A 3D printed parametric lampshade/sculpture. The form developed after pushing further the ideas used behind the 'furry lamp'. The aim was for each layer to have a large area printed with no support, with a common intersection creating struts for structure. The sag was too great and after several failed attempts I realised the geometry was beautiful by itself mimicking some of gaudis work, such as the tower at the entrance to park Guell in Barcelona.
Seeing some examples of soft robotics in action, they are very curious objects to observe with a natural looking behaviour. After some research using various resources including the soft robotics toolkit, I designed a piece using Rhino.
The piece I designed was the final piece, and so would be used to create a mold to use over and over if necessary.
I used the Roland mill, but used a larger drill bit (3mm) at first to remove unnecessary material first (roughing) and then down to a 0.79mm drill bit (finishing) to achieve the detail. I was introduced to a new program called MODELA to create the gcode for the file. This had preset feeds and speeds for the wax material being cut.
I used white silicon to create the mold for my robot, mixing according to the instructions with the activator and placing in the vaccum chamber to remove the bubbles.
Next was to use the Eco-flex. Using the same technique as the white silicon, I mixed the two halves according to the instructions and placed in the vacuum chamber.
Once the main piece was complete, I joined it to a flat piece that had been created by simply pouring some Eco-flex on a piece of polycarbonate.
Once set, it was time to test, I was very very happy with the result.
More experiments with soft robotics can be found on my FabAcademy page.
Build using Rhino, Grasshopper and the plugin kangaroo, this dreamcatcher pattern is entirely parametric where you can not only change the number of strings, but also the strength at which each parts of the structure are held together. This enables many different patterns to emerge and interesting outcomes at rest. It is interesting to note that once the structure has changed that it can no longer return to its original position.
As a passion project I am going to mill a parametric dish drainer. One of the important functions of a dish drainer is for the piece to drain water to a point.
The show if my design succeeded with this I created a sketch in Grasshopper using the recursive plugin, Anemone to plot a NURBS curves indicating the direction water droplets would take upon a surface.
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During a 3 week course at Central St Martins, Introduction to Furniture Design, I studied design principles prototyping and model making to produce a final Maquette.
Using a combination of digital and analogue techniques I developed the 'Nautilus' chair. A chair composed of a series of overlapping parabolic curves, described by the envelope formed by the strings reaching from each sides of an axis.
The chair was given further aesthetics by trimming of the corners of the interior axis along a profile described by the golden ratio, also seen in the Nautilus mollusc.
The kinect can be picked up for <£20 and when paired with a program called Skanect, can produce excellent 3d scans.
Revolving around the subject, the kinect records 3D mesh geometry of the subject. This can be then taken into a mesh editing program to be cleaned up.
In this instance, the aim was to 3D print the subject. For this I used Rhino and its mesh tools to create a water tight mesh.
I then used a REPRAP printer to create the final piece.
With all the new technology and processes for fabrication, it can seem like anything is possible. I am often amazed at the limitations that these new technologies pose.
For this project, I took advantage of one of the limitations of 3D priniting - not being able to print in unsupported space.
For what is a very digital and prescribed process, from computer modelling through to accurate placement of filament, I decided to take advantage of the analogue properties of the material to see how it would fall when left unsupported along with its rapidly changing temperature.
I found that by accurately specifying polysurface height and width, I could get reliably get my slicing software to print one or two strands. I created initial test pieces using rhino and grasshopper to allow me to parametrically alter the 'hair' width and length.
After seeing what the outcome was with various different settings, I moved on to a main piece, which was fascinating to watch print and ended up being a very sturdy structure.
Finally, I was inspired to do another piece using overlapping hairs as pillars of structure, unfortunately this was a step too far for my printer, I did however discover a beautiful geometry
I discovered a geometry while playing around in rhino which ended up being a Cuboctahedron.
The aim was to create a pushfit structure out of card that was possible to alter parametrically.
After doing some tests on the correct gap spacing for a sturdy push-fit structure, I used Rhino and Grasshopper to create a parametric file for the shapes. This allowed me to change the radius of the shapes with the push fit holes altering in size as well. I was also able to change the width of the push fit gaps to match the material thicknes. I included fillets on the outside edge of my push fit holes which helps to align and allows entry between the pieces.
This was another project involving pushfit to create a sturdy structure.
I created a grasshopper file to create the vectors of a test piece that would allow me to know the best gap width for the joints. It is possible to alter the piece for the thickness of material, the range to test and the increments to test between.
I created the file for the chair using Rhino and then used Grasshopper to change the width of the gaps depending on the thickness and variety of material being used.
I also made a small Grasshopper sketch that would take my individual components and place them on the XY plane so I could easily extract the vectors for milling.
I was very happy with what I made and the Chair was very comfortable. Using a better quality plywood and adding some bracing around the legs would help with stability.
I saw some interesting projects using polycarbonate as material to create a mold. With this and a fantastic ebook by Paul Jackson, Folding Techniques for Designers, I created and cast an interesting geometry.
I first etched fold lines into the polycarbonate using a laser cutter and folded in the appropriate direction along each of the lines. The structure was very interesting to put together and manipulate. It could be folded into many different geometries and could achieve double curvature.
Once formed, the mold was sealed and I used 'marble cast' to create the positive final piece.
This was a group project of rapid prototyping from the idea stage to project presentation in 2 weeks. It involved 3D modelling, digital fabrication using laser cutters and 3D printers, electronics prototyping and the use of stepper motors.
During a composites project, I created a bowl using 2 different techniques.
First I needed a mold to work from which I created using Rhino and 3D milling, creating the toolpaths in RhinoCAM.
The first technique I used was the 'no bake clay' method using silicates. This was taught by a natural composites expert in Barcelona, Joaquin Melchor.
I used a combination of potassium silicate (binder) and clay and marble (load). the mixture I used was 1:1 water and potassium silicate and then added a powder mix of the load at a ratio of 30:30:60 (clay 0-0.8mm : marble largest grain : clay 0-1mm) until to correct consistency was achieved (so you can just squeeze out the liquid and slightly crumbly).
The aim of this mix was to fill all the gaps that are present in each of the individual components with the binder to hold them all together. I painted my MDF mold with plastic paint to seal it and then covered the area I was going to line the clay with vaseline as an extra protective layer.
The next piece I created using hessian, epoxy and a vaccuum table. I built up the required layers, combined the epoxy and hessian and placed under the table until the epoxy set. This made a very durable and easy reproducible dish. It would be interesting to develop this idea further and play around with bright colours sandwiched in the middle to be revealed at the edges.
Using a plugin for Grasshopper called Firefly, it is possible to connect an Arduino and use inputs from the real world to control the geometry in Rhino.
I decided to create something Rhino is not good at - making games. Within Grasshopper I used a combination of Python script and a recursive plugin called Anemone to create a game. The game was controlled using a joystick hooked up to an Arduino.
Working with a furniture designer, I helped to create the geometry from guide curves for several predesigned pieces.
This involved taking the guide curves, simplifying them and creating the surfaces. Continuity was vital for this organic shape as well as creating smooth intersections between different diameter piping.
While working with different designers and companies, I have produced some layouts.
One project involved working with a garden designer to show a potential layout of a clients garden.
Another was with a metal worker to produce manufacturing drawings for a retail kitchen unit.
This test helmet was designed from an exisiting helmet on the market.
The piece was produced to create teaching to show a strategy on designing a bicycle helmet in Rhino.
Available was profile images and the helmet itself to take accurate measurements from.
This piece was designed for an animation for setting up a hydroponic kit.
All that was available is the images seen and some basic dimensions from online sources.
This project developed into completing some of the animation work, all done in Rhino, using the Animation plugin, Bongo and the renderer, Flamingo.
3d to 2d
My initial studies were in Biomedical Science at the University of Sheffield. I learnt how to plan, conduct and
evaluate scientific experiments. In my final year, I undertook a library project where I learnt to critically analyse
research and the conclusions drawn from experiments. The project involved compiling a review on the different
methods of targeting anti‐cancer drugs to cancer cells. It was fascinating to understand the issue in depth and view
the varied approaches different laboratories had used. This allowed me to develop an independence of thought on
the subject and an insight on how to take the research further.
