Placemat Chainmail Fabric

thingiverse

I'm excited to experiment with printable chainmail fabric geometries for costume ideas this Halloween. However, I noticed that most chainmails and fabrics on the Thingiverse are either extremely challenging to print or require an excessive amount of cleaning and supports. Therefore, my challenge is to design fabrics that can "print in place" and necessitate minimal post-printing clean-up. While I haven't yet succeeded in creating a usable chainmail for clothing props, I inadvertently designed this geometry that prints well and can be utilized as a placemat due to its remarkable z-axis compression strength. This geometry prints without supports and requires no post-printing cleaning. My intention is to design derivatives of this geometry more suitable for use as cloth or armor. Although this design may not be perfect for clothing, it's worth sharing I believe. I uploaded two variations of this 4-in-1 link geometry that I named "Ponte Vecchio" and "Castle Tower" due to the appearance of the links up close. The .STL files are coaster-sized at scale 1. The "Castle Tower" has a very satisfying feel and heaviness when printed with 4 shells in PETG.