3D Printed Hair: Fused Deposition Modeling of Soft Strands, Fibers, and Bristles

Abstract

We introduce a technique for furbricating 3D printed hair, fibers and bristles, by exploiting the stringing phenomena inherent in 3D printers using fused deposition modeling. Our approach offers a range of design parameters for controlling the properties of single strands and also of hair bundles. We further detail a list of post-processing techniques for refining the behavior and appearance of printed strands. We provide several examples of output, demonstrating the immediate feasibility of our 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.