This class was an introduction to equipment in the Taubman Fabrication Lab which included Wire Cutting with KUKA robots, cutting steel on the waterjet and milling foam on the CNC Router.
Completed: First Semester Graduate School (Fall 2016)
School: University of Michigan
The goal for this project was to design and then fabricate a series of tactility panels that invoke one of the senses and to create them using the CNC mill. These panels try to invoke multiple senses by emulating water droplets thrown across a water table. This would remind the viewer of water, possibly reminding them of a sense of touch, taste, and sound.
Keeping the CNC tool in mind, I experimented with foam as a material and different tooling paths, and depths before committing to my final panels. I also experimented with how to get the panels to emulate water drops. Both test panels use different materials, different tool paths and a different technique for emulating water drops. I was also able to test the depth limit of the CNC machine with these panels and how that works with the geometry I was milling.
Programs used: Rhino, RhinoCam, CNC mill, and Adobe Illustrator
Advisor: Rachel Dickey
Year Completed: First Semester, Fourth Year (Fall 2015)
School: Ball State University
The goal for this project was to design a system that would respond to a stimulant. For initial testing purposes, the system was designed to respond to the movement of people walking by. The whole project is fifteen feet long with 12" flowers" which are strategically placed so they do not overlap or hit one another when they are fully open.
The flowers are grouped in pairs and are connected to stepper motors which animate the system. The stepper motors are run by Arduinos that gather data from motion sensors. The data is then translated into a specific motion, executed by the stepper motor.
All of the flowers have two forms; open, and closed. The open form takes up much more area than the closed form, however, the closed form sticks out from the panel.
I was in charge of designing and executing the entire electronic system.
Programs Used: Rhino, RhinoCam, and Arduino
Tools Used: CNC Mill, Laser Cutter, Arduino
Group Members: Tyler Bracht, Jamie Craine, Alan Dang, Caitlin Dashiell, Shelby Harris, Rachael Henry, Clint Johnson, Eric Lawler, Jared Monce, Linh Ngo, Logan Richmond, Joel Sterling, Maeleen Taylor, Zach Young, Craig Zehr.
Advisor: Andrew Wit
Completed: Second Semester, Third Year (Spring 2015)
School: Ball State University
3-D printers are becoming more and more common today. They have become cheaper as well as easier to use. They work great for small models, figurines, or jewelry, but how can we make something larger? This project was to design something small. It would fit into the 4.5” x 4.5” x 6” print bed, but when assembled, it would be larger than the bed. My group decided to create a lamp shade that could be functional as a lamp shade, but also taken apart and used to the owners needs if they chose to do so.
Group Members: Rachael Henry, Emily Zizelman, Alan Dang, Zack Young
Advisor: Andrew Wit
Completed Second Semester, Third Year (Spring 2015)
School: Ball State University
The goal for this project was to create something that would become larger than the bed of the tool that was used to create it. In this case, our group used a laser cutter to create each layer of the end table.
The form of the end table was based off of a human spine. We started with the same curve, copied from a human spine and used that curve as the edges of four corners. The center of the table, or structure for it, was taken from a voronoi pattern that was developed in the Lamp Shade project.
The cut outs along the end of the table were added to create paths. Much like the human spine has nerves and blood vessels , we wanted this end table to mimic trails that leave the impression of continuity between one end and the other. Our group went through many studies of these cut outs to try and find the correct, depth, amount of cuts, and the width of each trail.
Group Members: Zack Young, Alan Dang, Rachael Henry
Completed Second Semester, Third Year (Spring 2015)
Advisor: Andrew Wit
School: Ball State University
The challenge for this project was to find a way to span a 50ft gap featuring red oak wood that was donated to our group. We pulled our form for the bridge from diagrams we made from knots in the wood. The design focuses on the movement from one end to the other, but also has spaces for visitors to sit and relax or meet with others. This is split into two levels. The first level is primarily for those who wish to move directly from one end to the other while the second level is designated for those who wish to take their time. The full model is 5ft long. My group constructed both the model and the table for it to sit on.
Group Members:
Rachael Henry, Joanna Thomas, Jamie Crane, Shelby Harris, Lauren Maloney
Programs Used: Rhinoceros, Illustrator, Photoshop
Completed Second Semester, Second Year (Spring 2014)
Advisor: Josh Coggeshall, Kevin Klinger
School: Ball State University
Study Models
