4 ms·

3D Printed Artistic Representation of Noah's Ark

7 points by jschwartz11 12y ago

dragontamer 12y ago
I was expecting less "art discussion" and more technical discussion. Fortunately, the details occur later in the article, but there's a lot of "art talk" at the beginning of the article. They used 3D Max for software, and simply cut the Ark into regular cubes, which were then glued together. Personally speaking, I'd be more interested if they had a more complicated technical methodology. If they simulated assembly modules, or had a more intricate assembly system (Joints are... surprisingly complicated and intricate), I'd have found the article interesting. Otherwise, this was a very brute-force methodology to build a massive art piece. For example, imagine if the Ark were built out of a metal skeleton simply welded together. The Skeleton could have been scanned in with a 3d scanner, and then a custom model built around the support. The model could have then been a hollow-shell, simulated with FEA for structural integrity and then designed to be press-fit together (without glue). Such a methodology could have been accomplished without using literally tons of plastic that this guy has done. The way the article goes, it sounds like the frame was designed after-the-fact. Which is kinda surprising that they made this work at all without collapsing in on itself.
- schiffern 12y ago
  Your dismissal of the "art talk" is surprising, given that the message is highly pertinent to the techno-expansionist worldview that seems popular among HNers: >While mankind turned to crudely built vessels in Biblical times, modern man would undoubtedly turn to modern machinery if faced with a similar catastrophe, which has been reflected in the project's cruise ship-like appearance. '[We are] about to enter the era of Mechanocene [the mechanized era], where machinery automation will be applied to production lines and where human beings are being replaced with machinery.' But will that be enough? If a modern day Ark would sink, what would happen? >Those are exactly the type of thoughts that Peng seeks to provoke with his project. 'This work is a metaphor to expose the collision between Mother Nature and the accelerated development of an industrialized civilization. If Noah's Ark, a symbol of mankind salvation, becomes just as a shipwreck, human and nonhuman were placed in an equal position. The human subject is losing his predominance as the supreme center of the world.' That is exactly why this cruise ship has been twisted and distorted; it is essentially transformed into a beached whale as well.

7 points by jschwartz11 12y ago

I was expecting less "art discussion" and more technical discussion. Fortunately, the details occur later in the article, but there's a lot of "art talk" at the beginning of the article. They used 3D Max for software, and simply cut the Ark into regular cubes, which were then glued together. Personally speaking, I'd be more interested if they had a more complicated technical methodology. If they simulated assembly modules, or had a more intricate assembly system (Joints are... surprisingly complicated and intricate), I'd have found the article interesting. Otherwise, this was a very brute-force methodology to build a massive art piece. For example, imagine if the Ark were built out of a metal skeleton simply welded together. The Skeleton could have been scanned in with a 3d scanner, and then a custom model built around the support. The model could have then been a hollow-shell, simulated with FEA for structural integrity and then designed to be press-fit together (without glue). Such a methodology could have been accomplished without using literally tons of plastic that this guy has done. The way the article goes, it sounds like the frame was designed after-the-fact. Which is kinda surprising that they made this work at all without collapsing in on itself.

schiffern 12y ago
Your dismissal of the "art talk" is surprising, given that the message is highly pertinent to the techno-expansionist worldview that seems popular among HNers: >While mankind turned to crudely built vessels in Biblical times, modern man would undoubtedly turn to modern machinery if faced with a similar catastrophe, which has been reflected in the project's cruise ship-like appearance. '[We are] about to enter the era of Mechanocene [the mechanized era], where machinery automation will be applied to production lines and where human beings are being replaced with machinery.' But will that be enough? If a modern day Ark would sink, what would happen? >Those are exactly the type of thoughts that Peng seeks to provoke with his project. 'This work is a metaphor to expose the collision between Mother Nature and the accelerated development of an industrialized civilization. If Noah's Ark, a symbol of mankind salvation, becomes just as a shipwreck, human and nonhuman were placed in an equal position. The human subject is losing his predominance as the supreme center of the world.' That is exactly why this cruise ship has been twisted and distorted; it is essentially transformed into a beached whale as well.