It was beautiful, but it was an accidental beauty. The ride was the important thing, but the story was its effect” (Makers, 316).
Using the same step-by-step process we used to make a 3D french table leg, Austin made a 3D version of his name. Seen from both the front and right perspectives one sees his name in block letters. From the back and left perspective, you see the same letters, only backward. However, if you look at it from any other angle, you see a strange new alphabet appear, where one letter changes into another in a matter of 90 degrees. He seems inspired by what he created, even if by accident, and yet, somewhat frustrated that he has yet been unable to make a meaningless tchotchke. The 3D printer seems to be the important thing as we all struggle through our projects. But the 3D printer is really just the technology; what we get to bring to life through our projects, through our struggle, is our story. That’s pretty awesome.
But these people convinced him that they were right, that the story had to be important. After all, it had inspired all of them hadn’t it? The ride was just the technology–the story was what the ride was for” (Makers, 316).
Can a 3D printed object be responsive to its environment and to the dynamic energies of the people and processes that interact with it?”
Chuck Pettis challenged Sarah to have her students discover their project idea in the midst of the Earth Sanctuarys’ Callanish Stone Circle. As I sat there staring at the copper wire tree so beautifully sculpted and placed in the center of the offering circle, I wondered what my project would be. It wasn’t until I left the circle and reflected back on my observations that I decided to print a tree. Inspired by the possibilities of 3D printing by our guide Bryns’ shell bracelet, I wanted to make something that had movement and responded to it’s environment.
Hatam, Katie. An Island Tree. Olympia, Lake Lois Habitat Reserve. 2014. Photograph.
As I pondered how to make the 3D printed tree come alive, I began to research magnetic and conductive filaments. That research led me to two distinct places: the discovery of ferrofluid; and the discovery of vector equilibriums and torus shaped energy fields. As my project unfolded before me, I found myself wondering why I was even following this path. I had no prior knowledge of any of the things I was going to incorporate into my project, or even how or whether the final project was going to work.
I’m attempting to make a 3D printed object that will display the, usually invisible, magnetic field inside a snow globe like display. A colleague recently restated my theory somewhat more provocatively: I want to make the invisible, visible.
Hatam, Katie. The Magnetic Snow Globe. Olympia, The Evergreen State College. 2014. Drawing.
Ferrofluid is a combination of some type of magnetic nano-particles and a viscous fluid. Alone, it looks like a pool of oil. However, when placed within a magnetic field it will take on the shape of the magnetic field lines. When the ferrofluid is placed in water, it seems to float through the space.
Ferrofluid in a Bottle. Vat19. (n.d). Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
In my research, I discovered others who were interested in creating interactive ferrofluid displays. Both the Fluxx LiquiMetal and Ferrocious sculptures allow the user to manipulate the ferrofluid using a hand held magnet.
However, neither of these displays demonstrate what I hope my project will: the usually invisible field lines of a magnetic field.
The 3D printed portion of my project will be the clear sphere within which the magnetic field will navigate and which will hold a combination of water and ferrofluid. Magnets will be placed in both the top and bottom caps of the double sided globe to create the magnetic field.
The theory is that the ferrofluid will float through the water along the field lines of the magnetic field created by the embedded magnets and create a magnetic snow globe much like you see in this mock prototype.
Cap: Anna Marynenko. White jar with silver cap isolated in white. n.d. Shutterstock. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. Globe: Paulmann. Paulmann Lighting 87000 2-6/16″ Glass Globe Deco Cover, Clear. n.d. Plumbersurplus. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. Torus Particles: Autodesk Help. Adjusting the velocity of moving particles. 2009. Autodesk. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
He wanted to tell her that she had never once seen him as a sexual being when he was big and fat, but that he had no trouble seeing her as one now that she was getting old and a little saggy, and so where did she get off criticizing his emotional maturity” (Makers, 251)?
My ears tend to perk up a little when I hear the word “objectification.” As a human being, I’ve been the objector, as well as the objectee. Tensions always seem to rise around this issue, my own included. However, I’ve recently got clear my role in this conceptual human comedic tragedy. People have their perspectives, their passions, their pleasures. And, people get hurt. And most people aren’t willing to be responsible for their role in either circumstance, up to and including the perception that objectification is real, and that it is being done by someone, willingly, to someone else, against their will. The question to ask is, not, what is the role 3D printing plays in supporting/abdicating objectification? But rather, what is my role in allowing an abstract concept to relinquish me of my responsibility toward realizing my own humanity?
Every step he took, he saw that ruin of a face, the compound fracture, the luminous blood around his groin. He made it halfway to the guesthouse before he found himself leaning against a shanty, throwing up. Tears and bile streaming down his face, chest heaving, Lester decided that this wasn’t about fun anymore. Lester came to understand what it meant to be responsible for other people’s lives. When he stood up and wiped his face on the tail of his tight, glittering shirt, he was a different person” (Makers, 274).
Lester said…’We going to be ready to open soon?’ Perry had fallen into a classic nerd trap of having almost solved a problem and not realizing that the last 3 percent of the solution would take as long as the rest of it put together” (Makers, 201).
Reality stared back at us from the white board as we all quickly realized that time was of the essence. We have four short weeks to perfect and complete our design, run test prints, create images that represent our project, and finally, to bring our idea into reality. Four weeks! Doesn’t seem like such a short period of time until—the wringer—we discovered that we are competing for limited resources; the ability of two 3D printers to print for two committed programs, non-stop for the next four weeks. Nine hours each was our allotment. Time to get to work.
‘Soon, soon.’ Perry said. He stood up and looked around at the shambles. ‘I lie. This crap won’t be ready for hours yet’ (Makers, 201).
Source: Dustin Kleckner and William Irvine/Chicago University
Can a 3D printed object be responsive to its environment and to the dynamic energies of the people and processes that interact with it? The idea: given the right conditions and variables, one could see the shape of the magnetic field created around an object. I will attempt to create this by placing a metal 3D printed object in a glass sphere with magnets on the top and bottom and filling the sphere with water and ferrofluid. My theory is that the ferrofluid, a mixture of dispersed nano-scale magnetic particles (laserjet toner) and a viscous solution (100% vegetable oil) (HouseholdHacker), would follow the magnetic force applied to the 3D printed object by the magnets and float around the sphere through the water on the flux lines of the magnetic field. The result would be a sort of magnetic snow globe.
My overarching question for this class is how can 3D printing and making play into my desire to create spaces that inspire people to be alive? Could I create a 3D printed object that is alive, responsive, intuitive, and vulnerable and inspires the people who come into contact with it? And how would that object, or the process that unfolds during my attempts to make it, answer the question what does it mean to be human?
Although, not a physicist myself, I realize my project is all about physics, so I was not surprised to find that 3D printing was being used in other physics applications around the world. In the article “Not Immaterial” published in Mechanical Engineering, Physicist Tim Evans of Imperial College in London, was inspired to use 3D printing when he saw a 3D printed object in a museum (Thilmany). “The object was a table inspired by the tree-like structures found in nature, which is an example of a branching process that is commonly encountered in complex systems in theoretical physics.” Evans states, “This led me to think, what other processes familiar to physics could be turned into a 3D printed object?”
University of Chicago physicists Dustin Kleckner and William Irvine answer Evans question in another article by Andrew Grant published in Science News. Kleckner and Irvine are using 3D printing to explore further the “evidence that knotted vortex loops could emerge in and affect the flow of various fluids and plasmas.” Their problem was first, duplicating a knotted vortex in the lab, and second, creating an environment that could hold the vortex long enough for them to study it. Their second problem was solved when they saw a YouTube video of a dolphin making and pushing a vortex ring in the water. Their first problem was solved by 3D printing. They now have a collection of various sized and shaped 3D knotted “wings,” a collection which would be much more limited with traditional manufacturing practices, which they use to recreate knotted vortexes.
I was also interested in the non-scientific realm of the various components of my project. I discovered others that have found exciting the beautiful displays made with magnets and ferrofluid. Krunal Patel, founder of Fluux Design Lab, LLC in Houston has launched a Kickstarter campaign to “explore and bridge the gap between material science and artistic expression.” His project? A free standing magnetic tube filled with water and ferrofluid which observers can manually manipulate with an external magnet.
Research into Patel’s educational or professional background did not return any matches, but that did not seem to prevent his backers from pledging over 500% of the project’s original goal, over $112,000. Patel conducted extensive research on the various materials used to come up with a “design element that was aesthetically pleasing,” and would ideally catch the eyes and interests of his backers whose main concern was color coordinating their shiny new toy with their existing high-tech shiny toys. He also included a detailed timeline for the manufacturing and shipping of his unit, but comments on Kickstarter’s website seem to indicate delays in shipping times with some backers kicking themselves for being suckered. Perhaps Patel’s function did not meet form.
Another Kickstarter campaign, aptly named “Ferrocious,” takes the same concept, yet provides another variable; music. Russel Garehan’s tube is connected to a musical input that allows the viscous fluid to dance. His design, which is not as sleek and refined as Patel’s, has the added feature of being combined with the audio component. Unfortunately, form did not meet function and Garehan’s campaign only generated 300% of his original goal, a mere $15,528 compared to Patel’s sleek design. However, Garehan’s backers have received their units and Garehan responds directly to his backers’ comments on the Kickstarter website, stating “I’m glad to help as much as I can.”
Garehan received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University and has been featured, for this project, as well as other accomplishments, in popular magazines such as Wired, Popular Science, and Business Report. Perhaps not surprising, Garehan has his own experience in 3D printing as a freelance 3D modeler. Currently, he is a design engineer for Mezzo Technologies in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
All my research has only further fed my own curiosity for not only how I can use 3D printing to bridge the gap between my linear left brain and creative right brain, but also whether what I aim to achieve is even possible. Although, my question remains the same, one other study I found gave me an alternative path to follow should my original design not produce the intended result.
Akiva J. Dickstein and colleagues experimented with the theory that “ferrofluids are known to produce complex labyrinthine patterns when trapped between closely spaced glass plates and subjected to a magnetic field normal to the plates.” Although they led their research with the inquiry of how the patterns form, my response was to create a design that would capture the pattern as another version of the magnetic snow globe with a complex labyrinth for the ferrofluid to navigate during its magnetic journey.
The Kickstarter campaigns, which combined the awe and respect of an academically acclaimed scientific system with the beauty and creativity of artistic expression, both received well over the minimum pledges, demonstrating that people are indeed curious and excited about new devices and technology that allow them to explore complex scientific systems within their own human experience. Whether this curiosity is driven by a consumer need for instant gratification and social inclusion or a human need to observe, participate and understand the world in which we live remains under the umbrella of the inquiry what does it mean to be human?However, all my research pointed in the direction that, yes, a 3D printed object can in fact be responsive to its environment and to the dynamic energies of the people and processes that interact with it, and this responsive ability may very well occupy a large sector of future 3D printed technologies.
Works Cited
Dickstein, Akiva J. et al. “Labyrinthine Pattern Formation in Magnetic Fluids.” Science 261.5124 (1993): 1012–1015. Print. New Series.
“Ferrocious: The Ferrofluid Sculpture That Dances to Sound.” Kickstarter. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
“Fluux LiquiMetal – A Color Shifting Ferrofluid Suspension.” Kickstarter. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
Sometimes he grunted or scatted along with his playing but more often he grunted out something that was kind of the opposite of what he was playing, just like sometimes the melody and rhythms he played on the piano were sometimes the opposite of the song he was playing, something that was exactly and perfectly opposite, so you couldn’t hear it without hearing the thing it was the opposite of” (Makers, 172).
Today we understand a little more about the world, so our stories are about people figuring out what’s causing their troubles and changing stuff so that those causes go away. Causal stories for a causal universe. Thinking about the world in terms of causes and effects makes you seek out causes and effects–even where there are none…It’s not superstition, it’s kind of the opposite–it’s causality run amok” (Makers, 177).
My experience in the CST lab this week was sparse to none. I was distracted from my ethnographic responsibilities by my sick child. But, as I reviewed my reading ofMakersthis week I was struck by Perry’s memories of how his father would play music for him when he was sick. Despite the coincidence, it wasn’t because I was also home with my sick child; it was for Doctorow’s italicization of the word oppositein both this scene, as well asthe scene when Lester and Perry are attempting to articulate the evolution of the ride. Causality run amok. How many of our projects will fulfill anything remotely close to the original intention? Will it even matter? Perhaps, what matters is what we discover about ourselves during the process. No causality happening here, just a story.
