http://optitex.com/
It's what I had hoped Marvelous Designer would be. Quite excited about discovering this! BUT the questions as always is this: Can you program it to use stiff materials, like foam, that will sit away from the body? Can you create a non-human proportional, cartoony, body? If you can't do either of those things, how useful is it to mascot making? Items like cape or undergear that goes against the performer's body or slopers that are then built on are doable but does that justify getting to know the software?
K told me that they hand prep and cut all of Big Bird's feathers. What does that entail? And can a laser cutter speed things up? I went to visit the local laser cutter business on Tay St. and Lana was very helpful. She showed me how the machine works, what the software requires (Corel Draw for vector graphics) and how it interfaces with the lasercutter's software. She cut the fur that I brought in and we got this:
Set on 300/30, the lc cuts slowly enough that a full separation at a shallow depth is achieved. The edges of the synthetic are cauterized which means it won't unravel or need to be overlocked. The length of the fur is untouched and the clean up is minimal as a result. The lc can also "score" the fabric on a lighter setting. where the laser touched the fur can be seen in the yellowish straight lines around the piece and inside it.
For a personal application, this would be incredible for making furry beanbags: both the circles of the polka dots AND the circles inside the purple fur that the coloured dots get set into.
When I visit on Friday, I will take various kinds of foam in to see if those can be cut by the lc and what the results are.
Link to laser cutters on sale through amazon.com:
https://www.fabathome.org/best-laser-cutter-engraver/
