Design of the Week: Dequan Li Attractor

By on September 2nd, 2013 in Design

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This week’s selection is the very beautiful Dequan Li Attractor by programmer and artist Nicolas Serouart.
 
The design is entirely mathematically generated and presents a beautiful sweeping shape, as if the complex motion was captured in an instant. 
 
We’re not certain of the tools Serouart used to create this incredible shape, but he says he was inspired by this post, which explains some of the mathematics behind the Attractor.  
 
Mathematically generated shapes often appear incredibly complex, seemingly impossible to create by hand. But their creation is actually straightforward, if you have the right plug-ins that use well-known mathematical equations to generate the shape at the push of a button. By fiddling with the equation’s parameters, one can generate many variations on the curves involved. 
 
Regardless of the complexity of its origin, you can have a copy of the 85mm Dequan Li Attractor in a very simple manner: order one from Serouart’s Shapeways shop, with pricing ranging from USD$61-65, depending on material and color. If that’s too much for your wallet, you might consider a smaller version that costs only USD$15. 
 

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!