3D Printed Steering Wheel

MATEJ DUBIÅ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

LIGHTWEIGHT, UNIQUE, MASS CUSTOMIZABLE

doctoral project, 2017 - 2018

supported by VW Group Future Center Europe, Potsdam

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL Digital fabrication

Products of generative design are often best realized with digital fabrication technology, and, vice versa, the possibilities of these technologies can arguably be fully utilized only using

generative design. Together with VW FCE we aimed to explore the synergy of these two worlds.

Augmented creativity

Both humans and computers can do things the other simply

can’t. This project combined human and computational

creative possibilities to extract the best out of each of them.

The goal was to demonstrate their different possibilities in multiple phases of the design process.

Digital biomimetics

Computer algorithms can now mimic natural processes like

growth or evolution. Computational designers around the world are now intensely researching various ways how to use

these in their creative processes. While working on this project, I frequently looked to the nature for inspiration.

MATEJ DUBIĹ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

MATEJ DUBIÅ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

GENERATIVE FORM-FINDING Generative design and 3D printing complement each other

extremely well in the area of computational optimization.

Algorithms can provide optimal solutions to certain complex problems, and the outputs are often impossible to produce using traditional technology.

Topology optimization (TO) enables optimal use of material by iteratively simulating the effect of a set of loads on a given input geometry. It is mostly being used in the early stages of the engineering process for a given construction part.

Apart from obvious utility of TO, like superior performance

and waste reduction, I was excited by the aesthetic potential

vof these computer-generated forms, and explored ways in which TO could be implemented in the design process.

I used Millipede, a Grasshopper add-on made by Sawapan, to

optimize a steering wheel construction. Next, I’ve developed 3 different construction concepts that directly utilize the TO

output data. The results were 3D printed in VW FCE in Potsdam.

MATEJ DUBIĹ

TO input

TO output

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

CUSTOM STRESS LINES I let the algorithm draw lines by following the principal stress vectors found in the TO data. To control the results, I’ve built a specialized swarm behaviour system.

This approach directly visualizes the flow of forces inside the digital model.

The result proved to be full of dynamic formal inspiration, but (in this form) unusable as an actual construction.

MATEJ DUBIĹ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

AESTHETICS OF FLOWING FORCES Generative designs are not arbitrary, like what humans often create.

In their honesty they are closer to natural creations.

They inform you about the process behind them. They are readable.

Still, they often rouse unique emotions.

MATEJ DUBIÅ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

PARAMETRIC HONEYCOMB To create a more reliable construction, I turned to a well-known and established honeycomb structure.

Through parameterization, it became locally adjustable according to the TO data. Orienting the hexagonal cells makes the structure strongest in the direction of the predicted stress.

MATEJ DUBIĹ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

DESIGNING FOR HONEYCOMBS I aimed to utilize the bio-technical look of the honeycomb, to let it shine through.

In the final design, it was complemented with a sleek semi-transparent cover and a parametric haptic surface.

MATEJ DUBIĹ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

ADAPTABLE DELAUNAY 3D Delaunay lattice allows for significant adaptability in terms

of overal shape, structure density and beam thickness. The

beams are strongest in the locations and directions of highest concentration of stress, based on the TO data.

This construction principle was also used to connect the core

construction to the outer surfaces of the steering wheel (see photo).

MATEJ DUBIĹ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

GENERATIVE ERGONOMICS This construction was built the last. It was the lightest one, as well as the most versatile and ergonomic one. Simple, fluent surfaces were designed to support and complement the complex internal structure.

To explore the possibilities in the area of ergonomics, I simulated the reach of my hand on the modeled surface. The resulting

heatmap shows where my thumb would reach comfortably in various hand positions. A similar process could be used to mass personalize the steering wheel based on the customer’s data or hand scan.

MATEJ DUBIĹ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

CURVATURE-BASED SUPPORT STRUCTURE Instead of manually modeling the reinforcement, I created an algorithm to generate an adaptive Voronoi structure supporting the surface.

Density of this structure is derived from local Gauss curvature of the surface. Suitable cells are then chosen to connect the outer surface to the inner construction.

This solution can re-adjust itself whenever are the connected elements changed: either re-designed or re-generated.

MATEJ DUBIĹ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL

MATEJ DUBIÅ

3D PRINTED STEERING WHEEL