Additive Manufacturing
What is additive manufacturing?
Let's break those big words down. Add+i+tive = To add. Man-u-fact-ur-ing = to make. Here's an image compilation with the words Add to Make.
Additive manufacturing is when you build something by adding one layer at a time!
3D Printing
A lot of time people think of 3D printing when they think of additive manufacturing. With 3D printing you can build specialty parts and toys from Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) drawings.
Here is a picture of a 3D printer at work.
Check out Thingiverse for free 3D printing drawings. https://www.thingiverse.com/
Printed Habitats
You can even 3D print a whole house! Here's an article by Dwell that explains what it's like to build and live in a 3D printed home. https://www.dwell.com/article/what-its-really-like-to-live-in-a-3d-printed-home-bf0fa07f
Have you heard about the 3D printed Mars analog habitat that they built at NASA's Johnson Space Center? Here is an image of the habitat during the build. It is being built using a kind of clay made from simulated Martian dirt. This image is from Icon, the company that innovated the technology.
In the summer of 2023, people will live in this habitat for a whole year as part of a big NASA study. Learn more at this link!
Update on 2/17/23: Here are a few pictures of the finished interior that NASA just released!
Bedrooms
Yet 3D printing is only a new form of additive manufacturing. It is an ancient practice. Read on to learn more about ancient forms of additive manufacturing.
Weaving
Weaving is an ancient form of additive manufacturing.
Here is an image of an intricately hand-woven tea kettle shaped basket made by the Tlingit people of southeastern Alaska.
This one dates to before 1820, and can be seen on display at the San Francisco airport. The Tlingit twined their baskets together with the roots from spruce trees. You can learn more about this piece on the SFO museum's website:
Knots
Do you know what has been around even longer?
Knots.
Archeologists have found knots made by many different ancient cultures across our globe. Knots tie our global heritage together.
In Denmark and Finland we find some of the earliest examples of familiar sailing knots, including the clove hitch and bowline.
The Inka people of South America (covering the land from what is now Ecuador to Chile) kept records with knots. It was an ancient form of writing. Here's a picture from the Smithsonian archives.
Here is an engaging article from newscientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23931972-600-we-thought-the-incas-couldnt-write-these-knots-change-everything/
Want to read more about knots and rope? We enjoyed reading this piece from Low Tech Magazine.
Really, knots are a form of additive manufacturing! Especially when you have many knots put together to create something new.
Crochet
Let's talk about Crochet.
Here's a picture of our daughter using a crochet hook with cord:
Ties to Programming
You can think of the string as the hardware and knots as the software.
Did you know that crocheting and knitting can be considered a programming skill?
Our 9 year old has been learning programming, so while she crocheted I asked:
What similarities do you see between crochet and programming?
- there's a lot you have to remember
- there's a lot of pieces to the process
- you're telling something (yarn) to do something (looping)
- there are lots of patterns that you're repeating along the way.
- It's also like CAD! Math and geometry skills are sure helpful.
Personal Connection
Crocheting is a skill that has been passed down through generations in my family. My grandmother crocheted gorgeous lace while my mother crocheted blankets. I gave up on learning the skill as a child, and while she was in hospice my mom asked her friend to teach me. I spent my mornings caring for my mom in hospice and in the afternoon I joined my mom's friends at the park. Our children played while I learned to crochet. My hands developed the muscle memory and the skill stuck. Now I love crocheting lace, yarn, and more.
Our Child's Activity
Tonight our daughter wanted to crochet a blanket for our rabbit out of jute cord. She had never made a blanket, only long lines, and only with yarn. It is fun to watch her progress. She is picking up this skill fast! It's fun watching her work with different materials. Here's a photo of her working on adding layers with the jute.
Here is an image of the final product.
Crochet vs Knitting
Crocheting is different from knitting. But knitting is also a fun type of additive manufacturing.
Here is a picture of a crocheted blanket made by one grandmother.
Here is an image of a knitted blanket by another grandmother:
And some easy beginner projects to knit with kids!
Let's Go 3D
Amigurumi is the Japanese art of crafting 3D animals through knit or crochet.
Here are free patterns! https://amigurumi.today/
I especially love this little bunny pattern. Here's a link and a picture.
Physics of Knitting
We discussed a physicist at Georgia Tech who takes knitting to a scientifically rigorous extreme. Would you like to hear more about Elisabetta Matsumoto? Here's a link to an article written about her at her university.
#crochet
#knit
#programming
#physics
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