2015-425 – 3D Printed Hair: Fused Deposition Modeling of Soft Strands, Fibers, and Bristles

This method allows fabrication of 3D printed hair, fibers and bristles, by exploiting the stringing phenomena inherent in 3D printers using fused deposition modeling (FDM). Aspects of the present invention offer a range of design parameters for controlling the properties of single strands and also of hair bundles. A list of post-processing techniques for refining the behavior and appearance of printed strands is presented herein. Several examples of output are provided, demonstrating the immediate feasibility of this approach using a low cost, commodity printer. Overall, this technique extends the capabilities of 3D printing in a new and interesting way, without requiring any new hardware. Cindy Lou Chepanoske cchepano@andrew.cmu.edu 412-268-2979