Monday, February 17, 2014

In the process.





Bender Defeats KUKA...Sort of!




 Jawwad doin' his thang!



Originally scanned polysurface


This was the draped surface we would use on the CNC Router


ROUTE IT!


This is the face almost done, just a few more passes






 All finished! We decided to run part of the code before painting the face, just in case we ran into some difficulties (which we inevitably did)


KUKA meet your tool professor!


We tried to be as exact as we could when teaching the robot the tool, to reduce the possibility of inaccuracy


The lowest margin of error we managed to achieve was of 0.974mm


Before running the surface code, we ran a secondary script that had the four corner points marked out so we could position the face as exact as possible




The weird thing was that the left side of the face ran without any problems, at this point we were all excited since the previous week we were unable to get the code to work. However, KUKA would fight back at an attempt to ruin our day


Turns out the right side of the face was a little too close to the robot, and it caused Axis 3 to lock up


The right side was not liking our code so we re-did it and got this:







Kuka being Picasso


Monday, February 10, 2014

Kuka Owns TeamBender- 1:0

 Setting the tool up and recording the reference points.
 Kuka doesn't like writing with his hand, we have to tape the pen to its funky arm.
 Code testing 1....
 To test the z-axis, we had the foam stacked up to make sure the z axis of the face and the end of the pen is on the same level.
 After confirming the z-axis, we started the drawing process. In case of any failure and flaw may have to the wax face, we overlayed the face with tracing paper.
 Kuka smashed the pen into the face and almost broke the pen...
 The pen is screaming and bleeding the ink...

Even with a few more runs, Kuka was still not drawing the lines according to the face and the code. All the lines seemed random and all the lines seemed to be squeezed together...Kuka totally owned us with its arcane inner power.

The following is a footage of Kuka drawing with the maker...

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Towards A Bespoke Building Process - Jawwad Nakai

Having traced a comprehensive history of the industrial robot and its development over the mid to late 20th century, from its fictional roots to its modern industrial applications, the article goes on to elaborate on the usage of these machines beyond the factory assembly line. Specifically in fields like design and construction, the robot has a allowed for a great degree of flexibility as it has allowed for the designer to realize his vision with a greater amount of accuracy. By becoming an integral part of the design process, the robot has allowed for the fabrication of prototypes that bring to light conceptual flaws and allow for the evolution and development of the initial idea. at the same time, it has presented the opportunity for designers to familiarize themselves with the materials they use and their tolerances. The robot's agency as a tool for design and on site construction has become a wondrous reality. Units like the R.O.B owing to their transportability and flexibility, have allowed architects and designers to respond to the challenges of various projects in extremely specific and unique ways. 

Monday, February 3, 2014

Towards A Bespoke Building Process

            

    It is evident that the idea of robots and their uses are changing though the passing of the years. Robots were first envisioned as thoughtless working machines designed to do human labor that was too hazardous or exhausting, thus aiding the "daily human struggle". These machines were used for repetitious jobs that did not change much over the years, a job that when set in place could run for a long time without disruption. However recently in projects such as R-O-B the robots have been put to a greater use, expanding on their capabilities to the architectural world. A robot and especially in this reading, R-O-B starts to look at the true potential of the robots and its use in architectural designing, fabrication and building. One of the most important features is its portability.  
     As more designers are learning the software and operation costs of these machines are declining the possibilities for the future of these robots in the architectural field is looking very promising. The robots were not solely meant for one repetitious job but they have the potential to perform very complex design processes that are carefully programmed by the designer. Each program unique to the design of each project, with thoughts of materiality and how the project is going to be made with the ample tools available to use with the robot. Robots are being used in architecture more and more every year and it looks like the robots are here to stay.

-Vanessa Argento

"And in the dawn, the robot is...."


"And in the morning I'm making waffles!"


Our idea behind this project was inspired by Star Wars' Han Solo in carbonite. We wanted to try and create the form of a face as if it was coming out of the felt.


Han Solo in Carbonite


Drawing the grid on the felt


Done with the grid


Laser cutting the waffle structure for our head


Laser cutting is done, time to piece the puzzle together


The first few pieces fit in like a glove, but we forgot to take into consideration the materials thickness and made it too exact. By the time we were half way done, the pieces were becoming more and more difficult to assemble


Matching up the pieces to the rhino file


Getting too tight!


Finally finished, as you can see from the darker sky, it took a while


Profile of our face


This is thing is ready to get waxed!

"And during the night, I'm waxing my face...."


Melting the wax on the stove! 
 Vanessa is setting up the Waffle Face...
meanwhile, Andres feeling awkward in front of the camera being a cook




 A little bit pouring and a little bit hand work...
 First layer.....
Second layer....


And yeah!!!!!A waxed face is awesomely smooooooooth!!!!!