Programmable Filament

Abstract

Figure 1. Programmable Filament is a novel 3D printing technique that enables users to 3D print an object with multiple materials using an FDM printer without any hardware modification. (From left to right) First, users generate a filament that contains multiple materials, to feed into the extruder, then 3D print an object in full color.

A Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing virtual prototyping method for design to improve part strength

“…A typical industrial FDM machine uses two hot ends to deposit two types of material; the structure material to construct the part body and water-soluble material to create removable structures that support overhang geometries [6]. Thanks to the open-source FDM patent and technology, the FDM process has evolved to achieve multi-material AM for more than two material printing, usually by equipping FDM machines with multiple hot end nozzles or multifilament feeding mechanisms [7]. Multimaterial AM provides new opportunities for creating parts with integrated functions, and the material extrusion type AM offers excellent potential in combining different materials into one part [8].…”

Xpandables: Single-filament Multi-property 3D Printing by Programmable Foaming

“…This print-pause-print approach requires significant manual intervention. Automating the material-switching process is the method of Programmable filament [29]. In their approach, a filament is pre-fabricated and composed of different material segments.…”

“…Within the HCI community, there has been a constant drive to expand the capabilities of 3D printing technologies. This includes new workflows for multi-material 3D printing [20,29], using existing 3D printing processes in novel ways to allow new interactions [10,23], combining 3D printing with textiles [27], and applying reversible color to 3D-printed parts [26]. The multi-material capabilities have been used, for example, to embed data using infrared tags [9] or to fabricate objects with pneumatic controls [32].…”

Open5x: Accessible 5-axis 3D printing and conformal slicing

“…Within HCI research, various techniques and tools have been introduced to expand the capability of desktop FFF 3D printing. Researchers have implemented tool changing mechanisms to combine various tools and materials within a single build environment [22,24], developed new methods of multi-material 3D printing [21] and developed custom software for various novel approaches to 3D printer toolpath generation [18]. While the planar layer construction of FFF simplifies the mechanical design of the 3D printer and the computation of the toolpath, the finished products often exhibit unfavourable characteristics such as visible layers, rough surface finishes, uneven mechanical properties and the inclusion of sacrificial support material.…”