Module 3: Fabrication
Nina Novikova 643695 Virtual Environments Semester 1
ideation & design
Visual tiling — concerns the transfer of pressure and weight, creating a structure which is sufficient and does not use up a lot of material, but following a growth pattern which prevents fractues. I ended up choosing skeletal formations specifically — in this case, coral; other skeletal structures.
Ideation & design
changes made to digital model
Further work on the custom panels – the gaps are even further apart to prevent points snapping, and the amount of control points on the curves which mark the openings is reduced to make the job more suitable for a laser cutter, which would be a better solution for fine and percise cuts.
The very corners of the spheres were not to be placed under a 'cut' lineweight – the spaces clearly aren't wide enough to be cut, let alone support their weight, not even mentioning the weight of the structure
Inner section of the arm bit Outer section of said bit Outer panels of outer sphere Inner panels of outer sphere The bottom layers of the outer sphere
Inner sides of the inner sphere Outer sides of the inner sphere Two layers of connector panels The bottom layers of the outer sphere
final digital form
front view
Outer sphere plus arm section, the bottom of the outer shpere plus the connector panels, and inner sphere with dimensions in millimetres top view
perspective view
final digital form
NW isometric view
prototype/trials for construction
The first one was to simplify the constuction profess a bit, to save time and reduce the number of tabs that wouls provide additional thickness. An entire strip was unrolled and tabbed, keeping 5 mm as the tab size as tested in Module 2. Evidently wasn't the best idea proposed – first of all the weight wasn't stransferred evenly and the strip was all wobbly with the two layers glued together. Secondly, a symmetrical sphere shape was really hard to achieve just by following the bend of the strip, and in the end the form is distorted and bent at the two edges.
prototype/preparations for construction
I then went back to the prototype trialled in Module 2, deciding that it would be safer and more stable to make individual double-layer panels, and then stick them together into strips.
revisiting module 2
Files prepared for FabLab, the laser cutter. Every set of shapes is labelled by numbers (strips) and letters a & b (outer and inner sides).
prototype/preparations for construction
The panels of each strip were arranged into the shape desired and held together with masking tape so I would get an idea of how well this method of assembly would go. Still not sure about just how stable it would be and whether the curve would be symmetric and identical for each shape, I also did the same thing with taking a 'ring' of panels from the same level and fitting them together by their vertical tabs.
This actually seemed to work quite better (let's just ignore the section where it's falling apart in the photograph, it actually held together really well when it dried). There wasn't really much option for the edges to move around (at that stage anyway), and if all glued together neatly and at the right angle, they panels braced each other into the desired shape. The ability to brace the whole thing against a hard horizontal surface also helped – something I wouldn't have been able to do with a strip without possibly bending it or damaging it.
construction process As expected, the papers came back from the laser cutter with burnt, slightly browned edges. I decided, however, that this wasn't too much of an issue – the burns gave my subject matter a more organic, warm hue, turning the paper cream in some places, which was nice, I decided.
Starting off with arranging everything back to the strips shape, working out 'a' and 'b' parts, and glueing the panels together.
What did become an issue a bit later, though, was the way the burnt surfaces reacted with the glue (see 'tools', next page). Some of the burn marks smudged and bled onto the otherwise surface; the glue itself, which otherwise dried clear with little visible residue, took on a brownish tone, with some prominent black or dark brown spots that would dry in that colour and make the model look messy if not taken care of.
construction process
Tools Sharp scalpel and PVA glue as main tools of work Gluestick was used to assist with wires, masking tape – to make sure structure is correct before glueing Above – two halves of a future hemisphere of the smaller, inner section Below – the two hemispheres constructed. When glued together, they are to make up the inner section where the light would be placed.
construction process Beginning to glue together the bigger shape, following the same process.
Using masking tape to make sure the shape fits together. Especially useful when fitting in the connector panels before glueing them on for good.
lighting options
Hanging up from the top of the lantern
At first I wanted to have the light hanging in the very centre of the sphere, but I discovered that it mostly shone down and did not illuminate nost of the upper section as well. Shortening the section of the cord inside the inner sphere did the job, but so did leaing the wires along the bottom to the side to the top of the whole lantern.
Following the connector between two spheres up the side of the lantern
Leaves the wires exposed and trailing up the arm
What the wires look like sticking out of the bottom of the smaller sphere before wired to longer cords which would then trail up the lantern Gets the wires less noticeable from a certain angle; does not interfere with arm
construction process Finishing touches to the outer sphere and the connections between the two The smallest central piece goes in last, seeing as the construction can no longer stand firmly on the ground once that part is attached.
Note: despite me being extremely careful and following the tabs directly, the edges do not match. They end up holding together due to the copious amounts of glue in use, but because of the additional thickness of the tabs I have not considered previously, there are massive gaps everywhere, which significantly ruins the aesthetics of the model.
construction finished lantern process front view
side view
top view
construction process
Above – interaction with the hand Right – light and shadow effect
finished lantern
Reflection
Ideally, the constructed piece would have been a full-scale prototype, and if not the time limit (and insufficient organisation skills), many improvements could have been made. The main structural mistake was not considering the 4 layers of tabs between each panel while creating the digital model – this additional thickness was not catered for, no doubt the panets don't fit together. Despite the 3 refinements made for the panel design, the full-length construction process showed that the gaps between the cells were still way too small – some actually snapped in the construction process. With the glue going more brown and the laser cutter malfunctions, I dare suggest that for this particular design, a hand-cut set of panels would have been optimal, however that is an inefficient and troublesome method. Of course, in reference to the reading materials, digital technology expanded the possibilities of what can be produced, not only making making custom products, as was done with the panels, for example, with efficiency and relative ease, but allowing better communication of the design through 3D modelling and developing new aesthetics. Being able to see the model in front of me at the digitalisation stage proved to be extremely helpful in improving my design, because I understood how everything came together, I could play around with both the structural elements and the aesthetics. But as was mentioned in one of the lectures, it is important to employ the strengths of technology and material, not try to work around the difficulties they create. In this instance, using a material which is not malleable, and choosing a design that was very fragile, in which entire panels could be ruined by one tiny wrong cut or the slightest change of pressure, had worked against me. That being said, I believe that in terms of the design process, I have succeded in taking a natural pattern and developing it into a standing form. Looking at the final piece, it envelops the whole theme behind skeletal structures that fascinates me so much – something starts off small and forms a bigger version of itself along with others, which then develops to create bigger like systems, giving structure and weight to the overall shape. Taking the initial pattern, I have looked at free-form hexagonal cells. The panels are riddles with them, perhaps with a more tessalated, distorted form, but they are still a very important element. The panels come together to create a small sphere which is also angular in shape, and the smaller surface then gives support to the bigger structure, tying all the elements together. In terms of aesthetic, I really like the way my lantern turned out when lit. The shadows are cast both at close range – sharp and defined – and all over the room, unfortunately not showing up on camera, but they are really interesting. The shape itself looks quite light, yet it stll has a sense of complexity and depth to it due to the multiple layers (though perhaps it does still look a bit overwhelming and crowded.) I wish I had organised my time in a manner that would allow me to improve this design even further.