Joram de Haas built FilaLoom so designers can weave yarn into a print as it forms, avoiding a separate threading step afterward. Created for his TU Delft master's thesis, it turns a desktop 3D printer into a mixed-material research setup.
The prototype runs on a Bambu Lab A1 with a clip-on yarn unit that uses the printer's own motion and no extra electronics. DIY files and Grasshopper scripts are on GitHub, but the added hardware shrinks combined printing and weaving space to 54% of the A1's original build volume.
GitHub access makes FilaLoom most relevant to makers and designers who want to test plastic-and-textile forms without assembling samples entirely by hand. Automatic yarn placement widens what desktop printers can prototype, especially objects that need both structure and a soft surface.
Image Credit: Joram de Haas
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Hybrid Textile Printing
- Mixed-material desktop fabrication is creating room for prototypes that combine rigid structure with soft woven surfaces in a single build process.
- Clip-on Fabrication Modules
- Add-on hardware that expands existing 3D printers points to lower-cost experimentation without requiring fully specialized manufacturing systems.
- Open-source Material Workflows
- Shared design files and parametric scripts are accelerating collaborative testing of unconventional material combinations among makers, researchers, and designers.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Additive Manufacturing
- Desktop printers enhanced with weaving capabilities broaden the category beyond plastic deposition into integrated multi-material production.
- Textiles
- Automated yarn placement within printed forms introduces new pathways for developing functional, tactile, and customizable textile-based objects.
- Product Design
- Rapid prototyping tools that merge hard and soft materials support more realistic early-stage models for wearables, interiors, accessories, and ergonomic goods.
