Project 3

Sketches/Concept:

My partner and I decided to create a useful modular piece that is 3D printed. We are inspired by modern, unique furniture, so we wanted to create a shelf unit which can be totally customized and is easy to assemble.

We found ourselves drawn to Voronoi designs. We plan to implement something like this to shelving walls. we made a number of sketches to decide on the kind of shapes we really liked. We are inspired by the natural looking woods furniture that had a modern twist. (see moodboard tab above) for more of our inspiration.

Testing/Production:

My partner And I decided to split up the job into two sections. She decided to create and 3D print the joints. In our sketches wanted to create L joints and X joints to hold the pieces together. I was responsible for the design of the holes in the shelf.

I originally made the mock-up in Fusion 360 and then I imported that into illustrator to get the red “cut out” color and to scale the stroke down to .001 since I was using inches to measure the boards. After fitting the 3D printed joints to the wood we realized that the gap was a little to large at 6mm so we decided for the final copy that we will narrow it to the exact width of the wood which is 5 mm.

After cutting the inner pieces we realized that they interlock perfectly. The test made us realize that we don’t need to print the ‘X’ joints after all. This significantly lowed our printing time so that we only needed to print 16 ‘L’ joints. The test also showed us that the laser needed to be slightly hotter so that all the holes are cut all the way. Since this is plywood the density of the material varies in different spots cause “half cuts” in so holes. The half cut holes when popped out caused some of the wood to chip.

Final:

The final piece turned out fantastic. Everything came out better than we anticipated.  Laser cutting the final pieces was challenging. The computer responsible for cutting stopped in the middle of cutting the third set because of a filed USB connection. This meant that the laser master had to restart the computer and then fast forward through all of the already finished cuts so that they don’t burn from being cut twice.

Fitting the final smaller joints was a little difficult at first, but once they fit they were on there really tight. 3D printing the joints made everything precise and is a great way to hold all of the sides together. The shelf is very lightweight so hanging it with command strips would be no problem.

Artist Statement:

The Dreamcatcher Console is a multipurpose storage unit that you can hang anywhere. Made of natural, compostable materials that will fit into any decorative setting, the unique geometry of this shelf creates three separate compartments to store anything your heart desires. We took inspiration from furniture pieces with webbed architecture as well as various interconnecting shelving units. This contrast of sharp geometric shapes and organic cutouts creates a balanced and interesting piece. It is not meant to store large quantities of items as the number of horizontal surfaces is fairly small, but this purposeful characteristic is intended to keep the design from becoming overshadowed by too much clutter. This will frame and accentuate decorative pieces and liven up any space it resides in.