This video taught me a lot about the aspects of prototyping design and starting to create the design that best works in our experiment. I was able to learn that through initial and simple planning you can find solutions to problems that we would normally think as super difficult. This relates to our design project because while making phone stands and other projects that may seem very difficult can become simple if we access the situation and take it step by step with the simplest of materials. The google glasses that the guy talked about really relates to our projects because it shows how something complicated can turn simple and can be created with easy materials.

Notes on Laser cutter:

After you go to print, go to properties. Set sheet size to size of material you are cutting out. Vector: through cut; rastor: face cut. Run test cut withy the values listed on the post it. After u set the settings, uncheck the “send to laser” press ok. Position cutting area to place you are cutting. press return/ enter. hit print. go epilog software, it should b at the top of list. Before you hit print, set up laser cutter. turn on fans and compressor. Turn on machine and open it. Set focus of the laser toothing you’re cutting. Take cutting piece, put concave side down. Set pointer to middle with arrows. Move the triangle down to cardboard, just barely touching it. take out triangle. close machine then send the print on epilog. pay attention to the file its printing, press green.

Video: What is the fourth Industrial Revolution

Throughout our revolutions, we have learned and designed a lot of things but now it is time to change that because we have realized that design isn’t working. As we have learned more about the things we have designed, we have noticed flaws(ex: the plastic and replacing it with more bio-friendly products). If we can change cities or certain aspects of it then we can significantly change how we live today. This relates to our design class because we are constantly looking for more ways to improve design to make it more efficient and better for use. Design is “the first signal of human intention”.

Design thinking process guide:

WEDNESDAY JAN 8: EMPATHIZE AND DEFINE MODE

Some constraints are the size of the bench, it cant stick out of the stairs otherwise it would be too big and stand out. Another way it would stick out is if it did not blend in with the design of the GCAD. We need to make a bench that both fits the design of the building and fits the modernity while being the appropriate size and appealing to our community. It needs to be made by the 27th.

First we accessed the situation and we thought about what we could make that would best fit our peers needs and what would sell. We found this extremely difficult and didn’t make much of an impact as a bench that everyone would use day to day. We decided to choose the bench, and empathize with the members of our school more. To make something that everyone would use while being comfortable is part of the goal of this project. It also needs to fit in and not stand out. So we started to brainstorm and we thought of the symbols that define art and what it is, fitting for a bench that would be in the art building. We came up with multiple ideas like the paint palette and paintbrush and will be hoping to share them with the class for ideas.

START OF IDEATE MODE:

THURSDAY JAN 9: CRITIQUE AND POLL

After talking to class and doing a poll we found the most popular designs were the “palette with paintbrush sketch” and this one:

For that poll, we numbered the 6 sketches and asked the class about which ones they liked the most, picking their top three designs. We made these designs before and the class received all of them well but our “pallete” and “infinity” bench did exceptionally well. We started to think of the possibility of taking both of these ideas forward and merging the idea of them. We drafted some ideas but ran out of time and decided to pursue it further on Monday.

MONDAY AND TUESDAY JANUARY 13: PROTOTYPE MODE

The class agreed with our goals and some suggested making a slightly easier bench than the “infinity bench, because of the complexity of assembling it with the metal rods that run through it. We got our hands on a file that has the exact measurements for a seat that would be optimal for a human being. From there we thought it would be best to keep both ideas alive but we found the palette more feasible a project. We started to find dimensions blueprints and found that the seat depth should be around 18 inches on each side with also allowing space for the paintbrush. We started making these scaled models on rhino.

THURSDAY JANUARY 16: PROTOTYPE MODE

We imported the “palette” design on to rhino and our first plan of action was to set it to scale, with our parameters: Length: 12 feet Width: 56 inches Beam width: 6 inches Space To Beam: 21 inches. We decided to stick to the blueprints and made the max seating space the recommended 18-20 inches, the good thing about this “palette” is that the seating space gets smaller as it gets closer to the edges, leaving room for smaller people with smaller seating spaces. We decided to also grant each seating space with 24 inches of width space so the people don’t feel too crowded, while pursuing an idea of colored cushions as a seating area that is relaxing to our users. This would also give the bench more of our “palette” identity, as these cushions could be paint in a palette. Our problem however, was the paintbrush, the dimensions left too little space and we still didn’t have a total sense of how we were going to use it in our design so that it would effective in making the bench more comfortable. We started working on this prototype and the tip was sticking out of the bench, which could become a safety hazard in the future. We tried minimizing this while also making the paintbrush look like what it is, a paintbrush. By increasing the bench’s length we are able to fit more people and and have more back space, however we can not have too much back space otherwise, the paintbrush will look too disproportional.

MONDAY JAN 20: PROTOTYPE MODE

Today was a really big day for us in terms of work done the gathering of our ideas. Allison worked really well on the “palette” idea and I focused on developing our “Infinity” bench idea. Starting with the “infinity” bench, I successfully traced the the bench at the angle presented above on rhino and I started thinking of ways to improve the design and make sure it has more seating present on it. One of the biggest flaws of the design was the sitting space it held, and I wanted to make this my first change to the design. I have gotten some of the bench done but some work still needs to be done so it actually looks smooth. Allison worked on our other design and also measured some of the students in our class in order to see how much space would be needed on each side so that each person have have enough breathable room. We found that width of 24 inches per person is a perfect amount and lets each person have enough space and be comfortable. We also made significant strides in the development of our paintbrush, and we decided to go with a triple paintbrush design in order to not make just one paintbrush and have it stand out as disproportional. Next class I’m confident we can start 3D designing the “palette” bench, and the infinity bench soon after, if it makes sense to do so.

TUESDAY JAN 21: PROTOTYPE MODE

Today we finished our sketches. Allison worked on the “palette” and started extruding the curves and making the design more 3D. It went well and we will definitely be able to present our “palette” design prototype. Now on the other side of things with the “infinity” bench, I have finished the first 2D model and I have really addressed the problem of seating and I think with the new and improved design we can fit a lot more people with comfortable seating. However it is also hard to do the other sides and that is something I will work towards. We are glad that we have one prototype almost done since we have worked so hard on this design.

THURSDAY JAN 23: PROTOTYPE MODE

Today we worked a lot on the 3D design and started using the loft, offset and scale tool. With scale and offset we took the outlines from our 2D design and made it bigger or smaller, and this way we were also able to loft multiple surfaces together so we could get a lofted 3D model. After experimenting for a while and trying to find the surface that fits the best for our bench we found one that worked perfectly. To top it off we then created a surface with planar curve on both the top and the bottom of the 3D model. Finally we able to merge all the surfaces of the 3D model and we got a near finished product. The product is fully to scale, and has curve on the sides to compliment the bench. All that is left is the seats, the brushes and the slices to fit the terraforming theme of our project.

TUESDAY JAN 28: PROTOTYPE MODE

Since we product is fully to scale and fully 3D, the only tasks left for us were the seating arrangements, 3D brushes, and the terraform slicing. Today we decided to focus solely on the seating arrangements and since the GCAD open house was postponed, it lets us work on this to perfection. We took the measurements we acquired before and altered them to best set our seating requirements. We first found what cloth/fabric we would use in the cushion and we found that Canvas was the strongest and most durable fabric to use for our cushions. With this we also found that having a circular cushion would best to fit our project as it would fit the “Palette” theme that we are reaching for. Then we started setting parameters for the cushions on the 2D model bench. We made space at the edge to best compliment the bench also provided space in between the brush backrest and the cushion area. Once the parameters were set we had to make sure the spacing between the cushions was enough and give the users a comfortable amount of room in between them. We finished the class with the parameter fully set, ready to be extruded and added to the 3D model.

THURSDAY JAN 30: PROTOTYPE MODE

Last class we left off with the seating arrangements nearly finished. The only thing left to do with the seat cushions was to extrude it and add it to the 3D bench model. We wanted to make the cushions 2 inches deep so we extrude the the 6 seating areas to the 2 inches and decided the middle would be made out of foam since it is one the more accessible materials. Once extruded we brought the seats over to the previous 3D bench and aligned it with the correct axis that fits the top of the bench. Once set into place on the bench, we used the Boolean tool to create the indents in the bench and set the seats into place, curved fully with the bench. After that was done we needed to do some shopping and brainstorming to see what materials were available on the web. After some searching we found the foam and perfect canvas materials we were looking for. The prices were decent and the material was top notch, with the canvas being waterproof as an added bonus. The waterproof feature would prove useful for us since it would avoid stains and leakage in the cushions. We chose the color for the cushions: Periwinkle, red, yellow, royal blue, orange and kelly green on the site FWD.com.

MONDAY FEB 3: PROTOTYPE MODE

We started off this class with a continuation of the searching process for zippers that would be both cheap and quality for our cushions. We started to stray away from the idea of having colored zippers because of the possible price increase and a risk of the zippers not blending well with the cushions. Instead we were thinking of going with a uniform black so all the cushions have the same color zipper. We found some cheap ones and some others that may be more expensive because they are lesser qualities. With the zippers we decided it would be time to start thinking about overall pricing of the materials we would need which include: zippers, cushion covers and the materials needed for the bench. We then went back to designing and started creating rods to put through the bench to hold it all together.

TUESDAY FEB 4: PROTOTYPE MODE

Building off of last class, we continued working on the rods going through the bench. We decided the bench rods need to go side to side instead of from back to front and that way we were also able to figure out what way the slicing would go since the rods have to run perpendicular to the slices in the bench. We were able to successfully slice the bench as well and soon we will put the rods in the newly sliced bench. We also need to round off the edges in order to not make the edges sharp and create possible safety hazards.

THURSDAY FEB 6: PROTOTYPE MODE

Today our goal is to get the rod indents aligned with the 3D model. We want each section to have two rods going through it for stability and keep everything together. We need to have the rod indents in the sliced model lined up with the unsliced model’s rod indents. In our first try we weren’t able to do so and the indents were off and not reflected on both models. Using the contour tool we tried to recreate the indents with more precision. In order to redo the form with new holes indents, we also needed to re-slice the bench. This proved to have problems of its own as the tool we use to slice, kept slicing the bench the wrong way. After some problems with the Booleen2Objects(BooleenSubtraction), we closed down the app and restarted it. We then used Booleen again and were able to successfully Booleen the rods and the bench.

THURSDAY FEB 13: PROTOTYPE MODE

After being able to successfully Booleen and slice the tool, we needed to make the brush. We took a background image from online to get the general outline of what our brush would look like. We traced half of it and then revolved it around its center axis to make a full fledged brush to able to put on the bench. We extruded it on all sides and then exported to our main file on the GCAD-6 computer. We then followed our 2D model on the other computer and used the idea of three brushes together(2D Model of Seats picture) to design how these brushes would sit on the bench. We first placed two of them on the bench and made sure they didn’t overlap with any of the seats or cushions. Then for the third brush we experimented. We tried out different looks for the third brush and we even made it smaller once to try out different sizes. We ended up following the idea of stacking another brush on top of another. All that is left is how we are going to position it.

MONDAY FEB 17: PROTOTYPE MODE

We decided to go with the three brush stacked idea and we started to boolean the three objects separately. We boolean these objects so we can have the three brushes fit on top of each other well and so the top brush is especially cemented in place. Without the negative boolean of the bottom brushes and the positive space of the top brush, the brushes would slide off each other. Once we were done with boolean we moved the brushed back to the unsliced 3d model and then once we confirmed this looked fine, we moved it to the sliced model. We are now done with the model, meaning that now in order to print it we need to move all the parts to the correct places for printing.

TUESDAY FEB 18: PROTOTYPE MODE

This class’s goal was pretty simple, we wanted to transfer all the parts to a sheet so we could print it out. Along with the pieces of the bench we also need to print out the spacers for in between the slices of wood. We got access to metal rods and the printer. We printed out 324 spacers and then the bench slices on the sheets. We first printed the spacers so we could fix them while the other sheets printed. Since we placed the speed so high the laser didn’t cut all the way through and they needed significant fixing. It was tedious work but well worth it for the grand scheme of the project. Outside of class Mr. Brodie printed out the rest of the sheets for us to use next class.

THURSDAY FEB 20: PROTOTYPE MODE

This class, we had the sheets and the spacers printed out. However, most of the spacers still needed to have some work done of them and needed to be trimmed with a x-acto knife. We took a good part of the class cutting these down and throwing out ones that were too damaged. I focused primarily on the spacers while Allison was making sure the sheets were in good condition.

MONDAY FEB 24: PROTOTYPE MODE

We started assembling the prototype bench this class. We took the slices along with the five rods we had and assembled as much as we could. We first placed the rods through the slices and put bolts at the end to stop the slices from sliding off. Then we put a slice and then a spacer in between and place more slices on top. It was good that we printed a lot of spacers as many were defective and the bench required many spacers in between. In the middle of our class period we ran into a problem with one of the slices as it wasn’t labelled with a number and the holes were on the opposite side of where they were supposed to be. We had to fix it on Rhino and reprint it. By the end of the class we were able to see half of the bench and the slices really complimented the curvature of the bench.

TUESDAY FEB 26, 28: LAST CLASS/READING DAY PROTOTYPE MODE

In these two days we finished the bench and also created cushions for the bench. For the first part of class, we finished the rest of the slices on the benches. We got our hands on some more metal rods and bolts and connected the rest of the bench together. We were able to finish the assembling of the bench by the end of class but we needed to do something about the cushions and the metal rods were sticking out. On reading day, Allison and I arrived at 7:30 to finish up the work. We were able to get most of the rods cut off with a saw but we needed to return at 4 to finish up the job. When we returned we started cutting off the rods and we also came up with ideas for cushions. After we were done cutting the rods, we were able to focus completely on the cushions. we stuffed the holes with paper towel and then put colored paper over them to look like cushions. The cushions weren’t expertly made but it was pretty good for a scale model prototype. We look forward to presenting our full prototype on Monday.