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Current Projects
The Completed Herman Miller Project
My project, Integrated Workstation, which resulted from the Cranbrook and Herman Miller partnership, is ready to be seen. See it in person at ICFF booth #1170.
Clip Tree Press Information
Press Information for Clip Tree's premier at ICFF 2012. Stop by booth #968 to see it in person!
Quill Light Version 2
The latest Quill Light prototype is complete. To turn the light on, simply lean the stem forward. To turn it off, lean it back, facing away from the task area.
Mirror Hooks
Mirror Hooks with chromed aluminum and White Oak or Walnut are now ready to received coats and hats.
Orbit Light
The Orbit Light features an 'orbiting' switch that turns the light on and off as it is rotated clock-wise or counter-clockwise around its glass dome.
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So with Plan ‘B’ in full swing (the RP model will take 8 hours to print and will start tomorrow morning), the worry is gone about the outcome of the light, which is good considering the current state of things. The digital trace in the porcelain side of the design is gone now. The plaster mold did not release well from the wood mold that I had made. All molds at this point have been damaged, modified, broken and discarded. This leaves…throwing the shapes by hand. Yes, arguably the way to go from the get go. When I stopped by Jeff’s studio yesterday, he had already thrown them, so that no time is lost. What may result might be interesting. One of the early ideas that I had had was to make the diffuser out of 2 pieces and have them held together by the lighting hardware. This looks to be what will happen here. Presumably with the aid of a caliper, the radii of the thrown pieces were measured and will line up nicely when held together.
So with that obstacle out of the way, the next thing is getting the pieces fired. The kilns that Jeff has used before are all booked. He assured me that he has some other connections for getting them fired in our tight time frame. More on that when the time comes.
Ouch!
The Horror!
4 pieces of hope
So I finally was able to get together with Jeff on Monday to begin Operation Last Minute Light. The mold, as it was, proved to be not quite right for our needs. The male/female approach was problematic because 1) it was hard on the porcelain (causing some cracking) and 2) popping the porcelain out of the female section was impossible to do without screwing up the shape. So after some experimentation with cutting the mold up and applying the porcelain sheets in various way, it was determined that a plaster mold should be made of the male part and we could cover it with porcelain. Plaster is an ideal surface as it absorbs much of the water from the porcelain allowing it to pull away cleanly and quickly. I am stopping by the studio again tomorrow to help out with the next round.
Apparently it takes six days of kiln firing and drying to get the piece to harden correctly. If we can hold to a perfectly executed schedule, then the lights will be completed a day before the show needs to go up.
Apparently it takes six days of kiln firing and drying to get the piece to harden correctly. If we can hold to a perfectly executed schedule, then the lights will be completed a day before the show needs to go up.
Here is Jeff’s plan from an email: My plan is to try and have three diffusers finished and drying by Saturday. Trying to kiln dry them on Sunday firing Monday pulling them out on Tuesday night. Glazing and throwing them back in a kiln late Wednesday. Pulling them out on late Friday or early Saturday for you to have a day to make it work with the fixture.
Slumping the porcelain over the male mold piece
Trimming away the excess
Male meet female
The ends of the female mold were cut off in order to try and press a larger porcelain slab and allow the excess to squeeze out of the sides.
Being the seasoned pessimist that I am, I have a Plan ‘B’ which I am starting concurrently to guarantee that a completed light is hanging in the show. MCAD has another Rapid Prototype machine that uses gypsum and sugar water to build models. It is pricey ($160 for a completed model) but will share a closer aesthetic quality with porcelain and is more eco-friendly than the plastic RP (and is cheaper than the RP which would have cost more than $200). So one way or another, a light will be hanging in the show!
Adding costs to the previous total for this project:
Previous total (as of Oct 22):
Total expenditure to date:
• 3-Form panel $178 ($125 for the panel + taxes and shipping)
• Porcelain and stains $176
• Biofiber Wheat $90 + tax
• MDF board for mold $31
• 12′ Cold Rolled Steel bar $49
• RP chair model $89
Total: $613
Recent additions:
Hardware from McMaster Carr $26.92
Hardware from McMaster Carr $22.17
Hardware from McMaster Carr $29.73
Pine Particle board for model $24
1/2 Straight Carbide bit for CNC Router $25.05
Drawer fabircation for desk $100
Gypsum RP part $160
New total: $1000.87
$499.13 left to blow!
I have met with Jeff Haddorf and he is on board to help me create the porcelain light(s). He is very knowledgeable and it doesn’t hurt that he is a really nice guy to boot.
As is typical with many design processes, the form belies it complexity. Jeff is confident that we will be able to create the form that I am after, but it will require a fairly complex combination of mold-making and hand-crafting finesse to get it just right. Fortunately, the material as well as the mold will allow for inexpensive multiples. We will create a small batch of them. They may use different types of Porcelain or finishes. The ones that make it through the process without defects will be keepers. Jeff will of course get one as a memento of our collaboration. So let’s hope that there are at least two that come out okay.
After our meeting, I came up with the following mold concept:
We had thought initially that the porcelain would be poured into the mold and then the interior piece would be removed after the clay hardened somewhat. Since sending this to Jeff, he seems to think that using this mold in this way would risk cracking the clay. So he is recommending that we lay in sheets of clay and press the interior mold into it.
We’re going to head over to Continental Clay soon and once I know the properties of our material, then I will render and print the final mold in the RP machine.
Ah, the chair. I am having a bit harder time figuring out exactly what I am doing with this. I want to create a folding chair. This seems simple enough. But I would like to use as little hardware as possible and have it fold up nicely and look good. I think I am getting close to having the mechanics of it worked out (this sort of thinking always keeps me up at night, argh.). It is hard to give the legs character, i.e. not flat and straight, and have them fold up flush to one another. I have been keeping BioFiber Wheat in mind as a likely material candidate. I may need to go back to Northstar Surfaces and look at the material again. I cannot remember if it is perfectly smooth or slightly rough. I am thinking about color and would not want to paint the chair if the surface is pock marked.
Here are a few preliminary sketches:
I’d like to get the design nailed down this weekend.
A student at MCAD mentioned the following website to me: ecolect
It is a repository of green building materials that is added to by designers. There are many more options out there than I would have guessed.
I have had a few exchanges with an artist named Jeff Haddorf about the feasibility of creating porcelain forms from early designs. In addition to the sketches that I have posted already, I sent him the following:
The light is 12” high. The radii are 4” at the the top and bottom and taper to 3” in the middle. The thickness is 1/2” in the middle and thins out to 1/8” at the top and bottom.
I know very little about the process of making porcelain forms. Jeff explained a bit more about the processes that can be used to achieve a translucent quality with the material. He stated that the desire for having an accurate change in thickness would require two molds, one exterior and one interior to be filled with porcelain akin to an injection mold process. This got me thinking more about designing molds and considering limitations in the mold-making process. Perhaps it would be easier to make the lights out of two pieces like this:
The pieces would be held together by the lighting hardware. I could also create different pieces for the lower half which would allow for some variations for the design.
I am not sure whether I can use the plastic rapid prototype machine for creating the molds. It would be really ideal as I could account for the amount the porcelain would shrink when fired by creating a mold that is slightly larger to compensate. Jeff said that porcelain can shrink as much as 15% after being fired. This amount is a known variable when you purchase the porcelain and will be factored into the design.
I look forward to learning more.
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