Presented are automated manufacturing systems for fabricating engineered textiles, footwear and apparel formed with such engineered textiles, methods for making such engineered textiles, and memory-stored, processor-executable instructions for operating such manufacturing systems. An automated manufacturing system constructs engineered textiles from workpieces composed of superposed, unwoven wires. The system includes a movable end effector bearing a stitching head and an image capture device. The stitching head has a thread feeder and sewing needle to generate stitches. The image capture device captures images of the workpiece and outputs data indicative thereof. A system controller receives this image capture device data and locates, from the captured image of the workpiece, gaps defined between quadrangles of the superposed wires. The controller commands the end effector to sequentially move the stitching head and thereby align the sewing needle with the gaps, and commands the stitching head to insert a succession of stitches within these gaps.

A fabric of nanofibers that includes an adhesive is described. The nanofibers can be twisted or both twisted and coiled prior to formation into a fabric. The adhesive can be selectively applied to or infiltrated within portions of the nanofibers comprising the nanofiber fabric. The adhesive enables connection of the nanofiber fabric to an underlying substrate, even in cases in which the underlying substrate has a three-dimensional topography, while the selective location of the adhesive on the fabric limits the contact area between the adhesive and the nanofibers of the nanofiber fabric. This limited contact area can help preserve the beneficial properties of the nanofibers (e.g., thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, infra-red (IR) radiation transparency) that otherwise might be degraded by the presence of adhesive.

An eco-friendly netting for growing and/or harvesting sod, plants, and/or any type of vegetation is disclosed herein. The eco-friendly netting includes a netting body portion forming a pattern of netting apertures, the netting body portion is formed from a material that is at least partially biodegradable. The eco-friendly netting may be preseeded. The eco-friendly netting may be treated or processed with anti-rot agents, degrading accelerators, degrading inhibitors, nutrients, fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, algaecides, herbicides, water absorption/retention enhancers or any combination thereof. Methods of growing sod and harvesting sod, which utilize the eco-friendly netting, are also disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, the eco-friendly netting may be treated or processed to increase or decrease its functional longevity.

To provide a flexible conductive base member and a multilayer conductive base member including the same, having no problem of failing to function as a contact and causing a variation in height between contacts.

There are a covered region 10 covered with a noble metal and a non-covered region 20 not circumferentially covered with a noble metal on a surface of a reticulated fibrous body 50. The covered region 10 is located at an intersection 7 of fibers 5 of the reticulated fibrous body 50, and the intersections 7 are connected to each other. The non-covered region 20 is located between the intersections 7 of the fibers 5 of the reticulated fibrous body 50.

A fiber assembly includes, on a main surface of a support sheet subjected to a release treatment, a warp yarn group in which a plurality of warp yarns including a polymer material are arranged, and a weft yarn group in which a plurality of weft yarns including a polymer material are arranged. The warp yarn group and the weft yarn group form a plurality of first contact portion regions and a plurality of non-contact portion regions. Each of the plurality of first contact portion regions is a region in which at least one of the plurality of warp yarns is integrated with at least one of the plurality of weft yarns. Each of the plurality of warp yarns has a line width of 1 μm to 10 μm, inclusive, and each of the plurality of weft yarns has a line width of 1 μm to 10 μm, inclusive. At least one of the plurality of first contact portion regions has a fiber density higher than that of at least one of the plurality of non-contact portion regions. Two of the plurality of warp yarns or two of the plurality of weft yarns have a spacing of 5 μm or more and 1000 μm or less in at least one of the plurality of first contact portion regions. Two of the plurality of warp yarns or two of the plurality of weft yarns have a spacing of 2000 μm or more in at least one of the plurality of non-contact portion regions.

A system for forming a non-woven, yarn structure for an engineered textile includes a jig having a plurality of upstanding pins and an automatic winding system for winding a plurality of continuous strands of yarn across the jig and around the upstanding pins. The automatic winding system includes a movement mechanism and a winding head coupled with the movement mechanism. The movement mechanism includes one or more motors that are configured to translate the winding head across a central workspace area of the jig. The winding head includes a rotatable base; a plurality of yarn guides arranged in a linear array and extending from the rotatable base, each yarn guide adapted to receive a different one of the continuous strands, and a rotation motor coupled to the rotatable base and configured to selectively rotate the base to alter an orientation of the linear array.

Presented are automated manufacturing systems for fabricating engineered textiles, footwear and apparel formed with such engineered textiles, methods for making such engineered textiles, and memory-stored, processor-executable instructions for operating such manufacturing systems. An automated manufacturing system constructs engineered textiles from workpieces composed of superposed, unwoven wires. The system includes a movable end effector bearing a stitching head and an image capture device. The stitching head has a thread feeder and sewing needle to generate stitches. The image capture device captures images of the workpiece and outputs data indicative thereof. A system controller receives this image capture device data and locates, from the captured image of the workpiece, gaps defined between quadrangles of the superposed wires. The controller commands the end effector to sequentially move the stitching head and thereby align the sewing needle with the gaps, and commands the stitching head to insert a succession of stitches within these gaps.

A bone implant for enclosing bone material is provided. The bone implant comprises a nonwoven mesh having an inner surface and an outer surface opposing the inner surface and configured to receive a bone material when the inner surface of the mesh is in an open configuration. A plurality of projections are disposed on or in at least a portion of the inner surface of the mesh, the outer surface of the mesh or both the inner and outer surfaces of the mesh, the plurality of projections extending from at least the portion of the inner surface, the outer surface of the mesh or both the inner and outer surfaces of the mesh and are configured to engage a section of the inner surface of the mesh or a section of the outer surface of the mesh or both in a closed configuration so as to enclose the bone material.

Described herein are various three-dimensional fiber structures that have multiple polymer fiber layers with an active therapeutic agent entrained in the polymer fiber layers. Further described are methods for forming the three-dimensional fiber structures where the method includes centrifugal spinning of an emulsion containing polymer(s) and the active therapeutic agent(s).

A natural fiber felt is provided, which is a film formed by processes of binding a natural fiber net with a binder, extruding, drying and shaping the natural fiber net. A surface of the film is coated with a waterproof layer. The foam binder is formed by combining modified starch serving as a binder and urea serving as a foaming agent with water. A water-repellent agent fruit wax emulsion is employed to form the waterproof layer. The natural fiber net is carded by a carding machine at one time, and the foam binder is sprayed onto the natural fiber net to bind the natural fiber net so as to form the film. The product has characteristics of ultra-thinness and high strength with good performances on heat preservation, moisturizing ability, waterproof and air permeability.