Research journal linus (junbo qu) 595617

EX-LAB RESEARCH JOURNAL LINUS (JUNBO QU) 595617

CNC MACHINE

TASK: STOOL 1.1

This prototype explores how plywood can bend while being cut by CNC leaving long strips.

Turns out the leftover layers are not strong enough to withstand the bending force, and broke.

The nodes on the first page make the layer weaker, if we used a nicer quality of plywood (e.g. Birch Plywood) it might be able to bend without breaking.

TASK: STOOL 1.1

The CNC Profiling has left a coarse finish on the edge being cut, we have to hand sand it for better quality.

TASK: STOOL 1.1

The simple prototype of CNC profiling technic, two parts joints orthogonally, without glue.

However, more interesting joints could be explored, to utilize the bone-shaped connection cut out by CNC drill bit (to make it a feature), or try non-orthognal joints. Another way is to try avoiding direct connection like this to avoid the bone shaped hole on the end.

We offset 0.1mm wider than the material width for the connection cut, turns out the two pieces are too hard for us to connect by hand.

So we have to use a hammer to fit them in.

TASK: STOOL 1.1

The CNC Surface 3D Milling has created a nice texture on the laminated plywood surface, because of the different layers of the material. However, due to the poor quality of the plywood in the fab lab, the surface is not that refined, leaving a lot of cracks and tree nodes. But this unexpected layering effect on our first prototype raised our interests to explore this technic of CNC machine, to dig a little deeper for more refined qualities of the layered texture.

TASK: STOOL 1.1

Precedents of different material layering together and showing different texture/color. This kind of effect makes the object somewhere between art and product, this kind of effect is what I am interested to pursue further on.

http://www.heatherwick.com/materials-house/

Thomas Heatherwick Material Wall

http://www.bonluxat.com/a/Toyo_Ito_Ripples_Bench.html

http://www.bonluxat.com/a/Toyo_Ito_Ripples_Bench.html

Toyo Ito Bench

Toyo Ito Bench

TASK: STOOL 1.1

To avoid the poor quality of the laminated plywood in the fab lab, we decided to make our own laminated materials. We came up with two ideas to further test this technic: B&W mountboard, and Laminated Bamboo Veneers & Plywoods.

Black and White Mountboard

Plywoods and Bamboo Veneers

TASK: STOOL 1.2

Set up the base for laminating 10 layers of plywoods and bamboo veneers.

TASK: STOOL 1.2

Having done some research on how to laminating plywoods, I found that to keep the boards even I have to clamp them evenly and let the loads distributed evenly on the surface. So I use six clamps on the edge, and three long timber strips to hold the board together.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=laminating+clamp&source=l nms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPu9Lr1cTWAhWIVLwKHQrx DrIQ_AUICigB&biw=792&bih=434#imgrc=m0haLebxuiecsM:

LAMINATING CLAMPING EXAMPLE

TASK: STOOL 1.2 The finished laminated mountboard has shown an unclean edge while being cut into rectangles. We were not sure how this material would perform under the CNC 3D Milling, it could turn out to be scrappy.

Because we cannot control the glue to be even at everywhere, therefore the final laminated board has a variation of thickness throught the board. When we model the surface we have to use the thinnest depth on our board to make sure that there is always material for milling.

STOOL SURFACE FOR MILLING

FINISHED LAMINATED MOUNTBOARD

FINISHED LAMINATED TIMBERBOARD

FINISHED LAMINATED TIMBERBOARD

TASK: STOOL 1.2 AFTER MILLING

The Mountboard after 3D Milling turns out to be very scrappy, and we cannot sand the paper, it will make it more messy. But the black and white contrast is really nice, if we got more time, we would color other material like MDF. But the color has to go all the way into the material, which would cause more time for soaking and coloring.

CNC MILLED MOUNTBOARD

Our customized timberboard performed well under the CNC drilling bit for 3D milling. But we should arrange the layer in a more clever way, by putting a nicer texture material such as bamboo veneer at the bottom, where more of it can be seen. As the Toyo Ito Bench layered in a way from lightest color to the darkest color.

CNC MILLED TIMBERBOARD

TASK: STOOL 1.2 PRECEDENTS

http://www.bonluxat.com/a/Toyo_Ito_Ripples_Bench.html

http://www.bonluxat.com/a/Toyo_Ito_Ripples_Bench.html

HORM BENCH "RIPPLES" - TOYO ITO

TASK: STOOL 1.2

We decided to bought a nicer pine from Bunnings for the stool legs. Because of the dimension limitation, we have to laminate four pieces together to make one stool leg.

We changed the connection slot on the under plate into rounded conner, to incoporate the CNC machine, without leaving extra holes.

The legs are designed to cross position one another without creating more connection.

TASK: STOOL 1.2

STOOL LEGS

MILLING SURFACE

UNDER PLATE This connection detail utilize the round corner cut by CNC

CROSS POSITIONING LEGS

TASK: STOOL 1.2

Filleting Bit

Drilling Bit

Because the Fab Lab does not have the bit like this, they rejected us for giving a round conner for the stool leg.

It would caused them a lot of time by doing this with the normal drilling bit, therefore we have to figure out how to do it by hand.

CNC Profilling Stool Leg

TASK: STOOL 1.2

After finding the right bit, the machine router can give the round coners to the leg very quickly, with the same radius.

Therefore the CNC is more suitable for chamfered edge that has different radius.

Machine Router

TASK: STOOL 1.2

It's a pity that we choosed a cheap material of MDF as the base of the stool, it does fit in with the laminated plywood so well. We did not have the enough time to do another nice laminated plywood for the base which would make the final stool much nicer. Alternatively, we could have tried flip milling on CNC to keep the stool surface intact.

In terms of the design, the legs and the surface are two separate system, this could be integrated better with unified design, e.g. going minimal for the legs design.

FINISHED COMPONENTS

FINISHED STOOL

TASK: STOOL 1.2

MATERIAL : PLYWOOD

TASK: STOOL 2.1

This task will explore the material property of 12mm plywood and expand from that to design a stool.

This test shows the opportunity that a stool can be break into three components and assembled together.

It is possible that these three identical parts can form a reciprocal structure, and are supported on each other.

TASK: STOOL 2.1

Reciprocal paper model, three pieces joning together without glue and supported on each other.

Sketch ideas of reciprocal structure.

TASK: STOOL 2.1 PRECEDENTS

ZUMI STOOL Material: Laminated plywood with Birth Veneer Designer: Shuichiro Koizumi This stool is formed by three identical parts that cleverly interlock to create an elegant occasional seat

http://www.bonluxat.com/a/Shuichiro_Koizumi_ Zumi_Stool.html

TASK: STOOL 2.1 FOLDING & ROTATING

The three pieces sits on top of each other and distributed loads to one another. The connection was cut away by chizels and hand saws.

Because these pieces only supports on one point of connection, more connection point will be needed for further development if this direction is chosen.

TASK: STOOL 2.1 FOLDING & ROTATING

This idea celebrate the planar quality of the plywood, by stacking different mirrored of same pieces together, the stool gains an ability to rotate and transform its shape.

However, when the pieces rotate and meet each other, the slots between each piece can sometimes be too small and have no allowrance for pieces to meet each other perfectly.

This prototype does not really transfer to another shape but shows a potential towards that direction.

TASK: STOOL 2.2 PRECEDENTS

This made by Thomas Heatherwick when he was young gives an idea that a stool can also be a chair and a bench at the same time, due to the transformable and planar quality of the plywood.

source: Thomas Heatherwick - Making / Thomas Heatherwick with Maisie Rowe. London: Thames & Hudson, 2015.

TASK: STOOL 2.2 TRANSFORMABLE STOOL

The intention of the final stool is to combine a bench and a stool in one. The two shapes of the stools will have different height. These iterations above find the form for both stools for CNC, trying to find a smooth surface for each one.

We find it later that this does not necessarily have to be cut by CNC, and could alternatively being cut on Band Saw and cut other same pieces on the router, which would speed up the whole fabrication process and allow rooms for physical test.

TASK: STOOL 2.2 DETAIL

This detail aims to solve the rotating hinge problem found on the prototype. The ring of MDF stacked between two plywood pieces give more allowrance for the pieces to rotate smoothly.

TASK: STOOL 2.2

Because we did not do a physical test, the stool, while it was on this shape, cannot transfer its loads to the dowels and tend to collapse, therefore we have to put a rubber band on it to hold them together.

Further details such as caps on dowels end might be necessary to hold the pieces together nicely.

TASK: STOOL 2.2 TRANSFORMATION

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT

https://www.dezeen.com/2015/06/08/zaha-hadid-liquid-glacial-furniture-collection-stools-bowl-david-gill-gallery-london/

https://www.dezeen.com/2015/06/08/zaha-hadid-liquid-glacial-furniture-collection-stools-bowl-david-gill-gallery-london/

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE ILLUTION & IMMATERIAL

ZAHA HADID's Liquid Glacial Table Material: Resin Using resin to create the illusion of surface ripple.

The Liquid Glacial design embeds surface complexity and refraction within a powerful fluid dynamic. The elementary geometry of the flab table top appears transformed from static to fluid by the subtle waves and ripples evident below the surface, while the table's legs seem to pour from the horizonal in an intense vortex of water frozen in time.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT

https://www.artsy.net/artwork/shiro-kuramata-glasschair-1

https://www.artsy.net/artwork/shiro-kuramata-glasschair-1

Glass Chair Designer: Shiro Kuramata Material: Laminated Glass With his 'Glass' chair appearing almost immaterial, Kuramata playfully turns our expectations for the functionality of the piece upside down. By dissolving the solidity of the form, he questions its ability to support our weight, encouraging us to imagine its disappearance all together.

https://www.artsy.net/artwork/shiro-kuramata-glasschair-1

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST

This prototype explores the idea of dissolving and blurring. The position of transparent and white perspex aims to make the cubic form dissolving and disappear gradually.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST

This test explores the idea of floating, with the transparent table legs to disappear visually, and looks like the table surface is floating while being seen from a distance. However, at close glace, the underneath support still appears to have a obvious form.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE REFLECTION

These tests that examines the illusionary purpose but do not really explore the material property or performance, which did not suit so well with this subject's intention.

Most illusionary ideas are based more on the concept rather than starting from examining what the material can do and wants to be. This top-down approach needs to be modified to a bottom-up approach.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE RESEARCH DIRECTION & PRECEDENTS

https://www.dezeen.com/2015/06/08/zaha-hadidliquid-glacial-furniture-collection-stools-bowl-davidgill-gallery-london/

https://www.dezeen.com/2015/06/08/zaha-hadid-liquid-glacial-furniturecollection-stools-bowl-david-gill-gallery-london/

RESIN: BETWEEN LIQUID AND SOLID Resin shows a potential of being frozen in a form between liquid and solid which interests me.

https://au.pinterest.com/pin/561824122256106841/

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE RESEARCH DIRECTION & PRECEDENTS

COLORING RESIN Putting paints in resin to give it a color, whether transparent or opaque, shows a intriguing quality.

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/07/12/crystal-series-tablessaerom-yoon-resin-pastel-coloured-gradients/

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/07/12/crystal-series-tables-saerom-yoonresin-pastel-coloured-gradients/

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/07/12/crystal-series-tablessaerom-yoon-resin-pastel-coloured-gradients/

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE RESEARCH DIRECTION & PRECEDENTS

BENDING ACRYLIC/PERSPEX The bent acrylic/perspex to have a free form, somehow illusionary, is also vey intersting.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 1

BENDING WITH HAIRDRYER ON 3mm PERSPEX The heat generated by the hairdryer is not enough for the 3mm perspex sheet to have a easy bend, I have to use a lot of force to keep the bending in shape, and the hairdryer takes too long to heat the sheet until it became flexible.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 2

HEAT 3mm CLEAR PERSPEX ON STOVE FIRE I put the sheet on stove fire to heat, and form it in my hand with oven gloves on. The stove fire heat made the sheet very soft and much easier to bend, or even achieve a double curvature.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 3

HEAT 3mm WHITE PERSPEX ON STOVE FIRE White perspex performed the same as the clear perspex while heated. When the temperature is high enough, the perspex sheet starts to perform like soft fabric and becomes very flexble.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 4

LARGER PERSPEX SHEET After the two tests above, I tried a larger sheet and tried to cast it on a water bottle as a mould. The problem showed up on this one is that its hard to make sure all the sheet area is heated enough, when I put it on top of the mould, some parts of the surface already cool down and become hard to bend. It is very hard to keep the surface temperature uniform in order to be shaped on the mould. I have to hold the mould in my hand and put it above the stove fire constantly. If this direction is chosen for the final furniture, this problem is going to be vital while dealing with 1:1 scale.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 4

BENDING LAMINATED PERSPEX WITH HEAT GUN I tried to superglued two perspex sheets together to achieve more thickness and strength, and heated with heat gun.

However, while heated, the superglue lost its strength to hold two pieces together. Gaps began to appear between two laminated perspex. Therefore, its better to use a thicker perspex rather than laminate them together and bend.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 5

TWISTING PERSPEX BY HAND HEATED WITH HEAT GUN Heat gun can only heat a small portion of the perxpex, the cold part becomes very rigid, while the heated part starts to become malleable. By heating a portion of the perspex, and holding the cold parts by hand, I gave this sheet two twists.

On reflection, after twisting, the thin perspex sheet gains a lot of strength in both long and short directions. This gives opportunity to use thing perspex elements as structural elements.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 6: Heating perspex on a mould

LEFTOVER TIMBER MOULD

This test I tried to use a scrappy timber as a mould to give form to a flat perspex sheet.

Heated with heat gun.

I found it very hard to keep the shape of perspex exactly as the timber mould. Because the heat is uneven, the cold part is holding the perspex back, making it very hard to manipulate the form freely to achieve the form of the mould. Also, the clamp force made the perspex to split. Maybe this is because the form of the mould is not ideal as it is so irregular.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE MATERIAL CHOICE

RESIN At this point, I have not made my mind about which material I will work with throughout the rest of the semester, because of the illusion idea I had for the precedents before, I still want to do some test with resin and see how it performs in terms of its fluid and illusionary quality.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 7

MDF Mould to Cast Resin The holes left on the surface to let the resin drip down to achieve a form between liquid and solid form.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 7

RESIN At this point, I have not made my mind about which material I will work with throughout the rest of the semester, because of the illusion idea I had for the precedents before, I still want to do some test with resin and see how it performs in terms of its fluid and illusionary quality.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 8: Clear Slow Set Resin

Clay Model for Sillicon Mould

Final Clear Resin Cast

This one I tried slow set clear resin, it took more than 48h to set completely.

Probably because I did not add enough hardener, the translucent resin cast became malleable and soft. Aesthetically it is interesting and alluring but cannot be used for structural element as compared to the white resin. Its possible that this test will lead to some interesting surface design.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 9

This test aimed to capture the ripple effect on a solid surface using resin.

3D Printed Ripple Surface

MDF BOX For Casting Silicon Mould

Comparision between Resin Cast (Left) and 3D Printed Surface Sillicon Reversed Mould

Sillicon Reversed Mould

The resin cast captured every texture detail from the 3D printed ripple surface. It did not show much difference than the original 3D printed surface. The liquid resin and silicon covers every detail of the original model. Aesthetically, the layered quality of 3D printed surface does not domonstrate a illusion of liquid solid so well.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 10

This test tried to combine resin and perspex together, using super fast set white resin. I poured the resin on top of the perspex half-table. The resin sets too quickly and became solid when its still in the table.

On reflection, the material effect of white resin blend in quite well with the perspex, showed a illusion of perspex melting into liquid form. The resin drop showed a quite strong structural quality.

However, it is very difficult to control where the resin flow and how much it flows on one direction. Therefore the resulting form is very random.

Because resin is very expensive and hard to control, I tend to choose bending perspex as my material to work for final.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 10.1

The scale model tests how bending one perspex sheet can become a coffee table. The bent edge is very strong while the force is perpendicular to the table surface, but not so good in terms of resisting lateral forces. Aesthetically this test appeals me because its continuous quality and flows like a piece of fabric.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 10.2

The similar test of single bending perspex to form coffee table.

Its pretty strong to support vertical loads. However, this does not show the real performance of the material while moving on to real scale. Scaling up to 1:1, this 3mm perspex would become 10mm in order to achieve the same performance.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT: GHOST CHAIR

One sheet heat formed on a real chair, create this ghost form, imperfection becomes part of design, every product would become different.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT: Harlow Chair

http://modernmag.com/clear-present-design/

http://modernmag.com/clear-present-design/

Laser Cut from one piece, oven heated bent to different direction, thick acrylic.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT: SANAA FACTORY

http://www.archdaily.com/363581/factory-building-on-the-vitra-campus-sanaa

http://www.archdaily.com/363581/factory-building-on-the-vitra-campus-sanaa

SANAA FACTORY Bent Acrylic Facade Panel 1.8m W * 18m H http://www.archdaily.com/363581/factory-building-on-the-vitra-campus-sanaa

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT: SANAA FACTORY

http://www.archdaily.com/363581/factory-building-on-the-vitra-campus-sanaa

Cast in flat sheets

Heated to 60 Degree Celsius

Vacuum Molded

No Manufacturer can be found

The ribbon and curtain shape formed by thin acrylic, giving the sheet extra strength and to the thin sheet. It is also aesthetically appealing.

Construct oven for themselves

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 11: One Sheet Real Scale

1:1 scale single bend with hand and heated with heatgun. This test tried to explore how one continuous 3mm perspex sheet performs undering bent form.

Force bending cannot result a very smooth curve without a mould.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 11

Reflection: the Z-shaped piece will deform under small loads. This is because the 3mm bend on the side cannot resist forces very well.

Aesthetically the continuous piece is interesting but structually it will fail as a stool.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT: DUMAS CHAIR

http://www.design-mkt.com/127_dumas

Boris Tabacoff One sheet acrylic bending By bending and manipulating curves on one sheet, giving it extra strength.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT: DUMAS CHAIR

http://www.design-mkt.com/127_dumas

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 12: Double Curvature on One Sheet

Because perspex is a very expensive material, I tried to do different tests on one sheet. It showed a much stronger quality than the single bent test above, the double curvature adds strength to the flat sheet in various directions. However, this form was still not strong enough to hold a human's weight.

Aesthetically, the one continuous sheet reflects the lights and shadows of the environment, become part of the surrouding, and very alluring.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 12

The sunken part on the edge gives the 3mm perspex much more strength. The 3mm perspex starts to perform like a thicker piece on this edge. It is possible to use this direction to give the 3mm perspex much more strength.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 12

While putting the stool in this direction, it demonstrate a quality to support more weight compared to the one before. This is because the force direction will not cause the edge to bend , and can be distributed more directly to the ground. Therefore it is possible to make this test a support for coffee table.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 13

This idea expores the reciprocal idea I had for the stool exercise, by bending three perspex sheets in a way that they can rely on each other structually.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 13

Heated on stove fire and hand bended. The legs are too thin to support a human weight, and if pressed down the three legs tends to rotate and split, further treatment is needed to resist this rotation and buckling.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 14

Giving different curvatures to the stool leg, to resist rotation and buckling under force. The curved legs shows a lot stronger structural quality than the straight legs, yet they still cannot support too much load, the legs still tend to open up on the bottom. This is because the edge between stool surface and legs can be bent easily.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE REFLECTION

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE REFLECTION

Structurally, the triangle interlocking surface is the most strong element in this test, no matter which direction the force is on. It would be structurally satisfying if this element could be repeated across the whole stool and eleminated the need of legs.

Aesthetically, hand bending resulted in lots of imperfect curvatures, this imperfection could be celebrated and incorporated into the design as a feature, so that every product would be different. However, the line between celebrating imperfection and being unable to do the curve smoothly is very subtle. If the imperfection is to be incorporated into the design, the challange would be how to avoid the stool seems having low quality and messy.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT: BOWER TABLE

BOWER TABLE - https://scottjarvie.co.uk/portfolio-item/bower/

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT: BOWER TABLE

BOWER TABLE - https://scottjarvie.co.uk/portfolio-item/bower/

Laser cut, Thermal form, CNC mould The bower table's leg is very strong after bent to a wave shape, it will perform as if the material is as thick as the leg height, which can be useful to my project for using thin perspex to support weight.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE SKETCH MODELS

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TASK: FINAL FURNITURE SKETCH MODELS

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The aluminium foil does not perform so similar as perspex, I changed to 200gsm paper which is more flexible.

Step away from the real material, to find the form whilst testing the structural performance of the form quickly. This process aims to capture the most important element in the stool test.

These sketch models still rely on the legs to support the weight, further forms is needed which will utilize the interlocking part in the former tests.

15

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 15: GRAVITY BENDING

Heating with heatgun along one line, and let the gravity of the 6mm perspex drop and bend down.

The edge appeared smooth in most part except that on the left edge the angle and gravity cannot put tension on material by itself. This needs to add extra force by hand to achieve a smooth edge thoroughly.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 16: GRAVITY BENDING + FORCE BENDING

Using a timber block and clamps to hold the perspex, and bending with gravity plus hand force, the bending achieved the satisfied uniform quality.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 17: HEATING OVEN

I tried to construct an oven myself to heat the thicker perspex.

The box was built with 12mm plywood and one 1.6mm aluminium sheet to distribute the heat quickly. The heat will come from the bottom.

I tried using heat gun as source but the result was not so satisfying. To improve this, portable barbecue stove could be replacing the heat gun as primary heat source.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 18: WELDING PERSPEX

After reaching to a certain temperature, the perspex start to melting a little bit and became sticky. By putting pressure on them, two pieces start to connecting together just as welding iron.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 19

SINGLE TWISTING OF 6MM PERSPEX

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 19

FLAT SHEET TENDS TO BUCKLE

One torsion gives the perspex a lot of strength, being able to resist loads from both vertical and lateral. This technique gives me confidence to use twisted thin perspex sheet as structural element such as stool legs.

TWISTED SHEET ABLE TO RESIST A LOT OF LOAD

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 20: Sunken Bending with Heat Gun And Mould

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 20

This one appears to be a lot more tidy than the 3mm hand bending test. I clamped the sheet and using another piece of perspex as mould, while putting a timber block at top to level the surfaces.

On reflection, the key to keep the perspex in the desired shape is to put even pressure on the heated surface, otherwise it would deform under gravity.

Still, this bent surface shows a certain amount of imperfection which indicates this is hand bent.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 21: STOOL PROTOTYPE2

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 21: STOOL PROTOTYPE 2

The 6mm perspex stool test with different treatment to the legs, utilizing the twisting test above.

On reflection, after twisting the legs will transfer the loads vertically to the ground, instead of forming an 60 degree angle to the ground, which will tends to open. The twisting on the edge between stool surface and legs will resist the bending force, therefore while the pressure was put on top of the stool, it will not rotate and will be able to support the load. However, due to the imperfect twisting caused by uneven heating, the legs are not perpendicular to the ground perfectly, which will cause a little rotation. Moreover, because the legs are too long, it can not resist lateral forces so perfectly at bottom. More twist could be put on the legs to resist this.

Aesthetically, this second time production of the surface appears much better than the first one, the thin acrylic sheets legs seems not able to support a human weight visually, which is illusionary and interests me. But the twisting need more control and better craft, now the imperfection seems too much and make it looks cheap and unresolved.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 21.1 Twisting 6mm Perspex

By giving the flat sheet double twist, it immediately gains a lot strength and can be used as a column. Adding it on the stool prototype makes it possible to support a human weight vertically. The legs became very strong vertically. But the problem is still the edge between the stool surface and stool legs. The curves on the edges gave it some strength but cannot resist the legs from moving laterally.

Aesthetically it interests me because the gentle twisiting and draping has the illusionary quality of soft fabric, indicating that it cannot support any weight which it actually can. The randomness and imperfect curves blend in well with the illusion of fabric.

Breakthrough is needed structurally.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 21.2 Adding twist to Stool

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 22: SPHERICAL STOOL

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 22

This sketch model is trying to utilize the strength of interlocking perspex pieces that is shown in the previous test. The interlocking triangle shows incredible strength in all directions and would be structurally promising if used all over the stool.

Structurally, this model performs much better than all the other sketch models I have done before. The ring acts like a lock at the bottom, prevent it to split or open up. Also the sphere eliminate the worry about rotation.

Aesthetically this sketch models looks like a soccer ball and is too symetrical, which is making me a little uncomfortable. Also the way the bottom touches the ground is not so elegant as it

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 23

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 23

This similar sketch model tries to give the bottom an elegant solution by introducing the interlocking triangles as legs.

Aesthetically it is more appealing than the last one. It also can support substantial weight. However, the triangle legs tends to deform a little bit under too much loads. More refinement and detailing are needed for this.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 24

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 24

I tried the unsymmetrical shape of interlocking pieces on this sketch model.

The interlocking triangle can not take loads evenly because of the irregular shape, thuse it deforms easily underload.

But I still think aesthetically it got more potential than the symmetrical ones.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT: RIBBON STOOL

Ribbon Stool - http://www.nendo.jp/en/works/ribbon-2/

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT: RIBBON STOOL

The ribbon stool gives me the insight that the interlocking pieces or ribbons could be bent in a clever way that the whole system is consistent structurally and aesthetically.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 25

Reversed interlocking both on top and bottom, but this test still shows weakness in its legs.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 26

Interlocking three layers all the way to the bottom, the bottom ring gives it extra strength in terms of holding it together. But aesthetically this one is not so interesting as the bottom ends too abruptly.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 27

Interlocking legs, extra reinforcement between legs is needed, three pieces is not strong enough to hold weight.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 28

This one shows good strength, extra ring at the bottom really holding the legs together. Aesthetically it is satisfying, but the real product need to control the curve exactly to avoid looking ugly.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 29

Surprisingly the two ring stool is weaker than the one ring stool above. On reflection, the subtle change on the twisting angle of the legs can cause significant change on its structural strength. Length and width radio is quite important.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PHYSICAL TEST 30

Adding a reinforcing ring on this reversed interlocking sketch model does not make it much stronger, as the legs still transfer loads vertically.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE ITERATION CHOICE

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TASK: FINAL FURNITURE ITERATION CHOICE

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TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PROTOTYPE FILE

SHAPE FOR PERSPEX TO BE BEND

MDF WAFFLE

HEAT BENDING PERSPEX BASED ON THIS SHAPE

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PROTOTYPE FILE

PIECES TO BE LASERCUT

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE OPTIONS ON THIS SKETCH MODEL

It could function as a stool or a coffeetable base. Aesthetically it looks like a lotus flower when used as coffeetable.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE OPTIONS ON THIS SKETCH MODEL DIFFERENT TABLETOP SIZES

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE TALLER STOOL WITH MORE INTERLOCKING JOINTS

Structurally it does not perform better than it was as a coffeetable, the legs would open and split more or less.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE MDF MOULD TEST

At the bottom the vertical MDF sheets are too sparse, and does not have enough detail for bending the legs to achieve a controlled shape. The waffle needs to be put horizontally and more details are needed for this.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 1

Because the fab lab only provides 900 max length of perspex sheet, this prototype has to be 7:10 scale. But I think it can provide enough material feedback.

Marking and laying the sheets ready to be heated and weave.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 1

This first time of weaving the top I tried to put them all together, heating and adjusting the curves and weaves as a whole until they interlock together. However, I find this process very difficult, as the cold part will resist the locally heated area to have the perfect interlocking. It is impossible for me to finish a node perfectly and then move on to another, I have to repeatedly adjusting their positions until they all reached a desired form. This process leaves all the traces of adjusting and bending on the material itself, showing lots of small imperfect curves and they were articulated by the reflective finish of the perspex. It makes the perspex not neat aesthetically. I need to alter this process by making the nodes one to one, also the perspex could be replaced with a matt finished product.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 1

After the flat weaving is finished, it was moved to the MDF Mould for bending. Because I cannot purchase long enough perspex from manufacture in time for the 1:1 test, I have to use the fab lab provided 900mm long perspex with this one to one mdf mould, which would require 1280mm long perspex to be matching each other. Because the scale was wrong, plus the MDF Mould does not have enough detail at the bottom to hold positions for legs, when the perspex sheet comes done, I have to almost hand bend and weave the sheet.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 1

As it was hand bent, it is almost impossible to achieve the regular shape of a sphere, the length and curvature on each leg were different. Although it showed substantial structural quality with the 3mm perspex, aesthetically it was a disaster purely caused by the making process. The ring that locks the sheets together at the bottom almost lost its entirely without a mould to set on. The second layer of weaving the flat perspex belt into the legs like a ring was extremely challanging due to local heating. It performs entirely different and much harder than the paper model in terms of weaving, because at this thickness, width and temperature, the perspex was not malleable enough. More over, the interlocking nodes will make strange noises under force as the plastic will rubbing each other, which needs to be solved.

A more refined mould and making process is needed.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 1

This test using the previous prototype to test the mechanical joint for the interlocking nodes, by drilling and putting Rivets.

One piece broke due to the uneven curve will being drilled. This would cause a disaster in the making process while everthing was finished and one of the pieces broke that the whole furniture has to be rebuilt again.

Although it can hold the pieces together, the rivets gives this soft material a hard industrial appearance, like putting screws on fabrics, which is weird.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 2 MDF MOULD PREPARATION

This time I used salami+spacer method for this mould to left enough support horizontally for the bending. The top uses double sided sticky tape to secure the position of the perspex. The mould also offset 6mm at the position of legs to give accuracy while bending. The shape was modeled in rhino while refering to the sketch model constantly. It can cause inaccuracy.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 2

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 2

This time I tried to do the flat weaving while finishing one node nicely and then move to another one. The first three nodes were very easy to bend and weave, but when it comes to the fourth one, while the six pieces start to come together, it start to become very hard to weave. And I have to heat the last three nodes constantly and keep adjusting their position to achieve a nice weave. Although this sequence of weaving is still hard, it leaves less trace of imperfect curves on the perspex sheet, and appear to be more beautiful than the first weave.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 2

Putting the flat weave on top of the mould, hold it with sticky tapes and some weight, the heat form start. I used hand force to hold the end of the perspex and heat it from top down. When the perspex start to drape down, it start to gain a subtle double curve, which gives it more structural capacity, and the reflection became more beautiful because of this subtle curve.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 2

I think this time the draping was much more satisfying aesthetically than the last one, especially at the top, the perspex fit perfectly with the mould. However, when it comes down to the bottom, the bending is not very inaccurate compared to the top.

This is because the MDF Mould was not accurate enough, when the curves comes done, it did not fit the slot on the mould. To solve this I think the weaving stool needs to be modeled in rhino accurately, then construct the MDF mould according to that.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 2

This turns out to be the most challenging part of making this prototype. The ring was firstly glued to one piece and hold by the clamp, then heated partially to weave through the legs.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 2

The two vertical legs achieved beautiful curves, the problem was mainly the ring on the bottom was too rough. The detail of how the ring head join the butt need to be designed in a more elegant way. On reflection, weaving from a flat and straight perspex sheet, the result was not satisfying aesthetically, the local heating , together with the up and down weaving, left a lot of uneven curves on this sheet.

Also, the position of the ring should be a double curved surface, similar as one section from a cone geometry. It was too hard to weave from a flat sheet to a double curved ring with up-and-down curves by hand, the mould also does not have enough detail to hold the ring. The making process need to be changed, this ring might need a CNC mould to have more control on the curves.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 2

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 2

The top layer of interlocking nodes were very satisfying, the bottome layer needs to be refined. The detail of the ending where two pieces join together needs to be further designed elegantly. Aesthetically I think this design is more suitable to be a stool, as the weaving nodes will be fully exposed in that case. And the curves on the leg could utilize the illusionary idea that it will look like a fabric touching the ground, which will be more elegant. Although structurally this prototype is very strong already, it still cannot support a human's weight, I can only carefully sit on it but not putting my whole weight on it. I think this is because the top is relatively flat, and was not a perfect dome or shell yet. The load was mainly relying on the bottom layer of weaving nodes, which is sparsly interlocked and weaker than the tightly interlocked first layer. This could be improved by adding more curve on the top so that the weight will sits on the first layer of nodes rather than relying on the leg span on the bottom. Materially, the making of the bottom ring feels like I have forced it too much , as in this width the heating and bending was not smooth enough, it feels like in this shape and width, the perspex sheet resists to be the ring I designed. I need to try the slender and thinner perspex sheet to make this construction process more smooth.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED...

How to connect the ring?

How to give the ring a smooth curve? (MDF Mould?)

How to lock sheets together and avoid strange noises?

Should I model the exact stool in rhino and build mould on that?

How the leg detail terminate on floor?

Is it 2mm or 3mm perspex?

Is it thinner or the same width as the prototype above?

Is it matt or glossy finish?

Is it single color or multi color?

Is it translucent perspex or opaque?

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE SKETCH MODEL TEST

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TASK: FINAL FURNITURE SKETCH MODEL TEST

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These sketch models explore the idea of increasing the interlocking nodes by using narrower piece of sheets. The proportion has changed in these tests due to the increased nodes. The top curve was more flat than the chosen sketch model before, therefore they perform worse structurally.

This 1:1 prototype tests the possibility of using thinner perspex pieces both in width (20mm wide) and thickness (2.6mm thick), while adding more weaves and interlocks, and using the same MDF Mould, to see if the structure became stronger. Also using different perspex color (Green and translucent matt finish) and finish to test the aesthetic result.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 3

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 3

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 3

While the perspex became thinner both in width and thickness, it became much easier to bend whil heated. The time that needed heat them to reach a temperature that is suitable for weave also reduces significantly. Sometimes it get heated too quickly, the heat gun caused some bubbles to appear on the surface due to heat.

I like the appearance of the thin pieces weaving together and sitting flat on the table surface.

Also the perspex became not straight during the bending, it showed a quality of softness as in fabric, Also the reflection of the light on the strands was really appealing, the kinks on the strips somehow become part of the weaving and a feature.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 3

Bending on the same MDF Mould.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 3

Bending on the same MDF Mould.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 3

The ring was still the hardest part during the making process. Even for the much thinner perspex, it is almost impossible to try to maintain a nice curvature on the ring while bending and weaving from a straight piece. As it will kill all the aesthetic quality of the stool, a new making process for the ring is needed. Problems such as how the long ring join at the end, and how to hold the ring in position on the mould needs to be redesigned. Wheather the ring stays straight or it has to be a conical element is very critical as well.

Although the green-blue color was unique, and it showed the possiblity to using different color for each different piece to result in a rainble like stool at the end, I still think the purely white color (or maybe some other light uniform colors) goes best with the concept and the aesthetics, as too many colors would distract the immaterial quality of the bending and draping.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 3

This prototype turns out to have even weaker structure. On reflection, I think it is because all the nodes stayed horizontal on the stool surface and contributed very little to the vertical load resistance. Also the curves on the six legs made the stool weaker, as they tend to open up on the bottom rather than transfer the load vertically to the ground. Aesthetically the top of the stool was more appealing than before, as the thinner perspex looked more light and delicate.

I chose the translucent matt finish for the horizontal ring trying to make it visually disappear, and emphasize on the vertical strands. But the result was not very satisfying, as the translucent ring pops out even without color. Also the glue applied on it would be visable and made it very messy aesthetically. Moreover, having increased the amount of nodes and strands would result in some crowded intersection such as four legs joining together as legs. Considering this stage is week 12 already, I need to make structure a priority, I do not think I got time to refine this direction although it showed some aesthetical possibilities, I have to stick to the wider perspex with 3mm thickness and try to make the structure capable to support a human's weight.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PRECEDENT

MARC PASCAL THE WORVO PENDANT

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE SKETCH MODEL TEST

This plastic woven lamp uses 1mm plastic sheet, 14 horizontal and 28 vertical strips, to construct this lamp based on this curvy shape. The 1mm plastic would be much easier to manipulate and achieve a neat weave, rather than rely on the heat to bend and weave in my previous prototypes. Also, the rectangle nodes of weaving plastics covers the whole shape of the lamp, which makes it very strong structurally. This implies that if the shape has enough interlocking nodes, the material thickness could be reduced substantially from 3mm to even 1mm, in this case the plastic or perspex would be very easy to bend and weave even without the heat. Also, this precedent shows that the strips has been cut to follow the overall shape of the lamp: wider at both ends and thinner in the middle, this implies that in my design if the strips are laser cut to follow the overall shape, the imperfect curves could be reduced during the weaving and bending. The last but not least, this design comes with lots of color ranges, by using the translucent horizontal plastic sheets, the color goes harmoniously with each other and blend in really well.

This shows that by choosing transparent material for the horizontal ring, the vertical strips can visually pops out and merge together beautifully.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE

The main direction of the challange I set for myself became clear:

CAN 3MM PERSPEX SUPPORT A PERSON's WEIGHT?

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 3 1

Making More sketch models to alter the design and make the structure working. I think the problem for the previous sketch models is the the thickness of the paper is not in the right proportion. 200 gsm paper has a thickness of 0.2mm which determines that I need to make the model smaller in order to see its structural performance. In this sketch model, the weave continues down to interlock together as a strong ring to hold the stool together. It can support a lot of weight. The bottom is much stronger than previous design. Scale is 1:10, using 0.2mm thick paper. If it was in 1:1, this thickness would equal to 2mm, which means using 3mm perspex in real scale would make it even stronger.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 3 2

In this sketch model test the horizontal ring was broken into segments, as two layers.

Because the ring was a major challange in the making process, by breaking it would make it easier to weave into the vertical strands. But aesthetically the segments were a bit jarring to the eye, as the beauty of the concept was in the continuity of the perspex strands. As it is already very messy in the sketch model, it would become worse in the real scale. Therefore, I have decided to choose the first sketch model to continue 1:1 test. At this point I feel very nervous as it was week 12 already and the testing seemed repeating and endless, I am not sure if the sketchmodel is going to be transfered smoothly into 1:1 stool.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4

I changed the making procedure of the horizontal ring, giving the detail by laser cut the pattern like hinges and break into two pieces to bite together as a perfect ring. The ring now has a separate form to keep the curve perfect and stay straight vertically. It then goes to the weaving process into the vertical perspex strands. Having the pre-formed ring shape before going to weaving significantly reduces the imperfect curvatures on the ring, making it much nicer.

The MDF mould was given details such as the six offsets sticking out to hold the rings in position for weaving.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4

The hinge tooth are too thin and broke during manufacture, it might need bigger size and less tooth. Also it deforms a bit under heat bending and cannot bite each other perfectly, design need to incoporate this. It would be better in appearance if the tooth can be concealed behind the nodes I think.

Also the length of the ring was about 2cm short because I did not include the tolerance that the ring has to go up and down a bit during the weaving.

Because the MDF Mould was bigger at the bottom, therefore it would be impossible to get the mould out from the perspex if the ring was closed while it was still on the mould. I have to get the perspex out before closing the rings. Because the ring was a little shorter than the mould premeter, when they close into a loop the overall shape deformed a little bit and became unsymmetrical a little. I think this can be resolved by giving the rings the exact length as the mould.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE GROUND DETAIL

About how the stool touching the ground, my initial thought was to having some caps on the bottom, maybe 3D printed cap, to lifte the stool ring a bit from the ground. But during the making process, I think that by bending the perspex edge into the bottom ring can function as the cap while keeping the concept more pure and simple, without adding extra element but using the perspex itself.

Because the perspex is hard and reflective, I feel like I should stick a small soft rubber layer on top of the bent caps for surface protection.

Aesthetically the wrap would look nicer and more complete if goes all the way on the otherside of the ring for each strands. I have to find a new manufacturer for longer perspex sheet, because the current one is 1200mm max long and would result in this unfinished corner wrap. I think the strands on the outside should wrap all the way into the inside, while the inside strand should stay inside to keep the outside appearance neat.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE STRANDS JOINT DETAIL

I think using glue is the best way to connect the perspex strands together by keeping the concept pure and simple. The challenge was I have to apply the glue after the perspex was bent otherwise the heat gun would destroy the glue applied to the joint. And I have to clamp the joint for 24hours to reach the 80% strength and then continue the rest of the bending. But the strength was really satisfying, I think if I apply the glue very carefully into the surface joint the result could be neat enough.

Otherwise I have to find a way to clean the glue that leaked from the joint, which will make the reflective perspex surface very ugly and using tapes to protect the areas that dont need to be glued is a solution, the remains of the glue can be cleaned with warm water after the acrylic glue has been set.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4 DETAILS

Different options of autoadhesive surface savers I bought in Bunnings, to stick on the bottom of the ring. I think the top left white soft one goes the best with the concept, as it blends into the white color of the stool, and also I think the soft touch with ground is better compared to the silicone surface.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4 DETAILS

The back of the surface saver becaome very dirty over two days after sticking on the ring, but it worked quite well while touching the ground, and its not obvious when looking from top down.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4

Because the top is wider than the bottom, I have to get the mould out from the stool before closing the stool rings. This caused the stool bottom became asymmetrical while heated and closed. I think for the final I might need to keep the stool on the mould all the time until it was finished, then tear the mdf mould apart and get it out from the stool, to retain the geometry on the stool.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4

The Structure is strong enough now to support my full weight while sitting. This gives me confidence to continue this design for the final and keep refining details. It was a little bit frightening to sit on it, because it deforms a little bit but I think it was caused by the asymmetrical geometry due to incorrect ring length, which could be solved in the final one. It would be even more interesting and challanging if I could reduce the thickness of the 3mm perspex into 2mm maybe, considering the structure already worked, but given the deadline I think the 3mm is the limit.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4 DETAILS SURFACE FINISH

Trying to give the stool a matt finish by hand sanding the reflective perspex.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4 REFLECTION

Having done this much of heating, bending and weaving, I just have to accept the fact that the curves can never be perfect, I just have to find a way to celebrate this. Reflecting on the making process of this prototype, all the emotions and mood of me were reflected on the perspex curves. All of my impatience, frustrations or excitement showed themselves in the physical forms of curves on the stool. I need to stay very patient and controll my mood, while holding the heat gun and weave them, in order to keep the ugly imperfect curves into minimum. I have to controll the temperature very carefully, if it get heated too much, the perspex would become too soft and it would be impossible to give it a nice curve, also too soft would result in small torsions appearing on the strands or rings, which are unacceptable imperfections. I just have to heated it slowly and wait for it to reach a point of temperature that is perfect to weave and bend with some help of hand force, it is very hard to describe where that point is but my skill of heating perspex is getting much better over time and I know it when that happens.

I think by changing the reflective finish into a matt finish would make the imperfection a lot more acceptable, on the left I tried to sand down some of the shinny surfaces, it looked more humble now as compared to previous one finish all the imperfect curves are being amplified by the glossy finish. Moreover, matt finish gives a nice and soft feeling one is touching the stool with their hands, I think this goes better with the concept of illusionary fabric, because fabric itself is soft and non-shiny.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4 DETAILS

I think after deciding to change into matt finish, all the details start to come together.

For example this joint on the ring would left some glues on the surface, which can be sanded by hand later and concealed behind the vertical strands. Other joints can also be sanded if the glue leaked or the masking tape has too many remains on the perspex.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL PROTOTYPE 4 DETAILS

However while the glue leaked too much lik this, it cannot be sanded. I have to be very careful in the final one to avoid this to happen, to achieve a neat overall appearance.

Because the design starts to celebrate the imperfect hand bending now, other details need to be absolutely perfect to tolerate one imperfection. Also, the edge of the perspex is too sharp while having contact with human hands, need to be sanded to have a slight curve as well. Because the concept is very soft, the edge has to stay soft and not sharp as well.

Testing of the tooth by scale it two times compared to the previous one which is too delicate. The size now is acceptable but the length of the teeth need to be shorter, in order to be fully concealed behind the vertical strands.

MAKING OF FINAL STOOL

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINAL STOOL PREPARATION

This kind of matt finish perspex from Mitchell Plastic would suit my design pretty well, but unfortunately they do not have the supply in their factory. I went to the shop on the first day and the factory was closed before Melbourne Cup Day, because it was 1h drive and I have to borrow a car, it was very frustrating that I did not manage to purchase it.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PREPARATION

I have called other acrylic suppliers in melbourne such as NeonGraphics and Plasteral, none of them supply the perspex with matt finish, the only option left for me is to sand the perspex myself, which would cost much more time. I end up going to Neon Graphic which is the closest one, but unfortunately they do not even have the white perspex in my desired dimension. They only have the opal white perspex, which I was worried that the glue might be obvious while applied on the joint for the opal perspex, at this stage I do not have time to contact another supplier for the white perspex, I have to take the risk and purchase the opal perspex.

Testing sanding the reflective finish opal perspex with orbit sander. The result was very satisfying.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PREPARATION Testing different options of glue-proof tapes for the joint.

Plastic transparent packaging tape.

Becasue this kind of tape is plastic as well, the acrylic glue melted the tape as well, and left in the gape between the joint.

Blue masking paint-proof tape.

Very easy to get off, non-plastic material make it resistant to the acrylic glue.

After comparision, I will chose the blue tape for protecting the perspex while gluing them together.

Normal Masking Tape Similar as the blue tape, but not as good, harder to get off.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PREPARATION

Testing glueing two pieces of opal perspex together. This was a exciting suprise, as the glue was not only not obvious, but it left no trace of how the two pieces joint together. Aesthetically the semi-transparent look would strengthen the illusionary concept, make the stool appear even lighter. The contrast between how they gently touches each other and the ability to support a human weight would be so strong and illusionary as I imagine. I assume if I had bought the white matt perspex, the result would not be as good as using this.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE PREPARATION

Gluing the weaving joint while they were flat, and clean the joint using chizel and orbit sander, there was no trace of glue at all on the weaves, and it looked much more beautiful than the prototypes before.

Moreover, aesthetically I think by sanding the edge of the perspex into a rounded one, the thickness of the perspex would appear to be reduced, together with the semi-transparent finish, the 3mm perspex looked like 2mm or even 1mm, this visual lightness makes the concept even stronger. Also, because in the previous prototype the finish of the edge and the surface was different, plus the edge was too sharp, the imperfect curves on the strands looked much more obvious. While compared to this one, the edge finish is the same as the surface finish, also the edges was sanded into round ones by orbit sander, this makes the imperfect bending more humble aesthetically.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE MAKING-DRAPING

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE MAKING

Covered with blue tape to protect the strands from glue. Using clamps to ensure the glue reaches its maximum strength.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE MAKING

Test Cut on Scrap Piece with Scissor While Heated

All parts of the stool joints were glued while the mdf mould was still inside, to keep the geometry of the mould. The bottom layer of the mould was gt rid of for a better manipulation of the bottom ring detail. Because I changed the detail which require the strands to be concealed inside the ring, some of the strands were too long and therefore I have to cut it by hand using scissor. I find that if the perspex was heated enough, it became very soft and very easy to cut even by

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE MAKING-DETAIL

The bottom ring detail trying to mimick the fabric effect.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE MAKING-DEMOULDING

The MDF Mould was teared apart in order to get it out from the stool, to remain the symmetrical geometry on the stool.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE MAKING-SANDING

The tape was removed, the surface was sanded with orbit sander, together with using chizel to clean the joint glue remains, in order to make the overall appearance neat.

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINISHED PIECE

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINISHED PIECE

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINISHED PIECE

TASK: FINAL FURNITURE FINISHED PIECE