Flex Panels! (Patreon)

Howdy, wonderful people!

Today we're exploring the wonderful world of texture and tactile sensations!  No, not fidget toys!  Okay, maybe fidget toys!  In the never-ending pursuit of interesting visual effects in 3D printing it's easy to overlook the opportunity to work with texture, which is another thing that these for which these machines are just great!

This particular set of designs came about when exploring the way linked structures can move when bound together on multiple axes.  So, take, that 5x5 square: it will ben along any of those lines, but can't bend across any of the perpendicular lines at the same time (well, not without breaking something.)  In the square, that's a fun thing to play around with, flipping between the two and finding that point at which the change can happen.  

On the smaller models, though - the 2x2 and the hexagon - the action becomes more of a direct twist, which I found fascinating.  And, the ring is different again, allowing the bend to be rolled around the ring (or, depending on your point of view, for the ring to be rolled back and forth through the bend).   

Printing Tips

This is an articulated model, so you'll want to make sure your bottom layer is nice and neat, and that you don't have any print issues like stringing or overextrusion that might bind together moving parts!

Each model prints with the hexagon textured side up:

Print Dimensions
The smallest Flex Panel is the 2x2, which occupies 61mm x 61mm on the bed, and is 9mm tall.

The largest Flex Panel is the 5x5, which occupies 155mm x 155mm on the bed, and is 9mm tall.

File Location
You'll find this on dropbox under 736 Flex Panels
(Dropbox link post:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/dropbox-and-are-31697592 )

Further Thoughts

As usual, I'm just so inspired that we can just make these things and experiment to see what they'll do, and how they'll behave!  You'll no doubt have noticed that all of these only bend in one direction, which was entirely intentional, but it does make me wonder if there would be a difference if they bent both ways instead...

Happy fidgeting! :)

xoxo

Sven.