Using SOLIDWORKS 3D Creator to combine engineering and art for an annual social event celebrated by the local community.

Ganesh Festival

The Ganesh festival is celebrated towards the end of August or early September all over India, but predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. Lord Ganesh is the Hindu god of knowledge and wisdom, who drives away ignorance and is the remover of obstacles. He is, therefore, worshiped at the beginning of any important event and the annual Ganesh festival celebrates him. The festival brings people together and provides an opportunity for people to strengthen social bonds and to celebrate their culture.

Home Away from Home

People from India who have settled in the US form local communities to celebrate their culture in a social setting and to educate their children about Indian traditions. Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, where I live, has a local community of hundreds of families who gather at the India Society of Worcester (ISW) center for cultural events. We celebrate the Ganesh festival every year at ISW and this year I wanted to celebrate in a special way.

Opportunity to Combine Art and Engineering

During the festival, a Ganesh idol is installed with much fanfare and festivities. Upon the culmination of the festival, traditionally the idol is immersed in water to dissolve and thus return the elements to where they belong - to nature! So, the goal was to create the idol using clay that can dissolve in water. For a large idol that is 8 inches or taller, the clay itself cannot provide sufficient structural strength to hold its shape. An internal scaffolding is needed. This provided an opportunity to bring art (needed to design and decorate the looks of the idol) and engineering (needed to provide structural strength and support) together in a social event.

SOLIDWORKS to the Rescue

We decided to use SOLIDWORKS 3D Creator and 3D Sculptor to design and engineer the internal scaffolding and 3D print it. Once assembled, the internal structure would be layered manually with water-soluble air-dry clay. Upon immersion in water, the clay would dissolve whereas the 3D printed scaffolding would be reused next year.

Design

We photographed the reference idol in multiple views and imported those views into xShape on different viewing planes. Starting from a blob and using the push-pull functionality of xShape, the scaffolding of the idol was designed inside the outer boundaries leaving just enough space for the clay layer on the outside.

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3D Printing

The sub-division model was then sliced into smaller parts so that each part could be 3D printed separately. Proper attachment joints were created between adjacent parts to hold them in place once they were 3D printed. The entire idol was then assembled together from the 3D printed parts. The distinct colors and the separation lines in the following pictures give an idea of how the model was separated into individual parts that were then printed on different 3D printers.

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Sculpting

The outer layer was sculpted by hand from bottom to top using air-dry clay.

Painting

After the clay dried, the idol was painted and decorated.

Installation

The idol became the central attraction of this year's festivities where more than 300 people of various ages, from young children to elders, came together and enjoyed the celebration in traditional ways.

Credits

Special thanks to Chinloo Lama and Sal Lama for their professional expertise in designing the scaffolding using xShape. Without their help, support and expertise this project would not have materialized.