I’m using the 3d medium as a new way to make 2d prints. This is a new artistic process for me. When I made a 3d printed Hash sign for the recent W/O Limits exhibition at the Artists Archives, https://andrewreach.com/escape-hash-3d-printed-sculpture…/ I first did renders of it to study the form. A lightbulb went off in my head and I realized I could take these renders, export them out and transform them into 2d cnc cut-out prints.
This hash sign was modeled in Blender and transformed into this 2d print.
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ESCAPE HASH II, 2022 uv cured inkjet on cnc cut-out acrylic/composite aluminum 45″h x 30.5″w, edition of 3
3d printed interconnected blocks Material: PLA Dimensions: Hash Sign 16″h x 17.25″w x 4″d Base 2.5″h x 13.25w” x 8″d
W/O Limits Exhibition
Beginning the assembly.
The final step of the assembly.
screenshot in blenderBlocks printed in Ultimaker 2+ 3d printers The excess material on the blocks is support material which was removed. In 3d printing, parts that overhang need this temporary support material.
My 3d printed tactile artwork ESCAPE HASH is being shown at W/O Limits: Art, Chronic Illness, & Disability at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve https://www.artistsarchives.org/event/w-o-limits/ I’m glad to contribute a touchable artwork for the exhibition, as it is one of many other accessibility and adaptive measures to be most inclusive of the disabled art viewing public.
I would approach the design, with an architectural/engineering methodology. The 3d printed sculpture is made from 74 individually printed interconnected blocks. The blocks are modular, designed to fit together in multiple ways. With a master block that all the blocks are derived from, its shape is a rhombohedron. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhombohedron
Strategies I employed to make it accessible to the visually impaired are 3 things; contrast, pattern and relief to make it tactile to the touch. The blocks alternate between hash symbols in negative relief and positive relief form. Primary colors and black and white provide bold contrast between the parts, making them more visible. The deep cuts into each block project shadows making it both tactile and with a sharply delineated pattern also making it more visible.
The blocks were printed at Think[box] at Case Western Reserve University. Each block took 11 hours to print at high resolution. Director of Prototyping, Ainsley Buckner ran 6 printers simultaneously for over two weeks. Thank you Ainsley!
Hidden between where the blocks connect to each other is a wooden dowel that fit into holes in the blocks. They are alignment pins, assuring that the blocks fit precisely together and align properly. To adhere them, I used 3m VHB Tape, a super strong, super thin double sided tape.
