Full Print3d. Printing Objects

The permanent exhibition, Full Print3d. Printing objects provides an introduction to digital fabrication through a series of projects that illustrate the conceptual implications of this type of production for design. In additive fabrication—popularly known as ‘3D printing’—an object is created by superimposing and solidifying successive, extremely thin layers of a particular material.

Whereas other types of digital fabrication grew out of the automation of manual techniques that were already familiar before the advent of the computer (cutting, milling, folding, bending, etc.), additive processes make it possible to produce the object, particle by particle, according to the data sent from the computer. This flexibility allows unprecedented freedom in the shape of the design and the control of the material. The work being explored developed in various disciplines, illustrates how new concepts in the production of material are emerging, thanks to the adaptation and use of additive fabrication technologies.

The versatility of 3D printing technologies can be found in the creation of everyday objects and furniture; the printing of human cell tissue, bone prostheses, food and the adaptation of machines to print buildings, and points to a possible paradigm shift in the creation of the world around us. All of the objects presented at Full Print3d were created using different additive manufacturing processes and are organize into six thematic areas: freeform, variation, customization, complexity, materiality, and finally, applications and research.

Free form
Includes objects of varying scales that have a grand geometric freedom and illustrate how the technology of additive manufacturing allows for the creation of objects of any and all shapes, no matter how complex. Some of these objects express this liberty at its maximum, combining alternative and traditional design processes to digitally generate free forms based on digital recordings of sound or movement.

Variation
In order to explore the potential of 3D printing in the manufacture of free forms, and to overcome the limits imposed by standardization, formal diversity can be applied to the same design concept. These projects are seen as infinite collections of objects that are similar, but not identical, thanks to the use of digital programmes that promote the variation of the object according to the user's desire.

Customization Since the same object can be generated and manufactured according to variable parameters, the projects shown in this space go beyond mere variability and enable specific, customized, design solutions. They work with physical and ergonomic information, obtained from 3D scanners or other digital measuring instruments, about each individual.

Complexity The ability to make objects in layers and deposit material only where necessary, is the factor in that most convincingly illustrates the potential of additive manufacturing in design. This can generate microstructures that optimize the use of materials, as well as create complex joints without post-assembly that is not possible with other manufacturing methods, and thus integrate various functions on a single object. With this method, one can generate microstructures that optimize the use of materials, as well as create complex joints without post-assembly - which would not be possible using other methods of manufacturing - and thus integrate various functions on a single object.

Materiality Additive manufacturing supports a wide range of materials, in powder or liquid form - that one gets to harden through various processes. Given the liquid and granular nature of original compounds, this area becomes a platform for research about new materials and multimaterial combinations. These tasks suggest that, in the same way that it is possible to design complex interior microstructures, one can adjust the interior composition of an object printed in 3D and consequently change the physical properties of specific areas on the object.

Applications and Research The work being done in different disciplines (biology, food, automotive, construction and others) illustrates how the implementation of the principles of additive manufacturing is inspiring new concepts in the production of materials. Exploring alternatives to the current existing modes of production, the presented projects in each discipline, demonstrate how new fields of application are opening up and how the perspectives of transformation deepen in regards to the materiality of our bodies, the foods which we consume, the objects that surround us,and the buildings in which we live.

Credits
Collaborators: Francisca Aroso, Areti Markopoulou, Massimo Menichinelli, Lorena Trigo. Institut d’Arquitectura Avançada de Catalunya (IAAC).