Over the last month or so I have been working on design algorithms using Grasshopper in Rhino 3D. I decided to apply this fist to the stool I will need for my jewellery bench in the workshop. The reason I chose to apply this to the stool is that I currently have a Pakistani rushty stool which is the perfect size and shape for my workbench. So I decided to use this as the size and shape that I would use in rhino and then allow the computer algorithms to design the rest of the stool.
It has taken quite a long time and different models perfect the final design. I found that some of the T-splines wouldn’t Boolean union which meant I had to delete some elements. I also had problems with some splines unioning but then the model had no volume. To get around this I had to keep checking the volume and saving regularly to find and delete the bad splines.
I have 3D printed a small model of the stool from my home printer. Because the size of the university computer is about 20cm I have split the stool into eight segments that will all be printed separately.
From the model I printed I realised that the base of the model would be too thick, so to cut down on materials I have cut the larger model down to 5mm thick at the base.
The stool is now getting printed so I will be looking forwards to seeing the result.
A Tool Making Approach through digital technologies. 