Digital Fabric

youmagine

I began experimenting with printing on fabric draped across the build plate, but quickly discovered that better results were achievable by freezing the fabric within the print itself. Utilizing the 'pause at height' plugin in Cura, I instructed the machine to halt printing when half of the part had been completed (1 mm for a component of total height 2 mm) and then lower the build plate by approximately 50 mm. As the printer paused its operation, I stretched a piece of mesh-like fabric - initially experimenting with my wife's stockings but ultimately finding success with mosquito screen material - and secured it in place using scotch tape. Upon resuming printing, remarkable outcomes were consistently obtained, provided that the fabric thickness was carefully controlled to be less than the layer height.