Computational Couture
Our projects necessitate that we invent the technologies to create them -Oxman
📅This week started on November 2nd with the mindblowing presentation from Aldo Sollazzo & Ana Correa, this week is full of possibilities to make interesting designs.
▪ What I made?
🗹 Document the concept, sketches, references also to artistic and scientific publications
🗹 Design a parametric model using Grasshopper3D
🗹 Upload the rhino file + grasshopper files
🗹 Learn how to use 3D printing techniques to print the 3D model in/on the chosen materials
🗹 Document the workflow for exporting your file and preparing the machine and gcode to be 3D printed
🗹 Upload your stl file at oscircularfashion.com
Generative design is a design exploration technology that allows designers and engineers to input their design goals, along with parameters such as materials, manufacturing methods, and cost constraints and with that, it is expected to obtain an infinite amount of solutions. The software quickly generates design alternatives after exploring the parameters and it tests and learns from each iteration so every design we'll be better than the last one.
Philippe Starck - Kartell and Autodesk released their first production chair designed with artificial intelligence and human intelligence. A similar approach is the GENERICO CHAIR by Yanko Design. Nowadays, other industries are also being part of this and are taking this generative systems to change the world, for example in the automotive design like BMW
▪ Inspiration for this week
▪ Nervous System - I like their first collection from the radiolaria project where they have jewelry inspired by the intricate mineral skeletons of Radiolarians. They also have other jewerly collections that are 3D printed and looks so nice.
Other projects for more inspiration
▪ Neri Oxman - watch one of her presentations you will love her concept and work.
▪ Assignment
For this assignment we're using Rhinoceros + Grasshopper + other plugins that are needed for the parametric designs. Here is a Grasshopper Quick Start Guide that is useful to understand the components and the display section.
💻 Necessary plugins:
From Food for Rhino
▪ chromodoris / human
From other pages
How to install any plugin:
- Download the latest plugin version and if zipped, unzip it into a folder (you have to remove any active lock on the properties of the file)
- Launch Rhino and run the GrasshopperFolders command
- On the command line, pick the Components option
- Copy paste the
.ghaand.dlls, extracted from the ZIP file, into the Components folder - Run Grasshopper and check the new plugins are there
You can explore more with this and other components that are on this practicing File and also download the examples files from each day class given by Eugenio Bettucchi
With Ctrl + Alt + hold click on the component you can know from which tab and section is the component from
Flatten, Graft, Simplify - When to use? - Here's a tutorial to have a bit of a better understanding of how Data Trees work and how to use graft, flatten, simplify and the other options inside the components of grasshopper. Data trees enable you greater control over your designs but the only way to master them and understand them completely is to keep practicing
For the next examples you need to install two additional plugins: Parakeet y Pufferfish. I wanted to practice a lot with the components and using the data trees as much as I can, so I was exploring with the data and I made this parametric necklace
Parakeet is really nice for making lots of patterns
In the next video you can see very fast the workflow i used to make a parametric necklace. I uploaded the files here if you want ot check it or also improve it. I really liked this result and I want to keep adding and changing some components that we learned this week. For this example I also watch this tutorial for Interlocking Tesselation design from a previous year that was really helpful
▪ Exploring and learning about 3D printing
Auxetic
This example I found on internet and then I printed it with the Ultimaker printer. The software I'm using for prepare the 3D output is Ultimaker Cura. Here you can find more free software 3d printer programs if you're interested about.
| Filament | Layer height | Infill | Temperature | Printing speed | Adhesion | Printing time | Filament amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | 0.26mm | 20%/grid | 200º | 60mm/s | Skirt | 35mins | 0.16m |
📝 Notes:
▪ This result is very flexible even if I didn't use a flexible filament
▪ Use skirt adhesion is useful to check the bed leveling
▪ The first layer is the most important always
Useful links
▪ Bracelet template from Nervous System
Two options:
▪ Print directly on the fabric
▪ Printing and then add it to the fabric
Filaments polymers can be: rigid - semirigid - flexible
Recommended types of textiles to work with:
▪ lycra is strectch and is defined in two ways (it could burn with high temperatures)
▪ tulle to stick very weel the 3d printing on it, otherwise the fabric starts to peel up
▪ cotton is one of the best because it doesn't burn and is not stretch
✔️ Useful tips
▪ Active the skirt option to have a wider base, in this way the adittion surface is bigger for thin slices. However, it would be nice to be able to turn off the skirt line that is made before the first layer (external desing). I should look how to disable that.
▪ For TPU filament use TPU fabric / For PLA filament use PLA fabric. The same thing will stick with the same thing best!
▪ Fabtextiles - 3D print on fabric
▪ Also you can use another textiles and make it some holes before printing.
These holes are supposed to help the fabric to stick better to the print, but i didn't do this test. I simply placed the fabric on the bed and printed directly on it. But here are some tips that I found on internet - How to 3D Print Onto Fabric
▪ Diameters for the holes= 1.5 mm placed 1.5mm apart
▪ When a fabric with holes (like the tulle fabric) is placed in between layers of printed filament making contact and bonding with itself through the holes in the netting or perforation, the fabric then gets locked in and your print stays on the fabric.
▪ The trick is to pause the print and put the fabric on top and resume the print (Wait until the print is on its 2nd layer or about 1 - 2 millimeters thick)
Workflow
| Model thickness | Layer height | Infill | Temperature | Printing speed | Adhesion | Printing time | Filament amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2mm | 0.28mm | 10%/lines | 200º | 60mm/s | Skirt | 1h 34mins | 8.04m |
📝 Notes:
▪ With the first layer of the second try I was getting worried because I thought it was going to come out wrong but I kept adjusting the bed a little bit by turning the screws to move it away from the extruder nozzle and in this way the second layer improved a lot and finally it was printed without any problem
▪ The lycra must be completely taut (stretched as much as possible), or the printer nozzle will drag the textile
▪ Don`t move the fabric while printing!
▪ Is it washable? yes
▪ I think that with larger prints, the thickness of the design should be reduced to avoid making the garment heavy in the printing area. Only 2mm are enough for this printings (or less).
In this part I printed two grids (80x80mm) using PLA and the Ultimaker printer. Then I added one of those grid to a piece of lycra textile using an iron. The thin grid (1mm) is more flexible than the other. The other grid is very rigid and if you try to bend it then it tends to cracks. This may could be better with a flexible filament but printers just don't do tiny little objects too well, so be careful.
Grids
| Layer height | Infill | Temperature | Printing speed | Adhesion | Printing time | Filament amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.28mm | 20%/grid | 200º | 60mm/s | Skirt | 45mins | 0.97m |
I made an spiderweb and printed it on the same lycra textile and also using PLA.
| Model thickness | Layer height | Infill | Temperature | Printing speed | Adhesion | Printing time | Filament amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.8mm | 0.28mm | 10%/grid | 200º | 60mm/s | Skirt | 24mins | 2.18m |
The most difficult part of this exercise, for me, was the design process: when you print you don't see the final result until you release the tensions of the pins in the textile. It's a totally different way of designing.
On this directory you'll find some of the files. Also you can find others on the os circular fashion site
▪ Other resources for this week
▪ Week's outcomes and learning 📌
Computational week has been my favorite week so far. Grasshopper and the other plugins are a really interesting field for me so I'll keep praticing!
This are some designs I made but now I have to think: How can I fabricate those necklaces? It doesn't have to be 3d printed, maybe it can be using other techniques and technologies
