Rhyming Laminated Forms (Part 3--Final)

For our final model, we chose the model with a rich potential that can be further explored and developed—the beehive model. The path model would’ve been a great way to analyze the possibility of transitioning an object’s height and curvature to achieve more distorted and visually interesting effects, but it was quiet challenging and time consuming to even put the design on Illustrator.

Upon critiques from our peers and professors, we noticed several things that can be altered on the beehive model version #2 to achieve better laminated effects. The hexagon prism proved to be a great way to demonstrate our idea and enhance the theme of biomorphism, so we decided to continue using this element. The material we chose to laser cut the last model was thin butterboard, and in order to increase a sense of depth and perspective, we put small 1” x 1” black Styrofoam squares in between every layer. This approach did increase the height of our model and made the shadows more interesting, when looking from the top view. On the profile, however, the black squares were an eyesore. They oddly stood out from the rest of the model, and as structural support elements, these black squares made us deviated from the prompt of this project, which was lamination of forms. It appeared that we are laminating negative space, rather than playing with the positive. Hence, we decided to close the space and just laminate every form directly on top of each other.

 Last time, we decided to add up to three canals to make the model look less empty, but judging from the last beehive model, it seems like three wasn’t enough. We maneuvered the canals on Illustrator, added a fourth canal, shifts other canals to intersect with each other from top view, but the layers themselves never actually intersect in a three dimensional space. We also kept the element from last time inspired by the dome design, in which we had a canal coming in from one side and leaving on the other side of the model. Hence, we were able to increase the complexity of the design and make it more visually interesting.


Illustrator view of beehive

Illustrator view of beehive print layers

With our final model, we first decided to use interchanging layers of MDF and plexiglass to ¼” enhance the design. We wished to maintain the height of the model as much as possible even after closing the space, so we chose the thickest material that was available for laser cutting. We quickly learned our lesson. We spent a tremendous amount of time in the shop, and we were barely able to cut out one piece of MDF. 

At our first trial, we used a speed of 10% and power of 100% initially, as instructed by the technician, and we were told that eight to nine repeats would be sufficient to have our pieces being cut out. After three cuts, we decided to increase the speed and lower the power, because the material was being burned severely, which heavily influence the aesthetic appearance. We then changed the printing preference to speed of 15% and power of 95%. It burned less, but it still wasn’t ideal. Also, none of the pieces detached from the board after 9 cuts. For the subsequent hours, we kept changing the settings, even tried to lower the focus after every cut, attempting to make all the pieces cut out cleanly. We never succeeded. We took the final result—a burned piece of MDF with ten pieces still attached to the board, and we tried to use an X-Acto knife to cut out our design. X-Acto wasn’t the best tool to use to cut compacted fibreboard. No matter how hard we tried, the pieces that we punched out had rustic edges, completely deviating from clean cut effect that we both expected.

MDF cutting in progress

Burned pieces of MDF, closed up

Burned pieces of MDF, full view

Upon consulting with professors the shop technician, we decided to switch material, and just used the ¼” plexiglass, and paint every layer in between to achieve the alternating effect. This proved to be another nightmare, as the ¼” plexiglass could only be cut under speed=1%, power=100% setting, and the process was excruciating slow. We had beautiful and clean cut pieces, but each piece takes about 33 minutes, so the whole project would take 14.85 hours just to print.

Top view of beehive_model_1

Angled view of beehive model_1

Due to time constraint, we decided to switch material for the third time, and this time we decided to use 1/8” plexi. We changed the printing setting to speed = 2% and power =100%, and we reduced the number of layers from 27 to 24. We were able to print out all the pieces in 3 hours.

 

1/8” plexi cutting in progress

Prof Matt Zucker kindly opening the shop for us at 4pm on Valentine’s Day

While the plexi was printing, we experimented with various paint and glue options. We envisioned a transparent dull green color, but the shop only had several commercial pain that was disturbingly bright. We limited out options to grey and frost paint, and the ombre effect on our sample piece was quiet intriguing. 

Paint experiment on sample plexi

In addition, we were deciding between using epoxy or acrylic adhesive to put our pieces together. Both had their pros and cons. Epoxy was easier to apply in between layers, but the amount of glue was rather hard to control, and it also left marks of air bubble and leaked on the edge of each layer, compromising the transparent effect that we tried to achieve. On the other hand, acrylic adhesive wouldn’t give us a clear look either, for it left randomized lines on the edge of the model.

Experimenting with epoxy on sample plexi

We tried out a third option—cutting out hexagon metal bars and sticking them through some of the hexagon holes to hold the layers in place. We clamped all the pieces together, used a sample plexi stick to measure the length required for the metal bar, and we were able to cut out the exact dimension needed for the holes.

Measuring the needed height of metal bar

Metal bar in place

We cut out three of these metal bars and placed them in three corners of the model. The result was just as expected—transparency and a sense of depth and perspective. The supporting structure bars held the layers together tightly, and they did not hinder the visual experience at all. At the end, we were able to enhance our theme of Biomorphism that models on naturally occurring shapes reminiscent of nature and living organisms. 

Final beehive model, top view