The exercise aims  to understand the various aspects of milling machine, the ability for it to make an architectural detail and to understand its constraints on design.  Focusing on the use of milling tools in order to get specific forms, the exercise was to design a hexagonal tile of size that would be tangential to the points given so as to create a seamless repetition of patterned designs thus the pattern should allow rain water to flow seamlessly in order for it to make its way out of the pattern.

Design:

The concept and the goal of the pattern is to create a seamless flow on organizing curvilinear lines, this is achieved  by the use of different levels of curvilinear pattern linked to each other, it is derived and inspired from a series of abstract patterns that were extracted to study water flow thus from diverse animal patterns seen on different kinds of animals and organisms. This pattern works as rainwater collector diverting excess water to a specific area when interconnected for the reason that each lines are levelled up to bottom, sloped gradient from higher centre of tile to the lower edges. Coming from the middle point of the tile, when channelled to each other it creates a slide through and through, so that water are collected into a specific area. The extruded lines also creates a rough surface that has the capability to trap dirt, for safety reason the pattern is designed as a non slip surface.

Process:

The process initiated various curvy linear lines within the hexagon and whereby understanding the flow patterns, further this lines arranged at different levels to get a clear idea of water flow, then with the help of 3d modelling various curves were examined and its flow were studied. This patterns were tested with the help of CAD-CAM stimulation and milling tools, giving a clear idea of actual formations. Hence a final prototype was derived through it and milling G-Code were exported. This G-codes were feuded in milling machine. The milling was done on 50mm Thick Styrofoam. Through intensive milling, a foam mould for casting tiles was produced. In order to cast a concrete tile the mould surface was finished with Vaseline so that the concrete won’t stick to the mould and multiple tiles can be produced through single mould. Further it was poured with concrete and dried for 12 hours. The tile was taken out from the mould and settled for another 12 hour in order that it is completely dried out. The process was repeated and multiple tiles were casted. The Vaseline on tiles was cleaned through water and finally tiles were dried and polished.

Renderings:

The idea was to create a structure that was deploy-able by unfolding and at the same time to imitate the flowers that open and close with the sun (nyctinasty).

This was done by using a ring at the base along which the joints slide to help close the open structure.

Two joints were used to create the structure above. The first kind of joint helps move the rods along the ring.  The second joint was to ensure two rods  in place to provide the pattern required. These joints were not fixed to allow different patterns along the two rods if needed. The curvatures of the rods help keep these joints in any required position.

The simple mechanism used allows the curved rods to move along the rings not only providing two, but numerous possibilities of creating openings along various points of the ring. The structure can be assembled and disassembled easily depending on the size of the base ring required. It could could also be developed to form the framing of a structure used for shelter. This could either be temporary or permanent.

NOTE: CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO ANIMATE

 The result is an elegant tile having a hypnotic visual effect once multiplied.

Making it happen was another critical part of the process. Special care was given to coat the mold and treat the concrete. 

]]> http://legacy.iaacblog.com/maa2013-2014-digital-fabrication/2013/12/remolino/feed/ 0 http://legacy.iaacblog.com/maa2013-2014-digital-fabrication/2013/12/acts-on-tracks/ http://legacy.iaacblog.com/maa2013-2014-digital-fabrication/2013/12/acts-on-tracks/#comments Thu, 05 Dec 2013 23:29:17 +0000 Stephanie Bashir http://legacy.iaacblog.com/maa2013-2014-digital-fabrication/?p=2243

Catenary curve is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends. While freely hanging catenaries have more often than not elastic physical properties, we decided to explore the abilities of fiberglass rods acting as catenary arches, partially mimicking Gaudi’s research.

Fiberglass rods, despite their small cross-sectional diameter, have an inherent ability to return to their original flattened state after mechanical deformation has been applied to them. Thus, to make this experiment possible we attempted to develop the above mentioned side supports of the arch and make them kinetics, to further allow unconstrained movement of the arch along its longitudinal axis.

The most efficient mechanism that facilitates the “flattening” movement of the arch is the hinge-joint. Due to the high precision of the 3D-printing techniques we were able to create a kinetic joint that consists of a “plug-fork” element that fits into the base, a pin, and a top “hollow cone” element that houses one end of the fiberglass rod.  The pin connection allows relative rotation of the two elements only along the axis of the pin-hole. The two holes of the “fork” and “cone” assembly are bolted and can be considered as fully constrained. Having an identical 3D-printed joint assembly at each end of the 30 cm long fiberglass rod allowed for a numerous number of designs and various configurations.

_STATE 01_ VERTICAL_all rods are in a vertical position. The bending degree of each rod is defined by the pre cut tracks and slots on the plywood base. A series of 18 rods takes on 3 degrees of extremes formed by the “colonnade” of catenary arches, each differing with vertical projection vector, while the number of rods remains the same.

_STATE 02_ FALL DOWN_ all rods fall flat onto the board, following the domino effect. This motion is possible due to the hinge nature of the 3D-printed joints that serve as connectors between the rods and base.

_STATE 03_ OVERLAPPING CATENARY_ this state emphasizes the elegant interweaving nature of the catenary arches when the hinge joint is being placed in every other neighboring slots rather than the one immediately next to it. Thus, we were able to explore the combination of both STATES 01+02, with an additional twisted fall down movement of the arch series.

The grasshopper Catenary definition was used to simulate different configurations made possible by this component system of 18 rods and 36 joints - and a board with tracks!

Objective:

The third segment in the digital fabrication class is Milling.  Milling is “the machining process of using rotary cutters to remove material.” (wikipedia) Milling is a tool that has a variety of options and can be used on multiple scales.  Inspired by the city and the architecture of Barcelona, the prompt for the milling machine exercise was to design a hexagonal tile, 40mm deep with 144mm sides.  Constraints for the top face of the tile allowed students to explore variations in the depth up to 7mm.

3D Model + RhinoCam:

Students were encouraged to create a topography for the movement of water through a network of tiles. Each group’s tile had specific geometrical edge conditions where their tile would connect to their neighbours via the flow of water. Since each tile would be replicated, and each pair of edges had their own inlet/outlet parameters, it was important to trisect the hexagon to achieve cohesion within a set of 7 (of their own) tiles as well as within a tile network.

Inspiration

Fractal like shapes, reflectional symmetry, rotational symmetry, and self-similarity and the finite subdivision rule drove our initial design.  Recursive subdivision is something that is widely used in tile making and milling but we wanted to tell a different story.  Our group is comprised of engineers and architects and exploring “advanced” topics recently we have been exposed to and are interested in electronics.

Printed Circuit boards (PCB) have been around since the 1850’s, metal rods connected large components mounted on wooden bases.   Circuit boards are in all electronics and some of the most used components and have been around since the 1920’s.  The first circuit boards were hand soldered, and the movement of the wire is that of “sweeping curves” denoting freehand design.  Today, circuit boards are rectilinear, and “printed” on the surface on insulating boards. There are single-double-and multi layered boards made up of layers of printed circuits.  The components are connected through plated and drilled holes to the appropriate circuit layer.  This adds greater circuit simplicity and a beautiful geometry.  Each board is unique, printed for its function and designed to perform each function within an allotted space.Our tile reflects the evolution of the circuit board.

Physical Model

Made from a high density polyurethane foam,Made from  50mm thick high density polyurethane foam the  single mould was created using CNC Milling machine. Three different ball machines were used i.e. 3mm ball mill , 6mm  ball mill , 12mm ball mill for creating different finishes . The mould was then applied with 4 coats of sealant at the time gap of every 20 min and let to dry completely. Once the sealant was dried out completely , a layer of Vaseline was applied to prevent the cement block from getting stuck to the foam.The next step was to pour the concrete mix with proportion of  800ml of cement , 2400 ml of aggregate and 480 ml of water and 100ml of accelerator and dry for 12 hours. The tile was then taken out and allowed to set for next few hours. The process was repeated and a total of 5 tiles were casted. The concrete tile was further processed with hot water to remove the vaseline and oil was applied to give a polished finish.

In this tiled surface design, the pathways channeling water tangentially branch off 3 (repeated) closed loops. Each of these 3 geometric loops are radially-symmetrical about a combinatory corner of the original hexagonal tile. The three loops have 3 different scales of visual prominence. In the least prominent of the 3, the loop becomes secondary to the web of tangent paths surrounding it.

The tool paths of the CNC routing bits are individually legible, but explicitly follow the primary geometries (a technique similar to those of Intaglio engraving, where the shape of the tool is exploited to lend varying degrees of sharpness or softness to the design).

By placing three circles and drawing the tangent lines connected to the tile’s predefined edge canals, we managed to create a  chaotic   grid system of intersections. Piping the lines with variable width provides the desired water flow effect, while the complexity of the final outcome makes each tile cooperate with its adjacent ones, in a way that their edges are diminished.

Brief of the exercise:

The exercise was to design a famous Panot hexagonal cement floor tile as designed by Gaudi in 1904.One of the particularity of this design was supposed to be the capacity to be inserted within a larger assembly and to create continuous patterns across several tiles.

Concept:

When it comes to the notion of continuity within an assembly of tiles repetitive look of the whole flooring sometimes becomes mundane, so to break this repetitive laying was the major concern along with the channeling of water on a surface which should be controlled by the level difference within the pattern. And even in water channel the intent was to achieve the water flow which gives the sense of surprise in the journey.

We started with the idea of illusion. We thought of creating an effect of crack. This gives us random look in the overall flooring even though the tiles are of the same pattern. We wanted to surprise the user while walking on this tile, thus by illusion of crack and randomness in the flooring we can always make user to look at the pattern.

 Execution:

To achieve the end result we used 3d software to simulate the pattern. We used the plugin where particles are collided to the surface and it gives various patterns. This collision can be controlled as per the expected end result.

Then we used rhino cam(plugin for rhino) where we defined the strategies for the milling process of the mold. We used two ball mills, 12mm for pen for the carving of the mold and 3mm pen for the final finishing and engraving. Once the molds were ready we applied four layers of sealant at interval of 15 minutes to dry and then wax before pouring concrete into the mold. Each time took 12 hours to dry.

After getting all the tile we cleaned it with hot water to get rid of extra wax and then it was ready to lay cracks all over the place.

The design of the tiles evolves from the decomposition of the hexagon shape. Starting from the outside, each side of the shape would rotate and reduce its scale approximating the centre. As it moves inwards towards the midpoint, each resulting triangle would also be positioned a step higher. The end result would be similar to a pyramid.