On Sept. 25, Drexel University announced the grand opening of the Pennsylvania Fabric Discovery Center, a 10,000-square-foot, $7 million research and development space.
In attendance were University administrators, trustees, faculty and friends of the center, as well as Jim Kenney, the Mayor of Philadelphia, and representatives from the administration of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and the Department of Defense’s Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy.
President John Fry had this to say at the event.
“This is a place to engage, collaborate and lead innovation in the field of advanced manufacturing of functional fabrics. Ten thousand feet in the heart of our campus, it demonstrates the larger vision that our University has for University City. It’s located in Schuylkill Yards, an innovation district where researchers and startups and companies are coming together to create and grow Philadelphia’s economy.”
Located at 3101 Market Street, the new state-of-the-art center is funded by federal and state government organizations to support the creation and advanced manufacturing of innovative textile technology.
The attendees were given a tour of the manufacturing portion of the space that features an equipment room fitted for flat and circular weft knitting, warp knitting, weaving and yarn customization. The center also includes digital design and programming, systems integration and assembly, yarn and textile testing, dyeing, finishing and climate-controlled archival storage.
The center’s new home was designed to be a space that brings together laboratory and manufacturing facilities with office, training and technology exhibit space. Staff and students from the center demonstrated several uses of technology, all of which were created through student projects.
Mayor Kennedy said these and the many other uses for functional fabrics being explored at Drexel will help make Philadelphia a leader in advanced textile manufacturing.
“It is fitting that this new center is located in Schuylkill Yards, an area known for innovation, expanding upon Pennsylvania’s already rich textile industry,” Kenney said. “Advanced textiles will change the way we create clothing, furniture and more, beyond the scope of what’s already been done.”
The Center for Functional Fabrics expansion includes the Pennsylvania Fabric Discovery Center. The PA FDC collaborates, innovates and engages with entrepreneurs, companies, and government to speak about advanced-textile ideas. These facilities were created to help prepare the American workforce for jobs through education and training.
Drexel was able to expand its state-of-the-art prototyping facility with the support of $1.5 million from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The center also has a multitude of advanced design and production capabilities, such as an ultrasonic sewing machine, 3D body scanner, textile testing machines, advanced sewing machines and more.
Executive deputy secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Neil Weaver, said that because of the state’s funding, the center’s machinery and technology was aimed at accelerating the growth of advanced fibers and functional fabrics.
“This center will put our Commonwealth on the forefront of developing innovative and advanced functional fabrics, will create 21st century jobs, and push our economy forward,” Weaver said.
