Textile Technology and education with Dino-Lite

John McLoughlin is Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University in England. He is teaching 'Fashion and textile technology' and is considered to be an expert when it comes to fabrics, fabric processing and joining techniques. He has published extensively on the subject. McLoughlin is using a Dino-Lite digital microscope as an integral part of his lectures, to show magnified images of cloths and stiches. McLoughlin: "I project an image on screen so that all students can see the materials in detail. I do this live in all my lectures and also let students work with the Dino-Lite themselves, so that they gain experience with it."

Indispensable

McLoughlin is very satisfied with the performance of the Dino-Lite." I used to work with another brand that was more expensive and the picture quality was much lower. The Dino-Lite is also very easy to use, you just connect the USB cable and it is ready to go. I would love to see each student havingtheir own Dino-Lite and I am a strong advocate for this.

McLoughlin is now developing software that can recognize the physical characteristics of a cloth and determine how it should be labored. This involves issues like: what type of stitch, which density and what needles are most suitable for the job. McLoughlin: "I have also used the Dino-lite to collect data for my software. Without the Dino-Lite I could not have developed the software. This software will prove itself especially in the mass production of textiles. It will allow further automation of the production process."

McLoughlin is convinced that Dino-Lite helps to deliver students that are much better equipped for their future job: "A handy microscope is indispensable to grasp the essence of my lectures. You need this level of detail to really know what you're talking about. If I say that a fabric is hairy, I want to show at the fiber level why I call the substance hairy. Of course it would be ideal if every student can just go home and check out fabrics with a Dino-Lite. Dino-Lite brings my topic to life."