Large Assignment 2: Parametric Vessels

Due Dates

Assignment post: Midnight, Tuesday September 24
Presentation: Thursday September 26
Initial comments: 9am, Thursday September 26
Comment responses: Midnight, Friday September 27

Description

The purpose of this assignment is to explore parametric design in Python, Grasshopper and Rhino. You will create a family of at least three vessels. The vessels should be generated by the same Grasshopper program with different parameters. At least one vessel should have, as its base curve, a radial function f(theta), that we did not go over in class. Each vessel should be at least 2.5 inches (6.5cm) tall and 1.5 (4cm) inches in diameter. Vessel walls must have a thickness of at least 1.5 mm. Do not use “spiralize outer contour” in Cura; do not print in “vase mode”. Plan ahead. Expect each print to take at least 10 hours. Below is a beautiful example projects from a previous iteration of the class.

Kage Weiss

What to Hand In
Create a post on this website that documents the work that you did. Your post should include:

  • A description of the design process you went through. Describe how and why you chose the forms that you decided to print.
  • Images of forms generated by your Grasshopper/Rhino program and rendered in Rhino.
  • Images of your printing process. Include images of any printing problems you encountered.
  • Excellent images of your final printed artifacts against a simple background. Follow the photo tutorial.
  • A reflection on the parametric design process, 1-3 paragraphs. What does the process of creating objects via programming and 3D printing let you do that you could not do before. How is it different from a more traditional design and making process? Do you see any advantages or disadvantages to this process?
  • A reflection about your creative agency and intent in this process, 1-3 paragraphs. How did you design your forms? Did you come up with an idea and try to code it or did you experiment with parameters and then choose forms you “liked”. Does your sense of authorship feel different from what it would be in a more traditional design process? Why or why not?
  • Your Grasshopper code. Name your program using the following convention: FirstnameLastnameLA2.gh. Upload the .gh file to the website and include a link to it in your post.
  • Follow the Code Style Guidelines. Add a header to your Grasshopper program, as described in the guidelines.

Add your post to the “Large Assignment 2 – Vessels” subcategory, under the Student Work 2024 category.

Discussion

Read all of your classmates’ posts and comment at least three of them. Try to comment on projects that haven’t been commented on or that have fewer comments. Comment on both the artifact and reflections.

Respond to at least two comments. If you don’t have enough comments, respond to what you can.