ask:
Create an enclosure surrounding something.
Look at things like: Small electronics Buttons Batteries Switches The box should be intricate and refined
however, phil & i spoke, about this:
in general, i’m finding it hard to ‘think through’ things. i usually morph whatever idea i started with as & how the material + machine behaves. i don’t think that’s good.
i’m also generally struggling with this course — i was told in my first year that i’m unable to think in three-dimensions. my solution then was to resort to more two-dimensional work, and i don’t want to do that here. please let me know what i should change in my approach.
he then gave me a revised ask:
replicate a volumetric object exactly as is. start with the object, and break it down to the point where they’re flat panels, then build them up.
i chose this cup. phil had recommended a conical shape.
i then taped all surfaces:
and opened them up.
realised that because the top is bigger, they actually don’t meet edge-to-edge when laid flat out. i wonder what the math is.
the whole shape when opened looks like so:
figured this out:
to calculate the diameter of a larger circle in a circular cone, you can use the formula d=2r, where r is the radius of the base of the cone.
realised that when two parallel surfaces of a curved surface lie flat, they’ll have some distance between them. i can see this visually, although i still don’t understand how.
maybe i can’t think volumetrically.
next, i tried to figure out the joints.
then, i carefully sketched the components out.
realised i did the math wrong for each panel.
width has to be:
where c = circumference.
height has to be
where r is the radius of the base.
i then made the compounded-shape.
laser cut it.
and realised that i used the wrong circle as the base.
then i used the smaller circle and i forgot the kerf lines, and it didn’t bend. even if i forced it, the ends didn’t meet.
then i scaled everything down, to have more joints. then it broke.
then i saw this:
tried one more approach. failed.
cody helped me see why my earlier prototypes failed.
i then got a piece of paper (as per his suggestion), wrapped it around the container and cut it out with a scissor. that made me see the general shape i should’ve gotten.
i then found this:
i then tried — really tried — to get the shape right.
printed it out on paper to test:
laser-printed this:
it was a mess.
everything broke. i hate it. i hate this.
i laser-cut this on a thinner material.
did not include the kerf-lines, because that fucked things up last time. but then the material wouldn’t bend. i decided to make the kerf-lines by myself (half-cuts with a cutter) to make it bend.
it’s 2140. i’ve spent more than 10 hours on this. i hate this.
this is what i was left with.
reflect:
it was good to fail — i haven’t done that in a while. i now know that i’m not great at fabrication, and working in the course with that realisation eases the general pressure (see the pressure to do big things) i have.