The lamp gives a mixture of a direct light and diffused. Being able to see the bulp from some corners

- Emily Santos, Hulda Jónsdóttir and Minu Surana

DIGITAL FABRICATION – LAMP – RIBBING

Specifications
Technique : ribbing
Material: methacrylate
Thickness : 3 mm

Design process
To articulate ribbing as an inverse technique as opposed to outward expression.
To attain fluid forms within a rigid geometry

Joinery detail
-insertion
-grooves and notches

The following were our observations:

Material
1. During the laser process, there is loss of material.
2. Loss of material varies with the speed and power used to laser.
3. The size of the sheet also affects the laser process with larger sheets prone to bulging.

Laser cutter machine
1. The slc gave us well cut, clean edged members, along with crisp engraving.
2. The blc settings were harder to control, with the engraving and cutting resulting in cracked edges and murky details despite varying speeds and power settings.

Technique
1. For a 3 mm thick sheet, a groove of 2.8 mm was the snuggest.
2. The methacrylate sheet is not flexible and is prone to cracking and splitting, more so if it is forced into a groove of a smaller size.

Presentation (PDF)

LASER CUTTING: LAMP

The project of the lamp was an exercise to get familiar with the Laser cutter.The main particularity of the laser cutter as a fabrication technology is that it is exclusively used on sheet materials. Ours material is Methacrylate ribbing. Ribbing as a technique comprises quite an open range of possibilities.Our idea is founded on the reproduction of the same piece that fit with the other, equal to each other, its could multiply the light with the curved shape and dynamics . The base that holds the lamp and to which the pieces are hooked, it follows the same soft forms of the whole. The lamp was developed on the concept of “interlocking”, such that they can be dismantled and re-assembled according to user preference. A base module was created and each piece interlinked with it to bring out the desired form.

Our work for this assignment consisted in fabricating a lamp out of methacrylate using the method of bending/folding the material. We started by the basic heat-bending of the material and realized we wanted to explore more complex options, we achieved this by bending the material not from a whole piece, but from the assembly of units that responded to the desired geometry of the final object, and could be re-assembled as many times as needed into a different or more complex object.  We had a center piece and a repetition of modules that behave sometimes as the lamp itself and sometimes as the support pieces for the base, the basic shape of the module was the same for all the pieces except from the base, all of them were drawn in Rhino and assembled digitally, which then led us to laser cut them and assembly the final object for presentation.

The idea of this assignment was to use paper with the techniques of cutting/folding using laser cutting technology to create a lamp that was unique in its form and exhibited an innovative use of the laser cutting machine. We used an origami technique to create a folding pattern that was flexible but at the same time had rigidity due to its triangular geometry. We added holes for light to seep through and create different effects. The paper used was reflective (silver) on one side and white on the other and the arrangement of the lamp was done in such a way that both sides could be seen. The method of joining the papers together was a system of legs and slits which can be seen in the drawing.

For our project, we were assigned the material paper/cardboard and the geometrical manipulation ‘fold’. Our concept for this lamp was inspired by origami and the use of the water bomb technique. The water bomb technique is the basis of numerous types of patters that can be used to make geometric manipulations within a surface. We also wanted to work with the idea of manipulation based on user requirements as well as light studies to help filter soft light through.

For our materials, we used two different thicknesses of cardboard within our lamp design.

MATERIAL LIST:

• Cartulina Marron 3h. Weight, 40 gr. Measures, 50 x 65 cm
• Fedrigoni Negro/Negro. Weight, 700 gr. Measures 70 x 100 cm

CUTTING PARAMETERS FOR “Cartulina Marron 3h”:

• Speed = 100
• Power = 5

ENGRAVING PARAMETERS FOR “Cartulina Marron 3h”:

• Speed = 97
• Power = 16

CUTTING PARAMETERS FOR “Fedrigoni Negro/Negro”:

• Speed = 100
• Power = 85

ENGRAVING PARAMETERS FOR “Fedrigoni Negro/Negro”:

• Speed = 100
• Power = 50

RECOMMENDATIONS:

For the Cartulina (thin cardboard) it’s necessary to use a wooden base, because we soon learned that the paper was too thin to hold on its own. The thicker cardboard was much easier to cut; it doesn’t need a wooden base.

We also tried multiple times and with different techniques to engrave on both sides of the paper, but that proved to require too precise a job for the machine to complete. We recommend working in one side only.

Conceptual Development:

The Fibonacci sequence formed the basis of the design. The ratio was maintained while trying to achieve a harmonious form.

Project Concept:

The idea was to create a geometrical pattern which can change and be perceived as a different volume from different angles. Leonardo da Vinci drawings were our inspiration. The object consists of 50 mm cubes and in each row the cube touches the adjacent cube in its corner (intersection point) and they have one parallel continuous diagonal line for the whole row. The rest of the rows are the same but it is shifted half the diagonal length to one side to intersect the cubes corners with the previous row intersection points.

Project Concept:

Motion was the main theme in the printed object, and aim to create a dynamic representation of the space. The idea was inspired from the mechanical (reciprocating) engines and the sequential movement between engine parts (cylinders and rods). The object consists of five joints, two different types, and ten steel rods. Moving one of the rods will cause the middle cylinder to rotate and to move the whole system.