Can I make the material do this?
What if I do that?
Do I really need to ….
A lot of times, things work out. For instance, I did a couple of videos about welding copper and steel (yeah, it worked, but I wouldn’t walk on a bridge welded that way).
Sometimes, not so much (I once filled cuts in a steel bell with copper, only to find out that oxidation was not kind to it).
That brought me to my latest wild hare chase, which is to combine 2 different types of 3D printing filament in a single print, and what the heck, I think I’ll throw in some sand, too ….
one of my sound sculpture strikers
I have printed in Ninjaflex “rubber” 3D printing filament, which went really well (here’s a post about it). That led me to thinking about 3D printing a striker for one of my sound sculptures. (you can check them out here.) Some of my sound sculptures are just giant windchimes, while others are handstruck. I’ve made strikers out of a lot of different materials (there’s one to the right), but it struck me (sorry) that it would be cool to 3D print one.
Next stop: Matterhackers, one of my favorite online sources for 3d printing stuff. I bought some Taulman Black T-Glase filament and some Black PRO Series Flex, both in 1.75 mm because that’s what my Cerberus 3D 250 desktop 3D printer uses. I chose the T-Glase (“T-glass”) for its strength and stiffness. Oddly, T-Glase is made of FDA approved polymers for direct food contact and containers. (If this doesn’t work, I can print snack bowls for studio tours.)
The Flex is, of course, flexible. Apparently it combines high elasticity while maintaining its structure, but what caught my eye was its abrasion and shock resistance. I hope everything I read is true! I plan to use it for the striker head and, if it works out, stop the print partway through and fill its cavity with sand for weight.
The first time I swing it this whole thing might blow up in my face, but I sure will have had fun making it.
I’ll keep you posted.