Advanced Functional Fabrics of America Consortium (AFFOA)

MIT, in partnership with many industry, academic, non-profit, and state partners, has founded a consortium for Advanced Functional Fabrics of America. This network has developed together new means to revolutionize fiber and textile manufacturing technologies and the workforce that drives and supports a range of industry sectors and global markets.

Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) is a national public-private consortium that aims to accelerate innovations in fibers and fabrics. Headquartered near MIT, AFFOA is one of the latest members of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) Institutes; its mission is to enable a manufacturing-based revolution through the transformation of traditional fibers, yarns, and textiles into highly sophisticated integrated and networked devices and systems.

AFFOA provides an unprecedented capability to rapidly and flexibly produce end-item prototypes through its unique collaborative infrastructure. In support of its fabric innovation mission, AFFOA builds on the geographic distribution of the domestic fiber and textile industry, academic research centers, and consumer product companies to weave a nationwide network of Industrial Members, Fabric Innovation Network (FIN) Partners, Startup Incubators, and University Hubs. AFFOA enables agile manufacturing innovation and transfer, prototyping and pilot production facilities for rapid product and project execution, workforce education, and dedicated startup incubators driving innovation for the entire US industry.

Our clothes help define us, yet the fabrics we wear and use have remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years. Recent breakthroughs in fiber materials and manufacturing processes will soon allow us to design and produce fabrics that see, hear, sense, communicate, store and convert energy, regulate temperature, monitor health and change color – the dawn of a “fabric revolution”. A national non-profit backed by industry, academia, government, and venture capital, AFFOA will accelerate widespread commercialization of highly functional fabrics. AFFOA is built on a simple premise: functional fabrics necessitate deep fiber innovation and predictive manufacturing. AFFOA has America’s leading IP cache in semiconductor fibers and assemblies. AFFOA is strategically positioned as a National Fabric Innovation Network poised to deliver revolutionary advances across the entire fabric supply chain, from multifunctional fibers to advanced nonwovens and yarn production to sophisticated weaving and knitting capabilities and end-product fabrication for first-to-market manufacturing opportunities.

AFFOA will build the sustainable, high-tech ecosystem that captures this national opportunity.

The AFFOA Difference:

(*) DEEP-FIBER INNOVATION World’s largest cache of fiber device intellectual property
(*) DESIGN-TO-PRODUCT RAPID PROTOTYPE FACILITIES Stands up a central facility that includes an end-to-end fiber-to-fabric-to-system product design and prototyping facility
(*) THE POWER OF THE NETWORK Draws on the expertise and capabilities of the Fabric Innovation Network to transition from prototyping to pilot production, allowing manufacturers to cost-effectively evaluate, adapt, and harness novel fiber and fabric technologies and rapidly build supply chains for innovative products
(*) PREDICTIVE MODELS FOR MANUFACTURING Develops predictive models to guide the design of fibers/yarns/fabrics/systems and optimizes manufacturing operations
(*) DIGITAL & PHYSICAL ON-DEMAND ARCHIVES Fiber and fabric material samples, including properties, manufacturing techniques, testing and validation results—classifying some of the data as open access, some of the data as restricted to protect competition-sensitive applications
(*) FIBER, TEXTILE, & PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP An ongoing process to inform industry to major technology and manufacturing node insertion
(*) REGIONAL INCUBATOR MODEL Establishes a regional incubator model for flexible financing and first-tomarket realization of innovative textiles and manufacturing processes
(*) EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE TRAINING Creates far-reaching education and workforce training capabilities including special outreach to America’s veterans and to communities where manufacturing jobs can jumpstart economic revival
NNMI Networks with the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) Institutes to share best practices and discover opportunities for symbiotic partnerships

If you design, make, model, measure, supply or integrate fibers, yarns and fabrics for defense and civilian applications from apparel to medical sensors, you are well positioned to join the AFFOA National Fabric Innovation Network.

AFFOA Members gain access to cutting-edge knowledge and will spearhead projects positioned to define the “fabric revolution” -- the future of fiber and textile manufacturing.