All the 3D printers I am using are not large – The smallest build size is 15×25 x15cm and the largest is 40x40x25cm). Therefore, I have to create 3D models that fit the printer’s ‘build room’ or split a 3D model into small parts to print. I’ve always created large-scale works, and still want to create large works.  Obviously I will have to work with a lot of small parts which need to be joined together.  This has prompted me to look at different types of connectors.

Most connectors have large overhangs and as a result are difficult to print without supports. That’s no longer a problem as I have become more experienced in using both software supports and my own “tree” supports.  What I am doing is to explore possibilities and limits in 3D printing so that I can develop a new set of disciplines that I can use in future.  I hope towards the end of my residency the particular ‘aesthetic’ of 3D printing that dictates how I create forms and structures can be expressed more coherently.

 

 

This is my first attempt to join parts together using a fractal pattern that mimics bud clusters in most eucalypts. I will need to print more parts for the much larger cluster which has 45 arms and 45 cups.