From Dribbling Honey to Non-planar 3D-Printing: Coiling Becomes Craft

Anyone who has watched a child play with soft semi-liquid materials like honey, frosting, or slime, sees the fascinating interplay between design and physics. Many of us remember these experiences from our own childhood (or maybe not that long ago). These materials dribble and coil as they stack upon themselves when we drop them onto surfaces like cakes from small heights. This ludic behavior represents a physical phenomenon known as rope coiling. Recent research in 3D printing of clay and plastic has started to wonder how rope coiling can be leveraged to create new textures and textile-like structures through non-planar 3D Printing. These provide new tactile experiences in objects like cups and visual experiences in things like lamps. In this demonstrator, we invite researchers and practitioners to return to their childhood and dribble edible materials to understand how to advance additive manufacturing through interactive printing.