02 - The Project

Introduction:

Technology:
The technology used in this project is beginning to shape the way that objects are designed and made.
For instance a generic hearing aid has been designed which can be customised for each individual patient and produced with no extra tooling costs. The company Freedom of Creation can design an object literally in the back of a taxi, email the design to the manufacturer nearest to the client, who then collects it. The potential to reduce the amount of international and domestic freight is one of the potential benefits of RM.

Materials:
The materials used in this project have been developed by a company in France to convert prototypes made on the Z Corp RP machine into fully functional products. They are ceramic and glass materials that require no firing, yet possess the same properties as traditional materials. They can be applied to virtually any substrate and are non-toxic, food safe, acid and alkali resistant, form a gas barrier are frost proof etc.

Icons:
To demonstrate the use of these materials I decided to take an iconic object from the first Industrial Revolution and produce it using second Industrial Revolution techniques in a way that would have been impossible 200 years ago.
I chose to design a ceramic piece based on early C18th Wedgwood, chosen because Josiah Wedgwood was at the forefront of the first Industrial Revolution, introducing division of labour, helping to develop the canal system etc.

The Design:
My starting point was the 1817 Wedgwood Creamware catalogue. I chose to base my design on the lidded tureens, combining common elements. All my design work was done using Rhino 3D software.











Imitation:
Many manufacturers including Wedgwood produced ceramics that imitated other materials. I chose to imitate a material that couldn't be produced using conventional ceramic techniques. Artificial bone was chosen for it's interesting texture and because it is produced using RP.