Blue Rabbit
BR4 – As Long As I’m Learning…
Parameters
Globe: x = 65 mm, y = 65 mm, z = 78 mm
Caps: x = 46 mm, y = 46 mm, z = 15 mm
Overall Height: 86 mm
Material Use: 50 grams (Globe) + [17 grams (Caps) X 2] = 84 grams
Print Time: 210 mins (Globe) + [75 mins (Caps) X 2] = 360 mins = 6 hours
My original question: Can a 3D printed object be responsive to its environment and to the dynamic energies of the people and processes that interact with it?
My double sided snow globe is a spherical globe with two ends fitted with threaded caps designed to hold magnets inside the inverted basins. The original intent was to fill the globe with water along with ferrofluid, a fluid that becomes magnetized in the presence of a magnetic field. The theory was that the ferrofluid would become magnetized by the magnets placed inside the basins of the caps, making visible the magnetic field.
The current form of my idea is not yet represented in 3D. What started out as a simple sphere to demonstrate a simple magnetic field may turn into a slightly more complicated object to demonstrate the magnetic field created by an electromagnet. In its current state the ferrofluid simply becomes magnetized to the magnets, which does not demonstrate the responsiveness I desire.
Although, I was able to easily manipulate my objects in the digital modeling environment to fit the progression of my idea, its only influence was to execute the idea as it progressed through my trial and error testing of the actual fluids and magnets that will eventually inhabit the globe. Currently, the globe itself has escaped any iterations; the caps have been redesigned a few times already. However, the ease with which I am able to quickly manipulate the design makes the actual testing of the fluids and magnets less intimidating. I have become more willing to alter my design knowing the ease with which it can be done, without getting discouraged with the multiple iterations through which it has gone.
The only technical constraints of the 3D printing process that affected the progress of my idea were the limitations of the actual printing of the globe and caps. Although, 3D printing makes easier the prototyping process, the limited availability of the printers, the troubleshooting of the various filaments, as well as the printer and software, made the printing process less accessible than the modeling environment. In addition, when the globe and caps were finally printed, it took some manual convincing to make my amateur thread design meet my high expectations.
As it currently sits on my desk, my double sided snow globe could be used as a container for various purposes (with the exception of holding an actual liquid). However, whether accomplished inside the next week or not, I intend to complete my investigation of electromagnetic fields and whether I will be able to create a 3D printed object to make visible the invisible. My intention is to continue to experiment with making an electromagnetic field until either a) I do or, b) my frustration leads me to finally take a class to learn about the incredibly complicated physics and mathematics involved in creating exactly the field I want. Regardless of the outcome, I’m feeling accomplished at what I’ve learned thus far and excited to learn more.
BR3 – Seeing the Invisible
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.
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.
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.
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.
BR2 – Can Form Meet Function?
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.
Grant, Andrew. “Fluid Vortex Gets Tied in Knots.” Science News 183.7 (2013): 8–8. Print.
HouseholdHacker. How to Make Magnetic Fluid (ferrofluid). YouTube. 2010. Film.
“Russell Garehan | LinkedIn.” Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
Thilmany, Jean. “Not Immaterial.” Mechanical Engineering 136.3 (2014): 22–23. Print.
BR1 – What Happens When You Follow a Blue Rabbit Down a Black Hole?
We were instructed to begin our posts with our question. Singular. But my project is the culmination of many questions, some of which drew me to Making Meaning Matter to begin with. How can we each discover our own value out of seeing our thoughts materialize before our eyes? Is it possible to not just imagine but witness the transformation of our ego-consumer-driven age to one that learns from, engages with and contributes to the life of and on this planet? How can we use language, our language, to birth our ideas, the delicate, vulnerable, innermost beauty of our being, when we experience daily the limits and inconsistencies our language imposes on us? How can we use 3D printing to get in touch with what it means to be a human, on this planet, in this time?
The question for this project is: Can a 3D printed object be responsive to its environment and to the dynamic energies of the people and processes that interact with it?
Yes, I want to create something that is alive, responsive, intuitive, and vulnerable. I want to create an object that will interact with its environment. The 3D object will either itself be made from magnetic materials, or will contain conductive filament such that it can interact with a magnetic force to create a magnetic field in and around the 3D object. Whether I can create a magnetic 3D object or a 3D object with conductive filament will determine the next phase of my project.
If the 3D object is made with a conductive filament then I will introduce a ferrofluid which will demonstrate how the 3D object is interfacing with the magnet and its environment by following the flux lines of the 3D object (Ferrofluid). The particular shape of the 3d object has yet to be determined, and I will experiment with various shapes that mimic the fundamental shapes found in many patterns throughout the world; torus, vector equilibrium (cuboctahedron), 64 tetrahedron grid, flower of life, and others.
If the 3D object is itself magnetic then I will print a number of smaller 3D objects and experiment with a series of smaller magnets. In this case, I will 3D print a number of small flying birds, and attempt to mimic a murmuration of starlings (Keim), what I would consider a 4D version of Indra’s Net.
The shapes I spoke of earlier have been found by many scientists, inventors, innovators, and philosophers to be the basic building blocks of the world we live in today. The structural shape of the vector equilibrium and the torus shape of the magnetic energy field that surrounds every living thing at every scale in the universe, have shown up throughout written history and across nearly every major culture spanning the earth. These shapes are considered the code for a sustainable and ever-evolving cosmology that, when adopted, could mean the end of the myriad concerns enveloping our consumer driven world today (Thrive).
Buckminster Fuller said “The VE represents the ultimate and perfect condition wherein the movement of energy comes to a state of absolute equilibrium, and therefore absolute stillness and nothingness” (Cosmometry). When the eight tetrahedra of the vector equilibrium are expanded out to the next scale, the 64 tetrahedra grid is built. When spheres are drawn around each of the individual tetrahedra, the tetrahedra removed, and the image of the spheres turned two dimensional, the flower of life appears in the overlapping circles. The flower of life has been found in the ancient Temple of Osiris in Egypt as well as The Forbidden City in China, both of which were built centuries ago (Thrive). Even Leonardo da Vinci contemplated on the flower of life in his drawings and used the torus energy shape in some of his inventions (The Secret to How the Universe Works).
You say, so what? What difference will it make to spend a quarter exploring this idea and its manifestations? It will make absolutely no difference if what happens during the unfolding of this idea is not documented, reflected upon and critical discoveries made known. This question could better be answered by Lambros Malafouris’ argument “that by knowing what things are, and how they were made what they are, [we] gain an understanding about what minds are and how they become what they are – and vice versa (Malafouris, 9).” I hope his argument coupled with my curiosity will give me a clear insight into my overarching question: what does it mean to be human?
Works Cited
Cosmometry: Exploring the Fractal Holographic Nature of the Cosmos. Retrieved October 20, 2014, from http://www.cosmometry.net/overview-of-cosmometry
Ferrofluid on the track of a Meatgrinder. (2008). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE2pB1pyZN0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Keim, B. (2011, November 8). The Startling Science of a Starling Murmuration. Retrieved October 20, 2014, from http://www.wired.com/2011/11/starling-flock/
Malafouris, L. (2013). How things shape the mind: a theory of material engagement. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
THRIVE: What On Earth Will It Take? (2012). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEV5AFFcZ-s&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The Secret To How The Universe Works Lies Within This Geometrical Pattern. What Is The Flower of Life? (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2014, from http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/12/10/the-secret-to-how-the-universe-works-lies-within-this-geometrical-pattern-what-is-the-flower-of-life/