This project was part of the Expertise 2: Nodes course, guided by Prof. Dr. Manuel Kretzer and Ali Etemadi from the Materiability Lab.

Starting out, i was absolutely overwhelmed by the thorough Grasshopper script by Ali, which we were to use to create nodes to build a structure of our own design. The nodes would connect 6mm sticks to create a form. Having no Grasshopper experience, it took me longer than I would have liked to get started.

Process

My first idea was to create a large 2-3m organic sculpture. after much trial and error (and crashing rhino multiple times), I narrowed it down to the above organic sculpture. Changing settings on Grasshopper led to a final form. with organic nodes. This version was not printed each node was unique due to the organic form. Assembling the final form would be very difficult because of this. Some nodes were printed in a test run as proof of concept.

The second option was a parabolic sculpture.

Final concept

The aim was to build a hangar using nodes, while learning how to do so and the intricacies of 3D printing. As a commercial products industrial designer, I still have trouble thinking out of the box and wanted to create a single node with endless repeatable modular possibilities. Brilliant in its simplicity, the solution was a node to create a system of cuboids that could be changed from functional to organic Zaha-Hadid-inspired sculptures just by changing their placements. 

the first test print was made in PETG, but there were issues disconnecting the support structures.

 The next test print was made entirely of PLA, looked refined but the support system did not adhere well to the Ultimaker S3's glass plate. Overnight prints ended up turning into spaghetti the next morning. The solution to this was to print with 2 materials. I experimented with combinations and found that a PETG raft and PLA node worked the best. 

The course started on Monday, and Thursday night I set up the first batch of prints, hoping to start assembling in the morning. Unfortunately with 90% of the print complete, the printer ran out of material, the nozzle clogged and stopped printing. 

I measured the unfinished print and did a test print of the remaining part of the nodes as a backup in case the print could not be resumed.

After multiple attempts at reloading material, cutting the tip of the material and changing flow rates, Ali was able to get the nozzle to work again. The new loaded material was white PLA resulting in beautiful two-toned nodes. 

Finally, after days of failed experiments, and much learning the first batch of Nodes was ready on Friday, just in time for the final course wrap-up.

Given more time, I would experiment with the nodes themselves to find a way to attach more elements, such as flat panels between them rather than just sticks. This would make the possibilities of this simple system absolutely endless.