3D Printed Star Fabric

This week I made thin sheets of a 3D printed pattern using custom G-Code. The sheets are able to be sewn together to form larger sheets of fabric which can be wrapped around a form.

3D printer

This week, I wanted to be able to print a material which could be wrapped around an organic shaped form, inspired by these lamps by artist Bennet Schlesinger.

I tried many times to print a fabric based on Haruki Takahashi and Jeeeun Kim. 2019. 3D Printed Fabric: Techniques for Design and 3D Weaving Programmable Textiles, but was only able to get a few millimeters of successful fabric each time, I think because the height would begin to sway as it printed vertically. Finally, I decided to program my own G-Code to print a flexible sheet onto the bed itself. I decided on a tessellated star pattern with lines connecting each star. I thought the connecting lines could function similar to the warp in a fabric and give strength, while the open space of the star pattern would allow flexibility. After several iterations, I found the size, speed, and extrusion settings that worked best for me: a slower speed of 13mm/s, a lower extrusion of 20%, and star size of 5mm each.

In order to create larger sheets of fabric than could fit on my printer, I hand-sewed the edges of smaller sheets together. This worked for me, as the end product I am going for intentionally has elements of both the handmade and machine-made. Next step will be attaching the fabric to the wire form of a lamp shade!