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I'm sure people have said similar things about inventions in the past that now shape our everyday lives.
I'm not cinical, but this is likely the 4th or 5th time someone has made a 3 sided zipper in my lifetime.
Article sort of goes into that a little bit, mentioning the origins of the idea and explaining how this one might actually be useful.
I feel I'd have to see it in action, on a use case, to understand its use.
There's a video in the article showing a few, like pitching a tent and then taking it down.
That tent actually looks useful, if the zippers can hold up.
"William Freeman Ph.D., then an electrical engineer at Polaroid and now an MIT professor, saw it and submitted a novel idea: a three-sided zipper. Instead of fastening pants, it'd be like a switch that seamlessly flipped chairs, tents, and purses between soft and rigid states, making them easier to pack and put together."
Interesting but useless.
If it's durable and affordable, I can see the use for things like bags and tents.
Or more specialized stuff like a camera strap that can zip into a basic tripod.
Sounds like you haven't pitched many tents before. Or, more importantly, taken them down. Worst part of camping is packing it all up.
Jokes on you... I'm pitching a tent right now.. And sad lemmynsfw is gone
Thanks but it was really just a joke....saves link... I totally don't needcto visit their or ever even view it....
tons of three sided joins on tents would benefit from this
It's everything I never needed.
Finally the time has come. Your primitive species has advanced to the point where we can now make ourselves known and offer you an opportunity to join galactic society.
Yes... Finally... The wait is over.
Hey, that's pretty cool! I'd be super curious to see how other materials outside of pla (not particularly great for long term outdoor use) or tpu fare, especially with tools like metal printers becoming slightly more accessible.
Also, it might be worth cross posting to !3dprinting@lemmy.world, it's always nice to see cool and bleeding edge use cases for the technology.
I mean, lik, at a certain point, this becomes about nothing less than reinventing the human bunghole
Thumbnail looks like IUDs
3d printable IUD! Who's first?
Eh I already got enough plastic in my balls
this post was submitted on 05 May 2026
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Technology
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