This project focused on developing a product from a manufacturing method. The bulk of the project was on experimentation of form and rapid ideation.
The Result
The result of the project was this collection of metal bowls for display.
They aim to immitate the form of a blooming flower, while maintaining the materiality of sheet metal. This creates a contrast in form and material.
They were cut by a manufacturer, and bent by me. They are polished and waxed for their finish.
Ideation
To start with ideation, I made paper models first. This was because paper is a sheet material, meaning that translating the design of the paper model to metal would not be as big a challenge. However, I was not fully informed of the restrictions of metal bending as to allow my ideas to flow more effectively.
I then took the models I liked the most and made scale models out of cardboard:
While I liked the lampshade, there were logistical issues I had to contend with that made it more difficult for me to implement. Mainly in the creation of the fixture and associated hardware.
I enjoyed the design of the bowl design. It reminded me of an unfolding flower, like a lotus, but with the metal, it would have a very industrial aesthetic, creating a contrast in form and material.
Manufacturing
The class was given the requirements by a manufacturer on how to format our files so that the manufacturer would make them. The method of manufacturing was using a water jet cutter. We would specify the thickness of the sheet, and create a vector file for them to use.
I used Adobe Illustrator to create my file. I used the design made via my paper models and drew it on the computer. Due to the radial symmetry of my piece, I was able to model 1 petal of the bowl and copy it around to create an identical piece. The most tedious part was ensuring that there were no overlapping paths in Illustrator. It would cause an error by the manufacturer if there were.
A useful tool to make gaps and break-lines was “outline stroke”.
This would allow me to create a dotted line, then outline the line to create a series of dots that would be cut out by the manufacturer.
Doing this allowed me to bend the bowl into shape with hand-tools.
While my file had been sent off, there were logistical problems with the class and manufacturer that meant I did not see my parts delivered until the third to last day of the semester. As soon as I received my part, I sanded, polished, and bent it into shape, then applied wax.
Final Reaction
While I like the design of my bowls, I do think I could have improved on them a little bit. Some takeaways I had were:
- Breaklines on the petal fold
- Possible spot welds to ensure durability
- A longer lasting finish
The bowls had a nice contrast, but could have benefited from more work. A fun project though, and a learning experience of the challenges of getting parts manufactured.