Maker Faire Rome 2021 dedicated a lot of space to the projects of innovative startups and companies. Today we’re talking about Cling-o-Matic, a Bologna-based startup founded and led by Lorenzino Piazzi, who has developed a technology that assembles 3D garments into the exact shape in which they will be worn, using a volumetric vacuum system and invisible, seamless precision gluing. Lorenzo brought his Bio-outfit project to Maker Faire Rome 2021. We asked him a few questions. Here’s what he told us.
Lorenzino, you founded Cling-o-Matic. What does your company do?
“Yes, I am the founder of Cling-o-Matic, a young startup company that has developed and patented a new technology for the three-dimensional, seamless assembly of wearable products. I have to say that our technology was designed and developed to bring radical innovation to fashion products, a sector in which I have personally worked as a designer of wearable products for more than 30 years, and from the knowledge that no real, consistent, and functional innovation could be introduced without introducing new techniques and new tools for making products».
Innovating in fashion. Here’s how
Lorenzino Piazzi explained that«fashion has always been oriented by proposals that are usually seasonal or six-monthly, introducing new suggestions, new colours and story-telling, which inevitably make only small, mainly aesthetic changes compared to the previous season. So there is little innovation, the consumer’s wardrobe is already saturated with similar products, and so there is surplus production which, as we know, also creates environmental and recycling problems».
From fashion to life science
Lorenzino Piazzi continued: «Once we had built, sold and tested our first machines in the fashion industry, we realised that the technology we had introduced, as well as giving fashion manufacturing companies the opportunity to bring new aesthetic values to their products and above all new functional values, could have enormous applications in a market sector other than fashion, that of life science».
But, how can a technology originally designed for fashion be applied to the world of make-to-measure or Life Science?
«The specific features of our technology make it easy to understand why. Our machine is capable of three-dimensional, seamless assembly of wearable product parts, whatever the composition of the material from which the wearable product is made. (natural fibres, artificial fibres, synthetic fibres, non-woven fabrics, any flexible material)».
Wearable, in three-dimensions, seamless
Producing something «wearable in three dimensions – added Lorenzino Piazzi – first of all introduces benefits in terms of the fit of the product itself, because it is made in its final three-dimensional form. (a shape that will be anthropomorphic if the wearable product is intended for a human). Producing a wearable product without seams, as well as aesthetically characterising it, avoids the friction and possible irritation that the presence of seams could create when the product is worn in contact with the skin’. Producing a wearable “by exploiting the force of atmospheric pressure throughout the welding cycle and cross-linking of the adhesive then prevents the elastic return of the fibres and consequently gives a greater guarantee of tightness to the welding itself».
How does your technology work?
«Our machine is able to create a volumetric vacuum inside itself that allows the atmospheric pressure of the environment in which it is installed to exert a force on the parts of the wearable product that are to be assembled. (a force of about 1 Kg/cm2). The parts to be assembled are positioned and held in place on a three-dimensional component of the machine, designed by our proprietary 2D to 3D conversion software, by the volumetric vacuum created inside the machine itself. An extremely sophisticated three-dimensional component that is made in additive manufacturing with special materials. A component with internal airflow channels and flexible heating elements for melting the adhesive. The force of the atmospheric pressure is transferred to the parts to be assembled by means of an elastic element with which our machine is equipped, and it is transferred orthogonally to every point of the parts to be welded».
Volumetric vacuum
The volumetric vacuum, according to Lorenzino Piazzi, the absence of seams, the three-dimensional component of the machine, the transfer of atmospheric pressure force by means of an elastic element, mean that «any sensors, their connections and their power supply can also be integrated into the wearable product. The elastic element of our machine will in fact be able to transfer the force of atmospheric pressure like a glove over the perimeter of the sensors and their connections. An integration of the sensors that will therefore not be invasive on the aesthetics of the wearable product due to the absence of any stitching. In other words, there are a lot of companies in the world that make wearable products with integrated sensors, but none of them use our technology, which would make it possible to make Bio-outfit with the characteristics I have described above».
Lorenzo why did you decide to bring your project to Maker Faire Rome?
«We want to find partners and financiers to enter the Life Science sector. Alternatively, we want to find companies interested in taking over the rights to use your technology for development in the Life Science sector only».
What convinced you about the hybrid version of Maker Faire Rome (online and in-person)?
«Let’s say that both versions (online and in person) have their advantages. The online version has the advantage of making contacts much faster and more ecological, thanks also to the technology available today».
Would you prefer to attend next year’s fair remotely or in person?
«I can’t answer this question precisely as I only participated online and don’t know exactly what it would have been like to have participated in person. As far as online participation is concerned, I can say that the possibility of “interacting” with other participating companies should be implemented. My suggestion would be to create a panel of the companies that will participate in the next Maker Faire to be shared among the participating companies, at least a week/ten days before the start of the fair itself. This would allow each participating company to make a pre-selection and schedule any in-depth meetings with the companies they are interested in».
sources: makerfairerome.eu
Cover photo: cling-o-matic.com
Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition has been committed since nine editions to make innovation accessible and usable to all, with the aim of not leaving anyone behind. Its blog is always updated and full of opportunities and inspiration for makers, makers, startups, SMEs and all the curious ones who wish to enrich their knowledge and expand their business, in Italy and abroad.
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