M.C. Escher’s “Wentelteefje” rolls out of the page and into the realm of 3D printing thanks to Rachel McConnell and the Objet500 Connex Multi-Material 3D printer by Stratasys. Otherwise known as “The Curl-Up”, the figure originated from the brilliant mind of artist M.C. Escher and is thought to be a 3D impossibility. The Curl-Up is a fascinating rendering of geometry and physics meant to confound the onlooker as it moves from a millipede-like creature with tiny human legs and feet to a rolled up ball propelled by those same feet.
Rachel McConnell has been a lead developer at Instructables and relished the challenge Escher’s famous print presented. McConnell explained that there are two major difficulties with any non-digital fabrication technique: testing and repeatability. It took her quite a few tries to get a shell shape she was happy with.
The adorable and absurd creature once crawled out of the imagination of Escher, and McConnell has brought it to its tangible form. With the aid of multi-material printing, McConnell could print a variety of forms and materials to test and reach the best combination. The Curl-Up finds life in a new medium and it is exciting to imagine other prints once restricted to the page find itself in a 3D world taking up a new space.
