3D print a pair of futuristic flexible sneakers at home with FilaFlex
Recreus, a Spanish filament producer, has unveiled a pair of Sneakerbot II 3D printed sneakers which can be folded up and stuffed into a small bag when needed.
Designed by Recreus founder Ignacio Garcia, the sneakerbots are inspired by 80s films such us back to the future, starwars, short circuit etc.
The new sneakers were 3D printed in Filaflex 1.75mm, an elastic filament. In order to avoid the filament get tangled when being pushed into the hot end, Recreus has developed a special extruder for filaflex, combined with stainless steel hotend.
The Sneakbot II design file is free to download here.
The first version of Sneakerbot was created last year with a prusa I3 mod which has a large working space (Y axis) and glass bed.
"The new design is more comfortable than the first one. You can vary the softness by changing the percentage of infill." says the company.
The Filaflex elastic filament allows you to create elastic parts without any modification to your 3D printer. It adds a lot of possibilities for your creation, for example you can combine the Filaflex material with rigid materials like ABS/PLA for 3D printers with a dual extruder. To print with FilaFlex no kapton tape and heated bed are needed.
CAD design engineer Gyrobot has recently remixed Filaflex filament with Makerbot Translucent Red to create printable hand with "live hinge" flexible joints. It is both tough and rugged. Its fingers open automatically, no return tendons or springs needed. The stretchable tendons offers adaptive grip on irregular objects.
Watch the video below.
