Fractal Table
Gernot Oberfell, Jan Wertel and Matthias Bär
.MGX by Materialise
Gernot Oberfell, Jan Wertel and Matthias Bär
.MGX by Materialise
The Fractal Table is based on growth patterns seen in nature, which can be described with mathematical algorithms. A fractal structure, by definition, is a geometry which can be split into parts, each of which is approximately a reduced-size copy of the whole. Large, unorganized stems split into smaller and smaller branches and become more organized until they become a dense, regular grid at the top. The Fractal table is impossible to produce using any other manufacturing technique and reinforces the growing bond between nature and mathematical formulas.
The Fractal Table was introduced in 2008 in a white version made in nylon and was built through Selective Laser Sintering. In 2009, the designers changed the design to connect the top grid of branches in a geometric pattern and instead produced the table in epoxy resin built through Stereolithography. The table shown here is the first example produced following the new design. The table is made in a limited edition of 25.
The Fractal Table is part of the permanent collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Stereolithography:
A thin layer of liquid plastic is spread over a platform in a large tank. A laser beam is then directed into the liquid, (guided by the CAD design file and the Magics software), solidifying the areas it comes in contact with. As each layer is completed, the platform holding the newly solidified layer shifts down a calculated thickness, and the process begins again: a new layer of liquid is spread, a laser beam hardens specific points in the liquid, and the platform and completed layers of the object move down yet again. In this way, layer by layer, an object is “drawn” in the liquid by the beam, with each new layer being hardened onto the previous layer. Once the object is fully built, it is raised out of the tank by the supporting platform – much like a submarine rising to the surface of the water – and the excess liquid flows away.
Inquiries: |info@moss=gallery.com|info@moss-gallery.com|
The Fractal Table was introduced in 2008 in a white version made in nylon and was built through Selective Laser Sintering. In 2009, the designers changed the design to connect the top grid of branches in a geometric pattern and instead produced the table in epoxy resin built through Stereolithography. The table shown here is the first example produced following the new design. The table is made in a limited edition of 25.
The Fractal Table is part of the permanent collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Stereolithography:
A thin layer of liquid plastic is spread over a platform in a large tank. A laser beam is then directed into the liquid, (guided by the CAD design file and the Magics software), solidifying the areas it comes in contact with. As each layer is completed, the platform holding the newly solidified layer shifts down a calculated thickness, and the process begins again: a new layer of liquid is spread, a laser beam hardens specific points in the liquid, and the platform and completed layers of the object move down yet again. In this way, layer by layer, an object is “drawn” in the liquid by the beam, with each new layer being hardened onto the previous layer. Once the object is fully built, it is raised out of the tank by the supporting platform – much like a submarine rising to the surface of the water – and the excess liquid flows away.
Inquiries: |info@moss=gallery.com|info@moss-gallery.com|
