M3 - Fabrication

AJAYA HAIKERWAL SHANAAZ MUTALIPH M3 – FABRICATION PROFILE AND SECTION VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS

Material System: PROFILE AND SECTION

MATERIAL SYSTEM Objects of this material system are sliced versions of an original ‘whole’ form. These slices intersect each other and lock together to yield strong structures.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

Notions of Personal Space Personal space is something which is ever-changing. What exactly constitutes it, and when it is being invaded, is dynamic and dependent on a number of variables: •

The people around us Our relationships with the people around us impact upon our personal space. It is considered common to allow family and friends closer than we would casual acquaintances, and we would allow lovers to come closer than that. As a general rule, strangers must be of a distance of approximately two meters.

•

The places we inhabit Different locations allow impact on our feelings about personal space. We often are complacent when bundled together with dozens of people in a train or tram car, with almost no room whatsoever - but if a similarly heightened proximity was to occur in the middle of a public park, between fewer people, we would undoubtedly feel our skin crawl. We would desire nothing more than to escape.

•

Movement and orientation When being approached from the front, the speed and gesture implicit in the approach are important in deciding whether or not we feel our personal space is being invaded (eg. a casual handshake vs a caveman running at you with a club) Being approached from behind causes discomfort regardless of speed or gesture.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

Design Brief – Second Skin

Our Second Skin will:

o Showcase the profile and section material system o Explore our pre-discussed notions of personal space o Incorporate movement, reflecting the everchanging nature of personal space o Explore the ideas of attack and defence o Ideally offer optimum protection (in both a physical and mental sense) o Allow the user mobility and a free range of movement o Be lightweight, durable and aesthetically pleasing.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

Design Precedents Our initial object of study, the honeycomb ball, interested our group a substantial amount.

It was for one, made out of a thin paper- lightweight material which alone could not have created a 3Dimensional form. When it was in its spherical form, it held a shape because of the interconnected planes of paper.

The second effect created by this ball was the way in which it could move, and take on two forms and their intermediates. The closed form was modest, while the open form was extravagant.

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Design Precedents If you peel an orange, you get segments. When pieced back together, they form the whole orange again. We were searching for a form which could represent both defence and offense. The defensive is the unpeeled spherical orange, and offensive is when it’s folded out like in the image, showing points at the outermost extremities.

The second form is the flower, and again just for the opening and closing nature of it, in a fluid motion, the point of rotation for each petal at the base. When a flower is closed, each petal perfectly aligns with its neighbour, forming one whole complete object.

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Further Ideas

Our earliest sketches shared the common theme of personal defence, which has become an important facet of our exploration of the concept of personal space. Several members of our group agreed that any second skin we designed would need to protect vital organs, and it was only during later group discussions that the notion of being aggressive towards others became integral to our overall concept.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

The most successful of our precedents was that of the orange. As a spherical form with a near infinite number of axes of symmetry, there is the potential for a similarly large number of slices.

Irrespective of the final amount, we found that these slices could be pieced back together to once again form a sphere. The movement was something that was greatly appealing to us, as we felt it helped to reflect the fluid nature of personal space. It also spoke to a need for a defensive and offensive posture, which we had come to agree upon during group discussion. When deciding on a mechanism for this movement, we ultimately borrow the metaphorical hinge system that appears in the common flower.

MODULE 2 Development

FOUR SEGMENTS Four segments seemed like a workable target.

This allows for two holes at the side, for free movement of the hands and arms.

The support mechanism which holds the structure to the body is not displayed here.

SEGMENTATION The two forms above show a development of a segment of our whole form.

When the segments are closed there will be no visibility of the impressive inside structure. This symbolises the defensive state.

However when it opens, the full aesthetic of the profile and section material system can be identified as the supporting structure- the brilliance adding to the aggression.

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MODULE 2 Development

The flat top was changed to a point at this part of the design, offering a dynamism that was previously lacking, as well as a certain aesthetic charm. We also felt that the visual of vertices created the notion of aggression and offense that addresses our brief to a greater extent.

This stage of the design remains subtle when in the closed position, but when it opens it showcases the profile and section material system which we started with.

The movement of it compensates for the fluidity of social situations in which personal space can fluctuate, resonating defensive when closed and offensive when open.

The slots in the side allow for arm movement, so the wearer is not completely vulnerable when the second skin is closed.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

MODULE 3 Development

To further improve the form, we needed to make it less solidlooking. It was too bulky and needed refining.

The most simple way to do this was to divide the old back panel we already had in two, and then create a bend in the back panel to make it less flat-looking and more aesthetically pleasing.

The back panel was then filled.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

MODULE 3 Development

RADIAL SEGMENTATION To make our form radically different from the extremely box-orientated interior, we used the program ‘123D Make’ to perform a radial segmentation, with 5 planes in the Z axis and 9 planes in the radial array.

This form continued with us to the final design, as it is a large amount more visually stimulating than our previous form.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

This is the OBJ file produced by 123D Make when put into Rhino. This structure is completely made of meshes, and the preset texture for a plastic was orange- ironically it has nothing to do with our precedent.

PROTOTYPE 1: Cardboard Slots

The purpose of this prototype was to test how the planes would slot together.

Using plans from 123D Make, we stencilled the shapes our onto a sheet of cardboard and cut them out. The next step was to cut the slots, which we just used a singular line. However, when we tried to piece it together, nothing really fit properly. We then make those cuts wider, so that the material could fit into itself.

The important lesson we learned was that the slots need to be the size of the thickness of the material we are cutting.

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MODULE 3 Development

The problem with meshes‌ In Rhino, our next problem we faced was that meshes were too hard to work with, so we made new faces from the old ones which were unrollable, then figured out the location of the slots, and very tediously edited them into the bordering shapes.

The sizing of the slots we used was 0.9mm- the thickness of polypropylene which we thought would be a good material to use, as it is lightweight.

The green and magenta images show the plan which could be formatted and sent to FabLab to be cut.

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PROTOTYPE 2: Ivory Card

From the unrolled surfaces, we formatted three sheets and used the card cutter to slice up ivory card. Initially the blade was too blunt so we had to wait an extra day, but eventually we sliced it properly, and constructed the paper prototype.

We chose ivory card because we thought it would be a similar thickness to polypropylene because they can both be cut using a card cutter. We were on the right track, but it proved to be a lot more flimsy than we had anticipated.

However, the slotting worked significantly better than our previous attempt, and all pieces went to the positions which they were meant to.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

MODULE 3 Further Development Using Rhino, we replicated a representation of the final structure of the Second Skin.

This would be the closed position, which like our Module 2 form is still considerably closed off from front on to each eighth. It is nearly impossible to see in from any position apart from the two arm holes. The closedoff nature of it imitates defence, especially if the arms are withdrawn inside the Skin.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

The open position is shown below, with an desirable maximum angle. Any angle more would be unnecessary to create effects of warding people with the an offensive, attack-like stance. The eight points are the main instigators of the warding-off effects of this position.

MODULE 3 Further Development

A problem encountered by the rotation was clashes between planes on neighbouring segments. This was easily fixed by editing the control points on either side of the bottom two X planes (X4 and X5) so that they were no longer touching. No more planes were edited as this is the maximum distance agreed on for the panels to fold out to.

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PROTOTYPE 3: 1:1 Box Board

We had tried something weak, we went to FabLab with the idea to use polypropylene as we thought it would be stronger than ivory card, but were advised against it and recommended to use box board. It took time to re-edit all the slots and make them 2mm, but the end result was worth it- we had a strong structure, and relatively light.

The only thing that was frustrating was the staining from the laser cutting, which could be painted over easily.

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PROTOTYPE 4: Material test

At this point before making any more 1:1 prototypes we needed to work out which materials we would use. We decided on a split- the X planes would all be solid black, as they are most obvious when the structure is closed. Black, we felt, is a reserved, closed off colour perfect for defence. For the Y planes, we decided to use polypropylene- something which lets the light through, to show off the aesthetically more delicate interior, which looks simultaneously more threatening.

We noted not to use the laser cutter for the polypropylene, as it stains it, also economically the card cutter was more viable.

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PROTOTYPE 5: Whole segment

After confirming that we wanted the materials as they were with the small prototype, we moved on to a 1:1 prototype. To do this, the Rhino file had to be edited so that the slots all reached the outside parameters of the shapes.

We decided to make the “bottom” two Y planes out of box board as they need to be sturdy to support the weight and hinge from. To mimic the colour of the plastic, these planes would be painted silver. As the card cutter was used for the polypropylene, there is no staining.

This prototype was not painted as a one off- it was integrated into the final Second Skin and painted along with the other pieces.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

Module 3 - Mechanism Up until this point no work had been done on the mechanism. We had rough ideas as to how it would work but nothing solid.

Each segment had to hinge to allow for the opening and closing, and we worked out the best place for that would be the “bottom” two Y planes. We knew we would end up with sticks of some type piercing those planes and forming a ring, but not exactly sure how it would attach to the body.

We worked out this structure below, which would be made from timber bracing which is highly malleable. The inner parts of these would connect to a belt, which could be taken on and off.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

Module 3 - Mechanism

The lines above are the plans we used to bend the timber bracing into position. We estimated the waist size by cutting parts out of a sheet of paper, so then the metal could be bent at a length which would fit around almost perfectly.

Unfortunately lengths were slightly misjudged so the final result was made from two or three pieces rather than one continuous one.

There are two of these which attach to a belt which is worn around the waist.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

Module 3 - Mechanism The second part of the mechanism involved working on the folding down of each segment. We realised that unfortunately there would have to be another visible component to our design; the straps.

These operated from a strap around the shoulders, attached in place by buckles, which would also hold the straps leading to each segment. When the straps are pulled, the segments become closed, and when they are let loose the segments unfurl.

To make this work, we had to design a buckle which allowed two attaching points. This is an ‘e’ shaped buckle, with the end of the ‘e’ extending over itself to create four holes. Two holes would go through the straps going to the segments, and two for the strap across the shoulders connecting to a shoulder pad at each end.

At the other end of the straps, there had to be a way to attach them to each segment. We decided a hook would work and attach at the top of the Y plane facing directly up, though a hole we would include in the fabrication.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

Module 3 - Mechanism We had a problem with the straps with the wire buckles, which was that the straps easily caught onto the ends of the wire and started to tear.

To combat this problem, we used rhino to make a simple model to the same effect of the ‘e’ buckle- one with four holes, wide enough for the straps, which went across in one way, and down in the other. We cut them out of a polypropylene off cut we had using FabLab. They work a lot better than the ‘e’ buckles, they do not catch the straps at all.

When trying to lift the segments from the top of the polypropylene Y plane, we experienced bending. This was not ideal as it would make our Second Skin considerably less threatening, so we changed the hooks to rings, and attached them in two places to the box board- an option which provided much more strength.

The straps were also painted black to blend into the whole design rather than standing out.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

Second Skin – Assemblage

After submitting two huge Rhino files to FabLab, cutting out all the pieces, painting all the X’s and 2/9 Y’s, we pieced together the 112 pieces to make eight distinct segments of our Second Skin project, then it was just a matter of putting it al together.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

Second Skin

This is the design for our Second Skin project. The skin has two direct forms- the open and closed, and a range of intermediates. Closed, it is very reserved, and only shows the hints of an internal structure. This represents a defensive, withdrawn state of body and mind. The user would ideally feel a sense of protection wearing it. The arm holes down the side provide movement for the arms should the user wish.

Open, this form becomes more dynamic, showing the spectacular profile and section interior, and the sharp, points repel others.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph

Second Skin

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Reading – Digital Fabrications

This reading is very relevant to our Second Skin project, especially (looking retrospectively now) we have definitely had an “upstream-downstream” journey to get us here.

During our fabrication process, we used Rhino to both create test products in three dimensions but also to bridge the gap between the planning and making stages of the design.

Different decisions were made about which machines to use to cut different types of materials- we realised the laser cutter was staining some of the material so had to change to the card cutter where we could.

With the ‘sectioning’ process, a large object is sliced into planes which bare a continuation of the previous plane. The amount of change in shape per plane is proportional to the spacing between each plane.

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Reading – Digital Production

Almost immediately after having started work on the second skin brief, we had encountered the issue of translating something either physical into a digital scale or the contrary of something digital into the real world. At present, there appears to be a wide array in methods of translating this information as it has been understood to be quite tedious manually interpreting dimensions at both levels of physical modeling and digital modeling.

In “Architecture in the Digital Age” – Kolarevic, various methods are suggested such as three dimensional scanning, a multitude of processes under the category of “digital fabrication”, assembly, production strategies, etc. It appears that with most of the digital fabrication, most projects may involve a form of machinery being communicated with computers that are able to translate the data onto something physical allowing users to mould it as they see best fit.

In terms of our own work, we have had to test several times the logic and practicality of both physical and digital modeling to understand whether they will correlate or otherwise. One may think that the more frequent of the two to be complete incorrectly might be digital dimensions or physical models not being able to be translated virtually, however, it can be said, the occurrence of finding errors in both methods is quite equal in that sense.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: M3 – FABRICATION Ajaya Haikerwal and Shanaaz Mutaliph