Hook
This instructable is about an interesting new technique: 3d printing onto duct tape. I was inspired by previous tutorials about how to 3d print on fabric. Currently, I have made two different things with this technique: a hook that sticks to the wall and a disk that marks the location of a hidden latch.
Materials/Tools
Materials:
- 3d printing filament
- wood
- wax paper
- super glue
- masking tape
Tools:
- 3d printer
Make the Build Plate (model One)
This is the first type of build plate I tried, I found the second one I tried worked a lot better than the first. If you already have a build plate that duck tape won't stick to, you don't need to make an new one. The purpose of these custom build plates is to ensure the duck tape does not stick to the build plate after the print is done.
Build plate
- To start, cut a piece of wood that is no larger than your built plate.
- Spray spray adhesive onto the wood build plate
- Glue the Al foil to the build plate.
- Tape the custom build plate onto the original build plate.
Depth Sensor
- Cut a piece of wood the same thickness as the build plate that will fit under your depth sensor, this piece will make leveling the plate much easier.
- put a piece of duct tape on it.
- Using masking tape, tape the block under the depth sensor.
Make the Built Plate (model 2)
In order to make the second build plate, which I was able to use repeatedly, follow the same steps as in model 1. Only, instead of Al foil, glue on wax paper. I found the wax paper was much more resilient and the duck tape released much easier off of the wax paper.
3d Printing
The hook I printed was made by Erikjuh on thingiverse, and you can find the hook here. I printed the entire thing REALLY slow, at 22 mm/s. The whole process works better if you make the object bottomless, so there is more stickiness left on the duct tape (less of it gets gouged out by the printer head, but it also still bonds to parts of it).
Things to remember
- Position the model where the duck tape is, so you end up printing on it
- Even if you make the rest of the print fast, make the first layer slow
- Adjust the bed as you go to get the printer head at the ideal height
- Make sure you auto level the Z-axis before you 3d print it, it may not automatically do it before every print
- Remove the bottom layer before 3d printing
With all that in mind, start your 3d print as normal, adjusting the bed so the 3d printer head is pushing into the duck tape just a little bit. This part is key and is the only hard part. I tried it 3 times before I even got it to work slightly. In the end, I had to constantly adjust the build plate while it was printing the first layer. I tried it 6 times and it only worked twice really well (with built plate model 2.)
I will update this instructables as I continue to experiment, so follow me and check in once every two weeks.
Update-Push Latch
This second use is to make a little piece of plastic that goes onto your cabinet or drawer and marks the location that you push the cabinet to open it. I understand this might be confusing, but bear with me. Until yesterday, I had no handles on the drawers and cupboards in my tiny house. I live in a tiny house, and I did not want to have handles sticking out here and there; so I installed these little drawers that are spring loaded so when you press the outside, it opens. The only thing is that it would be nice to know exactly where to push. So I designed some SUPER simple plastic discs that you stick on to the cabinet to mark the location of the latch. The latch design can be found here.
Results
The pictures show how they turned out, I think this is a very interesting technique that has many possibilities.
The End
If you have any ideas of possible applications of 3d printing on duct tape, please tell me. I would love to hear from the instructables community about what you think. Vote for me if you support innovation.