Stefanie Judd 638809 Virtual Environments Semester 1 2013 Group 5 Module 3: Fabrication
So Far..
Analytical Drawings
My Recipie 1. Draw a series of dots that roughly resemble a circle 2. Connect those dots 3. Mark the center point of the shape 4. Draw straight lines out to all the points on the shape 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 untill content with the pattern
I First started by tracing out the pattern that joined each of the tips of the petals in a rough circular shape.
I then used ‘Tooling / Aranda, Lasch. New York : Princeton Architectural Press, 2006).’ recipe for cracking as a guide to create my pattern. I drew lines from the centre of the outline and connected them to the points on the shape
I then repeated the second step - finding the middle of the shape then drawing lines to connect to the points of that shape. This represents Movement as the shape of the overall image can be forever changing if we continue this process.
Final Digital Model
First Prototypes These are my initial prototypes. They are prototypes of the panelling that I chose not to do, so have no relation to my final model. I found that they were both too large and flimsy due to the large holes I made using offset faces border.
This is my final digital model from different views. My aim is to recreate my prototype as similar to this model as possible
Unrolling in Rhino These are screen captures of the files I sent into the Fab Lab to be cut by the card cutter. I used four sheets of 900 x 600mm ivory card to print off all the pieces for my prototype. This eventually became almost exactly what I used to send into the Fab Lab the second time for my final lantern, however I made tabs bigger and adjusted a few minor details. Red lines on these images mean that the lines must be scored, and the black - that they must be cut. I was sure to ensure that there were a couple score lines on the outside of each shape so that no pieces popped out and got stuck in the cutter while my pieces were being cut out. The words next to each piece correspond to the colour of each strip on the 3D model. An example of this can be seen below.
NB/ I used grasshopper to create the tabs and 2D lines seen in the images.
Materials for Creating the Prototype
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After completing the unrolling of my model in Rhino, and putting tabs on it I sent my file to the Fab Lab to be cut by the card cutter. There was a complication with the cutting at first, as the blade was bunt and didn’t cut through the paper properly, but this issue was fixed once a new blade had been installed. 1. Metal ruler, cutting mat, and knife - I used these to cut out the parts holding my individual pieces into the card. 2. Mini Bulldog Clips - These were a necessity in the building of my model as I initially used Clag Cleargum glue and the clips were used to keep the tabs in place while the glue dried 3. Hot Glue Gun -I started using a hot glue gun half way through the construction of my prototype as I found it dried much faster than Clag glue, however I had to be very careful not to get any glue in places other than the tabs because of how fast it dries.
Prototype Part 1 The Middle Section
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1. This image shows one strip of the 10 seen in the fully put together piece to the right. It is completely flat and has just been cut out of the card (only a couple of pieces on the edge had to be cut out manually - these were scored to keep the pieces attached to the card.) 2. The second step in creating my prototype was folding along the tab lines and score lines so that it was easier to stick together. 3. I then used the hot glue gun to stick together the tabs. This was often difficult because the glue was very hot when I got glue on my fingers and it could get messy if I rushed, and become visible where I didnt want it. 4. This step involved sticking together each singular piece such as the one shown in picture 3, to form a circular shape. At first the shape was slightly skewed however once i completed the circle it straightened up.
This is the center of the lantern completed. As can be seen there are no visable glue marks and the paper is folded neatly. However when looked at closer I found that this section though appearing neat from afar, was not as perfect as I wanted, so I aim to make the final a bit neater. The center of this section is seen to be pointing in, however in my digitaal model the points were supposed to be pointing out. I plan to fix this by making the score lines less frequent so that the concave joints become more stiff and able to hold the upright position.
Prototype Part 2 The 2D section
1. This photograph shows a single piece of the 2D section of my prototype. It has only been cut from the sheet of paper, and there are no folds as it is only 2D 2. All my pieces cut out in a pile 3. I stuck all the pieces together and sat (the two sections are not stuck together at this stage) it around the middle section of the prototype that I completed first. I had Issues sticking this section together because some pieces such as the top left hand corner, didnt fit together nicely.
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Prototype Part 3 The Outside Skin
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6 1. Cut all the pieces out from the card 2. Folded along tabs and score lines 3. Glued the tabs of a single strip together. 4,5,6. I glue each strip together untill a round shape was formed. 7. Glue on the horizontal strips of paper to form the wave shape of the 7 top of the lantern.
When I finished sticking on all the pieces to create the outer skin or shell of the lantern, I dusted it a little, because the hot glue gun created stringy glue ‘spiderwebs’ everywhere and made it look messy.
Creating the Whole Prototype
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1. This image depicts the three different sections side by side before I glued them together. 2. The full prototype is shown fully stuck together in this image, with no lights on on the inside of the lantern. 3. The lights are now just sitting in the bottom of the lantern to show an effect of what the lights look like without it being dark. The reason the lights are sitting in the bottom, is that I did not stick together a couple of panels on the side so that I could access the lights, especially when I plan on adding in the circuit. This however proved to be an issue as putting my arm in and out of the lantern caused it to weaken in that area and rip slightly. For my final I intend on putting the lights in while the lantern is still like it is in image 1.
Lighting The Circuit
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1. Cable to create the circuit 2. White electrical tape 3. A film canister with springs to conduct electricity and hold the batteries inside. 4. Wire cutters to strip the ends of the wire. 5. A soldering iron to bind the wires together. 6. Film canister with the wire connected to the end of the spring. 7. Stripped ends of wires. 8. A switch to control the light.
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Lighting Effects
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I tested the lighting effects produced with the LED lights were inside the lantern. The results were suprising, as in one photograph the lantern appears blue, whilet in others it is simply a white light. Thist could be due to the camera taking the photo, or perhaps the lights were reflecting off of something. In images four and five I tested the effects of lighting on the surrounding walls. I found that the shadows casted overlapped, creating an entirely new pattern, which reminded me of my emerging form from module 1.
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Problems Encountered
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1. This problem was that the pieces did not fit together properly, as I by mistake printed one of the pieces backwards anddid not bother to manually create dotted cut lines along the tab to ensure clean folding of the tabs. This is simple to fix, all I have to do is flip the piece around in Rhino. 2. The reason this join looks so messy, is that the tabs were much too small to stick together neatly, the glue oozed out of the tabs and made the visable part of the lantern look very messy. To fix this I will make larger tabs in certain areas. 3. As can be seen, there are score lines on of these pieces, however not on the other. This is because I printed it off backwards and to make the pieces fit together, I had to turn the piece around, hence the lack of score lines. As I mentioned for the first image, to fix this I only have to flip the pieces around in Rhino.
Final Model Construction
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Figures 1-3 are in isometric view and are showing how various parts of the lantern fit together. 4. This is part of the paper before I cut out the individual pieces 5. Cut out the tabs 6. Cut out the small triangles from the inside of the strip 7. Fold the tabs and scored lines 8. Glue together the strips together to form the base of the shell 9. Glue together the horizontal pieces forming a ring 10. Join the ring and the base together to for the full outer skin of the lantern.
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Final Model Construction Cont...
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This is the construction of the middle section of the final lantern.
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1. I cut out the individual strips from the larger sheet 2. I then folded along the tabs and other sectionts that needed to be folded. 3. I then glued together each strip separately 4. After gluing each strip, I then glued each strip together which is shown in figure five and six. 7. Due to issues to do with adding in the lighting with the prototype, I put in the lighting before I connected anything. Sticking the circuit to the top of the center piece, and the bottom of the outer shell allowing the switch to hang out the bottom. This greatly relieved the stress of trying to connect the circuit after the lantern had been mostly stuck together.
Final Model Construction Cont...
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1. This shows a single piece that was cut out from the sheet of card. I then cut out the rest and stuck them together forming the shape shown in the second photograph. Unlike my prototype, my final did not have the same issue of having pieces flipped the wrong way around. I was able to resolve this issue and this section looked much better because of it. I then glued all three parts together to form my final lantern, as shown to the right.
Lighting and Effects
From these images it can be seen that the lantern creates an interesting lighting effect. The 2D section creates a glow while the rest of the lantern lets light through and creates the pattern shown on the wall. The photo shown directly above depicts how I would like the lantern to be held. - The hands underneath with outstreached arms. Perhaps angled in a certain way to allow for the best dispersion of light.
Readings and Lecture Response Briefly outline the various digital fabrication processes. List constrains and opportunities provided for you through the use of CNC cut cutter or laser cutter? There are various fabrication processes for example: The two dimensional method – this means that objects are cut from a flat material placed horizontally and then assembled (each of the separate andindividual little pieces) to form a larger model which can often turn out to be in three dimensions, depending on the design. Subtraction – This is where a material is worn away or carved out, this leaves a structure where specific areas have been worn or carved away. For example ice sculptures or woodcarvings; artists begin with a certain amount of ice or wood then chip/carve away at it until they achieve the shape they want. Additive formation – This is when layers are added on top of one another (layer manufacturing) for example: 3D printing. I used this method when building certain parts of my model. I unraveled sections horizontally creating rings and then stuck them upon one another. This process can be considered as the opposite to subtractive fabrication, as suggested in their names. Computer Numerically Controlled Cutting otherwise known as CNC is a fabrication process which involves only two dimensions, and is the most commonly used. This is discussed in ‘Architecture in the Digital Age – Design and Manufacturing’ by Kolarevic. Various cutting methods include: - Plasma- arc - Laser-beam - And water – jet Due to the range of cutting techniques able to be used by the CNC cutter and laser makes it useful , however as it is a very good machine for 2D printing, it is not suited as much to achieving three-dimensional fabrication. Different methods apply different ‘rotations’ of the material bed and cutting head, creating diverse fabrication results. Describe one aspect of the recent shift in the use of digital technology from design to fabrication? How does the fabrication process effects your lantern construction? A recent shift in digital technology is the ability to use three-dimensional software. Recently it has been much easier to create and modify a 3D design using only computer software’s, where in the past this was not possible. This is however, only good when excluding curved surfaces, as these require other means to fabricate. I learnt this when fabricating and unrolling my model. At one point some of my edges on my model were curved, and when I went to unravel them, they simply did not work. This design was obviously possible, it just required extra time to be created by hand or other means. The fabrication process effected my lantern because it enabled me to cut out my model using the card cutter much more accurately. This means that pieces meet up perfectly, and as a whole the model looks neater, as it is cut using perfectly straight lines and cut cleanly, and this is difficult and time consuming by hand.