Jonathan Keep is taking ceramic 3D printing to the next level with Delta WASP 40100 Clay
Jonathan Keep has been a leading exponent of studio based ceramic 3D printing for over 10 years, pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved through liquid deposition manufacturing and greatly contributing to its development and success over the last years.
He has been invited to undertake residencies, workshops and lecturing in over fifty institutions in more than twenty countries. In a visiting capacity he has taught at such schools as Florida State University USA, the Royal College of Art London, ENSA Limoges France, the Estonian Academy of Art, Tallinn and The Design School Reykjavik Iceland.
Jonathan and WASP has crossed paths years ago in 2015, when he first started using Delta WASP 2040 Clay, one of the first 3D printers that could print fluid-dense materials, such as clay, in relatively large dimensions for that time.
Not only Jonathan was one of the first professional potter to trust our technology, but he has also greatly contributed to its diffusion all over the world thanks to his workshops and lectures as an expert and leading exponent of ceramic 3D printing.
Today Jonathan is using our Delta WASP 40100 Clay for his bigger sized projects, constantly raising the bar of what it’s possible to create with LDM 3D printers.
“I have used Delta WASP 40100 Clay for nearly two years now and I have to thank WASP for such a good piece of equipment. The longer I use it the more I like it and I felt it had raised the bar for clay 3D printing when I first got it.”
Jonathan Keep, July 2021
Combining digital fabrication and traditional pottery
Jonathan’s work is extremely prolific and not easy to summarize. Throughout his 10 years of activity, he has experimented with many different techniques and materials, documenting its research regularly on his website and social medias through papers, photo reports and 3D printing guides.
His work mainly focuses on pushing the boundaries of what shapes can be achieved through liquid deposition manufacturing. If you’re familiar with clay 3D printing, you probably know how difficult it is to print a piece with several floating parts and a non-vase structure, requiring you to have full control over retraction and overhanging.
Johnathan took ceramic 3D printing to the next level by creating pieces that you wouldn’t even believe were 3D printed. By combining digital fabrication and traditional glazing techniques, he was able to create complex parametric structures and later refine them to achieve that smooth and glossy look that is typical of ceramic pieces.
3D printed ceramic series
Throughout the years, he has created many series of vases and conceptual pieces, experimenting with different shapes, materials and glazing techniques.
For instance, the Knot series focuses on the theme of the knot as a metaphor for the human body, creating a suggestive and almost unsettling series of pieces that are ‘almost alive’.
The Mandelbulb urns focuses on fractals and their three-dimensional form, questioning how close in detail we can get to the real mathematic formula.
The Cantor series also deals with fractals, but instead in the form of ‘roots’ that act as a base for the vases.
With the Random rounds and Random cubes series, Jonathan experimented with different parametric modelling approches using Blender to see how they translated to the real world with 3D printing.
Professional LDM 3D Printing
Jonathan Keep has been using Delta WASP 40100 Clay since 2018, allowing him to experiment with bigger sized 3D prints. With Delta WASP 40100 Clay It’s possible to print directly on the floor or on a printing surface removable steel. You can also continue printing without waiting for the piece to dry and simply by moving the printer.
