I came across links to this program, Brits Gets Rich in China, from product designer Bradley Derry’s blog. Perhaps a cautionary tale for some. It shows 3 fairly bold characters working at getting things produced in the wild land of possibility: China. Much effort is exerted to produce, cushions, an air-conditioner widget, and kitchen counters. Really enjoyable to watch.

The Charmed Light will feature a bit of articulation which allows the light source to be angled as well as rotated in an circle relative to the base. I have been looking at ways to rotate and angle the light so that the angle is maintained once a person positions it. So far the most compelling solution for testing is to use lifting magnets at the end of the light head and slightly recessed within the metal tube that meets the head. The magnets have a vertical hold strength of 6 lbs. They also have mounting holes in the middle which, in my case, is perfect for passing wiring for the LED strips through.

This is what I have so far for the head:

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Through the process of investigating the virtues of 5-axis CNC milling, I came upon this video. Having worked with the Mastercam software before, I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to get this level of precision.

As I began to add hardware connections to the 3-sided Table project today, I needed to know what tapped hole measurement matched which screw. I found this chart to be very helpful.

Invariably there is a part in most design work where a certain detail takes up a disproportionate amount of time to resolve. So far with the Dome Light, this would be the geared dial mechanism. Having no background in engineering, the entry into gear design was a bit more involved than I thought. What did I know about Diametral Pitch and how to properly calculate it? Thanks to my buddy, the internet, I was able to find gear formulae (here). But so far, this has not resulted in perfectly crafted and meshing gears. Part of the problem is that my gear variables do not result in Diametral Pitch values that SolidWorks likes (I keep arriving at ’7′ and it wants ’6′ or ’8′). I have tried to fiddle with different dimensions to make this work, but so far no luck.
Here is a rough, semi-functional assembly that I have been working on:

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While going through the files from my undergraduate work at MCAD, I came across my “Position Paper”, which is part of the requirements to graduate. A “Position Paper” is to be short and sweet and to allow the graduating artist or designer to explain their work within the proper context of the world at large (i.e. where does my work fit in in the big picture). In my case, I took a stab at trying to figure out where an “American” furniture designer exists in today’s design community. It was essentially addressed to a professor who was not versed in furniture and is somewhat over-simplified but still contains ideas that I am trying to resolve as I enter graduate school this fall.

Without further ado, here is the paper:

What Is It To Be An American Furniture Designer?

Matthew Plumstead

Fall 2008

‘‘Designers are like flowers,’’ observes Paola Antonelli, the senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA. ‘‘They thrive in the right terrain: usually a mix of intellectual and artistic fervor, supported by a lively industrial sector of small to medium-size companies. That’s why American design was unstoppable after World War II.’’

When I think of American furniture design, naturally I think of Ray and Charles Eames, Harry Bertoia, George Nelson and a few others. They were the pre-eminent designers of their day. Their work was celebrated both here and abroad. They worked with companies that were willing to take risks (Herman Miller, Knoll) and helped them to achieve a modern vision for the American home and office, which remains timeless. In subsequent years, it seems that no one has contributed to American furniture design in the same way. Why are there no Eames or Bertoias today? What is considered an ‘American’ designer at this point in time? Why is furniture design flourishing in Europe and where does the young furniture designer fit into this current framework? I intend on answering these questions and in the process hopefully clarifying for myself, the context in which to place my work after graduating from college.
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Design work with a particular manufacturing technique in mind is at times better than simply dreaming up a form and searching for a suitable process ex post facto. The Chris Lefteri book Making It- Manufacturing Techniques for Product Design can help inspire the latter approach. Though certain processes are curiously absent (CNC tube bending?), it covers quite a broad range of techniques with examples, images of processes and pros and cons for each. Being a mere student, I am mostly concerning myself with techniques that I might be able to afford to use in my projects. Though it may not be a bad exercise to design for a technique that perhaps a company would finance (i.e. pie in the sky designing).

Amazon

Being that I am a somewhat obsessive fan of the work of Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, it is only fitting I subscribe to their product/project announcements through their website. In my inbox this morning was a link to a PDF as well as a movie (directed by the Bouroullecs) showcasing 85 different items for the bathroom developed for Axor, that can all work together aesthetically and functionally in myriad ways. Here is the video that, in their typical poetic style, demonstrates how these items might be configured.

AXOR BOUROULLEC from Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec on Vimeo.

Both the Dome and Cylinder lights that I am designing will benefit from the use of gear trains in order to rotate the dimmer switch 360 degrees to achieve full brightness. I’ve been looking into how best to design gears in SolidWorks and, in the process, came across some cool videos on YouTube showing all sorts of different gear assemblies, Gevena mechanisms, etc.

Here is an example:

With the pervasive talk of sustainability and green living, coupled with oil filling up the Gulf of Mexico, it may seem an odd time to release a book that celebrates the use of plastics in design. I would have to say however, judging by the pieces that make up this survey in Plastic Dreams- Synthetic Visions in Design, it may not be a bad thing if some of these objects last 10,000 years. Plus it is good to know thine enemy. Covering all forms of the stuff from bakelite to the cool Ultradur High Speed polymer that Konstantin Grcic used in his Myto Chair, there is much to know and admire about plastic. The book comes with a neat (but very smelly) plastic sheath.

Link