AUXETIC FIDGET – Playful Science - Weird behavior
Print Profile(4)
Description
🌀 AUXETIC FIDGET – Playful Science in the Palm of Your Hand!
This compact little fidget prints fast and brings real mechanical curiosity to your fingertips.
A tactile demo of an unexpected physical behavior—fun, geeky, and oddly satisfying.
🔬 Scientific inspiration
Based on the study by Haver et al. (2024), Elasticity and rheology of auxetic granular metamaterials, published in PNAS
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2317915121
It reproduces the behavior of an auxetic metagrain.
A grain that contracts in all directions when compressed, thanks to its internal Y-shaped geometry.
🧵 Material required:
→ Must be printed in flexible filament – tested in TPU 95A.
Rigid filaments may break.
🛠️ Two sizes:
- Mini – Ø 14 mm (~12-minute print)
- Big – Ø 23.2 mm (~23/30-minute print)
🎨 Two designs:
- Simple version
- Print-in-place
- No supports — it’s ready straight off the bed
- Full-circle version
- A sleeker, continuous auxetic ring
Requires supports, and they’re not just for show!
Expect to use some force to break the supports loose — tweezers, pliers, or a firm grip will help. Clean-up is quick once they’re off, but detaching them takes muscle 💪
✨ Why you’ll love it:
- Great feel, strange motion
- Physically demonstrates Poisson’s ratio reversal
- Easy to print, satisfying to squish, and sure to get curious looks
License
You shall not share, sub-license, sell, rent, host, transfer, or distribute in any way the digital or 3D printed versions of this object, nor any other derivative work of this object in its digital or physical format (including - but not limited to - remixes of this object, and hosting on other digital platforms). The objects may not be used without permission in any way whatsoever in which you charge money, or collect fees.
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