Master in Advanced Architecture 2011/2012
The milling exercise was developed to make us familiar with the milling machine and explore the myriad ways of using a multi layered and coloured valcromat panel (our assigned material for milling).Developed on the concept of “Abstract depicting of the properties of a silk cloth” ; 2 tools, a 26 mm flat edge tool and later a 12mm tool was used for parallel finishing to achieve the desired effect.
Time taken : 1 hour and 10 min.
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 exercise consisted in generating a pattern on a valchromat board sized 400 x 600 x 240 mm, by using the CNC Vertical Milling machine. We explored the different effects and tools the 3-axis milling machine offers by simulating a number of patterns in RhinoCam for Rhinoceros. Our final proposal consisted in a series of nurbs inspired in water ripples, they were generated by heightfield and booleaned tools into the panel, then this geometry was milled by a 26mm ball mill for horizontal roughing, and later detailed by the same tool as the previous process, but used for the parallel finishing.
The design of the articulation started having as a case study the above working model.The joints were designed in order to serve specific movements which will provide the required mobility in the construction.
In order to have full movement, the construction require 12 articulation.
The essential function of almost all the joints is the rotation round an axis. This axis, and the union, are connected to the basic unit on which we can find connected maximum three related extensions.
However it could not be given the necessary mobility in construction if had not designed a central articulation. It’s basic function is to retain the overall grid. In this case the metal bar did not articulate but glide through the joint.
