Our material is MDF and PVC flexible,  for the other 2 excises we used MDF only, so this time we wanted to do something different.

We started from thinking what is the biggest difference between these two material.  Well, one is hard, and the other is soft, and can be bent.

So we decided to use this property, and tried to form a sphere.

What we did is cutting a sheet, and then it could be stretched, then became a semi-sphere.

Then we used the joints we printed to connect 2 semi-sphere.

To provide the force to maintain the shape, we made a another bigger joint to hold a stick in the middle.

3D printed sphere’s which we used as connections to connect copper wires with each other.

We used MDF sheet 4mm. thickness to make a sphere which is self-structure by the connecting of outer rings (vertical) to inner rings (horizontal).

For us. less is more. One single vertical ring can make other ones together, so we don’t need another ring.

For inner rings, MDF sheet was lasered cut into each pieces in different radius but for the outer ring, we have divided it precisely and laser cut it to connect with inner rings.

To make the over structure be more rigid, we need to laser cut the joint between end point of each outer ring in the locking shape by itself

Finally, we connected all pieces together then we got the minimal clean sphere diameter 12 cm. which is  the hollow core without any supporting element.

Luban ball is a kind of traditional Chinese toy, a kind of 3D puzzle. It is made of 6 pieces, and together they locked inside.

The diameter of ur ball is 120 mm,  much bigger than normal Luban balls, but this size is maybe better for milling, for the milling machine is not good at small scaled details. The material is 19 mm MDF.

Click here to watch the video → BALL~1

Hemp chair – a chair made of natural fibers
The design studio of Werner Aisslinger and BASF are presenting the new “Hemp chair” made of renewable raw materials, such as hemp and kenaf, during the Milano Furniture Fair 2011.

https://www.dispersions-pigments.basf.com/portal/basf/ien/dt.jsp?setCursor=1_624344

Fashion Design Exploration with Hemp Fiber
The Barcelona Fab textiles based in
 the Stigmergic Fibers (A new approach to material behaviour) designed by Jean Akanish, 
Jin Shihui
, Alexander Dolan and 
Ali Yerdel in the Master for Advanced Architecture (IAAC 2012-2013_
Digital Tectonics – Fabrication Ecologies) is working in a new technology for fashion design related with natural hemp fibers.

http://fabtextiles.org/fashion-design-exploration-with-natural-hemp-fibers/

HEMPWAVE – LED array low voltage lighting

Hempwave lamp was made using the process of vacuum infusion… combining SuperSap, a low VOC, natural epoxy resin, with the strongest fiber on the planet: hemp.

http://www.coroflot.com/casperdub/LAMPS

IaaC Research: Digital Tectonics- Fabrication Ecologies

http://www.iaac.net/students-research/digital-matter-intelligent-constructions-8/digital-tectonics-2012-2013-fabrication-ecologies-218

Hempcrete

Hempcrete is a mixture of hemp hurds (shives) and lime (possibly including natural hydraulic lime, sand, pozzolans or cement) used as a material for construction and insulation.It is marketed under names like Hempcrete, Canobiote, Canosmose, and Isochanvre.Hempcrete is easier to work with than traditional lime mixes and acts as an insulator and moisture regulator. It lacks the brittleness of concrete and consequently does not need expansion joints.

http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2010/01/16/hemcrete-smoking-hot-walls-7-times-tougher-than-concrete/

References:

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663409/high-chair-a-lounger-made-of-hemp-for-stylish-stoners

http://fabtextiles.org/fashion-design-exploration-with-natural-hemp-fibers/

http://legacy.iaacblog.com/blog/2013/machinic-conversation-ii/

http://www.coroflot.com/casperdub/LAMPS

http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2010/01/16/hemcrete-smoking-hot-walls-7-times-tougher-than-concrete/

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Industrial-Hemp.html

http://textilefashionstudy.com/chemical-composition-of-hemp-fiber-natural-fiber/

http://oecotextiles.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/estimating-the-carbon-footprint-of-a-fabric/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp#Environmental_impact

http://compositesuk.co.uk/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=fXUVzqsop_E%3D&tabid=100&mid=503

http://cost-fp0802.tuwien.ac.at/fileadmin/mediapool-cost/Diverse/Stockholm_Workshop/Svennerstedt.pdf

http://www.hemptraders.com/Hemp-Textile-Properties-s/1881.htm

Transparent Group

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Fiberglass – Glass-Reinforced Plastic (GRP)

FORMULA/CHEMICAL COMPOSITION: (SiO₂)_n

MATERIAL DESCRIPTION:

Fiberglass is a strong lightweight material and is used for many products. Although it is not as strong and stiff as composites based on carbon fiber, it is less brittle, and its raw materials are much cheaper. Its bulk strength and weight are also better than many metals, and it can be more readily molded into complex shapes. Applications of fiberglass include, aircraft, boats, automobiles, bath tubs and enclosures, hot tubs, septic tanks, water tanks, roofing, pipes, cladding, casts, surfboards, and external door skins.

EXTRACTION PROCESS:

The process of manufacturing fibreglass is called pultrusion. The manufacturing process for glass fibers suitable for reinforcement uses large furnaces to gradually melt the silica sand, limestone, and other minerals to liquid form. It is then extruded through bushings, which are bundles of very small orifices (typically 5–25 micrometres in diameter for E-Glass, 9 micrometres for S-Glass). These filaments are then coated with a chemical solution.

BASIC PROPERTIES:  (e-glass)

Tensile Strength: 3445 (MPa)

Compressive Strength: 1080 (MPa)

Density: 2.58 (g/cm³)

Thermal Expansion: 5.4 (µm/m·°C)

3D Printing: used as filament

Recyclable

Low CO2 footprint

MATERIAL SUPPLIERS:

Servei Estacio http://www.serveiestacio.com/

PRICE:

4.20 euros per 1m²

REFERENCES: 

http://antoniopiosaracino.com/new-york-city-future-furnture-award-expanding-light/

http://www.evolo.us/architecture/tensioned-relaxations-playful-outdoor-structures-for-new-york-street-fair/

http://www.williamlishman.com/underground.htm

FORMULA:

Wood:C47O46H6N

MATERIAL DESCRIPTION:

It is dense, flat, can be easily machined and painted. Also as a kind of recycled material it is environmentally friendly, cheap and recyclable. The disadvantage of this material is that it would soak up water and other liquids. Also, MDF doesn’t hold screws very well. Standard MDF is available in a range of sizes, with the most common sheet sizes being 2400 x 1200 mm and 3600 x 1200 mm. Due to its manufactured form, MDF offers a non-directional grain making it easy to work with. MDF is good for interior furniture, it can be sawn, routed, spindled, planned or bored.

EXTRACTION AND REFINING PROCESS:

MDF is a kind of engineered wood product made from wood fibers glued under heat and pressure.

BASIC PROPERTIES:

compressive strength                                      10MPa

tensile strength                                                 18MPa

stiffness                                                             3800Mpa

density                                                                0.75g/cm³

carbon footprint                                               652 g/kg

recyclable                                                           YES

laser                                                                     YES

small laser                                                          YES

milling                                                                 YES

3d printing                                                         NO

ADVANTAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITAL FABRICATION:

MDF has no direction, no knots, and is flat, easy to fabricate. It can ensure cutting quality, can be precisely cut, and the cut surface will be neat.

MATERIAL SUPLIERS:

MADERAS ESTADELLA http://www.maderasestadella.com/productos.htm
GILABERT http://www.maderasestadella.com/productos.htm
SERVEI ESTACIO http://www.serveiestacio.com/
LEROY MERLIN http://www.leroymerlin.es/

PRICE:

2.128 EURO/KG

PRICE LIST  (FROM LEROY MERLIN)

SIZE                                                        PRICE(€)
600 x 300 x 10 mm                            2.45
600 x 300 x 16 mm                            3.45
800 x 400 x 10 mm                            4.6
1200 x 610 x 3 mm                             5.1
800 x 400 x 16 mm                             5.7
1200 x 600 x 10 mm                           7.15
1200 x 600 x 16 mm                           10.2
2440 x 1220 x 3 mm                           13.3
2440 x 1220 x 10 mm                         24.6
2440 x 1220 x 16 mm                         33.8
2440 x 1220 x 19 mm                         37.9
2440 x 1220 x 22 mm                        43.05
2440 x 1220 x 30 mm                        61.5

PROJECTS REFERENCES 

Project 1
A Laser cut prototype
Link: http://www.artisanmodelmakers.co.uk/Blog/Tag/laser-cut-wood.aspx

A really simple prototype made by MDF and laser. Simple, but showing a way how MDF boards become a volume.

Project 2
Laminae Table
Link: http://www.paredesaleman.com/p/furniture_01.html

It is a bridge-like table of arched supports on two sides. The starting point is an elastic surface stretched on two parallel axes and pulled down to become the supports, while keeping a central vault as its main structure. All the layers of MDF gradually come downward and upward generating the geometry of the entire table.

Project 3
Irregular honeycomb MDF structure
Link: http://www.dezeen.com/2009/05/20/3d2real-by-ilek-students/

An exhibition stand is created by student of architecture with an irregular honeycomb MDF structure. The stand was created to display the work of designers at design fair Blickfang in Stuttgart in March. Each cell of the structure is uniquely angled to focus the gaze of people standing outside the wall onto the individual objects within.
Each element of the structure is unique, generated by algorithms based on the location of the wall and the locations of the items exhibited. The screens are made up of 2,142 pieces joined by 1,376 unique pairs of connecting components. These components are made of CNC-cut pieces of 3mm and 10mm MDF, slotted together without adhesive.

Project 4
MDF laser cut
Link: http://www.lasercuttingshop.com/?projects=wood

Laser and MDF can together produce very fine patterns and go into very detail. It is really good for designers to make their ideas come into reality, as big as a house, or as small as a necklace.

REFERENCES:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard
2. http://www.addicted2decorating.com/mdf-vs-plywood-differences-pros-and-cons-and-when-to-use-what.html
3. http://www.coastdesign.co.nz/Router.htm
4. http://blog.ponoko.com/2011/05/03/mdf-for-the-month-of-may/
5. http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Wood-Product-Categories/Medium-Density-Fibreboard-MDF

IMAGE: Jetson Green – www.jetsongreen.com

Hello, we are the cork Team (19 – organic). Matteo Silverio + Ran Shabtay

SCIENTIFIC NAME: QUERCUS SUBER

FORMULA /CHEMICAL COMPOSITION:

C123H182O56N
Ash 0.7%. total extractives 15.3%, Suberin 38.6%, Lignin 21.7% and polysaccharides 18.2%. The carbohydrate composition shows that glucose represents 50.6% of all monosaccharides, Xylose 35%, arabinose 7.0% and galactose and mannose respectively 3.6% and 3.4%.

MATERIAL DESCRIPTION:

Cork consists of the irregularly shaped, thin-walled, wax-coated cells that make up the peeling bark of many trees. Cork is unique because it is made of air-filled, watertight cells that are a remarkably effective insulating medium. The air pockets make cork very light in weight.

EXTRACTION PROCESS:

Cork material is harvested from the cork oak tree (Quercus Suber), but instead of needing to cut down the tree to source the benefit of the raw material as is done with the majority of all other wood species, the bark (or outer skin) of the tree is peeled off, and the tree is left to regenerate. For this reason, cork industry is regarded as environmentally friendly and sustainable.

BASIC PROPERTIES:

COMPRESSIVE STRENGH (kN/m2)                                86,30 (A)
TENSILE STRENGH (kN/m2)                                            294,20 (A)
STIFFNESS (kN/m2)                                                            335,39 (A)
DENSITY (Kg/m3)                                                                 150-160 (B)
CARBON FOOTPRINT COVERAGE (KgCO2/Kg)          0,19 (C)
3D PRINTING                                                                              -
MILLING                                                                                  YES
BASIC PROPRIETIES                                                           SOFT, FLEXIBLE,WARM
LASER                                                                                       YES
RECYCABLE                                                                            YES

NOTE:
A: CorkPanel BetonWood, material data sheet. More info: www.betonwood.com
B: Variable density according to the fabrication process
C: Geoff Hammond, Craig Jones – INVENTORY OF CARBON&ENERGY (ICE) VERSION 1.6a www.uea.ac.uk/~e680/energy/NBS-M016/ICE%20Version%201.6a.pdf

ADVANTAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITAL FABRICATION:

Cork is totally natural, 100% recyclable and available in many formats and thickness. Moreover, it’s impermeable to liquids, elastic, resilient, it possess acoustic insolation and it’s resistant to chemical and microbial attacks.

MATERIAL SUPPLIERS:

BCK barnacork – Carrer C/ Llull, 47-49 planta 4 local 5 T: 93 309 77 83 web: www.barnacork.com
Servicio Estación – Carrer d’Aragó, 270-272 T: 93 381 28 91 web: www.serveiestacio.com
Surotecnica – Carrer Muntaner, 56 T: 93 453 47 11 web: www.surotecnica.com

PRICE (915x610mm – thickness: 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 100)

BCK barnacork: 100 mm = 118,36 €  CHEAPEST: ~8,51 €/Kg

BIBLIOGRAPHY

WEB:

www.sustainablematerials.com/cork/
www.materialproject.org/wiki/Cork
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120622162946.htm
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140416113012.htm
www.nature.com/srep/2012/120509/srep00403/full/srep00403.html
www.apcor.pt/artigo/cork-production.htm

BOOKS:

Helena Pereira, Cork: Biology, Production and Uses Hardbound 2007 – ISBN: 978-0-444-52967-1

PROJECT REFERENCE PHOTOS WITH INFOS AND LINKS

The Portugal Pavilion in EXPO Shanghai 2010

Designer: Arch. Carlos Couto
Date: 2010
Location: Shanghai

web: www.amorim.com/en/how-we-do-it/reference-projects/Portuguese-Pavilion-Expo/440/

Description:
Built with 5500 m2 of cork supplied by Corticeira Amorim, the Portuguese Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai
was a surprise for its originality. The design was developed in harmony with the Better City, Better Life
concept, by using cork as the solution for an environment-friendly construction in the future.

Cork House

Designer: Arquitectos Anonimos and Paulo Teodósio
Date: 2007
Location: Esposende, Portugal

web: www.bjoku.com/cork-house-by-arquitectos-anonimos/

Description:

The shaped carcass, stoutly wrapped with cork bricks, deals a few radical ruptures, claiming a friendly
distance to the neighborhood. Inside, the expectable “ready to inhabit” combines a straight preview to the
changeable future and conditions, as direct as possible-translated in interior design.

Cork Pavilion

Date: 2013
Location: Portugal

web: www.inhabitat.com/portuguese-students-build-gorgeous-vaulted-pavilion-entirely-from-cork/

Description:
Students of the Advanced Program in Digital Architecture (CEAAD) in Portugal teamed up with the company
AMORIM Isolamentos to create a beautiful pavilion entirely from cork. The Vaulted Cork Pavilion was
parametrically designed, assembled out of hundreds of CNC-cut blocks, and then installed at the Concreta
2013 building expo in Porto.

The 2012 Serpentine Pavilion

Designer: Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei
Date: 2012
Location: London

web: www.dezeen.com/2012/05/08/serpentine-gallery-pavilion-2012-by-herzog-de-meuron-and-ai-weiwei/
Description:
Eleven columns characterising each past Pavilion, and a twelfth column representing the current structure,
support a floating platform roof 1,4 metres above ground. The Pavilion’s interior is clad in cork, a sustainable
building material chosen for its unique qualities and to echo the excavated earth.

Chaise Lounge Chair

Designer: DMFD Studio
Date: 2012
Location: USA

web: www.danielmichalik.com/
Description:
the sustainable lounge chair has a curved design mimicking a wave. The design is freestanding and balanced
on the curve of its base. As the material is lightweight, the chair is both stable and bouyant, and can be
rocked gently from side to side.