INDN 311: Rendering And Modelling Bonanza

For the presentation of the form and function, I developed a 3D model of the last form I designed. It was actually much harder than I initially anticipated. I ended up having to split the design up into 4 parts, since the build space of the 3D printers that the university has was too small for it.

The full build would look something like this, ideally! The sizing is pretty much perfect, due to the precision of the 3D printers. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get it quite perfect, since the 3D prints suffered from curling a little bit. But oh well, not a whole lot I can really do about that. I just had to roll with it really.

Phone placement, with the colours showing through, shows how this is going to work. The glass on the top of that section will allow the light to refract through the glass and the vibrating water.

After printing this form, I then decided to push the form further. I think there's a fair amount of potential in the form, but it needed to be refined a bit more, to ensure that it spoke about the phone and the digital/analogue connection as much as possible.

After experimenting with different forms and sketches, I decided to play with the forms and see if I could 3D model them effectively to produce a nice result and get something I could connect with. I think overall that's the key to making this project a successful one. If I don't make the resultant design something that people will be able to understand and utilise, then it's going to fail.

The form on the far right is the latest design that I did for the presentation, and the form on the left is the newest form. I decided to tinker around with some of the sketches that I did. The beauty of CAD is that I can do this with such ease. Otherwise I'd have to visualise my form through some shitty sketches alone, but this is so much better.

I ended up deciding that the "folded" form was way too severe, and the simple beauty was kind of lost. I want to make the form express the beauty of the materials, while also highlighting the functional aspects of the design, such as the 70 degree angle for optimal iPhone angling that I've carried on through the design.

Resultantly, I decided it would be best to let the form be a lot more subtle and less brutal, while still letting the form be something interesting that could lead the eye around. I softened the shape and then removed the angle, making the form more feminine. 

I also decided it would be a really good idea to break up the continuous block of wood, for two purposes. The first is to make the form more interesting as well as to create some contrast, while the second purpose of it is to make the device much easier to machine, as the wood is now split into separate parts. This makes it easier as I no longer have to create a perfect merge, since I would have had to machine the two halves separately anyway.

 

The vertical slot makes for a useful aspect of the device, allowing the device to have that dual functionality. The slot is a nice addition to the project that feels intentional and I melded heavily with the overall form. In the renders, I tinkered around a lot with the wood material, and applied both a bump and a specular map to the texture, in order to make the piece feel much more real.

On Wednesday I'm going to talk to my tutor and get some feedback on the form, to get it to an optimised point whereby I can start the manufacturing process!