Crafting Actions: Simulations of Material Dynamics

This database provides a comprehensive overview of simulation archetypes developed using the Abaqus software. Each archetype represents a specific crafting action, analyzed and simulated to capture the intricate dynamics of various material interactions.  Abaqus serves as a valuable tool for modeling and simulating these crafting actions, applying fundamental physics principles to understand and predict material behavior in response to specific actions. The software allows users to export visual representations of simulations enhancing the accessibility and communicative power of the simulation outcomes (avi, VRML, inp files).

The action archetypes are analysed to create a simulation archetype for each, which can then be refined into a specific simulation for each craft action of interest.

01 Cutting

The archetypal simulation of cutting is implemented by a wedge. Depending on the material type and the velocity of the tool, smaller fragments of the material may be produced.

02 Carving

The archetype is modelled based on the trajectory of the carving tool. This is because the interest is in simulating the gesture of the practitioner. Moreover, the trajectory determines the shape of the carved material. 

03 Turning

A lathe is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an object with symmetry about that axis.

04 Dismantling

Dismantling or separating parts by pulling them apart is a subtractive process. The underlying principle is a couple of forces in (approximately) opposite directions that increase mechanical stress until the damage condition is met at some part of the material.

05 Compressing

Compression is the opposite of dismantling. It regards pushing a material to reduce its size. Depending on the stiffness of the material it may only distort, but after a point of failure, it starts breaking apart losing part of its mass as it breaks apart.

06 Drilling

Drilling is a technique encountered in several crafts to create tubular holes in the material. The material is constrained in place and the tool is rotating.

07 Assembly

The archetype regards an unstable assembly and predicts the stability of the instability of a built structure. In this case, the structure’s fate is governed by gravity.

08 Filling

The archetypal simulation illustrates the tensions developed in a brick wall due to its weight and the sustainability of the structure due to the use of mortar.

09 Fastening

A horizontal beam that is fastened perpendicularly into a vertical beam. In the first simulation, the assembly is stable, that is the fasteners are strong enough to hold the horizontal beam in place and sustain the effect of gravity. In the second simulation, an additional vertical load is applied on the horizontal beam, causing the deformation of the structure.

10 Swivelling

Swivelling refers to the act of rotating or turning around a fixed point or axis, based on the wheel and axle simple machine. It involves connected components that rotate around an axle, enabling the flexibility of the composite structure.

11 Bending1

The simplest case of bending requires at least three points of pressure, while variants can employ one point of encasement and two points of pressure.

The first regards a ply of material that exhibits high plasticity, such as a piece of wood that has been steamed.

12 Bending2

The second case of bending regards a stiffer material and, in this case, a damage model is employed to simulate the non-linear deformation that the material undergoes under pressure.

13 Moulding

The moulding process is used to create hollow bodies. In this case, the parison is placed into a mold cavity, usually consisting of two halves that shape the hollow body. The mold then closes around the parison.

14 Debossing

A debossed pattern is sunken into the surface of the material and, depending on the thickness of the material might protrude on the reverse side.

15 Wheel-throwing

Wheel-throwing is mainly encountered in pottery but mechanically similar actions are met in glasswork (blocking). The action is similar to the turning subtractive action but, in this case, the material is highly plastic. Thus, the operation instead of removing material deforms the shape of the rotating material, while preserving its mass.

16 Twisting

Twisting refers to the action of developing torsional stress by a turning motion of a solid body about its axis of symmetry. Twisting is a fundamental technique found in various crafts, prominently used to add strength, aesthetics, or functionality.

17 Composite Carving

Composite Carving combines four carving actions to create a cross pattern on a piece of material. The simulation mimics the motion of a carving tool operated by a practitioner to sculpt the material. At each carving stroke, the tool creates a ridge, which is then retracted and pushed to remove the carved piece from the surface. The tool is then translated and rotated appropriately and the action is repeated to create the pattern. 

18 Composite lathe

Composite lathe uses the turning archetype to create a striped pattern on a piece of material. The turning action that carves material is repeated to create a symmetric composition.