The furniture industry has long relied on physical fabric samples to showcase its products and designs. But with the advent of digital technology, the use of 3D fabric textures is on the rise, offering numerous benefits over traditional physical samples. In this article, we'll explore the increasing use of 3D fabric textures in the furniture industry, the advantages they offer over traditional samples, and how Twinbru's partnership with James Dunlop Textiles is bringing this technology to the forefront.
What are 3D fabric textures?
3D fabric textures are digital replicas of physical fabric samples. They are created using advanced scanning technology and high-resolution imaging techniques to capture the fabric's texture, colour, and other details. Once a 3D fabric texture is created, it can be used in various digital visualisation tools and platforms to create virtual furniture designs and showcase them in a realistic and accurate manner.
Advantages of 3D fabric textures
Time and cost savings: Creating and transporting physical samples can be time-consuming and expensive. 3D fabric textures eliminate the need for physical samples, saving time and reducing costs. When using 3D fabric textures in a furniture design, a much greater degree of accuracy can be achieved, meaning designers will know exactly how much of a specific fabric they’ll need for manufacturing, further reducing their costs. It also allows furniture designers to digitally prototype at a fraction of the usual cost and at a much greater speed than before.
Sustainability: By eliminating the need for physical samples, digital fabric textures are a more sustainable option. They reduce waste and minimise the environmental impact of producing and transporting physical fabric samples.
Greater flexibility: 3D fabric textures make custom furniture designs fun. By being able to test different fabrics in various colourways and textures, the design process can be much more creative and allow great flexibility to adapt the design for a specific function or create a custom piece for a unique space. This leads to greater customer satisfaction and increases loyalty.
3D visualisation: By using 3D visualisation tools, designers can create accurate and realistic depictions of their furniture designs, complete with 3D fabric textures that accurately represent the look and feel of the final product. 3D visualisation technology allows designers to create virtual environments that accurately replicate real-world conditions.
Twinbru and James Dunlop partnership
Twinbru partnered with James Dunlop Textiles, a leading supplier of fabrics to the furniture industry, to create a library of digital twins. The library includes tens of thousands of high-quality digital replicas of James Dunlop's fabrics, making them easily accessible to designers and manufacturers.
The partnership between Twinbru and James Dunlop not only improved the customer experience for James Dunlop clients but also created an opportunity for those customers to create a unique selling point for their target market by using the digital solutions from James Dunlop. This includes visualisation tools and having access to the digital fabric assets to use on their websites and other platforms. For furniture designers especially, the result of the partnership was giving them a helping hand in starting their digital transformation journey with the ability to digitally showcase their furniture designs and the fabrics they use. 
Onward and upward
Technology is changing customer engagement, product development and most certainly product marketing. It’s enhancing our communication and should make our customers’ lives far easier while building great brand loyalty. Quite surprising to think that a fabric digital twin is part of this entire shift in how furniture design produces pieces and interacts with clients. If you want to learn more about how Twinbru’s solution can further enhance businesses in the furniture sector, visit our Furniture Brands page.