M3 journal Kevin Sek and Elizabeth Seah

DIGITAL DESIGN + FABRICATION SM1, 2015 M3 JOURNAL: VOLUMETRIC STRAW-SCREEN

Elizabeth Seah & Kevin Sek 699633 & 638985 Tutor: Michelle James

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Introduction

The intent of our 2nd skin design was to create a wearable volume that disguises the torso area of the body. By using clear/translucent material, our aim is to blur the view and form of the body, and thus confuse or alter the relationship between the personal space, the wearer, and any other persons.

The concept was derived from a section and profile material system, and we have used a repeated pattern and angled panels to achieve our desire effects in relation to personal space.

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Design development modifying the overall form of the volume in order to more accurately reflect our personal space mapping

revisit the straw idea from earlier in the semester. this will further the conceptual strength of our 2nd skin project and more fully achieve our intent

modifying the size and shape of the vertical ‘ribs’ to achieve a more organic, slender and streamlined silhouette

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Reading Response Wk 6 Architecture in the Digital Age - Design + Manufacturing/ Branko Kolarevic, Spon Press, London c2003

Briefly outline the various digital fabrication processes. Explain how you use digital fabrication in your design?

In the age of modern computing, digital design and fabrication has developed from simple physical to digital modelling to the development of complex designs through the aid of computer software. The fact that many complex geometries and designs are computationally possible described by NURBS also means that they can be fabricated by 2D, subtractive, additive and formative fabrication processes. 2D fabrication include methods such as CNC cutting in with a sheet of material is cut along 2-axis.

Subtractive fabrication is a multi axis milling process in which a specific volume of material is removed from a solid object. A common use of additive fabrication is 3D printing in which a solid model is sliced into 2D-layers and added incrementally. Formative fabrication involves the use of different methods to reshape or mould an object into the desired shape.

Our design use developable surfaces and a 2D fabrication process in which the ribs/midsection of our frame is laser cut from a Perspex material. By designing and cutting grooves and tabs into the panels and frame we aimed to create a self-supporting structure that required no armature.

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Reading applied to design How does the fabrication process and strategy effect your second skin project?

A limitation of 2D fabrication process is the fact that only flat objects that are developable can be cut. As we wanted to create a skin that could curve and wrap around the body, and create a volume, this required the curves to be implemented in 2 planes similar to Bernhard Franken’s ‘bubble’.

In our final design, we created circular ribs that enclosed the body in the XY plane and used vertical midsections to provide a platform for flat panels to attach while also introducing a subtle curve in the Z plane. This allowed the creation of a 3D egg like enclosure while using only flat surfaces cut using laser cutters.

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Reading Response Wk 7 Digital Fabrications: architectural + material techniques/Lisa Iwamoto. New York: Princeton Architectural Press c2009 Describe one aspect of the recent shift in the use of digital technology from design to fabrication?

The development of digital technology and its implementation throughout all stages of the design process subsequently has a significant influence on the nature of the design.

In the past, 3D modelling was considered to be an activity to be engaged with at the tail end of the design process, after a variety of 2D drawings had been drafted, and the final design resolved.

Although digital software such as CAD made drafting plans, sections and elevations easier and quicker, they did not revolutionise the way architects designed, or the nature of the projects they were producing. As stated in the Week 7 reading, “It took threedimensional-computer modeling and digital fabrication to energize design thinking and expand the boundaries of architectural form and construction�.

3D computer modeling eliminates the necessity of producing projections (i.e. sections, plans, elevations), rather section cuts are taken from an existing 3D model of the design.

The ease with which elements of a design can be modified digitally drive the progression of the design. Furthermore, digital technology allows the architect to experiment and pursue more complex geometries and intricate patterns with an ease and accuracy that is unnattainable by simply producing 2D projections (freehand or digitally drafted).

Finally, the integration of digital technology into the design process has resulted in a more fluid relationship between design and construction. Modern laser cutters, CNC routers and 3D printers allow for the transferral of digital design information directly into construction information to be applied during fabrication.

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Reading applied to design

Referencing from the lectures and readings, what is the implication of digital fabrication on your design ?

Digital design using computerized processes have their own set of unique restraints and possibilities. It blurs the line between the construction and design steps by allowing the designer to ‘build’ a finished 3D model in the program. It requires the designer to take into account aspects of the construction when creating a design essentially eliminating any intermediate steps in the process.

We took into account the limitations of the construction tools available to us, and as a result had to make several modifications to allow for developable surfaces and size restrictions as well as material choices. It required us to think from a practical viewpoint as well as a design viewpoint, and our final design reflected this. 3D modelling also allowed us to model our skin around a virtual body and gave us an image of what our final product would look like without actually making the prototype allowing us to be more creative with the design

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Prototype development

Images of prototype constructed for M2 using the FabLab laser cutter. We wanted to build a prototype of a small segment of the design in order to test the material properties of clear perspex. We needed to make it would not be too heavy or fragile, and that it would provide us with the visual effects we were after.

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8mm plastic straws were tested to find the balance between straws diameter, quantity and the desired density Originally we planned to use 5mm diameter straws, but after careful consideration of the density vs effect as well as the practicality of preparing thousands of straws, we decided that 7mm straws spaced further apart could still create the same desired effect.

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Prototype optimisation As our main design revolved around the use of straight plastic rods which protrude from the second skin acting as a buffer between the wearer and the surroundings, and the fact that we needed the straws to intersect two panels to provide a sheath in which it could move and be extended or retracted applied certain limitations to our design. One, the holes on each panel in which the straws pass through had to be parallel to each other to reduce friction. Two, the panels had to be completely flat. Any bends or curves would warp the shape of the holes making it impossible for the straws to pass through. Three, the panels had to be offset a slight distance from each other to hold the straws up.

In our original design, we used identical panels with one end attached to vertical midsections that encapsulated the body. The panels were angled in a spherical fashion to create a volume. As the panels were only attached in one end, this created a weak structure which required supporting braces in order to keep the structure together. To strengthen our design we attempted to create a single coherent structure in which the panels acted as intermediate joints connecting the vertical midsections.

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Prototype optimisation - Fabrication and Material Efficiency

Tabs were added to the modular panels, once the components had been converted into 2D geometry, in order to create a more stable connection and more points of resistance.

Frame - clear Perspex for rigidity and effect

Panels - polypropylene as it ismuch lighter and durable while also being much more flexible which allowed us to use larger panels that could be etched to create foldable panels and tabs.

To create the final fablab cutting file, the dupborder command was used on each of the panels and frame pieces. The panelling tools tab command was used to create tabs on each panel. For labelling, each piece was assigned a number and letter based on a grid pattern and to know which side faces upwards.

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2nd Skin final design

BELOW: FRONT ELEVATION OF RHINO MODEL

BELOW: PLAN VIEW OF RHINO MODEL

ABOVE: ISOMETRIC VIEW OF RHINO MODEL

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Fabrication Sequence

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Assembly Drawing

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2nd Skin

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We used clear straws with a 7mm diameter, so as not to draw attention away from the wearer who is the main focus and to not completely block out the wearer’s form.

‘Clear’ polypropylene

Clear 2mm perspex

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