A modified 3D printer that transfers tattoos onto skin instead of plastic – this is exactly the experiment carried out by YouTuber Emily the Engineer. The approach: a conventional FDM printer is converted to control a tattoo machine. The idea raises both technical and safety issues.
An FDM printer usually works with hot filament, which is applied layer by layer. For the tattoo experiment, a tattoo machine was mounted on the print head instead, while the printer was reprogrammed to work in two dimensions. The firmware had to be adjusted to ignore the heating bed and nozzle temperature.
As the printer was originally designed for rigid print beds, human skin posed a particular challenge. Skin is flexible, moves and deforms under pressure. To counteract this, a device was developed that fixes the tattooed area of the body. The device also had to be modified so that it could compensate for slight vertical movements.
The first tests were carried out on artificial skin to check the precision of the needle movement. A stabilization mechanism was then added to the printer to prevent the needle from scratching the skin in an uncontrolled manner.
After several adjustments, the printer worked precisely enough to tattoo simple designs onto the skin. A first test motif, a small drawing, was successfully transferred to the skin of a volunteer. Surprisingly, the lines were even, with no major distortions.
However, it turned out that even minimal movements of the skin during the printing process can lead to errors. There is also the question of the safety of such a procedure. Tattoo studios work under strict hygienic conditions – a modified 3D printer offers no standardized control over needle sterility or engraving depth.
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