DefeXtiles: 3D printing quasi-woven fabric via under-extrusion

Abstract

We present DefeXtiles, a rapid and low-cost technique to produce tulle-like fabrics on unmodified fused deposition modeling (FDM) printers. The under-extrusion of filament is a common cause of print failure, resulting in objects with periodic gap defects. In this paper, we demonstrate that these defects can be finely controlled to quickly print thinner, more flexible textiles than previous approaches allow. Our approach allows hierarchical control from micrometer structure to decameter form and is compatible with all common 3D printing materials. In this paper, we introduce the mechanism of DefeXtiles, establish the design space through a set of primitives with detailed workflows, and characterize the mechanical properties of DefeXtiles printed with multiple materials and parameters. Finally, we demonstrate the interactive features and new use cases of our approach through a variety of applications, such as fashion design prototyping, interactive objects, aesthetic patterning, and single-print actuators.