Near Net Shape

This sculpture has been constructed using wire-arc additive manufacturing techniques. Suspended at eye height and lit from above, the sculpture casts the shadow of CPU unit. the electronic circuitry that carries out the instructions of a computer program. Any physical machine whose functions are controlled by operating software will have some form of CPU inside it.

Software has been used to drive and control the operation of heavy machinery in ports and shipyards for many decades. Its importance has increased with the push towards automation, digitization, and data driven process. However, the presence of familiar machines in the port implies work as usual, making the presence of these new processes – and their dependencies – difficult to sense.

Wire arc additive manufacturing is an experimental process which combines arc welding processes with complex software and hardware to create three-dimensional structures out of metal. Arc welding has been a commercially important part of the shipping industry since the 1940s, essential for fabricating steel structures and vehicles. Wire arc additive manufacturing depends on complex and interconnected digital and physical processes including the creation of 3D files, mapping toolpaths, and defining the speed and motions of robotic welding machinery.

Commissioned for the FutureFlux festival, Port of Rotterdam, and created with support from a residency with RAMLAB.

• https://gsvoss.com/#/nearnetshape/