Fiber Design and Textile Processes

Course

Now available in Higher Education Course Textile Frontiers

The Made in Italy brand covers a vast field of products which describes the Italian excellence, the “beautiful and well made”, often however, the brand is associated with a dress, an accessory or a piece of furniture but not referring to the material used to create such products. Instead, in the textile sector, there is a know-how that allows Italy to be among the best producers in the world, not only for clothing but also for technical textiles, more specifically, the new polymer materials.

Polymer fibers now account for approximately 70% of the market and the applications are:
chassis for automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, railways and military;
structural parts with high resistance and low weight;
potective clothing for sporting activities, industrial workers and the military;
posthetics for artificial limbs or organs;
avanced home automation.
All this combined with the latest web development: IoT (Internet of Things).
“Smart objects” are the future of integration man-machine and the textile manufacturing process can use IoT for all applications made available by new polymers. Textile fabrics are evolving and most probably, research is the best solution to find a link between aesthetics and functionality.

The Specializing Master in Fiber Design and Textile Processes was created because there is a need to explore this topic by paying particular attention to these types of new materials.
Founded and launched by two centers of excellence: Città Studi Biella with its tradition of technical skills and POLI.design that, together with the School of Design and the Department of Design, forms the Politecnico di Milano Design System, which is a pool of resources, skills, facilities, and laboratories that is among the most important in the world.
The goal is to offer a unique educational program by providing quality knowledge and skills for designing innovative fibers and new materials including the Internet of Things (IoT) and environmental sustainability, thanks to the local companies involved throughout the academic program and their generous support.

Testimonials

Didactics

Headquarters

Training objectives

The aim of the Specializing Master in Fiber Design and Textile Processes is to know and understand the evolution of Italian textile research and the continuous innovative experimentation that companies develop into the most traditional sectors of Made in Italy.
Instead, in the textile sector, there is a know-how that allows Italy to be among the best producers in the world, not only for clothing but also for technical textiles, more specifically, the new polymer materials.
Polymer fibers now account for approximately 70% of the market and the applications are:
chassis for automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, railways and military;
structural parts with high resistance and low weight;
potective clothing for sporting activities, industrial workers and the military;
posthetics for artificial limbs or organs;
avanced home automation.
All this combined with the latest web development: IoT (Internet of Things).
“Smart objects” are the future of integration man-machine and the textile manufacturing process can use IoT for all applications made available by new polymers. Textile fabrics are evolving and most probably, research is the best solution to find a link between aesthetics and functionality.
The Specializing Master in Fiber Design and Textile Processes was created because there is a need to explore the new materials that today describe the 4.0 Industry innovation. Founded and launched by two centers of excellence: Città Studi Biella with its tradition of technical skills and Politecnico di Milano.
The goal is to offer a unique educational program by providing quality knowledge and skills for designing innovative fibers and new materials including the Internet of Things (IoT) and environmental sustainability, thanks to the local companies involved throughout the academic program and their generous support.

Didactic Plan

Together with the textile companies who are directly involved, the goal of the program is to increase today’s “textile culture”, necessary for new types of research on innovative fibers in parallel with the traditional “noble” fibers. The program also focuses on the current situation of the textile industry and the skills needed to understand this business and study the various technical applications and design of industrial products.
The manufacturing industry is a solid reference for participants in the Master, a world where one needs to learn about the production processes and materials in order to choose correctly the best technical solution to create an innovative product.

The didactics will be structured as follows:
Technicality for the Textile sector management
Design and Production
Sustainability
I.o.T.
Internship

Didactic Modules

FIBERS: FROM THE ORIGINS TO THE NEW HIGH-TECH POLYMERS

Goals

Provide a general overview of organic and inorganic fibers (natural, artificial and synthetic). The basic characteristics, properties and performance will be analyzed based on the intended use of the different fibers.

Topics

Fibers
Introduction to organic fibers
Introduction to inorganic fibers
Features and areas of application

CHEMICAL AND TECHNICAL FIBER PRODUCTION PROCESSES

Goals

Provide a general overview of the production processes of chemical fibers (artificial and synthetic) and inorganic fibers (e.g. glass fiber and boron). Their production processes will be analyzed from synthesis to continuous thread.

Topics

Monomer synthesis processes
Polymerization processes
Spinning
The transformation of continuous fibers into discontinuous

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES OF PRODUCTION PROCESSES

Goals

Provide a general overview of the processes and machines related to the processing of textile fibers, analyzing the different cycles also according to the type of fibers that are processed there.

The spinning cycle
The orthogonal weaving cycle
The knitting weaving cycle
The packaging process

NON- WOVEN TEXTILE MATERIALS

Goals

Provide a general overview of properties, application sectors and non-woven production technologies.

Topics

History of non-woven
Properties
Fields of application
Production technologies

ADVANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS

Goals

Provide a general overview of properties, application sectors and composite production technologies.

Topics

History of composite materials
Components
Properties
Fields of application
Production technologies

PRODUCT NOBILIZATION PROCESSES

Goals

Provide a general overview of the dyeing and finishing phases for technical fabrics. Particular emphasis will be given to the properties to be obtained even under the aspect of thermo-physiological comfort of the final product.

Topics

Dyeing
Finishing
Special finishing

QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITY CONTROL OF THE TEXTILE PRODUCT

Goals

Introducing the concept of quality of the textile product and transferring knowledge on the normal quality controls carried out in the company (inbound and outbound), as well as on the objective evaluation of the causes of the main defects found on textile products, the solutions for their reduction, taking into account the characteristics of the product itself.

Quantitative and qualitative control of the textile product
Topics

Quality of the textile product: introductory principles
Process control

PRODUCT AND SYSTEM QUALITY

Goals

Understanding the business management tools and their impact on the control and improvement of processes and all the variables involved to achieve the defined Goals.

Know the main certifications on the textile product both as tools to ensure the conformity of the products to specific requirements, and to enhance the products themselves on the market.

System certifications
Product certifications
Binding legislation applicable to the product

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Goals

Provide a description of the innovation process that allows, starting from the idea, to reach the development of the finished product / process.

Topics

Idea development
Laboratory research
Prototype development
The scale-up process

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

Goals

Provide an overview of supply chain management with the aim of controlling performance and improving efficiency.

Topics

logistic activities of the companies
efficiency of procurement processes
systematic cataloging of products and strategic coordination of the various members of the distribution chain.

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION

Goals

Provide an overview of the production process that includes the activities to be harmoniously and consistently managed to reach the goals and the strategic choices made by the Company.

Topics

Organization and planning
Supplying
Realization
Control

INNOVATION SCENARIOS IN THE TAM SECTOR

Goals

Provide a general overview of innovation in the sector and development prospects.

Deepen the most innovative technological scenarios.

Technological scenarios
Product scenarios

PROJECT DESIGN AND CULTURE

Goals

Provide a current overview of contemporary design culture.

Topics

Phenomenology of the contemporary
Fashion system and fashion history
Sociology of consumption
Creative marketing

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

Goals

What a project is and how to develop the research phase.

Topics

Trends research methodologies
Design leadership (Scenaristica)
Metaproject
Strategic design
Design direction

COLLECTION DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Goals

Provide planning tools for the creation of a collection

Topics

Graphic techniques
Visual communication
Product category
Project Work: project carried out in collaboration with a company in the reference sector

DESIGN WITH FABRIC: LIFESTYLE DESIGN

Goals

Provide design tools for the construction of a textile collection not strictly related to fashion or clothing but to be applied in different sectors (automotive, contract, health, safety, etc.)

Topics

Product category
Project Work: project carried out in collaboration with a company in the reference sector

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND FABRICS

Goals

Research in this sector is now oriented towards highly innovative projects, capable of translating into radical innovations, resulting from the intersection of technologies suitable for applications which, starting from the more traditional textile-related ones, result in emerging sectors of use such as for example industrial, medical, geotextile, etc.

Topics

development of multi-functional fibers obtained with the use of nanotechnologies
development of thermoregulating fibers and / or containing substances with gradual release obtained by the addition of microcapsules in the extrusion phase
development of innovative fibers obtained from virgin or recycled polymeric blends obtained with addition of virgin or recycled polymeric blends

DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE TEXTILE SECTOR

Goals

The goal is to provide participants with the knowledge, sensibilities, tools and methods to integrate sustainability requirements into product and service design, with particular reference to the textile sector.

DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Topics

sustainable development;
the evolution of the role and importance of design for sustainability.

METHODS AND INSTRUMENTS OF LIFE CYCLE DESIGN (LCD)

Topics

the concept and design of the life cycle (Life Cycle Design);
strategies for developing products with low environmental impact;
design support methods and tools for environmental sustainability: design orientation and analysis of the environmental impact of products (Life Cycle Assessment, LCA).

OFFERING AND DESIGNIN OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES SYSTEMS (S.PSS)

Topics

Sustainable Product-Service Systems for environmental, social and economic sustainability;
Approaches, methods and tools for the design of Sustainable Product-Service Systems.

SUSTAINABILITY AND APPLICATION FIELDS

Goals

The aim of the course is to address the reduction of the environmental impact of the processes that in the textile clothing sector are usually characterized by an environment: footprint of dyeing processes.

Topics

The textile cycle and the impact on the environment
Environmental impact of dyeing cycles
Environmental impact of finishing processes

TEXTILE CHEMISTRY

Goals

The course aim at analyzing the aspects of textile chemistry regarding dyes and auxiliaries used in production cycles, with particular regard to their formulation and possible impacts on man and the environment. The natural molecules of possible interest will also be analyzed.

Topics

Characteristics of the different classes of dyes
Characteristics of the auxiliaries and their composition
Effects on man and the environment
Dyes and natural auxiliaries

CHEMICAL SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT

Goals

The aim of the course is to analyze the technological solutions for reducing the environmental impact of the different production cycles.

Topics

Wastewater recycling
Energy valorization of processing waste
Energy efficiency of equipment and systems
Development of new technologies with low environmental impact

MARKET REGULATION

Goals

The aim of the course is to analyze in detail the environmental regulations and the various environmental quality certifications that might be obtained for the products / processes.

Topics

Certifications and their environmental value
Analysis of the different certifications obtainable and their characteristics
Certifications and marketing

I.O.T.

Goals

The goal of the IoT is to ensure that the electronic world draws a map of the real world, giving an electronic identity to things and places in the physical environment. Objects and places “cataloged” or able to “catalog” communicate information that can be transmitted over the network or to mobile devices such as mobile phones.

Topics

The main application domains and operational areas involved in the development of IoT are summarized in the following list:

Industry and industrial processes
Home Automation
Robotics
Avionic
Automotive industry
Biomedical
Environmental monitoring
Telemetry
Wireless sensor networks
Surveillance
Detection of adverse events
Smart grid and Smart City
Embedded Systems
telematics

I.o.T. ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

Goals

Acquire basic knowledge to develop IoT architecture and infrastructure models that can be used in the development of new interconnected materials.

An IoT project begins with the study of its architecture. The architectures of a project often use a mass of inhomogeneous devices and various communication protocols. The choice of which architecture is the basis for the correct functioning of an IoT project. Knowledge of protocols, device classes and interconnection possibilities is required.

Topics

an architectural reference model for interoperability of IoT systems, which outlines the principles and guidelines for technical design on protocols, interfaces and algorithms (insertion of the concept of standardization);
a mechanism for effective integration into the Internet services of the future;
development of new infrastructures, according to a scalable model and identification of new resources for the internet of things, real world entities and their associations;
new components for creating platforms (open or proprietary) that move according to the new sharing economy models;
implementation of real use cases demonstrating the advantages of the developed architecture;
security needs;
the theory of errors and their management;
usable and user interfaces;
IoT and Big Data and business intelligence;
artificial intelligence and automatic reactions (worning that at the concurrence of certain conditions they automatically implement more or less complex countermeasures).

I.o.T. e PLM (Product lifecycle management)

Goals

Product life cycle management is an increasingly important topic throughout the value chain, because thanks to the new technologies available it often involves end users. Creating new and indispensable prospects also in terms of competitive advantages at the point of sale. Find out how our products and services become smart and how they accompany customers in their customer journey both in B2B and B2C. Redesign of information management, from the conception phase to the disposal or reconditioning phase. Thanks to the technological evolution brought by the Internet of Things, the supply chain can take advantage of a new collaborative value-added ecosystem. If things become intelligent and communicating, in fact, PLM is enriched with a wealth of valuable information to support a supply chain capable of creating a virtuous circle between producers and consumers, integrating Business Intelligence, Analytics and information from customers, making not only the better products, but also allowing the delivery of intelligent and targeted services.

Topics

Smart city: Public Administration as promoter of innovation;
smart city: models of integrated information management, big data and their use for citizens and businesses;
the frontier of Digital Transformation in B2B processes.

I.o.T.: MAKE, BUY, CUSTOM OR OFF THE SHELF

Goals

There are many components on the market. Like all complex information systems, each of the components of the system is subject to an evaluation that can lead to choosing components or architectures already present on the market, or components that are custom made or that I realize myself (having the ability to do so).

Provide adequate tools for the creation of a codified process for the choice of the type of supply chain; identify critical issues in the selection and application processes of standard and non-standard technologies; choose suppliers; identify the useful R&D paths to be added to the production process.

Topics

Industry 4.0
Development models of R&D processes
Analysis and evaluation of technological processes
Identification of those assets useful to the market
The choice of a technology as a characterizing element of the product or service
Human-machine-environment integration

Title Released

The Specializing Master grants 60 CFU, equivalent to 60 ECTS. Upon completion, students earn a Politecnico di Milano First level Specializing Master diploma in Fiber Design and Textile Processes.

Employment Opportunities

The Specializing Master in Fiber Design and Textile Processes aims to train a professional figure able to understand, manage and apply new fibers and new materials for the creation of a product in the various areas where these fibers may be used. Therefore, able to turn it into a consumer product in line with today’s buying behavior and customer needs and make the necessary changes or modifications in order to develop innovative products.

At the end of the program, the student will have learned what new materials exist and are the result of scientific research or high-tech fabrics which may be integrated with IoT. The student will also acquire the ability to design a product not only from a point of view of functionality and aesthetics, but also from a point of view of production and global supply chain.

Together with the textile companies who are directly involved, the goal of the program is to increase today’s “textile culture”, necessary for new types of research paths on polymeric and cellulosic fibers in parallel with the traditional “noble” fibers. The program also focuses on the current situation of the textile industry and the skills needed to understand this business and study the various technical applications and design of industrial products.

The manufacturing industry is a solid reference for participants in the Master, a world where one needs to learn about the production processes and materials in order to choose correctly the best technical solution to create an innovative product.

Admission

Requirements

The Specializing Master is completely held in English and it is reserved to candidates with a University Diploma, a Bachelor or a Master of Science in Industrial Design, Architecture, Engineering, Economics or Scientific disciplines (Chemistry, Computer Science, Physics). The Board shall admit applicants who have qualifications in disciplines other than those specified above, if the Master may complete the training of the applicant or the professional skills and experience shown by same.