IS THE 3D PRINTED FUTURE HERE YET? It’s not technological advances, but a new approach to systems thinking that is creating a quiet revolution in design manufacturing, says Jennifer Loy, Professor of Product Design at University of Technology Sydney. In 2018, 3D printing is still strengthening the role of the independent designer maker and product artist, allowing individuals access to bespoke digital fabrication for forms not previously possible either economically or geometrically. Over the last few years, 3D printing processes have expanded, with over 40 different technologies now under the 3D printing banner, the latest being gel-based, liquid printing demonstrated by the MIT self-assembly lab and the Carbon 3D CLIP system (Continuous Liquid Interface Production) at one end of the scale and robot-arm construction, exemplified by MX3D’s 3D printed bridge, at the other. Meanwhile, metal 3D printing is becoming more accessible, with the ability for it to be studio-based according to Desktop Metal – though the cost is currently beyond the budget of independent makers. In 2018, the future is not quite here. This is not because of technological advances, though they have been rapid, or dramatic statement pieces being created becoming main stream, such as the Zaha Hadid Architects’ 3D printed chairs, but rather it’s the quieter revolution that’s occurring in systems thinking enabled by the technology. GE Additive are leaders in demonstrating the impact of design for additive manufacturing (the technical name for 3D printing). The 3D printed LEAP fuel nozzle GE developed in 2012 was certified, reducing 20 parts to a single one, and creating a weight reduction, so crucial to the aviation industry, of 25%. Now GE has designed an advanced turboprop engine, reducing the weight by 5% and combining 855 parts into 12. The impact on their
business operations, such as supply chain management, is hard to overstate. For medical, recent advances have been significant not only because of the applications themselves, but because of the medical clearance now being granted for systems, such as the SI-bone iFuse Implant System.
Jennifer Loy, 2018, Bespoke polished aluminium handle, photo: cour tesy of the ar tist
For designers working in the creative industries, the advances of 3D printing can be seen in its acceptance and the ability to move beyond using it as a standalone fabrication technology, but working with it as part of a confluence of digital technologies, such as electronics, 3D scanning and digital communication, on connected products. 3D printing and associated digital technology allow for customisation based on personal data. Increasingly, products are designed to have an online life, storing and sharing information about the user, and be responsive, described as 4D products, such as through the use of e-textiles, conductive inks, chemically responsive inks, pneumatics and magnetised filament. Alongside digital immersion, a current megatrend is personal responsibility regarding the use of materials detrimental to the environment. Over the last few years the use of Polylactic Acid (PLA) has risen dramatically as the 3D printing community favours biodegradable plastics. Yet starch-based PLA, for example, while it will biodegrade inside the body when used for biostructures in under six months, needs
industrial composting facilities outside. It will sit in landfill alongside petroleum-based materials. Recently, there has been considerable research, by organisations such as Scion, into the production of bioplastics that, like PLA, are made from alternatives to petroleum, but will not biodegrade, and genuinely biodegradable materials for 3D printing, for example algae and wood pulp. Designers and architects, such as Emerging Objects, are increasingly experimenting with printing with organic materials, such as coffee grinds and salt. Creatively, 3D printing continues to inspire designers, such as Iris van Herpen, but in 2018, her 3D printed couture collection “Technology is simple, and nature is complex” demonstrates that 3D printed materials for fashion are finally soft and flexible. Whilst van Herpen remains avant-garde, wearable 3D printed fashion – integrated as features within designs, or incorporating e-textile technology, or as commercial garments, for example by Danit Peleg – is more feasible, and more visible. Danit Peleg embodies the attitude to 3D printing of the next generation of designers. Danit creates short runs on a desktop fused deposition modeller and sells online. 3D printing and digital communication technology allow her to be an independent designer and global entrepreneur. As 3D printed futures continue to emerge, independent designer makers have increasingly open access to international markets because designs can be sold as downloadable stereolithography (STL) files. There is a focus on software development of 3D printing in 2018, including the development of online platforms, such as Digital Forming, for designers to work on 3D printed products directly with clients. Design is by definition about the new, and for the designer working in a world enabled by 3D printing, every print can potentially become new either because it is customised or because the design has changed. For designers, maximising 3D printing involves a mindset not focussed on resolved solutions, but rather iterative, evolving products to be sold at different stages of their design life – traditional practice for designer makers and craftspeople. 3D printing removes many geometrical constraints of traditional fabrication, but also hints at a fluid role for designers in the future, where products are never finished, but continue to evolve, allowing for a greater degree of risk taking in design.
Jennifer Loy uts.edu.au/staff/jennifer.loy
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FURNITURE FUTURES AND THE PROMISE OF 3D PRINTING 3D printing has promised to significantly impact the way objects are realised. Berto Pandolfo, an industrial designer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney, examines the evidence that this prophecy is coming to fruition. Nearly every typology of object has been touched by 3D printing; from toys to spacecraft, from food to architecture and from medical prosthetics to hair pins. Additionally, the variety of materials and processes has expanded as the promise of 3D printing continues to drive research, innovation and creative enterprise. 3D printing is used on a micro scale and in large scale printing; it is used by expert scientists and engineers in the world’s most exclusive laboratories, and in the homes of everyday users. This democratised technology has enabled creative professionals the ability to work on projects that not long ago would have been impossible, and one particular product group with a rich and long history that has received considerable attention has been furniture. It has been more than a decade since French designer Patrick Jouin designed the first one-piece 3D printed chair. More recently, new materials and processes are inspiring designers around the world to explore the ever-changing boundaries of furniture design. Finnish designer Janne Kyttanen is a 3D printing pioneer and in 2015 he added to his impressive collection the Sofa So Good. This one-piece sofa, designed with a complex lattice structure, is 3D printed using Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) in plastic and then metal coated. It is lightweight, uses very little material and is structurally sound. Unfortunately it retails at 100,000 USD. In 2016 Kyttanen’s most recent piece is Avoid, Rhodium, a small 3D printed table that is rhodium
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plated, with a design inspired by spatial geometry theory. In the same year, British based designer Daniel Widrig designed the Little Bit chair printed in concrete, while Joris Laarman from the Netherlands, another internationally recognised 3D printing guru, presented his latest experimental sculptural work Butterfly, a room divider constructed from 3D printed bronze. While 2016 may be regarded as a year of exclusive and limited-edition pieces, projects generated in 2017 manifest an attempt to address issues beyond form and aesthetics. Rotterdam-based research and design studio The New Raw designed and developed an urban furniture solution that is 3D printed from waste material. My own project, MND (manual ‘n’ digital), investigates the notion that desktop 3D printers are capable of producing parts for furniture with structural integrity and favourable cost and material efficiencies. Consumer level printers have now reached a stage where they produce parts that are structurally appropriate for use in load bearing situations – like the legs of a small side table. I also wanted to highlight the beauty that is inherent in raw 3D printed parts that are so often hidden beneath a coat of paint or lost entirely through sanding. The visible layers and the slightly imperfect nature of the bonding, represent a fragility that should be celebrated. MND was also about co-locating parts made by machine and parts made by hand. It characterises an opportunity to work simultaneously across traditional craft methods together with cutting edge technologies. Realistically impacting on traditional manufacturing is a common goal for researchers, designers and manufacturers operating in the 3D printing sector. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and furniture manufacturer Steelcase, together with designer Christophe Guberan, address the scale and time limitations placed on current 3D printing technologies with their process Rapid Liquid Printing (RLP). This involves printing
Studio Nucleo, 2018, Moon Mission Tribute to Toy by Philippe Starck, photo: cour tesy of the ar tist
Ross Lovegrove, 2018, Robotica, photo: cour tesy of Nagami
inside a mass of gel, thereby removing the limitation imposed by gravity. Without having to work up designs layer by layer like traditional 3D printing methods, RLP allows the printing of objects to happen significantly faster and as large as the machine will permit. An example of applied 3D printing impacting on commercial activity was demonstrated by Spanish company Nagami which was established to explore how new technologies can shape future manufacturing. They have moved beyond 3D printing statement pieces useful for branding and marketing to the commercialisation of designs by internationally recognised designers such as the Robotica stool by Ross Lovegrove which is commercially available for the not-so-outrageous price of 2,450 EUR. Two projects from 2018 focus on manipulating the mathematical data that is the digital model used in 3D printing. American designer John Briscella applied algorithms to digital models of iconic chairs from Eames and Saarinen to investigate how 3D printing might challenge conventional design processes. And Italian furniture company Driade have reinterpreted classic designs by Enzo Mari, Philippe Starck and Naoto Fukasawa, reimagining them for futuristic extraterrestrial environments.
Ber to Pandolfo, 2017, MND, photo: cour tesy of the ar tist
Technological advancements that will impact on future 3D furniture design originate from the United States. The Morphing Matter Lab at Carnegie Mellon University has developed a unique type of plastic that when exposed to a change in temperature will modify its shape. This plastic can be 3D printed into flat shapes
and when exposed to heat will evolve into its final form, suggesting that 3D printed flat pack furniture is on the horizon. The process is known as Thermorph and can conveniently be used on desktop 3D printers. The SelfAssembly Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) together with researchers from BMW developed the Liquid Printed Pneumatics project. This innovation enables inflatable (airtight) structures to be 3D printed. Interestingly, on the 50th anniversary of the iconic Blow inflatable sofa from Zanotta, this may signal a revival in lightweight air-filled furniture designs. One of the major trends in 3D printing relates to scale; printers as big as buildings are printing buildings and microprinters are printing micro structures one tenth the size of a human blood cell. This type of development will continue to impact on processes, materials and software, yet the promise to significantly impact on how we make things is still only theoretical or marginal at best. Realistic and applied examples that target mainstream object making are yet to materialise. However, given the growth, development and increased awareness that has occurred over recent years, although we may not be printing all our object needs in the future, the systems that currently provide society with physical goods (manufacturing) will undoubtedly experience considerable change.
Berto Pandolfo uts.edu.au/staff/berto.pandolfo
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ADC’s Lisa Cahill spoke to Kate Dunn, designer and research leader in Digital Fabrication and Material Innovation in the Creative Robotics Lab at UNSW Art and Design, about the intersections between the traditional craft of ceramics using clay and the use of 3D printing to explore crossdisciplinary collaborations. Lisa Cahill: Ceramics and 3D printing can at first seem to be at odds – a traditional craft messed around with by a digital technology perhaps – particularly in terms of materiality. How do you resolve these two opposing fields? Kate Dunn: Interesting you use the term “messed around”, ceramics is messy – really messy, while 3D printers are precision instruments designed for rapid prototyping, able to deliver reliable repetition at the touch of a button (of course, anyone who has used a 3D printer knows that this can be closer to marketing hype than reality). When combining these two disparate disciplinary approaches – craft and rapid prototyping – the long history of ceramics manufacturing springs to mind, for example brickworks, tile factories, sanitary ware, precision ceramics in car parts etc. When viewed through this industrial lens, the combination of ceramics and 3D printing in some ways seems to be an extension of an established field. What is different is the desktop scale, the capacity for short runs of designed objects and the ability to alter a master design at the CAD model stage. Concurrently, 3D printed ceramics also substantially extends the field of rapid prototyping by introducing a material that is cheap, and yet can be made into permanent, high-quality objects and prototypes. Prior to this, the majority of materials used in 3D printing have been plastics, particularly at desktop scale. LC. 3D printing and associated technology can provide artists with a creative freedom that’s not possible with clay and a wheel. What are some of the creative applications that you have developed or come across that take ceramics to a new level and why? KD: 3D printing allows artists and designers to create for incredibly complicated forms that were either impossible to make or required complicated multipart moulds. Michael Eden’s work in the Shapeshifters exhibition is a great example. In effect, 3D printing makes high-end ceramic fabrication accessible to anyone with access to the printer and a bit of perseverance. This subverts traditional craft notions such as the master potter and apprentice. The millennial apprentice may actually create a masterful work quicker than someone who has been a potter for 30 years. This not to suggest they will have the refined design sensibility to create signature works, however there is a democratic element of desktop tech that is closely affiliated with the ethos of the Maker Movement. Examples include the work being produced globally by design groups such as Alterfact, Emerging Objects, Unfold Design Studio, and Oliver Van Herpt. A number of architecture schools also use ceramic 3D printing to train students in coding and fabrication because of the high quality of the material outcomes.
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OLD SKILLS NEW WAYS LC. When we think of ceramics we generally think of functional or sculptural pieces. Does 3D printing enable ceramics to be utilised in more diverse applications?
KD: I have a degree in ceramics from Sydney College of the Arts and a PhD in architecture. My PhD research investigated three-dimensional models of climate change data made using recyclable ceramic 3D printing. This is an example of how 3D printed ceramics can be used in different ways. The material qualities of ceramics make the objects appealing and familiar to touch and engage people’s curiosity about the models and the scientific data informing them. A new project I am working on is a collaboration with orthopaedic surgeons at Westmead children’s hospital to 3D print models of bones in ceramics and other materials to simulate patient specific bones for surgical rehearsals and implant testing. LC. You head the ceramics studio at UNSW Art and Design. How is 3D printing incorporated into the curriculum? KD: We now have three ceramic 3D printers in the ceramics studio, giving us the capacity to introduce whole classes to the technology. I run a project for third year art and design students based on biomimicry using 3D printing. We are getting some great results because of the tremendous creativity of the students and the potential of the technology. The clay 3D printers allow the students to experiment with 3D modelling and different clay materials for 3D printing while creating art and design works. LC. How are students and emerging artists utilising technology in their practice? KD: They are using technology in almost every way imaginable. One of the things I find most interesting about teaching 18- to 20-year-old students is the way they can fluidly move across technological platforms
with no delay, in a way that I can only dream of. I actually think the interface of analogue and digital technologies is where contemporary students and emerging students are making significant innovations in their practice. LC. Gazing into the 3D printed crystal ball, what’s next in this field? KD: Like any emerging technology there are constant innovations, developments and missteps, for example, what happened to paper 3D printing? The future of 3D printing is the hard-won testing and development of materials and processes until they are reliable, functional and user friendly, while also being able to address industry and creative requirements. A big field of development and potential is multi-axis 3D printing using robotics. To date it has primarily
US RESEARCH LABS EXTEND INTO THE FOURTH DIMENSION
Morphing Matter Lab, 2018, Programmable and 4D printed self-folding rose triggered by heat, photo: cour tesy of the ar tist
Some of the most cutting-edge research into new technologies and practical applications in 3D printing is happening at research labs located at leading universities in the US. At Carnegie Mellon University, the Morphing Matter Lab works to encode information and interactivity into physical materials that they call “morphing matter”. Their most recent project is Thermorph, a series of flat objects printed on a 3D printer that, when heated, fold themselves into predetermined shapes – a rose, a boat or a bunny. Here, the research team is taking advantage of the warpage that is commonly considered a defect of desktop fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printers. They replaced a standard 3D printer’s open source software with their own code that automatically calculates the print speed and patterns necessary to achieve particular folding angles. The software is based on new curve-folding theory representing banding motions of curved area. The software based on this theory can compile any arbitrary 3D mesh shape to an associated thermoplastic sheet in a few seconds without human intervention. The researchers hope that the same concept can be upscaled to create flat-pack furniture in future.
Kate Dunn, Scorcher, 3D printed porcelain, photo: Graham Clarkson
involved adapting industrial robots and changing end effectors to suit 3D printing applications, however there is great potential to combine and refine this technology. LC: How is technology changing future artistic practice? KD: In a broader context, technology allows us to share artistic practice globally and to traverse fields of enquiry previously only available to larger organisations. Technology also allows for easier cross disciplinary collaborations as it can overcome language, geographic and financial barriers.
Kate Dunn
Another research team taking 3D printing into the fourth dimension – this time through inflatable objects for car parts – is the Self-Assembly Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), also in the US. Working with BMW, the team has designed the world’s first printed inflatable material, a silicone printed object that can change shape depending on the amount of air pressure in the system. Called Liquid Printed Pneumatics, the project is the latest evolution of the team’s Rapid Liquid Printing (RLP) technology that physically draws objects in a gel suspension. The applications of these in a car interior could offer opportunities for the shape of the car to change, adapting to user preference or need, while other applications in fashion, furniture and packaging are also possible. The video footage of these objects being inflated shows the fascinating quality of these materials, quite unlike anything we’ve seen before in 3D printing.
Morphing Matter Lab morphingmatter.cs.cmu.edu
Self-Assembly Lab selfassemblylab.mit.edu
research.unsw.edu.au/people/dr-kate-dunn
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SHAPESHIFTING BEYOND THE EXHIBITION In 2014 we asked ourselves some questions about design and the impact of rapidly evolving technology: What is 3D printing and how does it impact artists? Is design being rethought with the advent of customised clothes being printed from desktop computers and organs being manufactured in labs? 3D printing is also built on sharing. We looked at how open source software and shared maker spaces mean anyone can try their hand at creating and mass customisation replacing mass production. This research became the Australian Design Centre’s ADC On Tour exhibition Shapeshifters: 3D Printing the Future, a playful exploration of 3D printing. Shapeshifters is about imagination, innovation and new methods of making, drawing on the high-tech and rapidly evolving world of additive manufacturing and fluid extrusion methodology. The designers and makers in the exhibition all began with a physical idea. Those ideas were translated into a digital something – a piece of code, a CAD model or perhaps a verse of music – before being transformed into the final physical form. By experimenting with digital fabrication technologies, the designers build on their traditional modes of making to create something entirely new.
Featuring Louis Pratt, Michael Eden, Lousje Skala, Ryan Pennings, Dr David Ackland, Lukasz Karluk, and XYZ Workshop (Kae Woei Lim & Elena Low), Shapeshifters: 3D Printing the Future has toured nationally to ten locations funded by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government Program supporting touring exhibitions. Now at the end of that tour, and three years down the track, we decided to examine how the technology has advanced and take the conversation a step further. This publication is the first in a series of contemporary craft and design topics that we will be exploring under an exciting new ADC initiative, Object Platform. Object Platform is a place to experiment, prototype new thinking, spark physical provocations and commission new content. It takes the ideas beyond the exhibition format to explorations that could include research papers, online exhibitions, webinars and live interviews, conference presentations, lectures, panels, forums, films, audio tours and a writer-inresidence program.
Lousje Skala, 2015, Calgary Necklace, photo: Boaz Northman
A big thank you to Penny Craswell, ADC’s Creative Strategy Associate, who brings her background as a writer and editor to this publication and to the contributors who have all written such insightful pieces about the creative application of 3D printing in design. We hope you enjoy 3D Printing the Future and find the ideas stimulate future conversations and design innovations.
Ryan Pennings, 2015, Percy Stool, photo: COTA
Lisa Cahill CEO and Artistic Director Australian Design Centre australiandesigncentre.com
FORUM AT ADC Printing the Future: Innovations in 3D Printing A team of experts discuss the future applications of 3D printing (or additive manufacturing), exploring not only the absolute latest in new technologies, but also how these technologies are used across manufacturing, business and solo practice. Speakers will discuss their own research and design work, while contextualising it within the field of 3D printing – with a particular focus on how these technologies relate to design, ceramics, jewellery, fashion and architecture. Moderator: Claire McCaughan – Curator, Shapeshifters: 3D Printing the Future Speakers: Berto Pandolfo – UTS, Kate Dunn – UNSW Art and Design, James Gardiner – Fahn Date: Wednesday 25 July 6-8pm
Shapeshifters: 3D Printing the Future exhibition at ADC, photo: Boaz Northman
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ADC ON TOUR
OPEN SOURCE RESOURCES
Shapeshifters: 3D Printing the Future is a touring exhibition that has travelled to ten locations as part of ADC on Tour funded by Visions of Australia.
3D printing is made for sharing. Open source software, shared maker spaces and a welcoming community mean anyone can try their hand at creating. So think differently, design playfully and most of all – have fun with 3D printing. Now go forth and explore!
The Workshops Rail Museum, Ipswich 19 May – 2 September 2018 Redland Art Gallery, Brisbane 21 January – 25 March 2018 Glasshouse, Port Macquarie 9 September – 19 November 2017 Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum 19 May – 15 July 2017 Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Wagga Wagga 18 March – 7 May 2017 Design Tasmania, Launceston 25 November 2016 – 21 February 2017 Devonport Regional Gallery, Devonport 30 September – 13 November 2016 Sturt Gallery, Mittagong 31 July – 11 September 2016
Michael Eden, 2012, A Twisted Oval Wedgwoodn’ t Tureen, photo cour tesy of Adrian Sassoon, London.
News 3ders.org 3dprintingindustry.com 3dprint.com
Australian Design Centre 5 May – 20 July 2016 Western Plains Cultural Centre, Dubbo 23 January – 17 April 2016
Shops shapeways.com ponoko.com
SHAPESHIFTERS ONLINE
Organisations modfab.com.au me3d.com.au makersplace.org.au
As part of Shapeshifters: 3D Printing the Future, ADC developed a range of resources, including a full education resource for teachers, further case studies, a film on Vimeo and other content. Visit the website for more information.
Resources thingiverse.com Artists codeoncanvas.cc michael-eden.com xyzworkshop.com louispratt.com cinnamonlee.com
australiandesigncentre.com/shapeshifters
3D PRINTING TERMS 3D Printing (or Additive Manufacturing) 3D printing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process, an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS ) Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene is a common thermoplastic polymer and is commonly used for household and consumer goods.
CAD Modelling
Fab Labs
Open Source
CAD stands for computeraided design – the process of creating a 3D model using a computer program. A number of different CAD software options are available. For 3D printing, the most common file format is STL.
Fab Labs (fabrication laboratories) are smallscale workshops offering digital fabrication as well as traditional technology and hand tools. Flexible computer-controlled tools might cover several different length scales and various materials. Fab labs have shown the potential to empower individuals to create smart devices for themselves. These devices can be tailored to local or personal needs in ways that are not practical or economical using mass production.
May relate to software or hardware. In the case of open source software the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. In the case of open source hardware, drawings, schematics, HDL source code is made freely available so that others can make and modify it.
Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Milling Computer numerically controlled milling machines perform both drilling and cutting – this is a subtractive method of manufacture completed according to a computerised machine.
Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) This is a process where thermoplastic material supplied in coils or rolls is heated up and fed through a nozzle to create 3D-printed layers. This process is also known as Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM).
Polylactic Acid (PLA) Polylactic acid or polylactide (PLA, Poly) is a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer derived from renewable resources such as corn starch and sugarcane.
Rapid Liquid Printing (RLP) Rather than being built up layer by layer as in previous 3D printing technologies, objects printed using Rapid Liquid Prototyping (Printing?) are made by injecting materials directly into a liquid gel, allowing faster printing in three dimensions.
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) An additive manufacturing technique that uses a laser as the power source to sinter powdered material, aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined by a 3D model, binding the material together to create a solid structure.
Stereolithography Stereolithography (also known as Optical Fabrication, PhotoSolidification, Solid Free-Form Fabrication, Solid Imaging, Rapid Prototyping, Resin Printing, and 3D printing) is a form of additive manufacturing technology used for creating models, prototypes, patterns, and production parts. A computer-controlled moving laser beam is used to build up the required structure, layer by layer, from a liquid polymer that hardens on contact with laser light.
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ALTERFACT BUILDS THEIR OWN 3D PRINTER FOR CERAMICS When Ben Landau and Lucile Sciallano from Melbourne studio Alterfact decided to start 3D printing ceramics, they didn’t just buy a 3D printer, they made one. ADC’s Penny Craswell reports.
Ben Landau and Lucile Sciallano, 2015, photo: Ben Landau
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Ben Landau and Lucile Sciallano from Melbournebased studio Alterfact first met while studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands before moving to Melbourne to start their own studio designing and making 3D printed ceramics. Their time at the famous design school instilled in them the idea of starting from first principles. For example, explains Ben, if you want to work with plastic, you first ask how to make the plastic, rather than just buying it off the shelf. “I think it’s a really different attitude to where things come from, how they’re made and raw materials – and that extends to technology as well,” explains Ben. So it makes sense that, when they decided they wanted to try 3D printing in clay, they started by building the machine itself. They sought advice from their tutors at university, Belgium-based studio Unfold, who started 3D printing with clay as early as March 2005 and, by 2010, had created a digital potter’s wheel, which allowed users to “sculpt” a spinning virtual cylinder on screen using their hands as they pass through a laser before being printed using a coiling technique. Unfold’s advice to Ben and Lucile was to build their own 3D printer using an open source design called Lock Stock Delta by British ceramicist Jonathan Keep. “They said ‘you have to build your own because you’ll know how it works, you can fix it, you can improve it’,” says Lucile.
Starting from scratch, the pair began to build their 3D printer using their own savings to buy materials and equipment (1500 AUD approx), including parts cut from timber and steel, 3D printed in plastic and ordered off the internet, as well as the digital technology required. It took about a month to build, and they advise that skills required for the physical build include woodworking, metal finishing, fitting components and electrical soldering. For the tech side, reading code, uploading programs and 3D modelling were required – and for the clay side, a process of experimentation with different mixes resulted in a porcelain mix with 10% water for best flow and sticking consistency. Once the first machine was built, the design process could begin, with many designs starting with a sketch from Lucile before being 3D modelled by Ben. Some mistakes resulted in interesting design features, such as ornamental coils, that were kept and refined. “Sometimes something collapses and we really like how that looks,” says Lucile. “I like things which are unplanned and the happy accidents.” But it’s not just about playing with forms and clay - the objects themselves are beautiful and distinctive with a particular aesthetic that is recognizable and covetable. This is in large part due to the team’s values, which include originality (making things that are impossible or difficult to print through other means), authenticity and high value materials with high intensity colours. Technically speaking, Alterfact’s improvements on their first printer have led to a second and a third printer, an extruder that uses air pressure, and they are now working on a mechanically-driven extruder. Ben credits a large part of their success in 3D printing to the online community, which is constantly working to improve the existing technology: “The more people that are taking part, the more it has developed.” It is this passion for DIY tech, a learning by doing approach, that is integral to the success of Alterfact, adding to the indefinable quality that sets their work apart.
Alterfact, 2018, Banksia, photo: courtesy of the artist
Alterfact, 2018, Perfume bottles from ‘Ornament is Fine’ at National Galler y of Victoria (NGV), photo: Lucile Sciallanov
Alterfact Values: We try and make things which are impossible or difficult to print through other means. For instance, if we print a plain cylinder, we’re not pushing the boundaries of what is possible through traditional ceramic production – rather we are reducing the quality. A cylinder is much better made through non-digital technologies like slip casting or throwing. We keep the evidence of the object’s manufacture in the object to ensure a sense of authenticity. For instance, we never wipe away or (rarely) glaze over the lines which come from printing layer on layer. We sometimes still use a ‘seam’ which shows where the printing head jumps up a layer. Connected to authenticity, our work sometimes talks about the hand of the maker, which is required to adjust the print as it is made. Further, we print several pieces and assemble them into one object, extending our capacity to make a variety of shapes and showing our skills as ceramicists, not only printers.
Alterfact, 3D printer, photo: cour tesy of Alterfact
We imbue our objects with a high value, by using the finest materials like porcelain and high intensity stains (colours). We use 3D printing with clay to start conversations about how technology assists and limits our understanding of craft, art and design.
Alterfact alterfact.net
Alterfact, 2018, From ‘Ornament is Fine’ at National Galler y of Victoria (NGV), photo: Tom Ross 3D Printing: The Future
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ADDING DIGITAL TO THE JEWELLER'S BENCH Melbourne jeweller Bin Dixon Ward is fascinated by the relationship between digital technology, jewellery and its maker. She discusses the development of 3D printed jewellery including her own work in this field. 3D modelling and 3D printing both play a central role in my own jewellery making. As a jeweller practicing at the beginning of the 21st Century, I am influenced by the forms, materials and tools of our times. Jewellers and crafts people have been experimenting with various 3D printing techniques for some time. Early significant users of the technology include Australian designer/maker Gilbert Riedelbauch with his fused deposition modelling brooches that celebrate the mathematical and layered origins of their making. Riedelbauch’s CSH brooch (2000) is printed with ABS plastic and finished with gold film deposition. Israeli industrial designer Ron Arad’s bangle Not Made By Hand, Made in China (2002), is made with selective laser-sintered nylon (a process where nylon powder is fused layer by layer with lasers); and asks us to consider the role of the machine in jewellery making. The ever-influential Dutch jeweller Gijs Bakker made the Porsche bangle (2002) using stereolithography, a process of curing resin layer by layer with light, demonstrating the possibilities of 3D modelling software to scale and manipulate forms. In this instance, a status symbol is made affordable and wearable, a car scaled to be worn on the wrist as a bangle. Each of these pieces and their makers have had a significant influence on my jewellery making, not only because they use 3D printing, but also, more importantly, because the technology, as tool, is referenced in their materials, forms and the meanings attached to their works. The next wave of artists to incorporate 3D modelling and 3D printing to realise their artwork, include Australian maker Mitchell Whitelaw, whose Measuring Cup (2010) presents 150 years of Sydney’s temperature records as a small beaker; and UK artist Geoffrey Mann whose Shine (2010) was made from a 3D scan of a traditional silver candelabra. The reflective surface confused the scanner. Unable to distinguish the reflection from the candelabra itself, the resulting 3D printed object included spikey shafts, materialising the immaterial. US ceramicist Michael Eden pays homage to Josiah Wedgwood’s role in the Industrial Revolution, and references the use of bone in porcelain in Wedgwoodn’ t Tureen (2008). Taking the shape of the traditional tureen, the porous surface of this 3D printed vessel captures the structure of bone. For his Mellitus project (2010), Doug Bucci (US) collected data from people’s blood sugar levels (including his own) and via 3D and digital visualisation
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3D Printing: The Future
Bin Dixon-Ward, 2017, Intersections, nylon, ink, 500 x 500 x 15 mm, photo: Giulia McGauran
software created their ‘portraits’ over a particular period of time based on this biological information. Again, the appeal of these artists and their works lies in the way in which the capabilities of the digital design and manufacturing process is integral to the realisation of the work. The relationship between the technology, the work, and its maker is at the centre of my practice and research. Working closely with the digital technology: the computer, its software, and 3D printer; I have come to understand it as a tool. Combined with my own knowledge, conceptual and physical skills, I can create objects that can both acknowledge their origins and express my ideas. An angle of a building corner, a distorted reflection, a pattern on a pavement; these often fleeting visual experiences are the beginnings of ideas. Once I start to work with my ideas, I transform and develop them into objects using the tools of 3D modelling software (Rhino3D) and 3D printing. These tools come into play, and the idea has a chance of becoming a real world object. In time and with constant use, my digital skills have become innate and unconscious. Hand–eye coordination is no longer a conscious activity, as manipulating tools becomes a part of my physicality. This is the tacit knowledge that Peter Dormer (The culture of craft, 1997) describes, but it is also the tool as prosthesis, as Donna Haraway (A cyborg manifesto: science, technology, and socialist-feminism in the late twentieth century, 1991) envisages. The mouse in my hand becomes a part of me as I move the object in the screen as easily as if it is in my hand, or as I would use
a hammer or a pencil. I know my material and tools so well that even though the finished object is printed remotely and I will not be able to touch and handle it for a week or more, I know what it will feel like, how big it will be and what it might sound like. As a digital craftsperson, my intimate relationship with my materials and tools is at the heart of my practice. The urban environment is a significant ongoing theme in my jewellery as I attempt to reflect the place in which I live, and which influences how I view the world and what I value. Most recently I have investigated the city grid, its history and its contemporary transformation into the digital grid, forming the basis of contemporary communication. I’m interested in making objects that are reflective of the times and place in which we live, so it is no surprise that this technology appeals. Jewellery can act as a communicator of social, political and cultural themes. Where digital technology is used in the process of making, its presence can be referenced in its forms, materials and systems. In the same way that an Art Deco brooch might be identified by its curves and geometric forms, coloured gemstones or Bakelite, jewellery of the digital era reflects the materials and tools of the digital object. 3D printed objects act as a cultural artefact, reflecting the times and cultural identity of the wearer. The maker’s choice of materials and forms, and the wearer’s choice of material and form, speak of that which is valued at the time.
Bin Dixon Ward bindixon-ward.com
1800S LUCIEN HENRY DRAWINGS PRINTED IN 3D
SHARD 4 AT SCULPTURE BY THE SEA, BONDI
LIMITLESS DESIGN, NO WASTE
James Gardiner, 2018, Shard 4, proposed work for Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, photo: cour tesy of the ar tist.
Globo, 2018, Globo Lights, 3D printed SLS nylon, 170mm diameter, photo: Rhiannon Hopley
Conjuring rocks, cities and science fiction worlds, Shard 4 is a large-scale sculpture currently under construction by James Gardiner for Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2018 (18 October – 4 November). The work is part of the ‘Scape series’, which explores the interplay between hand craftmanship and digital fabrication technologies. The sculpture was first fabricated as a maquette by hand and then 3D scanned, then rebuilt in digital CAD software. The design is then transferred back into the physical through 3D printing of hundreds of moulds and cast in concrete in sections. The object is then reassembled and significantly re-worked by hand to produce the final result – a sculpture on the beach. The work is produced through steps of agglomeration of materials, 3D printing, casting, carving, shaping, eroding, gauging and coating. “This iterative creative method, using many different tools, methods and steps matches in many ways the phenomena it seeks to represent.” James has a PhD in architecture from RMIT and 13 patents to his name – this work is part of his ongoing experimental work exploring new technologies, materials, techniques and ideas. Ver t, 2016, Lucien Henry Soup Terrine, nylon plastic, photo: cour tesy of the ar tist
For Australian designer Michael Hoppe, 3D printing is about freedom of design, without waste. His Globo series of pendant lights allow for infinite variety without investing in tooling. Printed on demand, the designs don’t exist until the customer commissions the work and then there’s no production line, no warehouse and no oversupply. The potential in the long term is for products like this to be printed at home, without the need to be an enthusiast or have expertise in using 3D printers. His Orb series of candelabra, designed to take candles at one end and tea lights at the other, uses additive and subtractive 3D manufacturing techniques in metal, stone, wood and plastic. Both Globo and Orb were shown at Workshopped18 at ADC in 2018.
Michael Hoppe hop-design.com
Fahn Studio fahn.studio
Andrew Simpson from Vert design studio utilised 3D printing technologies to realise a cup, decanter, soup terrine and ladle interpreted from the drawings of French-Australian artist Lucien Henry. An artist, designer and teacher, Lucien originally published the designs, with heavily textured surfaces that take inspiration from the iconic Australian Waratah flower, in his major work Australian Decorative Arts: One Hundred Studies and Designs. The book contains watercolours that detail Lucien’s vision for public art and architecture based on Australian flora and fauna.
21ST CENTURY LEARNING FOR EVERYONE For this project, Modfab provided printers and STEAM workshops at all ten of the exhibition locations throughout Australia. Modfab has also been working with remote Arnhem Land communities as part of the ALPA Plastic Fantastic Project. One of the highlights was Ernest Gondarra (one of Modfab’s trainers) who last year won the 2017 Indigenous Digital Excellence Award for Digital Elder of the Year.
Andrew Simpson and the team from Vert worked from these 2D concepts, along with some creative licence, to create highly-detailed CAD models of each item, which were then fabricated in 3D using Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). This process defines the intricate surface detailing included in the 3D data in nylon plastic. Technical assistance on the project was provided by Danil Gorskikh and the project was commissioned by the Museum of Applied Arts and Science.
Vert Design vertdesign.com.au
Por t Macquarie Shapeshifters workshop, photo: cour tesy of Modfab
Specialists in 3D printing Modfab have been teaching design, CAD and 3D printing to audiences across Australia. Founders Heike and Ben Roberts have partnered with a range of organisations to deliver workshops to adults and kids, including ADC’s Shapeshifters: 3D Printing the Future exhibition.
Travelling around Australia with Shapeshifters and to remote Arnhem Land with Plastic Fantastic has allowed Modfab to create an online presence that can be accessed by schools and remote communities with their slippers on.
Modfab modfab.com.au
3D Printing: The Future
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THE DUTCH SPEAK ROBOT From the first 3D printed bridge to the first 3D commercial building project, the Dutch are leading the way when it comes to additive manufacturing technologies, says ADC’s Penny Craswell. The words “We speak robot” are emblazoned across the website of Dutch company MX3D, who in April completed the world’s first steel pedestrian bridge built using robotic additive manufacturing technology. Built inside a shipping container, the bridge is expected to be in place crossing a canal in Amsterdam by October. The Dutch are world leaders in design, but have made particular strides in 3D printing technologies. Joris Laarman Lab, who designed the bridge, is more well known for his 3D printed furniture and objects designed using algorithms and generative design software. He also shares blueprints for his designs, which can be downloaded and 3D printed for free anywhere in the world. Another design by Panos Sakkas and Foteini Setaki from Rotterdam-based studio The New Raw also invites the public to contribute. Print Your City asks citizens to be involved in the collection of urban plastic waste used to 3D print the XXX bench, a furniture piece designed for the Municipality of Amsterdam. The public can also get involved in the design and customisation process to make the piece better suited to local neighbourhoods. Following on from this design, the project plans to develop a broader range of items, such as bus stops, recycling bins and playgrounds. At the large scale, the Dutch have also been crucial in the development of 3D printing for architecture – later this year, a project to 3D print five concrete houses will begin in Eindhoven. Designed by Houben en Van Mierlo Architecten, this is the first ever project to use 3D printing for construction in a commercial housing development. A concrete printer at the university will start building the structures, before moving to the
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3D Printing the Future is an Object Platform publication, published by Australian Design Centre (ADC). ADC is a not-for-profit organisation that creates opportunities for people to engage with design, craft and creativity through dynamic and high-quality touring exhibitions, publishing, digital and educational activities. Shapeshifters: 3D Printing the Future is an ADC On Tour national touring exhibition developed by Claire McCaughan and Rhadi Bryant for ADC in partnership with Western Plains Cultural Centre and supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of Australian cultural material across Australia.
development, where the last houses will be printed on site. The design of the buildings is deliberately uneven and irregular, making use of the ability to print in any shape.
MX3D
Other Dutch pioneers in 3D printing can be found across design and craft. Gijs Bakker has made a huge impact through his irreverent approach to jewellery that discards the history of the field and goes for new concepts and approaches – for him, 3D printing has been about exploring undiscovered avenues in the field. Iris Van Herpen is a leading name in fashion, known for her distinctive, sculptural aesthetic – and much of her work is created with 3D printing. Her latest collection features softer lines and even more complex shapes. Dirk Vander Kooij is one of a number of Dutch furniture designers expanding the field of 3D printing. Using a giant robotic arm to extrude large objects from recycled material, he has created chairs and other furniture items that are distinctive and environmentally friendly. And, in the field of ceramics, Olivier van Herpt is pushing the boundaries of 3D printing, exploring machines that drip rather than expel material, larger machines and also experimentations with beeswax. In part led by the excellent Eindhoven Design Academy, this leadership in the development and use of new technologies across design and craft is also the result of Dutch government subsidies and support for design and the arts, an admirable strategy that pays dividends.
jorislaarman.com
The New Raw, 2017, X X X Bench, photo: cour tesy of the ar tist
3D printed concrete housing in Eindhoven, photo: Houben and Van Mierlo architects
Editors: Lisa Cahill and Penny Craswell
australiandesigncentre.com australiandesigncentre.com/object-platform/ australiandesigncentre.com/shapeshifters/
Contributors: Bin Dixon Ward, Kate Dunn, Jennifer Loy, Berto Pandolfo Thank you to Berto Pandolfo for additional advice regarding editorial content. Graphic Design: Amplifier Creative Print: Digital Press Australian Design Centre 101 - 115 William St Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Gallery opening hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11am - 4pm Gallery: 02 8599 7999 Office: 02 9361 4555 hello@australiandesigncentre.com
mx3d.com
Joris Laarman The New Raw thenewraw.org
Eindhoven University of Technology tue.nl/en
Houben en Van Mierlo Architecten houbenvanmierlo.nl
Gijs Bakker gijsbakker.comIris
Van Herpen irisvanherpen.com
Dirk Vander Kooij dirkvanderkooij.com
Olivier van Herpt oliviervanherpt.com
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