Inspired by the interesting inaccuracies of automated manufacturing processes, Vander Kooij has experimented with 3D printing via a computer-controlled robotic arm of his design that forms objects by depositing a thin thread of recycled plastic “meticulously . . . very efficiently and without waste.” The Endless Flow Rocking Chair is one of several shapes and sizes of objects that the robot can make in a single process. Vander Kooij’s designs can be modified as they are made—flaws can be tweaked or corrected from prototype to prototype, making each piece unique, and this can be done quickly and at little cost. For example, fifty-four models of Endless Flow were made during the prototyping process, tweaked progressively until the chair sat comfortably.
Gallery label from Applied Design, March 2, 2013–January 31, 2014.
