THE SCARCITY AND CREATIVITY STUDIO digital fabrication workshop jan 2016 AHO
THE SCARCITY AND CREATIVITY STUDIO Christian Hermansen Marcin Marcin Mateusz Wojcik Jan 2016 AHO
In the beginning of the semester, the students were introduced to Digital Fabrication. The aim of the course was to understand the basics of CNC (computer numerical control) technology, and its relevance to architecture. The course consisted of three complementary components: CNC technology, 3D computer modeling and investigation of materials. This combination of components is necessary to participate in the Scarcity and Creativity Studio. An arrangement with Fellesverkstedet (Urtegata 11) was made in order to provide the students with the hands-on experience as well as enrich the staffing by the enthusiastic Fellesverkstedet team. During the first week, the students were introduced to the Fellesverkstedet environment: a guided tour to the facilities was organised (on Monday 18 January) and a panel was CNC manufactured for the Rough Edge project. During the second and third week, the students were assigned another project : the design and the modeling of an individual 40Ă—40 wood panel.
WORKSHOP: THE ROUGH EDGE
Proposed by Christoph Schindler. The workshop investiges the potential of naturally grown wood for the cladding and window framing of the Pocket Farm in Nes. The students specifically developed concepts that incorporate the natural rough edge of the wood into the design of the elements, combined with CNC-detailing for the connectors.
Panel 1 - Ingri Heggebø, Silje Loe, Bao Trung Mai, Sigurd Strøm Nørsterud
Panel 2 - Sara Cais Soler, RaphaĂŤl Fournier, Alexandra Niedermayr, Johann Sigurd Ruud
Panel 3 - Alberto Ballesteros Barea, Jon Erik Dybedal Brekken, Amos Chan, Johan By Sørheim, Marine Vincentz
Panel 4 - Merete Claudi, Ida Gjerde, Marc Sรกnchez Olivares, Vjera Sleutel
INDIVIDUAL PANELS
The task of the group was to design and build a ca.160x160cm wall. Each of the 16 participants has an area of 40x40cm to fill in with her/his individual panel. Previously, each student had the opportunity to CNC cut a test piece before designing and modelling the final panel. This experience allowed the students to be aware of the material choice as well as to become familiar with the CNC machine. The pieces were modelled with the 3D Rhino software in advance, and the surface area was restricted to 400cm2 Each of the students had different approach and discoveries, as some of them explored joining systems, 3D milling or testing the proprieties of the materials. Finally, each student had to CNC cut the final 40x40cm panel. The 3D files that the students made for the previous week were modified in order to explore more the capacities of the machine as well as for making the files suitable for the CNC machine.
Alberto Ballesteros Barea
Lattice
Open / closed
Moving pieces
Frame
Panel 20x20
Moving pieces
Frame
Holder
Panel 40x40
Panel 20x20
Panel 40x40
Panel 40x40
Process
Jon Erik Dybedal Brekken
The goal of this CNC-printing was to test how presice the machine could be. And a huge advantage using this machine is that you can make practiaclly identical pieces. This led to the idea of making a mechanical panel in the shape of an iris.
All the pieces for the 20 x20 panel. A five bladed mechanism.
1
2
3
The 40 x 40 panel has 8 blades and because of this the entire geometry had to be changed. On the inner ring there had to be added a sliding mechanism that alllowed the rotation point to move, so that the blades didn’t touch .
ø 6 mm dowels connects the mechanism
5 mm acrylic window holds the iris in place
10 mm plywood frame
10 mm plywood turning wheel 10 mm plywood blades x8
10 mm plywood mechanical arms
10 mm plywood sliding ring
10 mm plywood plywood frame
Sara Cais Soler
Detail of the wood drawing In the second phase an individual panel is planned. I decided to explore the capability of the CNC machine in the 3D dimension with a useful design that could be used as an external faรงade giving certain pattern with the material proprieties and the shading pattern.
Use of the CNC machine and layers of the wood for a biological pattern.
The design allow the air and sun to come through the panel but not the rain drops.
The shadow that it creates leave the image of flying birds.
First rough milling in one direction with 6 mm round end mill.
Second rough milling in the other direction with the same mill.
Final milling with a 10% speed, with the same mill. The result is a smooth surface.
Final result
Detail
Rhino 3D learning
Final color get darker with olive oil
Test of the water drop
Shadow test
The next step was discovering the limits of the 3D machine with a devious design, which gave a response in the machine, showing parts where the software knew it should go slower (at the steep edges) and where it could go faster. Also, in this case the roughing phase of drilling was suppressed, and it went directly to the finishing drilling (which took already 1:10 hour), in this case the drill was 10 mm so it could be faster and still have a good finishing (the drill moved with a 8% to make a smooth surface). In this phase I included a mechanism to add an opening and closing in the back part of the panel, which is only possible due to the circular design, where the holes are cut. All the holes where given 6.1 mm instead of 6 in order to let a little of tolerance for the machine. I also learnt how to join the two panels together, and the tolerance between them.
Lotus flower pattern
New openings are made witha turning mechanism
Developing the shading effect.
Plan of the front panel
Plan of the back panel
3D Designs
CNC milling in 3D
CNC milling in 2D
Back side of the panel
Opening system
Shadows
The machine needs different drawings as for the 3D (with a tolerance of 0.02) and for the simple lines when you need to cut all the way through. Also they need different drills, and for the 3D the rounded 6 mm drill is better or the 10 mm (as in the last phase) , and for the 2D using a drill with a flat end. The machine speed varies in each area. The parts where there is a steep corner the program calculates that the speed of the machine should be slower. The workshop has given acknowledge not only about Rhino 3D modeling, but also about the possibilities that new technologies can reach, exploring the limits of the machine and the software, and understanding each step of creation.
Amos Chan
Inspiration : expressing the mass of timber
Assembly
Assembly
Inspiration : expressing the mass of timber
Assembly
Assembly
RaphaĂŤl Fournier
400 cm² pannel This pannel has been thought as a permeable element of a facade providing air and light. It is composed of three layers of plywood carved with the same "S" pattern. A handle (continuous along the facade) allows the middle pannel to slide. Three positions are possible: the maximum opening, completely closed or semi opened, creating a moirÊ. Several things stayed to be enhanced after the cutting session: - Find a way to stabilize the handle - Put tabs to hold the middle movable part in position - Provide holes for dowels to avoid glue - Put some tolerance for a smoother move of the middle part.
40 x 40 cm wall pannel The aim of this pannel is to experiment how to bend a sheet of plywood. I used the hyperbolic parabolid shape to be able to unwrap it, in other words to keep one plank without any cut or fold. I added some curves on two of the sides to emphase the bend. There are several possibilities to carve the lines: on the inside of the curve, on the outside or both alternatively. We could not figure out which way was better, so we decided to carve the inside of the whole pannel, as the outside is exposed to the weather. To give a bend to a 12mm board, we tried first a V-bit to not weaken the thinest points but remove as much material as possible. It was very difficult to bend. It couldn't work to reach the profiles previously design. So we tried a second time with a 6mm end mill, leaving only 1,5mm of material. Each path was spaced by 6mm, and the bend was incredibly easy and big. As the sacrifice board of the CNC machine was not set up precisely, one side of the final pannel was not dug deep enough. The assmebly was difficult and I had to put the pannel under hot water to make it easier.
Ingri Heggebø
Test panel - 400 mm2 One test with 7mm thick structure walls, and a second one with 3mm. Tested on 18mm plywood. The fibers of the material was quite dense, which gave a nice, smooth surface after milling. To make sure the cnc machine would be gentle with the thin structure, I used the pocket function in the VCarve program. This way the machine created the holes in the panel from the middle and out. I also set the machine to go a little slower just to make sure the panel did not break. The layering of the two test panels gave an interesting effect, so I decided to study this further in the big panel.
Panel 1600 mm2 The final panel was based on the layering-consept, only that this time I tested out this effect with one piece only. I used 18mm thick poplar plywood. First, the one side was milled half way through the panel, 9 mm. I started the milling with the parts that was not going to be cut all the way through the structure. This step was done with rounded bit, and by increasing the stepover in VCarve in the pocket function, the bit created a pattern in the panel. Then the rest of the structure was cut, before I turned the panel around using two reference points. The same steps was done on the other side, before thinning the corners and and cutting the outer edge with the profile function. I used a couple of paths in the corners of the panel to make it more stable. Before putting the file from Rhino to VCarve, I drew the poplar plywood and placed the pattern in the middle. Unfortunately, my file whas not centered when I imported it to VCarve. Even though I used to reference points in one direction, the pattern was moved in the other direction. The material I used in my first test was much harder than the one I used on the final panel. The poplar was a bit too soft to use on the cnc machine. This resulted in a surface that was not so smooth, and some of the fibers was torn off.
Rough Edge photo Rough Edge photo (you dont have to put it cause (you dont have to putyet, it yet, cause we we willwill select te same) select te same)
Jørgen Jørgen Joacim Høy JørgenJoacim JoacimHøy Høy
Fase 1 Design/Idea:
Fase 2 Design:
Technique:
Function:
Silje Loe
Exploring weaving of wood. By having a system of wooden pieces that weave into each other, this could become a self-locking mechanism that doesn’t require glue, screws or plugs. The Japanese Chidori-system is an inspiration for this exploration.
The 20x20 cm Panel Consisting of three different wooden pieces with slots, eight pieces in total. By placing the pieces in a specific order, the system locks. No tolerance adjustments in the slots are necessary, the locking would work even if the pieces were a bit loose. The mechanism works by lifting two certain pieces and sliding two others under them. Then the first pieces are pushed down again, thus locking everything together.
CNC Milling of the pieces.
The 60x60 cm Panel The self-locking system of wooden pieces is made spatial. This requires two new types of pieces with slots that also go into the other dimention. By adding a desired amount of new and exsisting pieces, the system could be extended to a 60x60x60 cm3 cube.
Finished spatial system. Meeting between three wooden pieces.
Bao Trung Mai
“catch me if you can...� With the ability to camouflage, being one with the surroundings, butterflies are hard to spot. When spotting, they appear stunningly and flies away. With the precision of the CNC machine, only imagination can set the limit. Playing with different depth without penetrate the wood panel, light can shine through with a variety of strength. Making room for LED diodes and hide it with a cover, the panel gets a clean surface. With a motion sensor, the panel can mimic the butterflies behavior.
Back
Front
Cover with magnet to hold it in place
LED diodes with motion sensor
Lights off
Lights on
Alexandra Niedermayr
Panel 20x20cm: This panel is using the combination and connection of two modules to create a uniform series of openings. In order to make the two modules fitting together without glue, it was essential to use a precise joining method. By making one module 1 cm and the other 1,5 cm thick, the front side is providing some plasticity while the back side has a smooth surface.
element 1
Module 1 consitsts of an apposition of element 1
element 2
Module 2 consitsts of an apposition of element 2
Module 1 gets joint with module 2
The result is a three-dimensional surface with uniform openings
Front side / primary side: The panel provides a calm pattern of uniform openings with a three-dimensional effect. The pattern can be easily combined to create a bigger surface for a whole facade or is also usable for just a small number of opening systems.
Back side / secondary side: In contrast to the main side of the panel, the inner surface has a smooth visual appearance. Even if the openings have the exact same shape as in the front side, they seem different because of the contour-variation of the elements that were joint together.
Panel 40x40cm: Within the design of the second panel the connection of two modules was explored further for the purpose to create some more variations in the openings. At the end the transition of bigger to smaller openings was aimed. Also in this design the thickness of the two elements was different, so the effect of one front side and one back side was retained. The final goal was the assembly of a whole wall consisting of different panels. Therefore a requested space for connection elements needed to be considered.
element 1
element 1
connecting-frame
Module 1 consitsts of an apposition of element 1
Module 2 consitsts of an apposition of element 2
Module 1 gets stacked with module 2
The result is a three-dimensional surface with differentiated openings
Front side / primary side: The panel provides a calm pattern of differentiated openings with a three-dimensional effect. Even if in this case the size and shape of the openings is varying, the possibility of combination with the same pattern consists.
Back side / secondary side: Also in the back side of the second panel a smooth surface with bigger and smaller openings allows light and air to come through. Even if the two modules fit perfectly together, the contours create a different appearance then in the front side of the panel.
Sigurd Strøm Nørsterud
My further investigation into digital fabrication continued the topic from the short workshop ‘Rough Edge’ of flexibility. Solid wood, as harvested from living trees, inherits its properties of strength according to the direction of the grain it has grown. Thereby it is limited by the weakness of cross-grain stress. For my individual panel I chose to investigate if high-grade plywood, a cross-laminated wood material, may overcome these limitations. My first attempt was a grid of notches offset on each side of the panel, to create an intricate three-dimensional form nowhere thicker than 4mm. While flexible it was very brittle in the depth of the material, as it de-laminated easily. A second strategy was to cut a labirynth pattern while maintaining the full depth of the material. This proved to distribute the forces along its long, winding ‘paths’ into great flexibility.
The test panel of 20x20 cm could be shaped by force into many different shapes, by pulling and pushing the corners. When released it sprung back into its origninal flat form. Scaling the panel to 40x40 cm would allow for even more distortion, but the resultant shape should be maintained and conform to the requirements of corner connections. The solution was to cut the pattern within a frame, leaving supports in the middle of each side. The corners are then strung up with a diagonal wire on opposite sides of the panel. This produces a hyperbolic parabloid, a type of doubly curved surface, in contrast to the inflexible nature of the plywood sheet it is cut out of.
The fabrication of the panel is inherently digital, while considerations of the material must be made continuously. During the design of the ‘toolpath’ of the CNC-machine, one must take into account the width of the bit used to remove material, the rounded corners it leaves behind, and the stability of the remaining object. The final design consists of 8x8 labirynth modules in a pattern with rounded corners. It is cut with a 4mm bit and leaves behind a continuous coil of 4 mm width. A major challenge in the milling process was to retain stability as it neared completion in any area. Due to its flexibility it was also prone to vibrations by the milling of the bit. By multiple passes the problem was reduced to the minimum. The final result is an object that could not have been made without the presicion afforded by CNC-technology.
By analysing the deformations of the panel we can determine that the cross-lamination in plywood is integral to its flexibility. As the corners are pulled in different directions, each ‘module’ of the pattern distributes the stress along the coiled material – making them pop out a bit from the overall surface. At a larger scale, such as applied onto a facade, the grooves may be spaced further apart for efficiency of milling, while the degree of flexibility remains.
20x20 photo
60x60 photo
Johann Sigurd Ruud
To explore the potential of CNC milling my aim was to make a generic panel with a geometry system that could provide stiffness and flexibiliy. The joining and stacking of the panels would let light and air flow through while it at the same time would provide shelter.
CAD drawing
Finger joining system
Thickness of the material used
The joining system would let light and air in.
The panels could be assembled without the use of glue or nails.
The double curved panel Todays computer technology makes it possible to both design and produce advanced geometry which would be almost impossible just few years ago. Even the design can be generated by computer programs. As a reaction to CAD-design I chose to draw a line by hand constituting the theme of this panel. Its only goal was to draw itself from one corner of the panel to the other in such a way that the two parts of the panel would lock together.
The thin sheet of plywood used here has not much stiffness by itself, but these properties can be changed considerably just by bending the plywood along both axis.
Marc Sรกnchez Olivares
20x20 Panel Drawings
20x20 Panel Photo
40x40 Panel Drawings
40x40 Panel Photo
Milling Process
Milling Process
Vjera Sleutel
Panel 1: 20x20
Concept: For the first panel I wanted to investigate the spans used in roofs. With the barn in mind I thought this could be very interesting. The end result had to an elegant span that bared the loads in a smart way. Therefor I started studying the old spans found in bigger buildings. I got really interested in the round shape used as an arc that is very resistant to loads. I wanted to use this arc in the span and connect it with the triangle shape. I looked at a Belgian project from the engineer/architect Guy Mouton. In his project he uses the undoubled wood so you will have twice as much wood in some places.
References:
This is the span used in the Starston Church in Norfolk. You can clearly see how they combine the arc and the triangle to get an optimized space and span a long distance.
Here you see the span of a roof for the Artillery and Engineer Riding School at Metz. The span was designed to span more than 14 meter and uses this round shape.
If you look closer you can see the span is made out of little parts as show in a detail here. This concept was invented by the architect Philibert de Lorme. This is a very interesting concept to look at for the barn.
This is a picture taken from the project from Guy Mouton. (©Jan Kempenaers). The project is called: “Sportcentrum De Boerekreek”. Here you can see how he uses double wood in some places and single in others.
Design process:
Sketching
3D-Model in Rhino.
Rhino-output for the CNC-milling machine.
Round corners because of the CNC.
Learning from the CNC-milling: During the milling I bumped into some problems. The first problem was the scale. Because I scaled the whole span to fit in to the 20x20 panel the connections become really small. This kind of small items are not the most optimal to make with this machine. (A lasercutter had been more precise) I also used a kind of wood that was very splintery. Here for the end result had to be sanded. I learned that maybe in this case it would be interesting to investigate the connection points in the span with the CNC-milling machine on a scale one to one.
End result:
Panel 2: 20x20
Concept: The second panel would be more about the connections and zooming in to a 1 on 1 scale. After reading a very interesting document about connections made with CNC-machines I wanted to test them. The point would be to make connections in my panel that are fixed without glue and use the round shape.
References:
Reference: Joinery for CNC milling.
http://makezine.com/2012/04/13/cnc-panel-joinery-notebook/
Sketching
Sketching the connections.
Rhino design of the connection.
Design process:
3D-Model in Rhino.
Rhino-output for the CNC-milling machine.
CNC-milling.
CNC-milling.
Learning from the CNC-milling: For the milling I first made a test connection. This one worked quit well so we made a little adjustment and started milling the whole panel. It came out nice and clean. But during the assemblens a few connections broke. The material was brittle and the connection should be adjusted to be more bendable. Because we didn’t got the time to make a new model in the CNC-milling machine I decided to test the connections with the lasercutter and make a new panel with them.
End result:
Design process:
Reference: Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec - Clouds.
Sketching.
Model in Rhino.
Rhino-output for the CNC-milling machine.
Learning from the lasercutter: The connections in this model work perfectly. They fit without breaking or cracking. The only disadvantage from this way of making them is that the panel does not become ridged. You can still move it and turn the pieces. Maybe in a further stage there could be made a model that has 2 holes and to fittings at each side of the connectionpieces and maybe this could make the model more rigid.
End result:
Johan By Sørheim
My initial idea was to explore the possibilities of the CNC machine, by making it carve a landscape.
By carving the same landscape inverted on the other side of the panel, I got this perforations in the lowest parts of the 3d landscape.
Here is a picture of the first panel when it was carved from one of the sides only. I used a stepover of 8mm.
Here the panel has been carved from both sides.
For my 40x40 cm panel, I wanted to create a repeating pattern for a more interesting pattern. This way it was also easier to control where the openings would be.
Here the inverted landscape is included, revealing where the carved perforations will be.
The finished panel.
Marine Vincentz
As the final panel should be designed to allow ventilation and light, the test panel was a first exploration to find a system that could either be wind and light proof, but that also could be opened when wanted. The first step was to find a pattern interesting, knowing that various layers of wood would be used in the system.
Before the CNC milling of the test-panel, some mistakes were noticed. The design had to be adapted, so the pattern changed (the cross pattern was wider) and the result was different from what as aspected. Still, this testing confirmed the system of imbrication of the different parts, as well as the tools used for this panel : the use of a 6mm drill. This test revelead some issues in the design of the panel : Firstly, the small panel could never me entirely wind or light proof. The layers had to be oversized, and the pattern needed equls distance between each cross. Then, there was an issue with layering, so a frame appeared on one side, which caused a problem of symetrie, and balance.
The final panel had to be the improvement of the systems explored on the small one and he pattern had to be more sophisticated and yet simple. MoirÊ’s patterns were an inspiration, and the final design was a one dimension grid. As for the system, the solution was a circle. But to manage to close the panel entirely (wind/light proof), the inner circle had to be an ellipse, so the moving piece could rotate and/or slide on the left or the right.