To build the Flex Node Formwork you will need to 3d print 3 files. Firstly the Tri-Node which fits standard 35mm wood rods you should be able to source from any hardware store that carries metric measurements 😉
Tri-Node:
Adapters:
Secondly, to position the bottles at the correct angle on the mold, use the adapter for different bottle neck diameter. The adapters ensure that every bottle is aligned correctly on the 35 mm wooden rods.The adapters range from 36 mm to 47 mm in diameter. It is recommended to print the complete set first and then test which adapter fits best 🙂
Recommended 3d printing settings for Tri-Node and Adapters:
3 shells, at least 25% infill (we used 40%) and with a brim (to increase the connection to the build plate). No supports needed.
Filament considerations:
We recommend higher temperature filaments like ABS or PET-G, as this element will need to withstand all the heat from the heat guns you are using for melting the bottles together.
We were using ABSx filament from nobufil, a local company in Austria, just outside of Vienna. If you are deciding to use ABS, don’t forget to check the shrinkage of your filament before printing and scale the caps by that value in your slicer. Otherwise the standard 35mm wood rods might not fit.
We strongly advice AGAINST PLA! It has an extremely low melting point and is therefore not suitable for applications involving such high heat!
Drilling Template – Wedge:
Finally, to drill the correct angle in the 48mm wood beams you can use this wedge.
Recommended 3d printing settings and filament considerations:
Use whatever filament you have at hand. And any fast/draft pre-settings in your slicer will suffice. (e.g. PLA, 2 shells, 15-20% infill and 0.3 layerheight will be fine)
file formats: individual zip files containing an .OBJ + .MTL (nurbs) and a .STL (mesh) version of Tri-Node, Wedge, and the adapters.
This work and all files related to it are shared under the Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Licence.