3D printing can be combined with fabric to create new and experimental textiles. This process still has many possibilities to explore. We will test on: power mesh, heat-sealable nylon, and cotton/poly broadcloth. PLA can also work for most fabrics, but it did not stick well to the heat-sealable fabric tested.

Activity Brief

1. TPU, PLA or another filament
2. Mesh netting fabrics
3. blue tape
4. scissors
5. ruler
6. 3D printer
7. Laptop

Activity Materials

؜1st

For the 3D filament to stay on fabric it either needs to be perforated or be coated with a hot-melt polymer (although not all coatings work with all filament).

؜1st

Netting and Meshes

The perforated fabric can be a mesh or netting. The fabric is placed in between layers of printed filament making contact and bonding with itself through the holes in the netting or perforation. The fabric then gets locked in and your print stays on the fabric.

Choose Filament

؜2nd

TPU is used for the snap design I include. The flexibility of the TPU is needed so the socket half can flex to allow the stud to snugly fit. The design can work with PLA if the tension allowance is adjusted or the walls are thinned out to allow for flexing. The .step files are included in under Materials in case you want to modify the design.

Selecting Settings

؜3rd

Open your design in Bambu Studio.

Select the filament type you are using and adjust the settings if needed.

If using TPU (Flexible Filament)

1. Infill: 75%
2. Nozzle Temperature: ~220 °C
3. Print Speed: ~40–60 mm/s (TPU prints better at slower speeds on Bambu printers)
4. Bed Temperature: ~35–45 °C
5. Use a smooth PEI plate or textured plate depending on the fabric you place on the bed.

If using PLA or ABS

1. You can use the default Bambu filament profiles, which are already optimized in Bambu Studio.
2. Slice the model and preview the layers.
3. Send the file to the printer:
4. Send directly through Wi-Fi from Bambu Studio, or
5. Save the file and print from the SD card on the printer.

Cut Fabric

؜4th

Cut a piece of fabric that is a little smaller than the printable area.

Print

؜5th

Start the printer and send your design to the printer through Wi-Fi from Bambu Studio or by loading the file from the SD card.

Have your fabric swatch and blue painter’s tape ready next to the printer. You will need them shortly after the print begins.

The key trick is to pause the print, place the fabric on the build plate, and then resume printing so the plastic embeds into the fabric.

1. Start the print and watch the first layers closely.
2. Let the printer print the first layer completely.
3. When the printer begins the second layer (about 1–2 mm thick), press Pause on the printer screen or in Bambu Studio.
4. The print head will move away from the model.
5. Carefully place the fabric over the printed base layer.
6. Use small pieces of blue painter’s tape to secure the fabric to the build plate so it stays flat and tight.
7. Press Resume Print.

The printer will continue printing, and the next layers of plastic will lock the fabric into the design, creating a flexible textile with embedded 3D printed structures.

Completion

؜6th

Once the fabric is in place, press Resume Print on the printer screen or in Bambu Studio.

Unlike older printers, Bambu printers automatically level the bed, so you do not need to adjust knobs under the platform. However, you should still watch the first layer after resuming the print.

1. If the fabric is thin, the nozzle should print normally and the filament will embed into the textile.
2. If the fabric is thicker, make sure it is stretched flat and securely taped so the nozzle does not catch on it.

Let the printer finish the print completely.

When the print is finished: Remove the blue painter’s tape. Carefully lift the fabric and print from the build plate.

You should now have a 3D printed structure embedded directly into the fabric, creating a flexible textile prototype.