French Designer Patrick Jouin and Dassault Systemes Collaborate on a 3D-Printed Chair

This week, Dassault Systemes and the French designer Patrick Jouin revealed Ta.Tamu, a lightweight, 3D-printed chair, designed in Dassault Systemes' cloud-hosted 3DEXPERIENCE software. The company touted Ta.Tamu as an example of the new generative design processes powered by AI. Ta.Tamu shows Jouin’s intuitive design approach, realized in 3DEXPERIENCE. The process involves ideation, development, and life cycle assessment.

"Ta.Tamu’s pioneering aesthetics were inspired by biomimicry and the structural logic of the human body, such as bone density and joint articulation. The light yet robust lattice structure weighs just 8.6 pounds (3.9 kg), can support 220 pounds (100 kg), and can be 3D printed in a flat, folded position without needing assembly," according to the announcement.

“Nature uses only the energy and materials it needs. We wanted to apply this very simple philosophy to the development of Ta.Tamu. With the help of new collaborative technologies of Dassault Systemes, we are now able to come up with new ideas and make them possible, creating more efficiently while producing less waste, right from the design process,” said Jouin. 

Dassault Systemes revealed the design teams used a virtual twin of the chair to model and simulate the behaviors of the chair's components. They also employed topological optimization to refine the joints, unfolding articulation, and zones of pressure and supports. The outcome is a chair that weighs 75% less than a solid, dense design.

“Ta.Tamu represents a call to action for industry to embrace a generative economy instead of continuing to create without limits,” said Anne Asensio, Vice President Design Experience, Dassault Systèmes.