Jack Purcell: Week 12 - Laser Engraved Skateboard

Concept: I wanted to create a skateboard that represented me. I thought I could accomplish this by incorporating a pseudo 3D element and my personal logo. I chose a 3D grid pattern illusion to represent the 3D aspects of my life as I want to go into the 3D industry  myself. I also Incorporated my personal logo and modified it to be viewed from any angle. I felt it would be important to represent myself with this skateboard as skateboards tend to represent their owner in some way.


Processes: I created the repeating pattern in Illustrator using the pathfinder tools and grouping to maintain a constant distance between the elements. I also centered my logo and measured where the trucks would be when attached and placed blank spaces to the trucks would lay flat. In my design I made the pattern larger than the edge so that way the board wouldn't have to be perfectly centered on the laser. Instead of using the laser at the machine shop I used the laser at the Dallas Makerspace and was able to get a much darker engraving that was able to utilize more of the board.

Materials: The board was finished with some kind of coating that vaporized when on the laser and left soot and sticky residue. A trick I learned when laser engraving something awhile back was that those Magic Eraser cleaning products work wonders on the soot left by the laser. If I had to make this board again I would want to create an inlay with a darker wood and seal the board with a thick resistant resin.

Jack Purcell: Week 13 - Laser Scanning

Concept:  For my scanning project I wanted to scan in something meaningful to me. I scanned a miniature Terracotta warrior that my great grandfather had given me. I thought that this would be perfect as not only would it preserve a piece of history, but also the fact this was a smaller version of the much larger warriors and that I could scale it up to its full size digitally.

Processes: I used the NextEngine 3D scanner to create the initial scans of the objects and aligned them in the NextEngine software. I then fused the models together in RapidWorks and exported a very high resolution mesh and a nurbs patch file. Because there were people waiting behind me to use the scanner I opted to lower the resolution of the mesh later in Blender.

Materials: I chose to represent the Terracotta Warrior with a low poly and brass aesthetic because I feel it would bring a modern element and show the fact that it was digitally scanned while also having the look and timeless feel of a brass statue.

Jack Purcell: Week 11 - Polyhedra

Concept: I knew that I wanted to incorporate geometric designs into my Polyhedra as Polyhedra are based on geometric designs themselves. I also wanted it to incorporate some kind of natural element and in the end I found out that the natural design of spiderwebs compliment the hexagons of my chosen Polyhedra. I also wanted to incorporate another element into my project, and I chose light and turned it into a lamp.

Process: First I imported the Polyhedra PDF into Rhino and separated it into the different layers to be laser cut. I then took that into Illustrator so that I could create the patterns. I created a hole so that I could attach a light fixture and turn it into a lamp. When I originally sent it in to be laser cut I was told it had some problem. I then took it back into Rhino and reassigned the layers, then there was no problem and the file was cut.

Materials: While this project was made with cardboard I would like to make another version out of wood and not have it fold together. I would also like to include a diffusion sheet behind the panels so that the light is evenly diffused.

Jack Purcell: Project 3 - Laser Cutting

FlatFab

Concept: I wanted to create something organic using FlatFab. I also wanted to create a sculpture with a somewhat solid 3D form. The main reason I wanted to create a chicken is that it would be recognizable and that I have a friend who loves chickens, it's pretty much a custom between us that whenever we exchange gifts I get them something chicken related, so I've seen many different kinds of chickens represented in many different types of mediums, so I wanted to create my own.

 

 Process:  I used FlatFab to create this project. I'll admit I wasn't as used to its vector tools as I was to Illustrators tools, but I managed to create something I was happy with. Most of this project was post processing of the file. First I exported the FlatFab cutting paths as a SVG file and imported it into Illustrator. Second I exported that to a DXF that could be imported by Rhino where I fixed some of the errors created by FlatFab. I submitted the 3DM file to be laser cut but something was wrong with the line width and my file was sent back. Finally I fixed the file in Illustrator as it was the program I was more comfortable with, and sent it back and picked up the cardboard once it was cut. I did have problems where FlatFab didn't generate some of the connections properly and I had to cut and glue some pieces together to create the final model together.

Materials: While the material we used for this project was cardboard I feel that this sculpture would best be visualized in a transparent material like glass or acrylic, because I feel like the viewer could see all aspects of the sculpture at once and appreciate the form.

 

Jack Purcell: Project 1 Castle

ghosted image

layered image

Concept
I wanted my castle to give off a sort of futuristic oppressive Sci-Fi vibe. I wanted it to represent architecture that couldn't exist with today's technology. I also wanted it to be intimidating, because while Castles  do house people they also serve to protect and display power.

bird's eye view

Process
I used plenty of booleans of larger spheres to create cavities to house the smaller spheres. I also drew the main two towers using the draw curves tool and extruded them to create the base of the two towers. I also drew and extruded solids to subtract from the towers using booleans to give them their triangular prism shape.

ground view

Materials
I gave the main orb in between the two towers an emissive material to achieve the Sci-Fi look. I decided on a purple gold and while color palette for the rest of the materials to make it look appealing and also break up the model into different colors. Almost all of the materials are some form of brushed metal, I chose this because I thought it would also fit the futuristic theme.