Parametric 3D printable velcro

Overview

I was amazed by the functionality of the fully 3D printed velcro entered into the recent velcro themed Printables competition: https://www.printables.com/contest/397-hook-loop-prints

The winning entry by MM Printing felt particularly satisfying to engage and peel apart: https://www.printables.com/model/543802-printable-velcro

Therefore, I have built upon the work of eried and MM Printing by converting this geometry to be fully parametric in OpenScad.

My testing and journey is covered in the following video: 

Print Settings

I stuck with MM Printing parameters, and would recommend you do the same. This means:

• Layer height of 0.28 / 0.3 mm
• PETG filament

A bit of stringing is actually beneficial to he fitment of the two halves.

Please ensure you interlayer strength is sufficient, otherwise the mini towers may snap off too easily. A test procedure for this can be found here: 

Customisation

Firstly, download OpenScad from here: https://openscad.org/downloads.html 

then open the velcro.scad file.

Instructions are provided in the video above as well as for each parameter on the right hand side of the OpenScad interface. Some additioal notes and reminders:

• The pattern works best at small scales, like the default 1mm base diameter.
• The interference parameter can be used to tune how tight the pieces fit together. It will be necessary to reduce this value when scaling up the base diameter.
• The base pattern is twice as wide as it is tall. Therefore, if you desire a square final shape, the vertical pattern value must be twice that of the horizontal value.
• Base plate thickness can vary depending on your application. If printing a large surface to attach other items too, the thickness can be more. Any pieces you wish to remaining flexible to aid in peeling off should be kept thin.
• Rendering times and file size will be dramatically increased if you raise the resolution parameter. The default of 12 is plenty accurate at the default scale of a 1mm base diameter.
• You can save presets in the top right of the Customiser pane by clicking the .+., making changes, then .Save preset'.
• You will need to render (F6) before exporting (F7).

My OpenScad file was built from the example written by Amarjeet Singh Kapoor.

Remixes

Please remix away! I have retained the same license as eried and MM Printing. Please do the same.