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Digital Prototyping for Design

Info

FACULTY: Josep Marti, Santi Fuentemilla

CALENDAR: 17-01 → …

TRACK: Application

Introduction

This seminar is based on the framework of FabAcademy’s programme, a fast paced, hands-on learning experience where participants learn rapid-prototyping by planning and executing a new project each week. Here we had the chance to experiment with different prototyping techniques to pursue our own vision.

Laser Cut & Biomaterials

Team

Annna Lozano & Nicolò Baldi

Repository

https://github.com/annnalozano/Biomaterial-SoftRobotic/tree/main

Soft Robotics

Soft Robotics is a subfield of robotics that integrates soft and flexible materials instead of rigid ones. This difference in materiality is what allows the parts and links of robots, and by that, their functioning and purpose, to act and perform in different environments, handling things with great care, and by that, bringing them closer to human interaction.

Recipes

#1 AGAR AGAR BASED

Water 300ml | Agar agar 10g | Glicerine: 32g | (+ Micca)

We tried to let the Agar Agar based recipe in 3 different materials: acrylic (mould), textile and a canvas. The samples dried quickly and the recipe turned out not to be elastic enough. All of them, especially the one in the mould, shrinked or got broken.

Comment

In our case agar agar was not good for a soft robot… (⇀‸↼‶)

#2 GELATINE BASED

Water: 240 ml | Gelatine: 48g | Glicerine: 48g | (+ Spirulina|Micca)

We found this recipe in the documentation from a previous Fabacademy student (), which used this combination to create bio-based soft robots. We recreated it in different varieties and it proved to be exceptional for the scope. As we did for the Agar agar recipe, we let the material dry on different materials: an acrylic mould, a sheet of acrylic with a very thin layer of textile and on textile.

  • Acrylic Mould: This proved to be the most flexible and versatile, also the material didn’t shrink in the mould.
  • Acrylic + Textile: This was impossible to take away from the textile because of the thin thickness of the material, so it eventually remained embedded to it.
  • Textile: This one turn out very resistent, but not very flexible. It might me good for other applications though.

Comment

Since we figured out that the technique on the acrylic sheet was the one working best, we recreated the experiment but this time without any textile. The material turned out very transparent, flexible and with unexpected different thicknesses, which gave us the chance to make different experiments. We also recreated the recipe this time combining it with micca.

#3 ALGINATE SODIUM BASED

Water: 100ml | Alginate Sodium: 6g | Glicerine: 15ml

At the same time, we tried two different recipes with Alginate Sodium, so non heat-cooking recipes. We let the material rest on two surfaces: textile and a mould.

Comment

In both cases we realized how adding vegetal carbon to the mixture was turning the material drier.

Soft Robotics Techinques

#1 MOULD TECHNIQUE

We first tried with a mould, leaving some space on the inside to let the air inflate, and a thinner layer to close the structure. We then used gelatine and pressed the structure for 1 night to attach the two layers together.

Comment

Comment: Even tough the other layer was a bit too thick, and the thin one was not so flexible, we managed to inflate the soft robot. The gelatine-glue technique worked but the soft-robot still has some leaks.

#2 LASER WELDING TECHNIQUE

We saw some documentation about welding thin layers of plastic together, this could be done with soldering iron or through the light beam of the laser cutter. So we tried with different parameters to gain results but it turned out to be very quickly. This process is in fact influenced both by the machine parameters (such as speed, power, focus) and by the material features, mostly regarding its thickness.

Comment

After some attempts, we realized how the technique has potential but needs a lot of time and attention to find the correct equilibrium in between parameters in action. We think that maybe an appropriate research on the field could be interesting and we may try that again soon. Also, the focus parameter is probably the most important, since the width of the light beam really influenced the outcome of the eperiments.

#3 HEAT PRESS TECHNIQUE

In a previous workshop I attended with Marisa Satsia, I explored another technique which involves the use of a heat press to fuse layers of bioplastics. The first step is to laser cut oven paper into various designs, which eventually will become the inflating surface of the structure. This paper layers go in between two sheets of bioplastics, and then the whole structure is set under the heat press: the process gently merge the areas where the bioplastics are in contact, not affecting where paper has been placed.

Comment

This process is surely the most recommended, because it turned out to be very fast and easy. For this reason we had the chance to try multiple attempts, refining the designs to guide the airflow in the desired direction. Even tough this approach is not as accurate as a welding, by using some tips it’s possible to let the soft robot inflate as you wish.

RESULTS

References

3D Paste Printing

Team

Annna Lozano, Everardo Castro, Jorge Muñoz, Nicolò Baldi

Repository

https://github.com/niente010/3D-Clay-Printing

CNC

Team

Annna Lozano, Anna Fedele, Everardo Castro, Jorge Muñoz, Nicolò Baldi

In this project, we designed and prototyped a custom spinning table using the CNC cutting technique. This table features a spinning edge and bearings for smooth manual rotation, doubling as a manual pottery wheel.

Workflow:

 1. **Material:** Plywood - 2400mm x 1200mm - 20mm offset for screw placement.
 2. **File Setup & RhinoCam:** Set up the design file, define the origin, and use RhinoCam to prepare for machining.
 3. **Engraving & Pocketing:** Select objects for engraving, set tool parameters, and define cut patterns and depths.
 4. **Machining & Assembly: E**xecute the g-code, and assemble the machined parts.

Expressive Data

Team

Annna Lozano, Minnie Pangilinan, Nicolò Baldi

Repository

https://github.com/minnie-at-iaac/audio-reactive-thermal-printer/tree/main

We wanted to combine the teachings from these classes into something related to our final project, so our goal was to keep on working with physical and tangible materials and phenomena, even when working with digital softwares as Pure Data. That’s why, speaking of tangible feedbacks to real data, we decided to convert a thermal printer to be audio-reactive.

The project features a Python script and a Pure Data patch working in tandem. The Pure Data patch reads audio input from a microphone and includes controllable parameters like a loudness threshold. When the input exceeds this threshold, it estimates the frequency/pitch and sends this information as a TCP message. The Python script receives these TCP messages and triggers a thermal printer to print lines corresponding to the received frequency/pitch values.

Microchallenge 1

Team

Nicolò Baldi & Qianyin Du

Repository

https://github.com/33dudu/Microchallenge-I

Reflections

This simple project has defined the beginning of my experimentation with electronic sounds, which later became the main topic of my Master’s Thesis. It has also been the first elementary attempt to find alternative ways to interact with sound, for example, controlling it with body movement.

I still find interesting the possibility of modifying or glitch sound or data through physical materials (ex. conductive bioplastic) in order to get unpredictable results.

Microchallenge 2

Team

Ana Lozano, Everdardo Castro Torres, Nicolò Baldi, Qianyin Du

Repository

https://github.com/niente010/GAIA

Reflections

GAIA is my initial speculative and practical attempt to forge a symbiotic relationship between technology and nature. Throughout this process, new ideas and reflections emerged, for example:

  • The narrative that we used to communicate these ideas is fundamental: While abstractions can be dangerous to hide underlying concepts, they can also serve as a powerful tool to stimulate cultural and perspective changes.
  • The realistic aspect is not relegated to the background: From the interactions during the Design Dialogues, many new possible ideas emerged. Therefore, leveraging the power of communication from the beginning to gain attention can lead to more credibility and feasibility by designing efficient purposes. This is most likely to be achieved by expanding the niche and collaborating with people from other fields.
  • The prototyping process was so much fun and intense: The very core of the project lays in hacking the original computer to make it work according to our issues while preserving its original components and behavior. Additionally, the challenge of combining this electrical system with moisture and water was not easy, but it led to a completely different approach to prototyping compared to working only with electronics themselves.

From the outcomes of this experience, I am excited to continue with this vision in the final project.

Microchallenge 3

Team

Ana Lozano, Nicolò Baldi

Repository

https://github.com/niente010/Valentino

Reflections

From the teachings of the previous challenges, the last one took a hybrid shape between the two. Valentino has been our first of many circuit-bending projects applied to sound instruments. Through this experiment, we faced the difficulties of designing over something that already exists, but at the same time learned about the concepts of design for disassembly and repurposing trash.