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DIGITAL DESIGN + FABRICATION SM1, 2016 M3 JOURNAL - Hanging pod

Finn Forsyth762228

Michelle + Group Number

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Introduction

At the end of Module 2 we were intent of pursuing the design opposite (left). The Design involved an egg shaped hanging pod with a hammock style seat suspended within the pod.

At the conclusion of Module 2 however my partner and i decided to split as our ideas for creating the sleep pod were vastly different.

Taking this design into this module and developing for final production will involve many changes. after discussing with my peers and the tutor, i have desided that the sleep pod is too regular i.e. it has been made/designed before and is too egg shaped. thus as i take the design further i will explore using a different shaped surround for the hammock style seat.

Throughout this project i have focussed on two main mantras for my sleep pod design, buildability and useablility. Thus i have steered away from the more wearable style designs as generally from other people i have spoken to about this, this sort of thing would be something they would be unlikely to use, as such i tended towards the more large scale. Seeing as i have not changed my mind on this i will continue to develop the large scale design

Buildability: The idea of building something on a larger scale that must support a persons weight poses a number of problems. I need to use materials that are both strong, as well as lightweight and relatively cheap. I intend to experiment with fabric, steel, timber and bamboo and thus determine which material will work best and be most suitable for my eventual design.

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Design development

After recieving feedback from peers and tutors, i decided to change the design of the sleep pod while maintaining the main overlying ideas and functions. I retained the idea of a hanging pod, however I wanted to change the form from a generic egg shaped pod to something a bit more out of the box.

The above rhino sketches explore more streamlined forms for the hanging pod (top view)

The Renders above more clearly show the opposite drawings. The pod on the left is similar to the original design from module 2 except a more minimalist form. However this design doesnt properly attend to the ideas of security and privacy as well as personal space that the sleep pod should address to create a comfortable sleeping envi-ronemnt.

The render on the left was a quick experiment using thick/wide struc-tural memebers as a way to block view and thus prevent someone in the pod from being distracted. Upon creating this form however i began to realise the ‘pod’ was slipping back towards the egg shaped pod of the previous design, which was somethign i was trying to avoid.

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In order to move away from an egg shaped pod, i decided to experiment with different shapes and forms.

Opposite is a triangular pyramid extruded and left open on one side to accomodate a per-son. The design also explores a double membrane that is lit from within that has the effect of creating a seemingly warm and inviting place to sleep.

Although i think the double memebrane and lights achieve this effect, the form and de-sign dont achieve what i want them to. i also believe that to build this, although seemingly simple, it would requirte a lot of technical knowledge that i dont have at my finger tips.Furthermore, through my excplorations of skin and bone the design does not emphasise the aesthetics i have come to associate with the idea of skin and bone.

Design development

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In order to explore the idea of skin and bone I began to explore suspending a membrane within a structure. With this design I used simple parallelograms as the fram work and then using the contours of a person laying down looked at the parts of the body that required support and placed structural members to fold the membrane at these points.

The rendered View above explores the materials that i would use for this design, namely steel for the frame and canvas for the membrane. however i dont particularly like this design as it seems a bit too simple. In addition i belive it would take up a lot of space and also it does not address the issues of privacy and personal space as none of the body is protected from either touch or view.

Design development

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At this stage of the design process i have decided to explore the above design to be fabricated at 1:1 scale. Within this design I have incorporated many of the main ideas I have looked at previously. The warm lighting around the base to attract occupants while not creating so much light as too be distract-ing when attempting to sleep. The suspended hammock style membrane which seats the occupant is supported around its perimeter which allows for the adjustment and movement of different occupants whilst still supporting there bodies. The screen membrane which helps to hide the occupant from view aside from the front view, also creates the sense of privacy as the screen also blocks the occupant from seeing passersby.

Design development

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Design development + fabrication of Prototype V.2

The design has hit a roadblock at this point that stems from a number of issues with the fabrication of the design.First and foremost is a monetary one. The fittings required to build the design (Elgate fitting pictured opposite) are quite costly and thus are not within budget.

Furthermore the pipes that fit the fittings are also both large and heavy which is also a consideration that must be made in the fabrication of the design. Thus I have concluded that the design must be either altered to accomodate or discarded.

The only other method of building the design would be with welding equipment which i dont have access to.

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Design development

Having concluded that my previous design would be too expensive, i went back on rhino to experiment with a different design. After looking at the stelinest Memorial Precedent i decided to explore a hanging membrane type design. The design above on the left was looking at a rigid square form with a membrane surrounding the outside of the frame. however looking at the stelinest Memorial again i took inspiration and explored having the frame on the outside with the membrane suspended within. the design above on the right ex-plores this. However trying to create the form of fabric was becoming difficult on Rhino when i still had not a definite final form, Thus i moved to pen and paper.

Left is a sketch of a pressession of frames connected via rop so that they hang one after the other. tied to each vertex of the frames is an inner membrane

Within the membrane is a suspend-ed chair that acts as a place for the occupant to sit, relax and sleep.

The hanging chair would be sup-ported at each corner point to help spread load.

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Design development + Prototype

After finalising my design through sketches i used rhino to create a more detailed drawing that could be used to get measurements off. drawing this actual size enables me to work out how many frames i needed as well as the size of each frame as i could easily compare it to the rhino body mesh

The image left shows the final design of the my sleep pod. All the load will be taken through a single frame thus the third frame from the top (the load bearing one) will be made using steel.

In order to study the affects of applying a load to the hammock suspended off the steel frame i created a small prototype. In the prototype I created three frames. The middle frame has a hammock attached to it at each corner. I was worried that when a load was ap-plied to the hammock the frames would tilt, however by placing a small weight in the hammock i could see that the frame wouldnt tilt if the hammock was only support-ed off one single frame.

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There are many ways in which a computer may be used to aid in design-ing and building. While designing, software can be used to convert the physical realm to the digital as well as the reverse. using laser mapping technologys and creating point clouds physical objects and spaces can be mapped onto the computer and subsequently manipulated.In the reverse there are many ways in which to bring digitally designed structures and components into the real world.2D Fabrication - this technique uses cutting machines such as laser cutters, water cutters and plasma cutters controlled by a computer to cut materi-als such as metal, MDF and other timbers. The down side of this type of fabrication is that it can only cut 2 dimensionally.Subtractive Fabrication - This involves machines such as CNC routers and milling machines. These types of machines can make cuts in both the x,y and Z planes and are refered to as subtractive methods of fabrication as they remove volumes from a material to leave behind the desired design.Additive fabrication - 3D printers fall under the category of addative fabri-cation as they begin with nothing and gradually lay down layers

Due to the large scale of the design i have come up with and the struc-tural requirements, i have tended away from using 3D printing and laser cutting in the fabrication of my design. However i have used digital soft-ware to ascertain the exact length and sizes of all the different members that make up my design

Architecture in the Digital Age - Design + Manufacturing/ Branko Kolarevic, Spon Press, London c2003 Briefly outline the various digital fabrication processes. Explain how you use digital

fabrication in your design?

Reading Response Wk 6

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Reading applied to design

The fabrication process could have had a large influence on my design. if i had designed with the intention of using a CNC milling machine for example i could created frames that were double curved as well as all one piece, thus expelling the need for joints at the corners as well as being able to create really complex forms. However due to monetary issues and structual require-ments i had to move away from this sort of design.

by exploring the many possibilties of different fabrication tech-niques my design could have been influenced in many different ways. However being that i chose skin and bone as my material technique, finding ways to produce a design using digital manu-facturing techniaues that was both thin and strong enough as well as cost effective becamea major road block

How does the fabrication process and strategy effect your second skin project?

This is an example of the sort of frames that could have been made using CNC milling if the issues already stated had been non existant.

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Because of all the new technologies that have exploded onto the mar-ket and create new possibilities when it comes to building and design-ing, many digital technologies have had to change in order to adapt to these new fabrication methods. in the past digital design was used to create things that would then be built through other means, the digi-tal design was primarily used to view what a structure would look like. Now with machines able to print digitally design components the digital design can now be translated directly into the real world. Thus design is closely linked with machine capabilities. this means that when design the machine that will be used to build the design must be taken into account and used to inform how the design will come together, thus the fabrica-tion technique influences the design aesthetics. The use of digital design in conjunction with fabrication has expanded the range of what can be designed and built. However with it there are also limitations depending on the fabrication technique. the realm of digital design and fabrication is new and exciting with many advancments and possibilites possible in the near future.

Digital Fabrications: architectural + material techniques/Lisa Iwamoto. New York: Princeton Architectural Press c2009

Describe one aspect of the recent shift in the use of digital technology from design to fabrication?

Reading Response Wk 7

Each panel hear would have been designed in 3D then transformed into a 2Dplan which could then be cut and folded/joined together

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Reading applied to design

The advances in digital design and its implications for digital fabrication have changed design drastically. When translating these implications to the design I have chosen there is little that can be done with the materials i have decided to use.

The timber frames are all straight, thus it is more efficient to simply cut by hand. However if i had developed these frames further with curvilinear shapes or made each member double curved, Rhino in conjunction with either laser cutting or CNC milling could have been utilized to form these shapes.

If the membrane in my design was to be made from thin metal sheeting, the temp[late opposite could have been used to laser cut the design and then simply assembled by folding along the lines and joining the appropri-ate edges.

Referencing from the lectures and readings, what is the implication of digital fabrication on your design ?

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Prototype optimisation

Using lights i was hoping to create an inviting space to help draw people in to use the pod. However at night the effect is a bit eerie and during the day i think a light or lights would be difficult to see and thus would have little affect. However the pod was created in a way the the lights would not be used.

There were two main feelings that i was hoping to explore and play on while designing the sleep pod that of protection and that of Comfort, thus the the external frame and the internal membrane.

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Protection: Like many bugs and crustaceans i decided to put the frame or the shell on the outside of the sleep pod. The hard lines and sharp corners help to enforce a sense of protection, however this is only externally with very little of the frame visible from within. thus the occupant can feel protected while inside.

Comfort: When i talk about comfort i am less so talking about ergonomics in this case and more about feeling relaxed and safe, in contrasty to the hard lines of the external framework, when seated within the sleep pod the fabric membrane helps to give a sense of cushioning and maleability. the surface is not harsh neither is it rigid or hard. The fabric moves in the breeze, thuc giving the occupant the feeling they are almost suspended within a balloon. The white Canvas was used to create an open and light filled space that does not feel confining despit the size. this is expanded upon with the skylight type hole in the top of the membrane, letting a light in but not dirrect light. By having three sides enclosed it of-feres the occupant privacy as well as shelter from the sun and wind as the pod can be moved around so the opening doesnt face the direct sun or in any direction that the occupant desires.

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Prototype optimisation

Using digital design enabled me to understand the sizes of materials in pro-portion to a real person, thus diameters and widths of materials could be decided on without having to go out and look at sizes and try to imagine them making the design. furthermore once sizes were decided on, using rhino i could map out exactly what lengths and how many of each length of timber was required. similarly the number of and size of the fixings could be easily calculated

The plan opposite shows the the different frames that need to made seper-ately in order to put together the design.

The four frames in the top row will be made using timber and fixed together with right angle brackets at each corner

the one frame below the timber frames will be made using galvanised steel pipe and fixed together with pipe fittings

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The above rhino file was created to map out the most efficient use of fabric to create the membrane within the frame. the number and size of the sections mathes what is required in the final model. Thus using the distance tool on RHino i was able to measure the amount of fabric that i would need to purchase in order to minimise wastage of both material and money.

Prototype optimisation

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2nd Skin final design

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The Steilneset Memorial was a large influence on my final de-sign. After the previous design had to be abandoned due to cost reasons i looked at the above imagine a thought that the membrane suspended within a frame could be a really interest-ing thing to experiment with. Thus began my final design. I used thus idea to create a collapsable hanging chair that was both portable and structurally sound.

The strength and the collapsability are both found-ed within the rope that joins each the of the frames. Rope is both strong as well as ductile. When the pod is hanging the ropes strength is the dominant feature of it, it holds the weight of both the pod and the per-son. However when the pod is not hung the ropes allow the whole thign to collapse down. It is both a bone and not a bone of the pod simultaneously

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Fabrication Sequence

Sewing the mem-brane together. all the seems that will be seen are needing to be hemmed to keep them neat

marking the rope so that the frame hangs straight and each indi-vidual frame sits square and at the same level when hung.

cutting the timber sec-tions in preparation to be joined

The edge of each timber member was cut off to allow for the rope to pass through. The gracket is then put on over the top and bolted down to hold both the frame togeth-er as well as olidifying the frames place on the rope.

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The steel frame is assembled by screw-ing the pipes into the elbow joints

A constricter knot is used to tie the rope to the steel frame.

Rope to hang the chair from is sewn into the hammock to spread the load of the person a bit more evenly as well as create a stron-ger attachment.

The final pipe to be screwed in has had the thread ground off and a screw has been used to secure the pipe within the elbow joint.

By hanging the frame and suspending the membrane within the membrane can be tied to the frame in tension so that it hold its form. the string goes throught the designated eyelet on the membrane and is then tied to the rope at the frrame joints

Finally the hammock rope is tied to the frame.

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Assembly Drawing

The building of the sleep pod was completed in four stages. The first stage was sewing together the inner membrane (as shown in diagram opposite). Each panel is also hemmed on any open edges to avoid fraying and to stay neat.

The second stage is building the frames. Each timber frame is built the same. The distances between each fram are marked out on four pieces of rope (calculated using rhino) at each mark the frame is joined together using a bracket with the rope running inbetween the timber and bracket (see figure on next page). At the steel frame part each member can be simply screwed together, except for the last join wich requires the thred to be ground out of the elbow joint and a screw to be driven in per-pendicular to the surface of the pipe throught the elbow and the pipe. The rope is then tied around the elbow joints using a constricter knot.

The third stage involves tieing the membrane to the frame. This is done by hanging the frame and then suspending the mem-brane within the frame and tieing at each corner point of the frame to the correspondiong tab on the membrane.

The final stage involves sewing the appropriate length of rope along the edge of the hammock and then tieing the rope to the steel frame at each corner of the hammock.

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2nd Skin

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The opening at the top allows light in whuile simulatneously reducing any clostrophic effects by showing a window to the sky above, with the breeze wafting the the fabric around and the window to the sky the occupant would feel almost as though they are floating in the sky.

The hard edged frame tells those on the outside to beware and stay away. It offers the occupant the oportunity to relax and feel safe inside the pod because the frame offers the sense of protec-tion.