MacBlog

The idea for this project came from an earlier project I did for this class. In that class we were to make a “random” and I decided on making a random sculpture. The end result was a group of three geometric shapes that could connect to one another to create one larger sculpture. They were able to stick to each other because of 15 very strong rare-earth metal magnets placed just beneath the surface of the forms. The randomness came from the random way different classmates combined the shapes to construct the sculpture. I really like the piece and people seemed to really have a good time playing with it. (Still looking for pictures to post!)

Initially, I was going to take this project and make it more of a polished piece but it needed something more. Light! I really wanted to incorporate light into the piece so that when a form was connected to another in a given way a light within one of the pieces would turn on. But it still wasn’t enough. So I started playing with the forms and eventually came to the conclusion that I should use two shapes. It became too confusing (for me) to have to determine the the different combination just to turn on a light and I think others would lose interest. So I paired the sculpture down to two forms: the light and a base. And what is a light and a base? A lamp. I am making a lamp. But a sculptural one that sill maintains the essence of the earlier random sculpture.

For the purpose of the prototype I built the base using masonite that is lined with metal on the inside to give the light form something to stick to. The base and the light form can sit anywhere on a surface while it is off. To turn the light on one simply needs to place it on any surface of the base. The base itself can rest on any of its surfaces. When the light makes contact with the form it sticks to it using a magnet. When the magnet catches a switch closes a circuit that turns on the light. Should the user want to turn the light up or dim it they simply need to turn the form to the left or right as they would any dimmer dial. To turn the light off they simply pull the light form off the base.

Next steps:
For the final piece I need to figure out the construction of the light form and decide on a shape for the base. The base needs to be rebuilt out of sheet metal in order to provide a direct connection to the magnet in the light form. I still have quite a bit of work to do to figure out how to construct the mechanism that turns the light on and how to actually create the dimmer function. For this prototype I did actually make a crude switch using two triple A batteries and 6 leds but the magnet used to attach the light element to the base was just barely strong enough to hold the light without the lighting inside.  I think the base being made of metal and using a slightly stronger metal will solve that problem.

Additionally, I am going to figure out how to charge the light. I could create a docking station of some sort but like the wireless component of the piece. For the time being I may need to rely on replaceable batteries but should I ever want to actually market this I would have to come up with a solution. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

I mean failure in a good way.

These are the results of my proposed midterm project.

When you look at the photos you will notice that the arc and the base are separate from one another. Well, that’s because it did not fit. It dawned on me about 3/4 of the way through the construction of the contraption that in its current design it would not and could not be assembled the way I had planned. Let me highlight the reasons why this project was destined for the scrap pile. Not really. I plan to put it somewhere in the apartment where it will stay only briefly until the fiance notices it. At which time it will end up in storage. But it will have good company. There are a handful of my sculptures already in there.

Back to the highlights.

1) I had prepared the design of the arc for laser cutting with 3/4″ masonite board as the material. I did buy 3/4″ board but it was actually slightly thinner than that. Considering there were over 100 pieces used in the construction of this piece it did not take long for the dimensions to get screwed up. Lesson learned: know your materials. Measure, measure and re-measure.

2) For whatever reason, I completely failed on the design of the base and how it would fit into the arc. Initially, I thought I caught the problem in the beginning of the construction and thought I had a solution but in the end I was still wrong. The base does not allow for the rocking movement of the arc that sits on it. And when I say “does not allow” I mean it just does not fit at all. Lesson learned: When working with multiple complex shapes consider using a 3D program to really “see” how it all fits together.

3) It’s awesome that ITP will write a grant check to you to cover the costs laser cutting at AMS. What they don’t tell you is that it is not a check to you at all but some sort of funny-money arrangement between ITP and AMS as way of paying for services. Lesson learned: Don’t assume you can simply pay out of pocket for the AMS laser cutting and go to the bank and deposit the check. The bank teller thought I was giving her a fake check.

4) Masonite is great to work with. Cuts accurately and really holds its shape. The downside is that it really can’t be overworked. Drilling, for example, really does a number on the material. One drill and one shot at setting the screw is ideal. Anything after that and the stuff starts to fall apart. And I had the good stuff! Lesson learned: Really consider the drilling into the design. The AMS laser cutter can cut some pretty tiny (and very accurate) holes in places where there needs to be a screw.

All in all I was happy with the project simply because I learned some valuable lessons. I do plan to rebuild this and really get it working for the final. Using all that I learned from this go around I think the next will be much more successful.

Click on image below for visual explanation (words are so overrated).

In the United States, the average generating station was built in the 1960s using even older technology. Today, the average age of a substation transformeris 42, two years more than their expected life span.

The grid is struggling to keep up
Since 1982, growth in peak demand for electricity –25% every year.

From 1988-98, U.S. electricity demand rose by nearly 30 percent, while the transmission network’s capacity grew by only 15%. Summer peak demand is expected to increase by almost 20%
during the next 10 years.

If the grid were just 5% more efficient, the energy savings would equate to permanently eliminating the fuel and greenhouse gas emissions from 53 million cars.

If every American household replaced just one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb, the
country would conserve enough energy to light 3 million homes.

(Click here for link to source material from the D.O.E.)

My midterm project is a continuation of a project I did for my Sustainable Energy class. The original inspiration of the project came from a sculpture I did quite a few years ago. I had always envisioned the sculpture as a kinetic piece but it was only until now have I started to grapple with how to make it actually function. My goal is to create a kinetic sculpture that harnesses its own kinetic energy and uses it to generate its own movement. And so this is one small step in realizing my goal.

The “Rocking Arc” project is going to be used to generate electricity that will be stored in a capacitor. The rocking movement from the arc will turn a wheel that has a sprocket and chain attached to it. The chain is connected to yet another sprocket that is attached to a 71 rpm DC motor. In my previous project for my other class, I was able to generate a fair amount of voltage but used a pendulum motion to generate it. This project is closer to my original sculpture design in that there is a rocking motion used to generate electricity.

The majority of the hardware for this project was purchased from ServoCity.com. The larger arch and housing for all of the components will be created using laser-cut masonite. (I plan to use NYU’s Advanced Media Studio for the cutting).