Robotic Hot Wire Cutting
Partner: Jiansong Yuan
Location: Weitzman School of Design UPenn - Philadelphia, PA
Studio: Material Agencies directed by Andrew Saunders
When: Fall 2020
What unexpected surface conditions can we create with precise, ruled geometries? What agencies are given to automated processes in form-finding, and where do we as designers dictate our own authority?
The studio challenged us to investigate these questions through the study of Russian Reconstructivist Sculptures, Convolutional Neural Networks, and Robotic Hot Wire Cutting. The final artifact was a proof of concept bespoke foam tile, which is then imagined across a gallery ceiling.
Toolpathing Process
The surface is developed through two intersecting passes. By modulating a sine wave along one of the two rails and lofting that back to the other rail, a gradual wave is created as a new base surface. An opposing surface is developed by flipping the relationship of the rails. If the sin wave amplitude is reduced, a chiseled surface is made between these two intersecting surfaces. This chisel invokes a weight and directionality to the toolpath, and we use this to further emphasize the spiral nature of the overall proposal.
Final Proof of Concept
The final proof of concept, roughly 3.5’ x 3.5’ x 18”, was developed over the span of two weeks in the lab. each piece was a successive step towards manufacturing calibration and accuracy, and a new lesson in robot kinematics.
