Introduction to Digital Fabrication: ARCH 433

arch 433 digital fabrication mae murphy + luke mcdonell prof. shelby doyle | iowa state fall 2021

casting 3d prints

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cnc + casting

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ceramic 3d printing

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form labs vase

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PROJECT

casting 3d prints first iteration

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ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

The first iteration of our project one design was mainly a test subject. We were trying out the extent of the casting process from 3D modeling to pouring.

The mold did not end up working out well due to the inside extrusion being connected to base. We realized that the casting process is a lot harder than we anticipated. There are a lot of factors to consider such as the 3D print mold, timing of print/mold, Rockite mixture, Murphy’s Oil, stacking the pieces and more. The hexagon shape was also something we did not end up liking once we saw it casted.

3d print

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final result casting

Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

PROJECT 1

second iteration

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

The second iteration worked a lot smoother due to our experience with the first cast. This ‘squiggle’ shape was kind of the opposite of the first cast in every way. We wanted to create a form that could have a lot more organic stacking potential. We also wanted to see how thin the cast could get when casted without any reinforcements.

It was fun to see the combinations of stacking and how creative we could get.

The organic shape was pretty easy to come out of the mold, except on our first try when it broke. But after using oil inside the mold, it came out smoothly.

3d print

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final result casting

Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

PROJECT 1

third iteration - final

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

The third iteration was our favorite. The dynamic double curvature alludes to the past squiggly iteration along with a contrast of geometric form from the first try. We decided to use this as our final iteration due to the complexity of form, success with the mold, and stacking method. The 3D print was an hour and a half to make the mold, which is pretty good time. We liked this iteration the best because of the opening it creates when it stacks and the curved versus geometric form. The inly tricky part is stacking the shapes due to the lack of surface area on the form.

3d print

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final result casting

Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

3d print - mold

from with dimensions

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

PROJECT 1 fourth iteration

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

31 Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

We tired one more iteration stemming from the third and final set of casts. This one was testing out how thin we could get the form without breakage. We also wanted to try changing the overall shape a bit and round out the inside.

After printing the mold and casting this version, we both realized we liked the first one better.

It has more contrast of curve / geometric. This one is also extremely hard to stack with the thinner connection points. We only casted two of these forms and one broke at the tip of the mass when we were extracting it from the mold.

This process was insightful to see the extent of how far we can iterate the design and how the double curve can strengthen the form.

PROJECT

cnc + casting first iteration

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ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

The first iteration of our project one design was mainly a test subject. We were trying out the extent of the casting process from 3D modeling to cnc cutting and to pouring. The first mold worked out well with the cnc machine lines creating an interesting pattern on the foam. The silicone cast was a great exercise for our team to experience using a flexible mold. The plaster cast was a lot easier to pull the piece out of. This allows for more delicate and intricate designs. Since the cast is so easy to remove, it makes reproduction much simpler and more effieicnt. cnc cut

final result

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silicone casting

Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

blue foam cnc cut

silicone mold

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and repeat! plaster casting

Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

PROJECT 2

second iteration

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

The second iteration of our project design was about iterating the casting process. When we CNC cut our blue foam mold we wanted to try and see if we could smooth out the grain. The silicone cast was a lot smoother that way. We thought that this attempt would create a better plaster cast, but not much changed in reality. We wanted to see the capabilities of the silicone but the CNC cut was still pretty rough. We also wanted to test out variations of the curved form but the lofted model came out pretty similar to the first one. cnc cut

final result

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silicone casting

Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

blue foam cnc cut

silicone mold

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and repeat! plaster casting

Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

cnc mold, silicone mold, & hand for scale

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

smooth finish was created by sanding the cnc foam mold

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

the curves are no longer symmetrical

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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testing out how to connect the tiles and/or other uses for the casted forms

waves!

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

testing scale with tiles

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

PROJECT

ceramic 3d printing

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ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

The first iteration of the clay 3D printing was a test to see how the clay material and 3D model from Rhino printed out. We wanted to try a simple shape first, to learn how the digital modeling versus actual final product worked. We found that the no seam spiral creates a beautiful pattern of repetition even with the most basic shape. The second and third version of the iteration we wanted to add a twisting motion with the form to test out how the print looks with the clay material. We liked the third version of this print with the twist shape but found it harder to stack in a conventional way.

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

test 1: hexagon extrusion

test 2: hex pl

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test 3: hex plus circle loft extreme

Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

lus circle loft

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

test 1: hexagon extrusion

lofted technique: two hexagon shapes

plan view

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ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

test 2: hex plus circle loft

lofted technique: two hexagon shapes plus circle

plan view

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ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

test 3: hex plus circle loft extreme

lofted technique: two hexagon shapes plus larger circle

plan view

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ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

3D clay print : in reality

rendered

ghosted

wireframe

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

stacking iterations

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

stacking iterations

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

3D clay print : in reality

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

three tests

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

PROJECT

form labs vase

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ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

The Form Labs Form 3 SLA Resin printer project was our last project of the semester. The goal of this project was to design a vase using the printer and Grasshopper and Rhino. We created a spiraled vase using Grasshopper scripts from Prof. Shelby Doyle. This final iteration was an experiment with the resin printer and the process after print.

We had fun testing out the process and curing the form after. After curing, the test became very durable and stronger than 3D prints or plaster casts that we dealt with previously. We can see how this form can be used in other ways.

SLA Form Lab

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final result with supports

Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

top view diagram

highlights the spiral condition created through parametric design in Grasshopper

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

elevation view diagram

highlights the movement created through parametric design in Grasshopper

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy

ARCH 433 Digital Fabrication

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Luke McDonell + Mae Murphy