CRITICAL MAKING FINAL PROJECT
The Genius of the 3D Printer
How to iterate during a pandemic
This morning, on the first day of the Colorado Governor’s Stay in Play order, I’m trying to iterate on 3D printing on fabric. I’m short on supplies and a fabric store is hardly an essential service, so I can’t go out to buy the tu-tu mesh I need to print on. In stead I go the Lowe’s and learn that it’s an approved essential service. In case it gets so dire that people need to buy generators, flashlights and bottled water, Lowe’s will be open.
While I’m at Lowe’s I improvise: I buy a roll of screen door mesh and throw in a roll of weed barrier (made from recycled pop bottles nonetheless!) I buy a digital caliper some small clamps. I also get some wooden bars that I have them cut into 10 inch pieces.
Test 1 : on screen door mesh
In short, it failed.
Pain points: The mesh must be too coarse to adhere between print layers. Also, the fabric still moves around on the build plate too much. And the wooden bars are too long for the print plate, so I can’t use them.
Importantly, my new clamps are so strong they pull down on the springs of the build plate, changing the extruders original orientation points, such that after I overlap the fabric mid-print, the extruder is no longer making contact. If I used the clamps from the start, the extruder would know where the plate was, but since I use them mid-print, it throws off the orientation.
All this kerfuffle also gums up the extruder. I use alcohol to clean it off.
Small successes: I haven’t been able to test conclusively, but it looks I may not need building blocks on the sides of the print. It may be enough to attach the fabric directly to the sides of the build plate.
Learnings: Important point: I predict I can use common paper clamps. they don’t seem to have a visible impact.
Next, I think I need space on the sides of the printer to clamp down the fabric. I have the tools but not the space to do this. Hot glue can work, as as stand in, but it doesn’t stretch the fabric as it think it would be beneficial. It also gums up the appearance of the fabric. Plus, the heat of the build plate, keeps it somewhat gummy and flexible.
The blocks I bought are too long and I don’t have a saw. I knocked on a neighbors door, but he didn’t open, probably due to COVID-19.
I decide not to try the recycled-pop-bottle fabric because it’s not really mesh at all. I think the trick is in the spaces between the weave-it’s how the filament wedges itself into the fabric.
Questions: will a paper clamp have a measurable impact on the build plate? How can I measure this? Or should I clamp down with the large ones form the start and let the extruder touch off? I imagine I’d have to replace the clamps at the exact same spots? Is this exact?
Test 2: on sheer voile
Mid-print, I switch fabrics and borrow a scarf.
Pain points: definitely do not recommend this fabric. It puckers, pulls and looks terrible. The filament doesn’t adhere at all. I had no great way of securing this to the sides.
Learnings: I also think it will hang terribly when upright; it’s too slinky. A stiffer fabric would be better.
Test 3: on a Halloween costume
Here, I drew on a hand-me down witch cape, hoping no one will notice the missing patch. What to do - remind anyone of Gone With the Wind, when Scarlett sews her new dress from the drape fabric?!
Pain points: The front of the print lifts off, just like it did in my first attempt weeks ago. If I hold it down, it pulls on the springs of the print plate and I again throw off the orientation of the extruder. In sum, the extruder can’t lay down the layers in a clean, consistent path, as below.
Learnings: Here I have exactly one paper clamp. Interestingly, the mesh sort of hovers over the base print and doesn’t move much. It seems it doesn’t need extensive anchor points. When hung vertically, the shape and the fabric hold nicely. With boning, it might even look straight, taught and clean. Removing the supports went better than I thought.
Questions: how to prevent the print from lifting off at points? Do I need to change my curve, such that the end is not pointing upwards, free-form?
The real genius of the 3D printer is that by early afternoon, you can have tested a number of methods and find one to move forward with. Pandemic or not, iteration is just that swift with a 3D printer!
Next steps
I think I’m ready to create longer tubes and print these on longer strips of fabric. I for this I’ll need to discuss removing the side walls of the printer…
Questions:
How to measure the length of a tube and the corresponding length of fabric? If I want to sew together various fabric prints, I need uniformity.
Then, how to remove and replace the printer walls to make room for these longer prints? Also, how to mesh together the long prints, given that the print bed is limited in size? Also, how to move the fabric along in the same length of a print?
Lastly, when I measure the materials, as RJ suggested, depending on how hard I squeeze the digital caliper, the reading differs. So then, it begs the question, how much will the printing process compress the fabric- should I err on the side of a compressed fabric or not?
