4 - Cutting Supersurfaces

27 Feb - 4 April 2020

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4 - Cutting Supersurfaces

27 Feb - 4 April 2020

Lessons by Sam Edens

In this week, we’ll work on exploring material properties and experimenting with these properties. Material properties can change depending on the state of the material and each of these states offers different venues for experiments. For the making assignment, we’ll focus on turning 2D into 3D with the use of the laser cutter. You will create a sample book which displays manners in which a flat sheet can be transformed into a 3D surface by cutting cleverly and exploring this within one set of assigned contrasting material properties such as soft-hard, organic-geometric, flexible-rigid, transparent-opaque etc.

Core concepts: material engagement, material behaviour, affordances, material dialogues THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment 0 - with the entire group

Produce a class zine on the RISO printer together, 2 people will be editors this week. Individual contributions in the form of zine spreads. Write a text of approx. 150 words and create your own image.

Reflect on your process and discuss how you engage in a dialogue with the material through experimenting. How do the materials and the techniques you apply shape your thinking about the design? What kind of tools do you use in various stages of your creative process and how do they each facilitate different engagements, how do they help establish new thoughts?

Assignment 1 - individual

Create your own sample book in which you address the following aspects:

Explore what the assigned contrast in material properties entails (this can be in the form of mindmaps, collages, moodboards etc.)
Explore what the available flat sheets materials offer and what material(s) would suit your assignment best (share your results with each other). You can also bring your own material(s).
Show iterations on the process, work towards a range of experiments that explores the two extremes of your contrast and various stages in between. Document your process and use a template to document the material properties, machine and settings used.
Bundle your experiments in a sample book which displays your material exploration. Your sample book contains your interpretation of the assigned contrast, your experiments with various materials and techniques (at least 2 iterations with several gradations), and your final range of gradually moving from one extreme of the contrast towards the other end of the contrast (at least 5 gradations).
Your sample book displays experimenting with the laser cutter. Use the laser cutter at least for one iteration with several gradations.
Bookbinding is part of the process of creating your sample book.
Document all the steps, tricks, tips, settings and outcomes as described on your documentation page. Please don't forget to document small experiments that did you perhaps did not include in your sample book (such as cutting/etching, folding/forming experiments).

Assignment 2 - with the entire group

Produce a collective sample book for the Makers Lab. The collective sample book contains a copy of your final material exploration. Each student contributes a spread showing the two extremes of the contrast. As the collective sample book is meant to inspire other users of the Makers Lab, please provide details of the material, machine and settings.

The assignment extremes

I got the words Dense and Clear. The meaning I found of dense is closed (Dutch: dicht). With the words dense and clear I felt I had to make a sort of dense situation to a real clear and comfortable situation. Also I found that dense ment that everything was connected and responded to each other and clear was that they didn't respond to each other and they could just be free. So I wanted to make levels of those two subjects.

Moodboards

Dense:

Clear:

Start lasering

I love working with the laser cutter! it is my favorite thing to do in Makerslab, even though there is so much more you can do, I just really love the laser cutter. It makes me feel free to add anything to (almost) everything I like.

So I started tesing with several materials. I also brought some stuff from home with me: a cotton cloth and a few 'plastic' Easter Bunnies.

Testing

While using the laser cutter we got a handy guide for cutting and engraving:

1. Arabic Lamp

I searched on internet for some nice and clear laser cut designs and I soon came out on Arabic lamp covers. This some inspiration:

I made this:

Laser Cut settings:

Layer 1

Mode

Speed

Power

Output

Material

Scan

400

Yes

300 gram paper

Layer 2

Mode

Speed

Power

Output

Material

Cut

100

Yes

300 gram paper

Outcome:

The 300 gram paper I used was pretty nice! It worked immidiatly, a few burn marks but it's really functional.

2. Engraved dragon

I have cut dragons before with the laser cutter, but I have never engraved them. I brought a cloth of red/pink cotton with me and I wanted to try some new things. I wanted to engrave a dragon in the cotton cloth.

File:

Laser scan settings:

Mode

Speed

Power

Outcome

Material

Cut

Yes

Cotton

It came out like this:

It didn't really worked out the way I wanted. Some parts were engraved and some were cut. I think you have to figure out if you want to scan or cut with some materials. So I went on testing a new figure.

3. Engraved Buddha head

With cotton you have to put the mode on scan if you want to engraved it nice and smoothly. So I tried it with a beautiful Buddha head design:

Laser scan settings:

Mode

Speed

Power

Output

Scan

400

Yes

Result:

I photoshopped the image more bright so you can really see the amazing result! The engraving color is a bit grey/yellow-ish. I really love the end result! The cotton fabric is still flexible and strong. A really wan to experiment some more with cotton and engravings. But firts one more test!

4. Easter bunny eyes

Together with Anoush I wanted to test the bunnies. Anoush came with the idea to give it a little face. Beautiful seductive eyes on a bright Easter bunnie. Because Anoush came with the idea a sadly do not have the files, but I do have the cut information.

Mode

Speed

Power

Output

Material

Scan

400

Yes

3 mm plastic

Outcome:

We found that the eyes were not scanned deeply enought, so we gave it another try:

Mode