Media for Design Development

Tyler A Michieli

Final Project

-Culmination of study and process displayed in the lamp project.

Final Project | Lamp and Presentation

My final lamp was for me an chronicle of my investigations and process during the term.  The front of the lamp is finished in a was showing that one aspect of using the machine is that it is able to create exact replications of items.  While the back is archive of my work showing different patterns of the milling process; such as the roughing pattern vs the finishing pattern and the mesh vs the stl. parallel finishing process.  The design of the overall form is closed off on one side showing where I started and open on the other showing that my process is ongoing.  The lamp is designed to be wall mounted, with the panels being able to twist allowing the user to control the light levels that enter the room and what the reflective light quality is.

Final Presentaion.pdf

Assignment 4.0

 -Short report in an area of interest you discovered during the course.

Project 4.1 | Inspiration Report

During my investigations I found an interest in the production chain that links design to final product.  One project that really exemplified this process was the Futuropolis project designed by Daniel Libeskind.  

Inspiration Report.pdf

Assignment 3.0

-Post a summary of your work reflecting on the work that has been done.

Project 3.2 | Update on latern

After creating some acrylic panels I was able to achieve the outcome I was looking for as far as the splaying of the blades and creation of a curve.  However the effect was not nearly as strong as I had anticipated and have become much more interested in the effects of the wood 'stamps' I had created and the quality of light coming off of them.  I set put a series of images taken of the wood 'stamps' in various arrangements studying distance of separation (in both the X and Y axis), angle of rotation, and finish quality of the reflective and reflected sides.  The image below is a collection of the images as a study.  My next step will be to mill more stamps and develop a frame in which to lay them in.

Project 3.1 | Post the lantern

A} What?

     My underlying concept was to create a panel lighting system that would not focus on light and shadow but on creating a ambient glow that comes from reflection and manipulation of light waves.

     In order to create these panels I investigated creating a system or tool for molding a flat panel into a 3D shape (consistently).  The tool I created was a stamp in which to place hot and malleable plastic in which would accept the form of the stamp after it has cooled.

B} So What?

     In terms of digital fabrication this helped me understand that digital fabrication is only part of a process and is only a medium for working in.  While it is possible to do things quickly for reproduction or small variations it is a time intensive process up front.  The area I most heavily investigated was the parameters and automation of the router used to create the forms.  In short the machine/program have certain default settings, in order to have the machine perform the operations in a distinctive manner adjustments must be made to either the program parameters or the digital file.

  In this image you can see the faceting or meshing of the curve I am trying to create. I found this to be a undesirable effect and took an understanding of why it did so to 'fix' the problem.  As it turns out RhinoCAM meshes objects for faster processing in the G-code.  The mesh is created by creating planes from a triangulation of points, thus giving the object a faceted curve.  This would not be so obvious in object is more aggressive or planer curves, however on my it was quite noticeable.

  Rhino Model      Meshed Model       stl model

To understand control the meshing in the automation of the router I meshed my object in rhino to see in the mesh objects were the same; they were (you can see the same patterning in the physical object as in the meshed model).  In rhino I was not able to control the parameters on the mesh, as far a direction or size (there is one option for number of polygons created but it did not affect the outcome).  So, I looked at other options for file output; the .stl file (stereolithography) formate is a  a raw unstructured triangulated surface by the unit normal and vertices's (ordered by the right-hand rule) of the triangles using a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system [wikiapedia definition].  Basically another triangulation file formate used for digital output.  After I exported rhino model to an stl file I like the way the it was faceted and printed.

 in this image the file formate worked in much cleaner manner, and the finish quality was much more acceptable.  It would also allow me to sand the finish on the block easier.

C} Now What?

     Now that I have proof of concept I need to make a couple of panels out of the plastic to understand how better how they will interact before I design and fabricate a frame.  With having a mold will allow me to quickly cut (on the laser cutter) and form the acrylic panels, and will be able to may quick variations. 

Assignment 2.0

-To find creative opportunities in subtractive digital fabrication

-To become familiar with using RhinoCAM for 2D and 3D operations

-To explore how form can shape light and how light can change the perception of form

Project 2.2 | Multi-Piece Lantern

These light panels are studies in using a single planar material to create a 3D panel that is responsive to light reflectance and ambiance.

Quick studies in joint connections and layering of light elements

Project 2.1 | Panel

In RhinoCAM I used the 2D Illustrator file and used several 2.5 axis functions to create the shape (profile cut), the numbers (etching pass), and the center hole (tapping).  The next step will be paint and added the hand element.

In creating a 12x12 panel to understand the 2D cut capable using the router over the lasercutter, I created a simple clock face.  I looked at a typical image of clock and in advertising they almost always have the hands facing the 10 and 2; this allows the 12 and 6 to be seen as well as the date function.

Assignment 1.0

Description | Create forms that cast and catch interesting shadows using computer modeling.

This is a final 'portfolio page' for the assignment

For this process I tried to copy and essence of some lamps.  The order of images shows my process in completing the final render.