Flex Swatches

Flex Swatches are simple yet effective test prints designed to assess the flexibility of your filament based on material type and printer settings. Whether you are testing PLA, PETG, TPU, or other filaments, these swatches help you determine how much your material bends at different thickness levels. They are useful for comparing different filament brands, optimizing print settings, or evaluating the suitability of a material for flexible applications.

📏 Dimensions

All swatches are designed with the following dimensions:

• Length: 100mm
• Width: 20mm

Each swatch also has a 6,5mm hole for mounting.

Thickness variations

• 0.2mm
• 0.4mm
• 0.6mm
• 0.8mm
• 1mm
• 2mm
• 3mm
• 4mm

🖨 Print Settings

• Layer height: Choose the setting based on the flexibility characteristics you want to test.
• Wall thickness: See above.
• Infill: See above.
• Supports: Not required

Printing Challenges

• Thin swatches (0.2mm): Engraving for the 0.2mm swatch needs layer height of ≤ 0.1mm. However, you can also just use your default settings and the engraving on the thinnest swatch will automatically be omitted.

🔧 Assembly

To keep the swatches together you can use the thread and nut I've uploaded among the other files. Of course you can also use anything else or nothing at all, that's totally up to you.

🔄 Usage

• Bend the swatches to compare material flexibility at different thicknesses.
• Test filament performance before using it in functional prints.
• Determine the best filament type for flexible parts.
• Ideal for thickness and material comparison.

💡 Personal Experience

I designed these swatches to evaluate different filaments for flexible prints. They have been incredibly useful in optimizing material choices and print settings. If you find them helpful, consider sharing your results or improvements!

Feel free to upload images or suggest modifications. Happy printing!