Rovi Dean LauStudent No: 543495 Semeter 1/2012 Group 8

MODULE THREE - FABRICATION

R e c a p o n M o d u l e T w o . . .

Digitization of Model

In module two, I explored with different panels for my lantern. De-signing it as close as my plasticine model.Features I took note of was the principle of sound and the twisted body.Ended up with a design with a cus-tome 3D panel with twisted body.

P R O T O T Y P I N G - M A R K I ( s c a l e 1 : 3 )

Prototype of model - Scale (1:3)

Material: White A4 paper 80gsm

First prototype in process.

Parts that I prototyped was the body and the head.

For the head, I tested out whether it was a good idea to unroll it vertically.

Outcome: Not good to unroll vertically due to the shae of the panels, giving it a hard time to stick sharp corners together.

P R O T O T Y P E - M A R K I I ( s c a l e 1 : 1 )

Labeling of unrolled surfaces and colour identification. (Head)After my first 1:3 prototype, I carried on with a full scale prototype. It makes more sense for me to do a full scale prototype due to its fragile triangular shape panels. Unrolled it in a twisted manner, mmistake laernt from my first prototype.

Legend: - Above

- Below

Head

Labeling of unrolled surfaces and colour identification. (Body)

Unrolled in a twisted manner. Designing it as close as possible to my plasticine.

Legend: - Above

- Below

Body

Labeling of unrolled surfaces and colour identification. (Tail)

Legend: - Above

- Below

Tail also unrolled in a twisted manner. Showing the flow of wave going through the lantern; soundwave.

Tail

Tabbing - Grasshopper

Found a script for grasshopper which made things easier.

In order to manually edit tabs from grass-hopper, I had to bake them first then ex-plode it in Rhino.

This allowed me to deleted tabs that I do not need and resize individual tabs.

Once the tabs were created, I arranged my surfaces into the are of 900x600mm and were ready for cutting.

Hoping to achieve from second prototype:- Testing out the cutter to cut small triangles without ripping.

- Twisted unrolled surface could work.

- Lightings

Starting of putting together of Prototype - Mark II

Mistake found:- Found double tabs cre-ated on the same side.

Resolved by cutting away the tabs.

In order to prevent this happening again, I edit on Rhino as I go along.

In order to form my triangles properly, I had to under score the other side of the paper and fold it.

Process of Prototype - Mark II (Head)

Head Completed

Outcome (Head):- Twisted surfaces easier to put together.

Process of Prototype - Mark II (Body)While I was done with the body, I thought of testing the lightings out. From my precendent in Module Two, I wanted to create that calm soothing effect that does comforts someone when they look at it.

Thematic Pavilion EXPO 2012 Yeosu, South Korea

Architect: SOMA (Austrian firm founded in 2007)

Construction date: 2010 (completion 2012)

Testing with original design - Result: Feels abrupt, not that calm and soothing.

Original design with tracing paper - Result: Calm and soothing, close to what I had in mind.

Process of Prototype - Mark II (Complete)

Result: - Folds were not accurate

- Holes due to improper gluing and folding

- Material was tearing.

- Due to lots of triangle holes, the lantern was not that rigid.

Solution:- Use a thicker ivory card

- Making sure all the folds are accurate

REFINING IDEAS: PRECEDENTS & INFLUENCESLooking back at my process which was soundwaves, I focused too much on the principle of soundwaves, which was compression and rarefaction.

Looking beyond that, soundwaves generates different frequencies and amplitudes. Simply put it, noisy (harsh noise) and quiet (peaceful and calm).

Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3Architect: Woodhead Pte. Ltd.Completed 2008

Paper Lanterns.

The roof panels are controlled by a light sensor to control the amount of light entering.

- Noisy soundwaves = Random peaks of waves = Harsh Lights

- Quiet soundwaves = smooth soundwaves = Calm Lights

Materials and Structure

Tracing Paper

Black paper - 200gsm

Wanted to try out other materials besides tracing paper. Tried tracing paper, black paper or polypropylene for effects on the body. Polypropylene was more rigid then tracing paper, however it was too clear. It did not diffuse the light like how paper lanterns does.

Black paper did not allow the loght to pass through, so went back to the origi-nal idea, tracing paper.

Added holes on the solid panels of the body. Replacing them with other materials like tracing paper.

Lighting

Tested LEDs with 1, 2 and 3 batteries

LEDs with 2 abd 3 batteries are about hte same brightness, but brighter then with 1 battery.

Connected them in Parallel:- Shares the same voltage across all LEDs

- If 1 LED blows, the others will still light up.

To create a harsh light and fading at the end, I decided to Put 3 LEDs at the head, followed by a set of 2 LEDs and lastly 2 sets of 1 LED.

Lighting

I was trying to find a way to place the circuit in my lanter.

Plan to hide the switch, making it less obvious so I fiddled around with my prototype. Cutting open the tail and tried placing it at the tail.

For the LEDs, they will be placed at the center of the lantern through the whole body.

Metal wire and tape to hold it in place. Used tracing paper to conceal the colour of the wire.

F I N A L D E S I G N . . .

Final Design in process

Final Design in process

Final design on the left with lights on. Prototype Mark II on the right.

FINAL DESIGN

Reflection

Out of all 3 modules, I would have to say that module three is the most reward so far. It basically shows our outcome for the past 6 weeks.

One thing I learnt from doing this module three - fabrication, was about prototyping. The stage where it reaches prototyping is very crucial because that is twhere most mistakes and ideas come about. The object bascially comes to life, a solid 3D object, not a 3D animated object on the computer screen. Our mind thinks and feels better when an object can be held or felt, it gives our mind a different perspective. For example, constructing a chair. On a computer screen are basically lines and shapes. One thing that we are unable to see or feel is the comfort of the chair, or the strength of the chair, materials and so on. In order to find the perfect chair, or which ever suites the purpose, we have to go through the prototyping stage where different chairs are made out of differ-ent materials and find the best chair. As far as designing is concern, an architect, fashion designer or a mechanic, prototyping and fabrication of such ojbects are need to examine where mistakes and errors are which cannot be identified from the computer, and also the good stuff.

Besides the hardware stuff, even chefs have to create different samples of their dishes to try and see which ingridients creates the best tasting dish. So it is probably a way of life in the professional world, always finding new ways to design objects better and more improved version of the previous. A good example is the Apple products. From iPhone to the latest iPhone 4s. Improving and identifying the errors may take months to years as well. I would say it is an on going process, a life cycle.