Study of the optimization of embroidery design parameters for the Technical Embroidery Machine: derivation of the correlation between thread consumption and electrical resistance

The smart textile industry has become increasingly interested in textile products with electronic functions. In these smart textile products, sensing and data communication are conducted through conductive circuits by conductive threads. In embroidery technology that uses conductive threads as the material for the conductive line as a circuit, their resistance is an important factor when designing a product. The main purpose of this study was to derive an equivalent circuit model and a calculation equation for the consumption of conductive threads according to the embroidery design parameters. The effects of the embroidery design parameters on the appearance and electrical characteristics of the conductive line were also analyzed. The appearance and electrical characteristics of the embroidered conductive line were different when the embroidery design parameters were not the same. The calculation equation for the consumption of conductive threads could establish a quantitative system that could indicate the line resistance of an embroidered conductive line using the embroidery design parameters and the given thread resistance.