Filament sculptures based on the behaviour of 3D printing

Feb.18, 2014

Generative artist Lia has been exploring 3d printing for about a year now. Instead of creating 3D models in a 3D programme and then simply have them printed out, Lia wanted to know what can be achieved with the actual properties of filament and the movements of the printhead.

So she wrote some short processing application to directly output gCode where she can just define the location of the printhead, the speed of the movement and the amount of filament that should be extruded.

The first tests were mainly about how much filament should be extruded to create a line and how she can produce a "dot" on the bed of the printer. She printed out all the test-code on sheets of paper and taped her 3d printed results next to it so that she would get an overview what would work and what not.

She discovered that surfaces can be continuous or chaotic, lines can be rigid or organic and filament can be closely controlled or let free to find its own form. She also developed construction methodologies that included "strings and blobs", letting filament pile up on itself, "under-constrained wall-building" and a "natural collapse". The outcome is a series of interesting filament sculptures, 3D printed.