game system offers anything even remotely
similar. But why needle the competition?”

21. PASSAP E8000 & E6000

22. Decline of knitting
● In 1980s knitting suddenly became unpopular because of
appearance of machines, and cheap and available clothing
● However with the boom of Internet in late 1990s knitting
communities appeared again. Internet enabled sharing, learning, and
communication.
● Among the first Internet knitting phenomena was the popular
KnitList with thousands of members. In 1998, the first online knitting
magazine, KnitNet, began publishing. Blogging later added fuel to
the development of an international knitting community.

23. Thanx Internet!
● Guardian: But despite this decade-long reign over the lifestyle pages,
the last 12 months have been particularly good for knitting. Peter
Fitzgerald, a retail director at Google UK, says that while online
searches for knitting-related terms have grown steadily since 2004,
the growth this year has been really noticeable. "Our data shows
that searches for knitting have increased over 150% just this year,"
he says. The term "knitting for beginners" has increased by 250%.

24. Hacking KH930
The hack of Becky Stern from MAKE magazine
Floppy emulation script in Python by by Steve Conklin

25. Andrew Salomone
Source: http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/2011/01/0idpbalacl03.jpg

26. Physical hack
Inspired by Travis Goodspeed and Fabienne Serriere

28. SPAMpoetry

29. Improvements
● PatternUploader developed with the help of Davey Taylor
– http://www.mcanet.info/patternUploader/
– http://wiki.forskningsavd.se/ElectroknitKH940
● User interface
● Windows/linux/mac support
●
Enables to upload patterns via floppy emulation to KH930, KH940,
KH950i.
● Bigger-size pattern upload
● Multiple pattern upload
● Multicolor pattern upload (up to 4 colors per row)

32. Multicolor per row + no floats
Photos by Andrew Salomone

33. Future Plans
Open Knitter -> KNITbot!

34. Conclusions
●
Knitting machine is the 1st digital personal manufacturing tool at
home, which has been totally over looked nowadays in the age of
digital fabrication.
● Textile fabrication has a huge tradition and importance in society ->
available skills & knowledge.
● Open knitting has a great potential in the growing field of digital
fabrication -> cheap, available and recyclable material, growing
community of fabbers/innovators/makers, new business
opportunities, and more.
● The fabrication and business model is changing (disappearing big-
size industries, FAB LABs, startups, factories at home). Hence,
knitting and textile manufacturing introduce new possibilities and
personalization.

35. Thank you for listening!
Question time
Varvara Guljajeva
www.varvarag.info - varvarag@gmail.com
Mar Canet Sola
www.mcanet.info - mar.canet@gmail.com