Experiment 03; 3D Printed Feather¶

For this week, i made some experiments with 3D printing. I have mixed feelings with this experimentation because to made this feather, i have to use plastic filament, in this case i used FILAFLEX, that is a flexible TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) material.

Here's the material specifications:

Filament	Colour	Filament Diameter	Temperature	File Size	Printing Time	Flexibilidad	Bed Temperature
Filaflex	White	1,75 mm	190°C - 210°C	22 cms	20 min	82A	No need

Models¶

EXP03-PT01¶

First of all, we need to make our 3D Model, to test thickness, elasticity, see how the model is printed and if there are problems when printing.

For the Rachis, i made a 22 cms curve line and revolve it, then for the Vexils I draw it in Ilustrator and then export them into Rhino.

To make the lines "thick" (cause it's the only way that the 3D printer can read it) I use Grasshopper where I put Multiple Pipes to be able to generate a thickness of 0.4 mm from the lines.

Once we export the file on STL and upload the material into the 3D printer, it's time to see the magic happen!

via GIPHY

EXP03-PT01; First Final Result¶

via GIPHY

EXP03-PT02¶

For the next part, i will try another Feather model, one that has a more concentrated line drawings and that the pen is of a smaller size, trying to "take to the limit" of what the 3D printer allows me to do.