Patent ID: 8883064

Claim:
A method of making a fastener, the method comprising: (a) depositing a layer of polymeric material onto a support surface; (b) depositing subsequent layers of the material upon each prior layer until the fastener is completely created; (c) creating the fastener to comprise a laterally enlarged head, a longitudinal elongated stem and a spiral formation surrounding at least a majority of the stem, made of the material, as part of the depositing steps; (d) surrounding at least a majority of the fastener with a gas during the depositing and creating steps; (e) curing the fastener with light so that the layers of the material bond together; and (f) removing the completed fastener from the support surface, wherein the completed spiral formation is flexible and includes a tapered inside surface at an acute angle relative to a facing surface of the stem, and a cross-sectional thickness of the spiral formation bounded by the tapered inside surface is less than a cross-sectional thickness of the adjacent stem.