Andrew Rowan: Week 10 Laser Cutting

Rhino ghosted image

Rhino layered image

Concept: My original inspiration for this piece was a crown conch shell. I thought the shape would work well with slicing and it was very dynamic. I wanted to transform a slice of the upper part of the shell and it's protrusions into the flatter, smaller sections, that are present on the lower portion of the shell. I initially only made the sections flatter, but I realized I could also activate the vertical axis if I made them smaller as well. To add another dynamic I decided to exaggerate this transformation by pushing it all the way to rectilinear shapes, with the main rectilinear slice being opposite the crown conch slice. I wanted this sculpture to be in the round so that people could see all the transitions and how each piece flows into the next.

Rhino laser cut file 1

Rhino laser cut file 2

Technique: In FlatFab I first formed my base circle. I then input the abstract slice of the crown conch shell on the circle. On the opposite side I drew the exaggerated rectilinear shape. I then drew the two intermediary transitions that activate the vertical axis. I then used a blend between adjacent sections. Due to the concave nature of the shapes I had a lot of issues with the shapes being only an outline. I was able to resolve by flipping the curve handles on nodes within the shape. Generally only one node per shape had a "normal flip." After a lot of experimentation with this I was able to pin point the problem node in each shape that had this issue. One of the more extreme shapes required two nodes to be flipped. After this I exported the file as a DXF, used Illustrator as a pass through for an obj file, and finally opened it in Rhino. In Rhino I exploded everything and created the layers. I then assigned everything to the proper layer and forced all lines to the correct color. Finally I laid out all the pieces in the most efficient way I could and sent the files to the machine shop to be cut.

Close up render

Gallery render

Materials: For my materials I decided that the round sectional makeup worked really nicely with the two tone cardboard. I used polished metal for one side of each section as well as the section width. I used chrome on the outer edge to highlight the contours of each piece which helps to show the transition from section to section. I used blue textured metal for the remaining side of each section. I used a blue that was not too bright so as to not take away from the polished metal while still adding emphasis to the contours of the shape. For the retaining ring I used gloss orange paint as a complimentary color to the blue. This helped to activate the horizontal axis and adds another layer of visual interest. I also did not want to hide the construction of this piece. This is because it is, as a whole, very dynamic, but the construction itself is very simple. This will also be more prominent once I add two more smaller rings for stability.

Public display render

Anna Phengsakmueang: Project 1 Castle

Ghosted

Concept
Inspired by Harry Potter novels containing details about Hogwarts castle, I wanted to base off my castle off of a few aspects that appealed to me. To begin with, the towers that seemed to be located in many corners of the castle seemed to create a more surrealistic appeal to draw the line between reality and imagination. However, before adding towers randomly in place, I also needed a basis of where to place each tower. After looking at an image of a simplified, Lego version of Hogwarts, I was able to notice the general layout of the castle. However, the style that I had desired for my castle was much more simpler that the detailed castle of Hogwarts.

Layered

Process
When creating the basis of the castle, I began with the creation of the building bases that were rectangular in shape rather than the actual towers. I wanted to be able to figure out where to place each tower while also maintaining a semblance of symmetry for my castle. When placing the rectangular bases, I had also wanted them to form a semi-circle shape. To do so, I added two smaller rectangular bases on one side and rotated one of them to act like a corner piece. Then I reflected the two small bases to the other side to maintain the symmetrical balance of the castle. After creating the five large, rectangular bases, I wanted to add a bit more detail to the castle. Based off of classic castle designs, I created structures on top of the rectangular bases to give it a more reminiscent effect. After that, I worked on the towers and kept it fairly simple. Using tubes and cones, I created basic tower structures to add more to the castle-like appearance. Since there was negative space in front of the castle, I decided to add a fountain made of truncated tubes, and tori.

No Naked Edges

Perspective Shot

Materials
For the appearance of the castle, I chose to go with a variety of blue colors accented with white. To do so, I used sapphire, diamond, and aquamarine for the castle. The sapphire was used for the towers while the aquamarine was used on the bases. In addition to the bases, an accent that helped to add a bit more contrast to the castle was diamond. For the fountain, I chose to use a liquid material that was also blue. The reason I chose blue as the main color for the whole castle, was so that it would appear more unified and that blue is my preferred color of choice.

Pedestrian Shot