late nights lead to->

What to do when your IP Project isnt going according to plan? Hack it to do something silly... like play StarWars theme music-

Hellooo World!

First full 3 axis test of the printer!

...and yes, that is a purple marker tapped to my machine, deal with it-

New Posts!

Here!

New post

http://ericharman.blogspot.com/2011/03/large-scale-3d-printing.html

New post

http://ericharman.blogspot.com/2011/03/large-scale-3d-printing.html

Several New Posts

Are available on my personal blog.

New Budget- YIKES!

Material	Unit Cost	Quantity	Total Cost
Aluminum Framing 36” 48” 60” 72”	7.56 10.08 12.60 15.12	2 2 4 2	15.12 20.16 50.40 30.40
Leadscrews 48” 72”	50.00 105.00	3 1	150.00 105.00
Electronics NEMA 34 Stepper Motor Stepper Driver Board Power Source Extruder	102.00 75.00 20.00 185.00	3 1 1 1	306.00 75.00 20.00 185.00
Software Mach3 CNC License	175.00	1	175.00
Misc. Bolts(1 box) Print Media (PLA) Corner Gussets 80/20 Slot Bolts MDF(4’x4’) Other Fasteners	27.00 150.00 2.90 0.65 30.00 100.00	1 1 16 50 1 1	27.00 150.00 46.40 32.50 30.00 100.00
Total Cost			1517.98

Abst

Christmas Reading List

I decided to supplement my Christmas vacation with some Design reading that might be relevant to my IP.

Henry Drefuss "Designing for people"

A cult read among designers for more than half a century, the famous manifesto of America's greatest industrial designer is finally back in print! From the first answering machine ("the electronic brain") and the Hoover vacuum cleaner to the SS Independence and the Bell telephone, the creations of Henry S. Dreyfuss have shaped the cultural landscape of the 20th century. Written in a robust, fresh style, this book offers an inviting mix of professional advice, case studies, and design history along with historical black-and-white photos and the author's whimsical drawings. In addition, the author's uncompromising commitment to public service, ethics, and design responsibility makes this masterful guide a timely read for today's designers.Henry S. Dreyfuss is considered the founding father of industrial design and one of the most prolific designers of the past century. Born in New York City in 1904, he authored or inspired countless American design landmarks, including the model 300 Bell telephone, Hoover appliances, the Twentieth Century Limited locomotive, and RCA televisions.

Barry Katz/MIT Press "NONOBJECT"

What happens when designers think beyond the object to creative positive, unexpected design experiences.

“A designer’s motto should always be ‘What if?’ It certainly is the motto of NONOBJECT. The fantasy of what an object should or could be becomes a way for the designer to embrace experimentation and imbue projects with a vitality that expands beyond the physical object and into our experience.”
—Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator, Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art

Fumihik0 Maki "Spoon"

SPOON presents the work of 100 product designers, selected by 10 critics, educators, designers and entrepreneurs who are all involved in innovative developments in contemporary design. Essentially an exhibition in a book, it provides an overview of the product design world and presents the most forward-looking and ground-breaking designers of today. The different kinds of objects illustrated – from furniture to tools, from high-tech products to cars and motorcycles – make up a wide collection of what is today considered good design.

New project abstract

Proposal Statement

How is digital fabrication renegotiating fine craft, from what could only once be described as priceless to a series of discrete mechanical processes? In this context how is the contemporary craftsperson defined?

Conceptual Investigation

What is digital “craft”? I want to explore the connections between the quantifiable digital elements and perceived notions of craftsmanship, maker, and creator. How must artists and designers redefine themselves as contemporary craftsman in the presence of automated prototyping/production/perfection? My research will also explore parallels with the early industrial revolution and the writings of its advocates and harshest critics. Within the broader context of art-making, I will use the development of the camera as a case study of technology necessitating conceptual renegotiation of artmaking (ie expressionism).

Final Form

Due to my prior work with process and meticulous attention to detail, it seems fitting that my explorations of contemporary craft should be two-fold: process and product. For the process portion I will design and construct a large scale 3d printer. In order to objectively examine what digital craft is, I must be able to remove myself from the physical process of making, while simultaneously gaining an intimate understanding of the digital elements at work. Many of the constraints I will use in the development of the Printer will be a direct result of the Product. Unlike available 3d printers, my design will utilize mortar to create a usable product, again in an effort to focus on the nature of craft. The final product will be a functional furniture object. I came to this decision because of the high level of interaction possible with a human-scale object, as well as the tactility and experience inherent with furniture. I will produce the same piece of furniture multiple times in an attempt to associate different digital qualities with the perceived notion of craftsmanship.

Andy Would be proud

It's about time- Below is a letter sent to the Smithsonian Institute by the Warhol foundation. It's about damned time someone challenged the Catholic league!

Mr. Wayne Clough
Smithsonian Institution
SIB Office of the Secretary
MRC 016
PO Box 37012
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Dear Mr. Clough,

The Warhol Foundation is proud to have been a lead supporter of Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, but we strongly condemn the decision to remove David Wojnarowicz’s video A Fire in My Belly from the exhibition. Such blatant censorship is unconscionable. It is inimical to everything the Smithsonian Institution should stand for, and everything the Andy Warhol Foundation does stand for.

Although we have enjoyed our growing relationship during the past three years, and have given more than $375,000 to fund several exhibitions at various Smithsonian institutions, we cannot stand by and watch the Smithsonian bow to the demands of bigots who have attacked the exhibition out of ignorance, hatred and fear.

Last week the Foundation published a statement on its website www.warholfoundation.org, condemning the National Portrait Gallery’s removal of the work and on Friday our Board of Directors met to discuss the long-term implications of the Museum’s behavior on the Foundation’s relationship with the Smithsonian Institution. After careful consideration, the Board voted unanimously to demand that you restore the censored work immediately, or the Warhol Foundation will cease funding future exhibitions at all Smithsonian institutions.

I regret that you have put us in this position, but there is no other course we can take. For the arts to flourish the arts must be free, and the decision to censor this important work is in stark opposition to our mission to defend freedom of expression wherever and whenever it is under attack.

Sincerely yours,

Joel Wachs
President

The Dollhouse

After finnally getting a loaner laptop loaded with all my documents, I generated some models for DesignLab 1. Due to limited funding, the DesignLab would like to retain these objects for another 3 years, so I am forced to utilize the existing material and forms. These are the current storage options with a few additions:

Sliding Doors offer privacy for students to store in-process work that isnt necessarily ready for critique by other users of the space

Dividers to encourage organization and limit the size of projects stored. These will also help support the MDF and discorage warping(as visible in some of my photos) over time.

Inspiration for collaboration

My research at DesignLab1 has been incredibly fruitful. One of the earliest and perhaps most obvious demands has been for versatility in design. A computer table may used as a dinner table or a workbench, or even a podium for displaying completed work. Work areas also have to incorporate multiple users in all of these situations.

Some of my early ideations are exploring the possibility of expandability. How can a singular table incorporate multiple work surfaces? How does a surface need to change from catering to a single user to a situation involving multiple users, or even no users?

Lighting also presents an interesting problem. The space currently utilizes a plug+play track lighting grid that should allow users to direct light where needed. Oddly enough, this never happens! Instead I've watched users move tables TO areas of light- A similar situation also occurs with the tables: While both the tables and chairs are on rollers, users will move several chairs to the tables, rather than moving the single table to the chairs. It's quite amusing to watch but also valuable insight into how the design semantics of the current furnishings are perceived.

Below are a couple of interesting youtube videos that address issues of scale in an interesting way.

It's a Jungle in here!

Human Scale

Early sketches for Individual components left me dwelling on looming deadlines and pondering the "human condition" and what is means to design on a human-scale. Quite literally I ended up exploring the natural structures that have been designed within humans over thousands of years through Nature's trial and error. Here I've been working on an early prototype of a task lamp influenced by the anatomy of the human arm and shoulder. I purposely wanted to use a relatively weak material so I could force myself to design a functional structure that was as elegant as it was efficient.

I'm finding these lamps particularly inspiring given that foamcore is usually used to produce static models, and not incorporated into any type of mechanism for movement. I've also been pretty surprised at the rigidity of the structure given that the pieces are as thin as 3/8 inch and are up to 18 inches long!

I've ordered some fasteners from McMaster Carr and hope to resolve issues with the lamp shade soon after they arrive. Ideally the final design will be produced using black foamcore and aluminum binding posts. The shade will also incorporate a cylindrical vacuum-formed element to help reduce glare. Ideally, I would like to be able to produce these at or below a $10 material cost.