3D Printing Soap
Exploring New Biodegrdable Materials and Creative Possibilities
Keywords: Sustainable 3D Printing, Digital Fabrication, Biodegradable Materials, Sustainable HCI
Project Credits: Jing Xie, Yingting Gao, Jin Yu, Tingyu Cheng, HyunJoo Oh
Publication: CHI ’26 — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1–15 (2026) PDF DOI
Award: 🥈 Special Recognition for Sustainable Practice, Runner-Up
3D Printing Soap treats soap as a customizable, biodegradable medium for digital fabrication and interaction design. The project introduces printable soap recipes with additives for color, scent, conductivity, and environmental responsiveness, alongside a low-cost printer and custom extruder designed for soap. Evaluations of biodegradability, water solubility, and reusability—and a series of expressive, functional artifacts—demonstrate soap’s potential as a sustainable and intentionally ephemeral design material.
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Material Exploration and Applications
