Milkweed beauty through repetition
Bennett Lewis
ME 325 | June 2022
Design Goals
Injection mold parts that physically interact with multiple copies of themselves
Core Processes + Tools
Injection Molding, CNC Routing, CAD - Fusion 360, CAM, SLA Printing
Materials
Recycled polypropylene, high temperature SLA resin, aluminum stock
Inspiration
I was drawn to the idea of designing one piece with multiple repeating parts, rather than multiple copies of the same, standalone part. Immediately, I was inspired by characteristics seen in the natural world, such as delicacy and repeating patterns, and sought to explore the dichotomy between nature and plastic through my project.
Eventually, I settled on the concept of a dandelion, and considered several ways to mimic their real characteristics, such as thermoplastic elastomers and overmolding on thread or wire.
Exploration
CAD
Flow Simulations
Realization
Final Product
