6. Computational Couture¶
What the week looked like¶
I was very excited about this weeks session, since last week i was way out of my comfort zone. Eventhough i really enjoyed it, i struggled a lot. This week felt like i was more well acquainted with the subject, but as the week progressed, i coudn't have been more wrong.
I was also really looking forward to hear from Julia and her award winning Black Panther costumes. I have been teaching about Black Panther to my students through the lens of AfroFuturism and Protopia in my Speculative Fiction & Futures course, and hence was absolutely stoked to hear from someone that had actually designed and created an actual ARTIFACT for the film!
We had vacation week so i did not have on ground assistance. And with Rico's and Kae's guidance, i was able to get some footing on the assignment. However, once i was back on campus and still very much stuck, our Lab Assistants, Shivam and Akhilesh really helped me finish the project. So this week's assignment is one in which i have had to take the maximum assistance i have needed so far!
Takeaways from Global Session¶
Julia Koerner began the session by talking about her journey of integrating 'Architecure + Product + Fashion'. With her belief in the movement that 'The Future is NOW', Julia elaborated upon how her works have been at the intersection of inspiration from Nature and different 3D printing techniques. Alongside these, her lens for imagining these works has been Parametric Design; hence why the session is labelled 'Computational Couture'.
In the session, we learnt about the following different types of 3D printing techniques, using Julia's works as examples:
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Stereolithography (SLA)
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Polyjet
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Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
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Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)
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Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)
Following are some of the key takeawys that have stayed with me through the week:
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that 3d printing could also behave flexible fabric forms
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look at what tech is available before starting the project
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optimise designs for the technology you are working with
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challenges of printing in 3D vs printing a 3D design mapped on a 2D fabric
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innovation and state of current ways of 3d prining and how each device brings along with it diffent challenges as well as waste generation
These are some of my favourite works of Julia that were presented in the sesion:
Checklist for the week¶
Personal thoughts and Ideas¶
After the global session, i was quite ready to jump immediately into the making, but i realised i didn't know where to begin. However, it was over the course of my research that i realised that even though i knew and understood what parametrics could do, i didn't really know HOW to do it.
During my undergrad in Architecture, Parametric architecture had found it's niche and even then i didn't quite understand at the time why people were fascinated by it. I couldn't fathom how these buildings were habitable and responding to the human scale.
I am a believer in the age old 'Form follows Function'. Over the decade since i have graduated, i have realised i find the use of Parametric architecture digestable in only 2 senarios; as facade treatments and as roofing systems for public spaces. This to me is interesting, since architectural Facades are the Outer SKIN of a building, just how clothes are to us. And this usecase of Parametric design is something i can be aligned with.
This week's assignment has led me to now understand the potential parametric design would have in fashion today. It has been quite an insightful journey this week.
Research & Inspiration¶
My research led me to a lot of Architectural examples; the OG Antonio Gaundi, Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava, Kengo Kuma, Frank Gehry,Jean Nouvel, Bjarke Ingels, Philiphs Beasley.
These are some of the buildings i have seen in India: Mumbai International Airport (Zaha Hadid Architects), Sienna Appartments (sP+a), St. George Orthodox Church (Wallmakers), Pirouette House (Wallmakers), BAD Cafe (Nuru Karim) and Darwin Bucky (andblack studio).
More specifically in Fashion, i have been obsessed with the works of Iris Van Herpen for years; but getting to know how Parametric Design fits into their work process has been extremely eyeopening!
Footwear and Prosthetics by Alexander McQueen is another stunner that opened my eyes to the possibilities of where all one sees parametric design.
I have also looked into the work of Neri Oxman, Niccolo Casas, Behnaz Farahi, Noa Raviv, Francis Bitonti, Ganit Goldstein, threeASFOUR, Anouk Wipprecht, Jessica Rosenkrantz, Jun Kamei and Daniel Widrig
Softwares, Tools & Materials¶
SOFTWARES:¶
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Autodesk AutoCAD (for making shapes and patterns)
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Autodesk Fusion 360 (using Dimension Parameters)
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Blender (using Geometry Nodes)
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Adobe Photoshop (for creating test patterns)
TOOLS:¶
Bambu Lab X1 – Carbon AMS 2 Pro Combo (3D Printer)
MATERIALS:¶
- PLA (for 3D printing)
- Round flat magnets
- Mesh fabric (White)
Work Flow:¶
Tutorial¶
In order to understand the assignemnt, Kae shared with us this amazing tutorial from the past years which delved deeply into understanding how to go about the assignment. This tutorial was godsent and helped massively to understand a possible workflow to follow for this week.
How to 'Parametric'?¶
We had an option of chosing to work in Grasshopper for Rhino or Blender for this week. In our local session, Rico sat with us and taught us some tools to work on Blender.
However, looking at my skillset in AutoCAD, i was inclined to learn and work on Fusion360, after deep conversations and research on what that would entail. Getting to know this, Rico sat with me on the Sunday and gave me a quick walkthrough of the parametric tool within Fusion360!
I felt that the learning curve would be less steep with Autodesk softwares for me. Oh but I was WRONG!
The fact of the matter is that making PARAMETRIC designs takes a VERY different skillset than having the ability to imagine and digitally model. Infact, to begin with, it needs a LOT of clarity on WHAT IS IT that you want to make, and the PARAMETERS you want to engage with.
To me, Parametric Designs are similar to Responsive Websites; they can change based on the variables being fed; and both being beyond my comprehension to program!
Learning Blender¶
Since Blender is Rico's current favourtite software to play with, we attempted a step-by-step-follow instructions strategy for me to try. As unexpected as it was, i really enjoyed understanding the process one needs to follow to arrive at attempting to create parametric designs on Blender.
Geometry Nodes¶
Takeaway 1: In Blender, one uses Geometric Nodes to create Parametric Designs.
Takeaway 2: With the vast scope of possible commands tha Blender offers, it would be easier if there was an available list of these, that one could choose from.
Takeaway 3: To begin experimenting, I can always explore within the small list of commands that have been introduced to me.
Takeway 4: As much as i see the potential of what all can be done on Blender, I feel extremely unprepared to use it, since the possibilities of doing anything are so vast, that it has become a hinderance for me to even understand where to begin.
Takeaway 5: I will definitely try to learn Blender when i am not on such a short timeline for assignment delivery. For now, i will work on Fusion360.
Learning Fusion360¶
Since i wanted to work with Fusion360, Rico gave me step-by-step instructions and got me to follow the instructions under his guidance. This was a relif, because that is when i started to understand the ACTUAL workflow of HOW to convert the shapes that i had chosen into PARAMETRIC.
Dimension Parameters¶
Lesson 1: In Fusion360, one needs to use Dimension Parameters to create Parametric Designs.
Lesson 2: Go slow and steady. Keep labelling the parameters on the sheet. Keep experimenting.
Lesson 3: While being explorative, it is not a complex as i imagined. However, it requires a lot more clarity and planning to create an exactly imagined design.
Lesson 4: Keep mental space for new things to emerge in your planned design.
Making Final Shape for Swatches¶
Choosing Shapes to work with¶
To begin with, i did a LOT of research on figuring out the basic shapes to work with. In the tutorial shared by Kae the concept of Auxetics and Lattice structures was talked about, and these were the types of shapes i looked into. Based on my research, i shortlisted the following shapes and patterns.
Making Shape options in AutoCAD¶
I moved to AutoCAD and created the options for myself of all the modules, shapes and patterns that i could use to create parametric designs for this week. I had realised that for creating a Pattern to be repeated, i need to create the PERFECT module that can keep repeating. The module however, is not the entire shape, but a part of it.
Converting Shapes to Parametric in Fusion360¶
Post my tutorials with Rico, i immediately attempted to work on the simplest first shape that i had selected. Everything was going good, till i tried to convert it into a Pattern and started seeing issues with the planning for the shape.
So, our Lab Tech, Shivam, sat with me as i attempted to make another shape to work with. He also showed me the shortcut to make patterns on Fusion360, which really saved the week!
This is how the Parametric modules work
This is how the module was converted into a Pattern
This is how we encoded the space between the modules to be Parametric as well
For creating the files for 3D printing, i wanted to demonstrate the parametric details encoded in the design. For this reason, i decided to create 2 Files for printing, one with a base measurement of the module and the spacing within the pattern, and one with an altered measurement with an altered spacing value within the pattern.
Learning 'Bambu Lab X1 – Carbon AMS 2 Pro Combo' 3D Printer Handling¶
Choosing Printing Techiniques¶
I liked the following 2 flexible printing techniques from the tutorial, based on the shapes that i selected:
1. Playing with the printer height: aka regular 3d printing, but with very low height assigned to the shapes, specifically in multipples of the width of extrusion of the 3D printing machine's material in each layer
2. The sandwich method: where you insert the fabric while pausing an ongoing print and then continuing the printing
Setting up the Printer¶
Our LabTech Akhilesh explained to me the very amazing features of this new addition to our FabLab, the Bamboo Labs X1C AMS Pro, and walked me through the entire process.
For my model, i chose the Sandwich method and Akhilesh agreed that this would be the best way forward for this machine. We opened the file in GCode on the Lab Desktop and put in the required settings to match the print.
Here is a step-by-step look of the workflow to send the Model for Printing
Unlike the Creality printer, which i have used previously, the Bamboo Labs let us put a PAUSE for when we wanted to manually add the fabric to sandwich the rest of the print. In our case, out of the 15 layers that we were going to print, we set a pause at the 4th Layer.
The Bamboo Labs Desktop interface also showed the duration of the entire Print and also the duration at which the print would Pause.
Another thing i found really intersting was that we could send the print directly to the printer by being on the same Wifi! Which makes printing soo much easier rather when you don't have to go looking for pendrives (which you eventually forget to pickup).
Also, the fact that this AMS Pro Combo model can auto detect the filaments that are attached to it, and can detect the colours of the filament and save the details, was super interting to see. Even though i worry that with soo much automation, the amount of maintainance needed would be massive.
And i was proved right in worry, beacuse i was informed by Akhilesh that this machine is not allowed to be used by Students and without LabTech Supervision. And that this device needs weeks maintainance and each week Akhilesh leads it.
Printing Swatches¶
Since i was printing on Fabric, i hed seen the tip that we need to use magnets to keep the cloth pulled back on the plate. Akhilesh had not tried printing on fabric on the Bamboo Labs so we were really looking forward to see how it would perform.
Unlike my past experience with the Creality Ender V3 printer that i had used in the past, the Bamboo Labs printed was super fast!! We managed to print both Swatches in just slightly above an hour.
Since this is an enclosed bed, with a lot of tech and sensors, we were really worried that the magnets would disrupt the printing process. However, since i had luckily brought flat-top magnets, they didn't disrupt the process.
However, the fan speed within the enclosed printing space was disturbing the fabric, so we had to manually switch it off. I would think that for the next time, this detail will need to be looked into. Because, if it is a longer duration print and the fan is turned off for a longer duration, it would affect the print quality as well as the heat up the device.
Final Look¶
This is what the final pieces look like...
And this is how the fabric behaves with the 3D print on it
Learnings¶
I have written about my learnings and takeaways during Blender, Fusion360 and 3D printing above. So i would like to take this moment to really look back at all the help and assistance i received to successfull close my assignment for this week.
Because of how long it took to understand the software workings, having people to hold my hand through each step was something i am really thankful for.
I learnt that if you ask for help from the relevant people, assistance will be provided. This has been such a week of gratitude and a lesson for me to ask for help more regularly!
Fabrication Files¶
Fusion360 Pattern at 5mm for 3D printing
People to thank for this week¶
Rico: hands down, would not have been able to attempt the 'parametric' side of the assignemnt without his one-on-one handholding tutorial with Fusion and Blender.
Kae: for sharing the Tutorial that mattered, and set me off on my research journey on where to begin the assignment.
Shivam: without whom i would not have been able to complete the assignment and the super handy trick to create patterns in Fusion360 and save my life.
Akhilesh: who never fails to help out and is my forever go-to person in the Lab now to help with new tools and methods, like using the new Bamboo Lab XI 3D printer, that can be only used under supervision.