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Equation-Driven Pots

Equation-Driven Pots is a generative design project that utilizes mathematical equations to create functional, 3D-printable plant pots.

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Equation-Driven Pots is a generative 3D design project for creating printable pots, plates, and vessel-like forms from mathematical equations.

Instead of sculpting shapes manually, the project defines geometry through radial functions in cylindrical and spherical coordinates, then builds printable geometry from the sampled field. The current browser workflow combines base form, texture, multi-color patterning, and experimental field-based deformation in a unified GUI.

The project includes Python generators, browser-based HTML tools, multi-color and nonlinear design workflows, and the Fusion 360 MathSweep Studio reconstruction branch.

Equation-Driven Pots

Equation-Driven Pots is a generative 3D design project for creating functional, printable pots, plates, and sculptural vessels from mathematical equations.

Instead of sculpting forms manually, the project defines geometry through sampled mathematical fields. In cylindrical mode, forms are driven by equations such as r(theta, z) or r(theta, z, v). In spherical mode, they are driven by equations such as r(theta, phi) or r(theta, phi, v). From those sampled fields, the project builds printable geometry such as outer walls, inner walls, bottoms, drainage openings, plates, and multi-part assemblies.

The result is a design system that can produce anything from simple round pots to highly sculptural objects with petals, ribs, lobes, waves, folds, nonlinear surface behavior, multi-color segmentation, field-based remapping, and world-space deformation.

At its core, Equation-Driven Pots treats mathematics not just as a way to describe geometry, but as a practical design medium for fabrication.

Project evolution

1. Fusion 360 Python experimentation

The project began as experimentation inside Fusion 360 using Python scripting and parametric sweep reconstruction. At this stage, the goal was not yet a dedicated pot generator, but a way to define complex 3D forms mathematically and reconstruct them as editable geometry inside CAD.

That work became:
Python/Fusion360/3d MathSweep Studio.py

This branch is useful when forms go beyond straightforward radial vessels and need additional CAD editing, reconstruction, or refinement after the initial mathematical definition.

Thingiverse page for the Fusion-based sweep branch:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7327723

2. Pure Python cylindrical pot generation

After the CAD experimentation, the project moved toward a more direct procedural workflow: generating pots in pure Python from cylindrical radial equations.

This stage focused on forms described by:
r(theta, z)

This made it possible to generate printable meshes directly without depending on a CAD environment. It established the core logic of the project:

- sample the equation over a coordinate grid
- generate the outer wall
- generate the inner wall
- add the base and drainage hole
- export a closed printable mesh

That work became the basis for the early Python tools:

- Python/Equation Driven Pottery.py
- Python/Equation Driven PotteryGui.py
- Python/GuipyVista.py
- Python/GuiDash.py

This stage made the project much more portable and practical for procedural pot generation.

3. HTML adaptation for browser-based use

Once the cylindrical Python workflow was stable, the next step was adapting the project into browser-based tools so designs could be explored online without a local Python setup.

That led to the HTML / JavaScript branch, including tools such as:

- JavaScript/PotDesigner.html
- JavaScript/SweepDesigner.html

This was an important transition. The project shifted from being code-first to interaction-first. Users could now explore equations, preview forms, and export geometry directly in the browser.

4. Expansion into spherical coordinates

The next major step was spherical-coordinate vessel generation.

Instead of describing forms only as cylindrical height-based structures, the project expanded into equations of the form:
r(theta, phi)

This opened a broader design space for egg-like, globe-like, shell-like, and polar-symmetric structures that are harder to express through cylindrical coordinates alone.

That stage included tools such as:
- JavaScript/SphericalPotDesigner.html

Thingiverse page for the cylindrical and spherical generated pots:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7327538

5. Unified textured design

The next stage unified cylindrical and spherical workflows into a single browser tool while introducing procedural surface texture as a second design layer.

This stage centered on:
- JavaScript/TexturedPotDesigner.html

The key idea was to separate:
- base scaffold
- surface texture

Conceptually, the system...

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  • Unified Equation Driven Pot Designer

    Arkadi2 days ago 0 comments

    I’ve rolled a lot of the project’s browser-based design work into a new unified tool:

    Equation Driven Pot Designer https://arkadiraf.github.io/Equation-Driven-Pots/

    This is now the main browser GUI for the Equation-Driven Pots project. Instead of splitting the workflow across multiple separate tools, the unified interface brings the core design system together in one place:

    • base scaffold design
    • structural geometry
    • surface texture
    • dual color-mask pattern logic
    • pot, plate, and pot+plate generation
    • STL and multi-part 3MF export

    What makes this update especially exciting is that the unified GUI now also includes the two more experimental branches of the project directly in the interface:

    Field Modifier

    Field Modifier changes where the field is sampled before the form is evaluated.

    In practice, this makes it possible to create things like:

    • twist drift
    • petal migration
    • crown rotation
    • regional field windows
    • diagonal and braided motion through the form

    This is useful when the object should still behave like a pot or vessel, but the sampled structure should drift or rotate in a more dynamic way.

    Field Distortion

    Field Distortion changes where the generated body exists in space after the field has already been evaluated.

    That opens the door to more physical and sculptural behaviors such as:

    • wind bend
    • gravity sag
    • torsion
    • vortex turning
    • pressure dents
    • hand-formed asymmetry

    So the project is no longer only about defining a radius field and exporting a pot. It now supports both:

    • equation-driven field generation
    • equation-driven deformation of the generated body

    That feels like an important step forward for the project.

    The unified tool is also where I’m now bringing together the more practical object side of the work:

    • functional pot generation
    • plate generation
    • pot+plate workflows
    • more direct export-ready browser design

    Equation-Driven Pots started as a way to generate printable forms from math. It’s now gradually becoming a broader equation-based 3D design system, while still staying grounded in printable objects and browser-based experimentation.

  • Field Modifier Pot Designer: Experimental Math for 3D Design

    Arkadi3 days ago 0 comments

    I’ve added a new experimental branch to Equation-Driven Pots: Field Modifier Pot Designer.

    The project has already grown from stable equation-driven pot generation into texture workflows, quad-color pattern logic, and nonlinear field exploration. The new step is a little different. Instead of only changing the field itself, this tool changes how the field is sampled.

    In the earlier tools, the main idea is simple: define a radius field and turn it into printable geometry.

    For a cylindrical workflow that looks like:

     r = f(theta, z, v, R)

    With the field modifier workflow, there is now an intermediate mathematical step:

    theta' = theta + strength * M(theta, z, v)

    and then the chosen field is evaluated using the modified coordinate:

    r = f(theta', z, v, R)

    So the modifier does not just make the equation “stronger.” It changes where the equation is sampled. That is an important difference.

    In 3D design terms, this means I can now create forms where features move through the object rather than just growing or shrinking in place. Ribs can drift. Petals can migrate. Crowns can rotate. Rim details can fold or shear while the lower body stays calm. The current version intentionally modifies angular sampling only, which keeps the workflow much closer to printable pot geometry than a fully freeform deformation system.

    That makes this tool a natural continuation of the nonlinear math work.

    The nonlinear field tool explored operations like inverse trig, stepped phase behavior, wrapped domains, and quasi-periodic interference. Field modifiers take the next step: they let the project explore coordinate remapping as a design method. In other words, nonlinear math changes the field itself, while field modifiers change how the field is sampled.

    The current Field Modifier Pot Designer supports:

    • a modifier field M(...)
    • a modifier strength
    • a modifier target
    • application to base shape, texture, patterns, or all supported fields

    That last part is especially useful. It means I can keep the silhouette stable while only shifting the texture logic, or move the entire form through the modifier field when I want something more dramatic.

    This is still an experimental branch of the project, but it is a very promising one. It stays true to the math-first modeling approach while opening up a more expressive and more dynamic design space for printable objects.

    Right now I see this as the beginning of a larger “experimental math for 3D design” direction, likely leading toward:

    • regional field activity
    • modifier stacks
    • field-specific targeting
    • richer but still printable math-based forms

    So this update is not just another preset library. It is a new modeling idea inside the project.

    Tool file:

    JavaScript/FieldModifierPotDesigner.html

    Project direction:
    experimental math for 3D design, built on top of the equation-driven pot workflow.

  • Adding a Nonlinear Field Pot Designer

    Arkadi3 days ago 0 comments

    One of the biggest updates to Equation-Driven Pots so far is the addition of a new browser tool: Nonlinear Field Pot Designer.

    Until now, most of the project has focused on stable equation-driven workflows built around cylindrical and spherical radius fields, surface texture, and later multi-part color separation. Those tools are still the core of the project, but I wanted to push the design space further into more unusual mathematical behavior.

    The new nonlinear tool does exactly that.

    Instead of relying only on the smoother harmonic style of sin, cos, envelopes, and interference patterns, this version opens the door to more aggressive and more sculptural operations such as:

    • inverse trig shaping like atan and asin
    • stepped phase behavior using functions like floor
    • wrapped angular domains with mod
    • compressed ripple behavior with log 
    • quasi-periodic interference using irrational frequency mixes

    That changes the kind of forms the generator can produce.

    The older tools are good at stable, elegant, printable variations: ribs, petals, twists, scales, lattices, color masks, and other structured surface logic. The nonlinear tool is more about folds, terraces, arc-shaped petals, phase jumps, compressed ridges, and stranger field interactions that do not repeat as obviously.

    In practice, it feels less like adding a few new presets and more like opening a new branch of the design language.

    A few examples of what this makes possible:

    • ATan Fluting creates flutes with flatter faces and sharper transitions than ordinary cosine ribbing
    • Arc-Petal Crown uses inverse trig behavior to generate cleaner arc-like petal forms
    • Stepped Crown Phase introduces discrete rotational phase jumps along height
    • Compressed Wave Stack turns layered wave fields into more terraced sculptural forms

    The tradeoff is stability.

    This tool is much more experimental than the earlier ones. Some parameter combinations produce invalid geometry or forms that are no longer printable, so I am treating it as an exploration tool rather than a replacement for the more stable designers. The more established tools are still better when I want predictable output. The nonlinear version is where I go when I want to discover shapes I would not have arrived at with ordinary harmonic equations alone.

    That also makes it exciting.

    The project is gradually turning into a family of related design environments:

    • a stable textured pot workflow
    • a quad-color pattern workflow
    • a nonlinear experimental workflow
    • a guided sweep workflow that connects back into Fusion 360 development

    So this update is not just “more math.” It is really about expanding what kinds of form can be described, explored, and fabricated directly from equations.

    I’ll keep refining the nonlinear presets and the guardrails around them, but even in its unstable state it is already producing some of the most interesting shapes in the project so far.

    Tool file: 

    JavaScript/NonlinearFieldPotDesigner.html

  • QuadColorPotDesigner and Online Tool Collection Added

    Arkadi3 days ago 0 comments

    The Equation-Driven Pots project has expanded with a new browser-based tool: QuadColorPotDesigner.

    This new designer extends the earlier multi-color workflow by adding two interacting pattern masks that define four surface color states:
    - base / neither mask
    - pattern A only
    - pattern B only
    - overlap of A + B

    That makes it possible to generate more advanced multi-color pot surfaces directly from equations, while still keeping the result printable and functional as a real pot.

    Like the other tools in the project, QuadColorPotDesigner works from equation-driven geometry. The base form can be controlled mathematically, surface texture can be added independently, and the color logic can now be driven by two separate mask equations. This opens up new combinations of sculptural form, surface relief, and color-separated print workflows.

    In addition to the new QuadColorPotDesigner, the project now has an online browser-based tool collection, so the HTML tools can be explored directly without downloading the repository first.

    Main GitHub project:
    https://github.com/arkadiraf/Equation-Driven-Pots

    Online tools:
    https://arkadiraf.github.io/Equation-Driven-Pots-App/

    The project now includes:
    - cylindrical equation-driven pot design
    - spherical equation-driven pot design
    - unified textured pot design
    - 2-color multi-part pot design
    - 4-color QuadColorPotDesigner workflows
    - guided sweep-based form generation
    - Fusion 360 reconstruction workflows

    Equation-Driven Pots continues to grow as both a practical 3D-printing project and a design system for exploring mathematics as a creative tool.

  • Multi-Color Pot Designer

    Arkadi4 days ago 0 comments

    Equation-Driven Pots Now Exports Color-Separated 3MF Files

    Equation-Driven Pots started as a way to generate printable plant pots directly from mathematical equations. The earlier stages of the project established cylindrical pot generation, spherical forms, browser-based design tools, and a unified textured designer that separates the main vessel form from the outer surface texture. This new stage extends that same workflow into multi-color printing.

    The new tool is the Multi-Color Pot Designer.

    It keeps the same equation-driven design approach, but now adds a second major capability: splitting the object into separate printable parts for color-based workflows. Instead of treating color as a visual afterthought, the tool can define a base body and a pattern body from mathematical logic, preview both in the browser, and export them together as a multi-part 3MF assembly.

    That makes it possible to design pots where the shape, the surface texture, and the color regions are all driven by equations.

    The tool supports both of the main coordinate systems already used in the project:

    - cylindrical forms based on equations like r(z, theta)
    - spherical forms based on equations like r(theta, phi)

    On top of that, it adds:

    - external surface texture as a separate mathematical layer
    - pattern-mask logic for selecting color regions
    - pattern depth, so the colored region becomes real geometry rather than only a visual overlay
    - multi-part 3MF export for slicer-based color assignment
    - STL export for standard single-mesh workflows
    - browser-based live preview
    - mobile-scaled GUI support while keeping the desktop interface intact

    One of the main goals with this tool was to keep the output practical for real 3D printing. The pattern body is generated as a separate printable part, and the export workflow was refined so the resulting parts load as a single multi-part object in slicer workflows rather than as a loose collection of overlapping meshes.

    The result is a more fabrication-oriented version of the project. The earlier tools were already useful for generating mathematical pot forms, but this version pushes the workflow closer to finished multi-color prints.

    The main project is hosted on GitHub, which is where the actual design tools live. The GitHub repository includes the Python generators, browser-based designers, the spherical and textured tools, and now the Multi-Color Pot Designer as well. The Thingiverse page is mainly being used to host generated example models, while GitHub is the place to explore the workflow itself and generate new designs.

    So if you are interested in equation-driven design, procedural 3D printing, browser-based geometry generation, or just making unusual printable pots, the GitHub project is the best place to start.

    GitHub tool:
    https://github.com/arkadiraf/Equation-Driven-Pots/blob/main/JavaScript/MultiColorPotDesigner.html

    Thingiverse models:
    https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7328545

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Discussions

uk4dshouse wrote 2 days ago point

I like the idea of using mathematical equations to create 3d printable pots.

Have you printed any of these or similar designs?

I have applied a similar methodology with regard to Lissajous figures, here is an a example.

Lissajous large base vase. by 3dcad | Download free STL model | Printables.com

  Are you sure? yes | no

Arkadi wrote 2 days ago point

Nice, Looks cool. Not yet but i tested with the slices and will upload any models i printed on thingiverse. I work a lot to make the tool Generate proper designs which will open perfectly in slicers. latest iteration i am working with Bambu Lab compatibility. will post and update soon. including a cool new experimental tool set of field distortions.

  Are you sure? yes | no

uk4dshouse wrote 2 days ago point

Look forward to seeing some physical prints.

  Are you sure? yes | no

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