Ferro field

Robotic Sculpting of Magnetic Material

material Experimentation

Team: Zaid Kashef Alghata, Emmanuel Osorno, & Yinong Tao

Robotic fabrication offers unparalleled precision, allowing designers to push material experimentation beyond manual limitations. Ferro Field leverages this capacity to examine magnetic fields’ impact on ferro-resin—a reactive blend of resin and iron oxide—to produce intricate, textured forms. This project, situated at the intersection of material research and robotic fabrication, uses dual UR3e robotic arms to explore ferro-resin’s behavioral potential and capture the material’s response to magnetic fields in hardened forms.

“Ferro Field captures magnetic fields as form & texture, merging surface & structure into a unified design.”

Space-Bound Fluid to Architectural Substance

The study of ferromagnetic fluids began with NASA’s 1964 work on ferrohydrodynamics, aiming to magnetize fluids for space applications. Artist Jólan van der Wiel transformed this concept by replacing the oil base with fast-curing resin, creating ferro-resin, a material that hardens to preserve magnetically induced shapes. His Gravity Tool used strong magnets to shape ferro-resin, resulting in intricately textured surfaces. Later, Goldman and Myers at the University of Virginia applied robotics to the process, using sequential resin pours to build modular configurations. Ferro Field builds on these methods, using robotic precision to eliminate gravitational effects, isolating magnetic field impact.

Beyond Gravity: Shaping with Magnetic Control

Van der Wiel’s method shapes ferro-resin from a flat pool, relying on gravity’s influence to create a polarized form. Goldman & Myers’s robotic approach forms and hardens ferro-resin mid-air, minimizing gravity’s impact. Ferro Field goes further, capturing purely magnetic textures to create forms driven by magnetism rather than gravity.

Rediscovering Structure in Magnetized Textures

Robotic control over distance, speed, and timing in Ferro Field enables nuanced magnetic manipulation. Based on Rosensweig instability—where ferrofluids form spiked arrays in uniform magnetic fields—the project creates textures shaped by magnetic force. Similar to Michael Hansmeyer’s Subdivided Columns, where intricate surfaces emerge from computational inputs, Ferro Field incorporates ornament as an inseparable feature of structural form.

Calibrating Ferro-Resin through Robotic Manipulation

Ferro Field’s methodology emphasizes material, tools, and paths. Initial analog tests refined resin-to-iron oxide ratios and curing conditions, ensuring reproducibility in robotic manipulation.

Each setup minimized external variables to magnetic distance and curing time. Standardized neodymium magnets established consistent field strength, while robot-programmed paths ensured systematic translations, creating controlled textures.

Early material reactions to magnetic fields with handheld methods

“Using robotic precision, shapeing forms driven purely by magnetism, free from gravity’s constraints.”

Results from all setups in Ferro Field

Setup A: Handheld Pull

Using Goldman & Myers’s 3:2 resin-to-iron oxide ratio, the initial test used epoxy resin in a 5:1 ratio. A handheld magnet manipulated the poured resin, producing spiky textures near magnets but pooling resin at the edges and handling limitations led to a stable jig setup.

Setup B: Vertical Pull

Adjusting the resin-to-iron ratio to 1:1 and using a 3:1 resin-to-hardener combination improved consistency. Wooden jigs held magnets at fixed distances, producing objects with tiered textures, though uneven midsection textures prompted horizontal setups.

Setup C: Horizontal Pour

Magnets positioned horizontally on acrylic panels introduced a drip method, capturing textures reflective of magnetic field complexity. While this arrangement enhanced detail, gravity-induced deflection necessitated robotic-controlled processes.

Setup D: UR3 Tool

The transition to robotics required a custom tool to shield the UR3 robotic arms and provide a reusable work surface. Layered acrylic housed the magnets, and a synchronized script controlled rotation, minimizing gravitational deflection. Magnetic interference in the robotic wrist, however, necessitated a redesign.

Setup E: UR3 Tool 2.0

A three-inch aluminum spacer resolved interference. The final script synchronized movements across three stages: a five-minute pour, a 30-second translation, and a five-minute curing. Testing three displacement lengths revealed how magnetic reach and translation variations affect surface textures.

Reclaiming Ornament: Surface and Structure Coalesce

Ferro Field redefines ornament as an embedded, structural aspect. The project uses magnetic fields to create forms where surface texture is integral to structure, aligning with classical architecture’s inseparability of structure and decoration.

Scaling Beyond Dimensions

Scaling ferro-resin presents unique challenges. While Van der Wiel scales by amplifying magnet strength, Goldman & Myers use modularity. Ferro Field reframes scaling as focusing on material behavior rather than size, allowing intentional asymmetries to become integral in scaled designs.

Setup B: Vertical Pull