MODULE
3
| FABRICATION
Rizal Ambotang Student no . 641233 Semester 1/2013
Group 5
REVISED DESIGN Recap of ideation process
DESIGN INSPIRATIONS
RECIPE
Step 1
Step 2
Taken a specific moment of the 3D extrusion process, a pentagonal element was taken
Copy and scale 1.2x of base element
IMAGE: Tornado (Shutterstock,2013)
IMAGE: Tornado (LAMB, 2000)
Tornado & how it works I looked at the formation of tornados with the upward movement and scaling up of the air current creating a funnel.
Step 3 Rotate 10 degrees counter clockwise
Step 4 Repeat step (2) & (3)
movement & growth IMAGE: Water vortex (GOOGLEIMAGES, 2013), 2000)
Water vortex/whirlpool Similarly, the formation of vortex and whirlpool inspires me to look at the movement inwards for my emerging form.
EMERGING FORM
REVISED DESIGN Inner shell Design 2
SELECTED DESIGN
Outer shell
Inner shell Design 1
Inner shell + Outer shell
I started with the emerging form mimicing the formation of tornado as well as thee surface movement of a water vortex/whirlpool for the top section of my emerging form. The funnel grows in a swirling movement upwards and collapse inwards to form the inner shell.
PANELLING 2D Panelling for outer skin
Plan
Paneling the mid section of the funnel/outer shell
growth and swirl lines
I wanted to preserve the swirling lines as the form builds upwards. In doing so, I decided to just panel half of the surface by offsetting the panel pattern. If I panel all the surfaces completely I may lose the swirling movement which is a significant attribute of the design.
Elevation
2D panel an instance from my natural pattern
growth and swirl lines
PANELLING Plan
2D panel an instance from my natural pattern
Paneling the top section of the funnel/outer shell
Elevation
Continuing from the earlier swirling movement, I wanted to depict the significant swirling movement of the vortex by paneling the pattern larger.
PANELLING
Plan
2D panel mirror & rotate
Paneling the top section of the funnel/outer shell Elevation
I wanted to represent the dense swirling at the top of the funnel before it collapses into itself by paneling the surface with the same element but mirrored and rotated into a new pattern.
PANELLING | 3D custom panel Paneling exploration for inner shell inner shell paneling options CUSTOM 3D
Different design variation explored and tested through prototypes. These design were rejected for the following reasons : Constructability - not easily assembled - unforgiving in fabrication error Design consistency
some surfaces are clipped by outer skin. .
The form of the lantern was lost in the complexiety of the design. The details of the 3D panel implemented for the inner shell are lost when wrapped by the outer shell. This is more evident if implemented on the final design.
FINAL DESIGN 2D Panelling for outer skin & inner core
+
FINAL DESIGN ISOMETRIC VIEW
PLAN VIEW
ELEVATION
RIGHT VIEW
FINAL DESIGN OUTER SHELL
INNER SHELL
FABRICATION|unroll cutting template OUTER SKIN - UNFOLDED
I elected to unroll my model in horizontal sections and glue the sections in 3 different parts i.e. top middle and bottom parts. This will help me install the inner shell, the bulbs and wires easily for my final assembly.
FABRICATION|unroll cutting template
OUTER + INNER SHELL UNFOLDED
unfolded arrangement on 600 x 900 mm cards TOTAL SURFACE AREA OF PAPER 0.54m2
PAGE 1 : WHITE IVORY (250GSM)
PAGE 2 : WHITE IVORY (250GSM)
PAGE 3 : WHITE IVORY (250GSM)
PAGE 4 : BLACK (300GSM) - INNER SHELL
Page 1 0.1675 m2 Wastage (%) = 68.9% Page 2 0.2603 m2 Wastage (%) = 51.8% Page 3 0.1894 m2 Wastage (%) = 64.9% Page 4 0.1675 m2 Wastage (%) = 75.6%
FABRICATION|unroll cutting template Tab width is set at 8mm and created through Grasshoppert script.
Some cut lines were replaced at strategic location to prevent the cut shape from being ripped out as the cutter cuts the shapes or adjacent shapes.
Verical lines are traced and etched so that the section can be fold and shape to intended form
2D cut out can be made 3D by folding the cut inwards/outwards at the etch line.
FABRICATION|tools and adhesives Grifhold Knife No. 7Sc/7E Cutter
Bostik Strip glue Clean application of strip glue. Not messy but not strong.
Acid-free Craft glue too wet & soaks the cards to become soft. Relatively quick dry.
Scotch Quick Dry Quick dry, have to work fast. Messy. Very strong and do not wet the card and deform the tab.
Bostik Clear glue Applicator have fine and wide nozzle that is useful to spread an apply glue cleanly and precisely. Not as strong as Scotch glue.
Masking tape
Steel ruler
PVA glue too wet & soaks the cards to become soft. As the glue dries, the tab deform and wrinkle.
Spatula ** to apply and spread glue
Fold back clips - a lot of them
PROTOTYPE 1 Material : Ivory card (outer skin) + black card (inner core) Weight : 250 gsm (white ivory) + 300 gsm (black card) Machine : card cutter This prototype in my opinion was the initial learning processs of how what is design in virtual environment may not be practically fabricated in the real world. I found that the following problems prevent me from pursuing this design : 1) The inner core cannot be mounted/installed inside the skin as planned. The tabs connecting the panels prevented the inner shell to be connected to the inner wall of the outer shell. 2) The inner shell is fabricated from a much heavier material i.e. 300 gsm black card , and the outer skin is much lighter due to the thin offset. When the top tabs of the inner core are glued to the tabs of the outer skin, the outer skin collapse into its own as the inner core is heavier.
Outer shell Inner shell
PROTOTYPE 1|LIGHTING
In terms of lighting for this design I think it has achieved its objective in producing interesting lighting effect.
PROTOTYPE 2|with inner core Material : Ivory card (outer skin) + black card (inner core) Weight : 300 gsm (white) + 300 gsm (black card) Machine : card cutter
Inner shell was taken out and but model looked disjointed & doesnt make sense.
2nd prototype explored the effort in makeing the upper section of the outer shell more rigid and able to take the load from the heavier inner shell. This is done by thickening the offset. However in consequence the visibility of the inner shell was reduced and was not able to highlight the interesting feature of the 3D panel constructed. Additionally, a critique was made that paneling is based on tribasic with offset that is inconsistent with my initial natural pattern.
Thicker offset, but lose visibility of inner shell.
Back to the drawing board!
FABRICATION|assembly process 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Left to right : 1. File & print setup for card cutter 2 . Cutting 3. Detaching 2D panelling from card 4. Folding tabs and creases 5. Glueing 6. & 7. Assembling mid section 8. Laminating parts 9. Assembling top section 10. Assembling bottom section 11. Joining midsection to bottom section 12. Joining mid section to inner shell. 13. Adding light circuit and attaching wires to the inner wall before closing. 14. Closing & joining top section with the rest of the sections. 15. Completion.
|FINAL MODEL
|LIGHTING
FINAL MODEL
1
2
1. The lightings pattern play 2. 5 sided pattern projections
PRECEDENTS THE TORNADO , Abu Dhabi (unbuilt) Bahar Afshar , Los Angeles The building was inspired by the movement of a tornado where twisting motion upward was the basis of the geometry of the building.
IMAGES : AFSHAR ,2013
READING| RESPONSES
Laser cutting (IMAGE : HiTec,2013)
CNC Plasma & Flame ( IMAGE : JiangsuDade,2013)
Digital Fabrication processes
b. Using various milling processes
1. 2D fabrication
i. Electro
a. 2D cutting/CNC cutting
ii. Chemical
b. X & Y axis movement of cutting head and/or moving bed
iii. Mechanical
with and
c. X-Y axis movement to cut 2D shape with Z (vertical Axis) to remove material volumetrically.
i. Laser cutting, thickness up to 16mm, material that does not burn
d. Dedicated PC to control the machine tool , process the CNC instructions(G-Code) from CAM software.
c. Cutting technologies constraints on material thickness
ii. Plasma arc, material that does not burn iii. Water jet, cut almost any material with thicker dimension 2. Subtractive fabrication a. Removal of volume of material
3. Additive fabrication a. Incremental addition of material later by layer. b. Curing the material by using
Formative fabrication (IMAGE : Robofold,2013)
iii. Chemical c. Use different type of material depending on the curing process i. Thermoplastic wax ii. Plastic iii. Paper iv. Metal powder v. Ceramic powder d. Limitation on size , limited application e. Useful for complex geometry 4. Formative fabrication a. Material is formed to desired shape by applying
i. Heat
i. Mechanical force
ii. Light
ii. Heat
REFLECTIONS| READING RESPONSES iii. Steam iv. Restricting form Constraints of CNC cutter 1. Material type, i.e. for laser cutting material must not burn on cutting 2. Thickness, for laser cutter can only cut up to 16mm thickness. Opportunities 1. Accurate and precise cutting 2. Clean finish The use of digital technology from design to fabrication. Digital fabrication merges the steps/processes of design with fabrication. 3 dimensional object can be designed in 3D modelling software then “unroll” into 2 dimensional drawing of parts which then can be cut and put together into actual 3D structure. The process of design in no longer an isolated process from the construction/fabrication as in designing phase all aspect of materiality and understanding of possible construction techniques and limitations have to be considered. This is highlighted in the article where Branko Kolarevic had stated through digital technology, there’s the ability to gather construction information from the design process (Iwawoto ,2009). Additionally, with digital technology, the processes of design and fabrication, prototyping and final design are iterative and nonlinear i.e. I discovered that during the construction of my lantern I can go back and forth between all these stages to rethink, optimise my design, resolving issues of construction, materiality to achieve the project brief.
Subtractive fabrication ( IMAGE : LMNTS,2013)
Additionally having tools such as card cutter greatly reduces the fabrication time and enables me to quickly create multiple prototypes to test different aspect of the design such as lighting and material use. Additionally, tool such as grasshopper script to create tabs further increase the productivity of the making process by automating the repetitive processes.
REFERENCES Images LMNTS, 2013. Subtractive Fabrication JIANGSUDADE,2013, CNC Plasma & Flame HITECH,2013 , Laser cutting ROBOFOLD,2013 , Formative Fabrication SHUTTERSTOCK, 2013, Tornado AFSHAR, B,The Tornado Abu Dhabi References LAMB, M. B. A. R. 2000. How Tornadoes Work [Online]. HowStuffWorks.com. Available: http://static.ddmcdn.com/ gif/tornado-2.jpg http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/tornado1.htm [Accessed 13/05/2013 2013]. IWAMOTO, L. 2009. Digital Fabrication : Architectural and Material Techniques, New York, Princeton Architectural Press. KOLAREVIC, B. 2003. Architecture in Digital Age - Design and Manufacturing. London, Spon Press.