3D design week - day 4

Today was the last day in the 3D design week concerning practical work. The tasks today were to create a structure out of spaghetti sticks and also to later cost them with paper in ways so that we could do a strength test.

Reflecting:

Firstly looking at the first task of the day of creating a structure, we were asked for this structure to have the specification of holding 3 plastic balls without them falling or being in contact with the ground in any way. When I began this task I found it extremely difficult as I had never even thought about working with spaghetti sticks to create a structure. When prototyping I found it very difficult to use blue tac with these pieces as they kept slipping and sliding away from the blue tac, which did not seem to hold the sticks in place no matter how much pressure I applied to it. However at the end of the task I feel that I eventually got on quite well, as I successfully completed the structure withing my time limit. I was very happy with what I achieved. As it was firstly not a boring cuboid shape it a triangular one, which made it more appealing than a simple box structure . Also, it successfully fulfilled the deoxidiser ion that was required of us to nearly hold 3 plastic play balls on its structure without falling or toppling over, or breaking the structure in any way. When I asked my peers for feedback, the main piece of feedback that I received was that the triangular prism structure dos indeed make it look more interesting than if it would have been a cuboid one. Also I received positive feedback on the structure of the ball holders, which were all angled downwards so that the ball could not move from side to side, keeping it very secure from falling. From my tutor Geofd I was given feedback that I should have somehow incorporated playing cards into the structure as levels or walls, because it would help to represent me more, ideally mixing graphics along with 3D design together, which would have made it very eye catching. From the overall task the main thing I learnt was proper usage of a glue gun which I had never used before. I learned this through the construction process with help from a friend, who showed me the safety measures that should have been in place like placing cardboard on the table surface before glueing ect.this will affect my suture work in a way that if I am ever doing another 3D graphics project, I will use superglue to hold orbit as it provides a very strong bond between the spaghetti sticks, and this strong holding property could come in handy for many other future projects involving creating structures. 

Looking at the second part of the day, we were given the task of having a limited umm we of 4 A4 sheets and 4 A3 sheets of paper, to create a barrier or another internal structure within our spaghetti onesx that it could withstand the weight of a ball that would be dropped onto it. I got on with this task fairly well as well, seeing as it only involved cutting paper to a certain height and width, and then adhering it to my structure. I feel that I achieved my goals slightly as when tested, my structure did not fully break, but mainly went flying to the side of the ball after the impact. Upon looking inside of it I found that the rolled up tubes I placed inside were the cause of this survival of the main structure as they were thick enough to not crumple up when hit by the ball. I received positive feedback on my cylinder/rolled up tube comes that I placed inside the structure,, which also gave an India to a few others in my class to employ the same methods in trying to strengthen theirs. However the only negative pont was that my tubes did not stand up right completely, meaning that the strength distribution was not equal along the structure. From this task I learnt that to ensure maximum resistant strength is present in a structure, the supports inside cannot be dangling around or wobbly, as this will not add to the strength and in turn will have no effect on it.from this task I learnt that it would most likely be easier to create my structures within the framework of my structure first rather than after hthe paper walls were placed on. Because I did not do this I spent a large amount of time trying to adhere the cylinder tunes inside the structure without damadging it. 

Analysing:

I think that the most successful part of my work was how the structure managed to hold the 3 balls without toppling over, as I found that one side was raised higher than the other. However this had no effect and was only off balanced by a fration. I was happy with this as if the balance was more off, it could have possibly resulted in my structure falling, smashing, and me having to create it once again. In addition to this I found my way of coating it with paper slightly successful as it still held some strength when the package was dropped onto it.  Even though it had collapsed upon impact, closer look at the internal structure tubes I put in place showed that they had not been damadged very much and managed to withstand the force dropped on top of it. This means that my structure most likely could not withstand the force due to poor positioning of the internal structures, and this is why it still managed to have about half of it break. I was not happy with how my internal protection structures were placed. Due to the nature of my structure which was triangula/prism it meant that positioning of extra parts inside was extremely difficult, as it was difficult to correctly position my internal pieces without breaking the spaghetti which was very delicate. I believe that if I had managed t to use a different structure shape eg cuboid or rectangular it would be easier to position my internal protection structures within this. Leading on from this I found that the coating of the outside in paper was easy, but creating the internal structures on the inside was very difficult as mentioned due to the configuration of my initial spaghetti structure. Although not difficult, I found it quite tedious when I was wrapping the structure up with paper for the second part of the challenge as the slightest bit of pressure could have possibly caused it to snap and break in various places, meaning I would have to create it again. I overcame this problem by leaning the structure on its side instead of upright, which also ensured that there was no wobbling which would make the coating process go wrong. Overall I found the paper coating task and creation of internal protection structures the easiest task as it was more or less adding to my existing work. Also as I worked with architecture and structures during my Product design graphics GCSE in 2012, I had some experience on what would be the best way to hold something like this together with a fair amount of strength. Creating the structure in the first place was extremely difficult due to the nature of spaghetti and the many troubles adhering it.  

Time management and planning:

Concerning my time management over the course of the day, I had trouble with the first half of creating the initial structure due to the difficulty of working with my material and sticking it together with others. I feel that I could have improved my methods of planning for this structure creating by perhaps creating a 2 or 3 different models with some sticks before I go in to the real thing so that I may finish it quickly. However as this would be time consuming to create, I done a similar task by doing a quick few sketches in my sketchbook before hand, using them as models to build upon. With the second part of the task (paper coating) I did not have any problems with time as I had finished my initial structure before deadline which was at 1:30pm, giving me extra time for the second task. I could learn more from my current patterns by continuing to finish my tasks as fast as possible, in which in the extra time I have I could make alterations/variations on the existing model or develop a completely brand new one. Enhanced planning and time management will help me in my future projects by allowing me to save making time by properly planning ahead, and using this extra time to evaluate my final product, allowing me to see any changes that I may need to make or mistakes that I need to correct.

3D design - Day 1

(Edit: this is the second draft of this particular daily blog post. The first copy was the same however the photos had been deleted from my phone and my previous blog so a substitute photo had to be used for this post. This will be edited at another time.)

On the 29th September we started on 3D design.

Reflecting:

Each if the tasks today were very interesting, especially the ones at the beginning where we took an object such as a fruit or scribble and had to turn them into designs. I got on with these first exercises very well as they were very out of the open, and required good thinking to be for for the purpose we were asked to base it for a design. The bottle balancing task I found very easy, as I had previous experience with making 3D figures and shapes In graphic product design during GCSE and A-levels. The final task was also very easy as it used the same internal structure and 3D methods. I felt that my bottle holder was successful as it stood the bottle up no problem without falling. However with the final task I completely forgot the specification that that the stool/3D shapes had to be flatpacked. By this time I had already assembled the stool but manages to alter it by cutting through certain sections, which made it flat pack able and yet still able to support all of my body weight at the same time. Once I added my flatpacked feature in I received feedback from Levi who was one of the tutors and also the students who were working next to me that the way it assembled looked almost like a transformer, and that the flipping panels and folding sections have it a very modern feel. If I learnt anything from the overall task it would be to consider the form before the function, especially seeing as I forgot to add my flat pack feature at first. 

Analysing:

I think the most successful part of my stool was that how when it assembled, it had lots of moving parts which gave it a very mechanical feel to it. This was picked up by students and a member if staff which made it stand out, in addition to the fact that the cutouts I placed in the walls allowed the internal structure to be seen, which was something that wasn't present on other students designs. With my bottle holder I believe it was completely successful as it had aesthetics on it, leaving out the boring white card colour. This was also very stable to the point where even pressed down by a teacher it did not collapse. There was not anything that I wasn't happy about with the stool apart from the fact that if I considered the flat pack feature first, it would look much more neater than the final result. If there was anything I found difficult, it was the need to use a lot of tape for the bottle holder when we only had a limit of arms length to use and no more, because more tape would provide a greater hold with each piece. Overall I found all the tasks easy, and the only difficulty I found with the stool project was how to support the internal structure when it was cut open to become flat-packable, as it was then that pieces started falling out. 

Time management:

From the day I found that I had no difficulty with time constraints unlike other design categories within the week rotation. However one way I could improve my current time planning and management with this if I were to do it again would be to plan it more in my sketchbook instead of doing it straight away. This is because if the model were to go wrong first time it would be a waste of material, especially since we only had 4 cardboard sheets to complete he stool project. Otherwise I feel that the time frame I had for each project today was more than enough. If time could be added to the project, then I would ensure that this would be to add some aesthetics to the stool instead of it having a plain cardboard look. This would also make it much more attractive and eye catching. 

3D design - Building bridges

For our second day of 3D design we were asked for 2 tasks. The first task was to create several small bridges in our sketchbook that consisted of different designs, using the cut out pages from our sketchbook, similar to pop up 3D structures that are seen in craft books. The second task consisted of me working with 5 other peers from my class In order to create a bridge that was higher than the length of the tables, but had enough support to allow an RC car to go over it without falling. Also this bridge was only allowed to have two supports touching the floor.

Reflecting:

With the first task of constructing bridges I did not get on with it too well, as I struggled to come up with unique designs that could be cut out from an A4 page. The designs I did manage to come up with were very minimalistic in design and didn't have much interest to them. However with the task of constructing the bridge, I found this very exciting and also easy. Seeing as each person in our group was in charge of a specific task. My task was to ensure that the structure being held up was sturdy, which evolved from my initial idea drawings that I shared with the group before construction. One the main bridge had been constructed, I also ensure that all the tape connections were in the right place and that nothing was left loose or dangling. In addition to this I also helped to formulate ideas on how to decorate our bridge so that it wasn't just planin brown cardboard. With the task of constructing miniature bridges in my sketchbook, I do not feel as if I achieved a lot as they were extremely simplistic with hardly much thought out in. Also due to the time limit we had I was not able to draw or sketch any rhetorical designs at first before making them. Because of this I would say that the first project with mini bridges was unsuccessful, however at a later stage I may go back and think of better and newest designs, under no time limit with lots of time to think.  With the second bridge however I'm confident that my groups design was very successful as it allowed the RC car to drive over it, and come down without falling to any of the sides and down to the floor. Also because of this, we had extra time to see if a ramp would work on a second attempt, however after 2 attempts the ramp did not work. Nonetheless the main bridge that needed the specification of the car being able to drive over was fulfilled. Feedback wise most of the feedback had come from our tutor, who said that even though the bridge was steady it was still too plain. With this feedback we developed our work by  adding graphics all over the bridge, I'm the form of arrows as if it was a racing track. Also, it gave us inspiration to create a structure on the walls of the bridge to make it look even more interesting. We done this by taking our excess bamboo sticks and attatch ing them to our bridge through the use of rubber bands, which was easy to use than tape as it only required to be fitting around 2 pieces and looped a few times. From the overall task I learnt that with bigger projects like this one, it would not be wise to have everyone doing the same job. If this was the case it would mean that the conte utili process would be slower, and everyone would be confused as to what differs their task to someone else's in the group. In addition, the fact that each person in the group had a role allocated to themselves. Made the production process very quick as we still had 40 minutes left after we finished, which ofcourse is where we spent our time adding graphics. In future works also that require team efforts, I will use these skills of each person in my project or group to be allocated a role so that everyone is kept busy with part of the project.

Analysing:

With the sketchbook paper constructions of my bridges I beilive the successful part of this was how they were stacked near each other, so that a clear contrast could be seen between them. Also another successful part was that when I closed my sketchbook they were flat packable and ready to be assembled when the book was opened. With the final bridge structure that I created with my group, the most successful part of it was how the RC car was able to go over it without the bridge bending downwards and showing signs of stress in the cardboard. This shows that the two point structures that we connected to a flat structure under our middle bridge section were very sturdy as even when we put some force down with our hands the structure was very resistant. Another successful part of this was how our extra time allowed us to create structures on the walls which made it look like an actual bridge similar to the Golden gate or London Bridge, instead of just a pathway for the car. I was not happy with how I only managed to create 3 paper bridges at the start of the day, however this is something that I could expand upon in my free time. This was because I could not come up with any unique ideas so I found great difficulty in trying to make each bridge as different as possible. I found the last task particularly easy (final bridge) as I had done architecture for my product design graphics project back in year 11, meaning I was familiar with how to hold up larger weights on small points. In addition. The bamboo sticks made this easier due to their rigid properties which did not allow them to bend even when heavy weights were placed on top of it.

Time management:

From my first task of constructing paper bridges, I feel that I could improve my current planning methods by cutting any shapes I could think of that were as different as possible. Even if they were similar, any different designs and variations would be good to look at and compare to other ones. This could also help to develop these designs further and see what I could make out of initial changes. I believe I could learn more from my current patterns of planning by not rushing to make any ideas that come into mind, but instead take time with a couple of designs, and then focus on creating more at home if I feel I do not have enough. Enhanced planning and management skills will help to improve future works by allowing me to express any intricate ideas I have first, without needing too much worry of finishing them completely. For the completion of these tasks in the case of the paper bridge. I could finish this in my own private study time when I have more time to think about what I want to create.