Fuzzy Caterpillar Bracelet made with 3-D pen

How to make a fuzzy caterpillar bracelet with a 3-D pen

Note: This project requires adult supervision and is not intended as kids project as it involves the use of power tools and heat guns. Always be sure to use the appropriate safety equipment such as safety glasses and dust mask.

So first we start with a piece of 2 inch ABS or PVC pipe.

For presentation purposes, I'm showing how to make an adult size bracelet. 

You cut the pipe into the desired width , in this case 1 inch. I prefer to use a bandsaw with a miter gauge so that my cuts are even but a handsaw and a steady hand may work just as well. You then make a single cut in the pipe as shown above.

    And then heat the pipe section opposite the cut, making sure not to overheat as it usually only takes a few seconds. A heat gun works well for this part of the project, but an open flame torch may also work as long as you do not allow the flame to contact the plastic. Then use a 2 x 4 to hold it open while it cools and hardens into the shape you want. This would be adjusted for making smaller sizes by using a thinner board. In the case of children sizes you may not need to make the cut all and simply heat the pipe so that you can give it a more oval shape. You can use different size pipe or different thicknesses depending on your desired finish results and the sizes you're trying to create. Both ABS and PVC pipes can be obtained at your local hardware store. Keep in mind that as you are working with ABS plastic filament the ABS pipe may work better for adhesion than the PVC.

After the bracelet blank is the correct shape that you want you can then sand away any sharp edges. I prefer to use a Dremel tool with a sanding bit. It is at this point if you're using PVC you may also want to rough the surface of the PVC so the filament will stick better, this is of course optional.

    I found that when I was extruding filament I had to first use the tip of the pen (nib) to melt a little bit of the pipe before I began extruding filament. Then working in a small circular motion to make sure the base of the bristle was firmly affixed to the bracelet blank I extruded a small amount of filament. I then extruded about half the length of bristle, then take my finger off the feed button still pulling the pen away slowly so bristle will harden into the desired shape. The end of the bristle will be very thin and will give the bracelet a fuzzy feel. I repeat this until I have the desired number of bristles for the bracelet. The PVC bracelet on the right has the bristles trimmed so that the bristles are even length, but trimming I found made the bristles more prickly so I guess it depends on the look and feel that you're trying to make. Personally I like the soft feel of the bracelet that wasn't trimmed.

The one nice thing about owning a 3-D pen is that if any of the bristles should break they can be easily repaired or replaced. The finished product should look something similar to what we have here.

Whether you're a maker, burner, techno-geek, or just a kid at heart, I'm sure you can have a lot of fun with making and using these bracelets.

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Napkin rings made with 3-D pen

Napkin Rings made with 3-D pen 

    The purpose of this blog is to simply demonstrate what you can do with a 3-D pen and that it is more than something you just doodle with. 3-D pens have many practical applications as well as artistic. Now it does not have the precision of a printer but I think it makes up for it by not being constrained by a printer platform as to how large an item you can create. You have to also keep in mind that once you have completed your project you can also sand and paint your project to your desired color. And if the project happens to break all you simply have to do is get out your 3-D pen and weld it back together.
    They actually turned out better than I thought they would. So this one was made with the black ABS only, because I have plans of painting it and adding plastic jewels.  The other thing I have found is that although ABS comes in different colors, the colors don't always come out of the pen the same as their original color. It can also be cheaper to simply buy the black in large quantity and then paint the color you want afterward.
       I use a print out pattern that I have wrapped around a cardboard core from a paper towel roll or toilet paper roll. I could've easily put the design directly on the cardboard form but I wanted greater precision and wanted to be able to replicate the design so that each piece that I created at least looks similar to one another. The cardboard core acts as a form to give me a consistent shape and size for the napkin rings. The ABS will adhere just enough to the paper or cardboard design to allow me to easily work with the ABS plastic. If the surface is to smooth and the ABS does not adhere to it at least a little, then your design can be very difficult to control. When removing the design from the form I use a small -tipped flat screwdriver or a small painter's palette knife to gingerly lift my creation off the form. If in the process you should happen to break part of your design always keep in mind that you can simply re-weld it back together with the pen.
    Now the shorter designs were intended for the napkin rings and the longer designs were intended for bracelets, but I found that the shorter designs were too small and too narrow and the 3-D pen was not capable of giving me that much detail . For this design I actually ended up taking the larger design and cutting it shorter to make it fit the cardboard roll. I then had to improvise part of the design to make it work . If you decide to use the designs below, please keep in mind that you may have to make adjustments in order to make them work for your intended purpose.

     

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