Geometry

Inspired by the Thorny Devil Lizard

The HexaFlow water delivery system draws from the Moloch horridus — the thorny devil lizard — which uses capillary action to transport water through microscopic grooved patterns on its skin. The honeycomb-like geometry of its scales passively moves water from any surface contact point directly to its mouth, with no muscular effort.

HexaFlow replicates this hexagonal channel geometry at a functional scale using SLA 3D printing with resin material. Resin's polar properties create stronger adhesion bonds with water than water molecules share with each other — this is what drives the capillary flow. At the proper scale, the system can retain water even when fully inverted.

The hexagons are spaced 0.020 in (0.51 mm) apart — that gap is the capillary channel water travels through.

Why the channels hold water

Resin is a polar material, so it bonds to water more strongly than water bonds to itself. That stronger adhesion is what drives efficient capillary transport through the hex network — and it lets the system hold water even when fully inverted. Only the critical hex dome is SLA-printed in resin; the body is FDM.

Total channel capacity is 10.12 mL (precisely 10.1155 mL) when fully saturated — roughly 10 minutes of constant flow at the 1 mL/min long-term pump rate to saturate.