Reworking form with connection points preserved
In this work, I used generative design to improve the form of earlier prototypes while seeking new forms. The technique generates models from conditions supplied to the software by the designer.
I explored automating the modelling process by setting conditions, and comparing several variations at once in search of “a form I had never seen”. I extracted the coordinates of the 6 mm alignment dowels and the screw positions used to attach the flowers, then generated alternative forms while retaining these connection points as constraints.
The generated forms suggest both plants such as ivy and non-living systems such as rivers. In considering these forms, I referred to the constructal law, proposed in 1996. It offers a way of viewing living and non-living systems as flow systems and considering different phenomena through a shared principle.
In the branching structure of the work, I see an echo of the tendency of forms to change towards arrangements that allow flow to pass more easily.
I extracted coordinates from drawings to generate forms, then evaluated them through 3D printing. The process moved through analysis, CAM, machining simulation and post-processing to automated machining. This is an early work in which I sought to connect “product-oriented industrialisation” and “the context of art”.
Form studies
Generating forms
Earlier prototype 
Drawing 
Coordinate extraction 
Form generation 
3D print study
Fabrication
Analysis 
CAM 
Machining simulation 
Post-processing 
CNC machining
