Research and exploration were the main focus of this project. With the grasshopper plugin, waffling as a concept was studied in order to create a tool that allows a designer or user to take any form, object or geometry and turn it into waffles. The variation of grids, direction, density, curvature, tilt and other aspects were all examined and integrated into this tool, to allow a generative but focussed approach by the user along those parameters, which can be changed through various function groups inside the tool. This generates endless use cases, from simple waffling prototypes to examine the form of an object, to architectural spaces since the material is up to the user and even real products.

process

At the beginning of the project the goal and inspiration were Mike Sheldrake's surfboard cores made out of cardboard. Our question was how to use waffling to change the grid density to create different volume in certain areas to improve certain aspects of surfboards we had been dissatisfied with.

But over the course of our research we discovered different properties in the structures when changing the parameters such as increased flexibility by decreased density or a distortion of the body by tilt and curvature variations. To get to these conclusions we created many prototypes of the same form but with varied waffling grids. To showcase these findings we decided to design and make a chair (flexibility), a surfboad (volumes) and a free form body (morphing and distortion).

prototyping

grasshopper file

The grasshoper file works with function groups that take different approaches to changing the grid structure. These groups work as illustrated in the animations: Simple density, rotation and tilt of the ground plane, waffle culling determined by the distance to a reference point and section removal based on adjustable geometry. Then the material thickness can be adjusted and the waffle contours are created and projected onto the XY-plane. To make assembly easy an automatic numbering system gives each part a individual number.

The tool is fun and easy to use so give it a try:

grasshopper file

assembly

generative carboard waffling was a 5th semester project at kunsthochschule weissensee together with Angou Liu and Leopold Heimpel