Studio 4 Journal, Week 4

This Week

• MDF Sphere Continued
• Base Turning
• CAD Flat Pattern
• Button Adjustments

MDF Sphere Continued - Again with the sphere... Yes. Its taking some time to get to a finish that is free from dents and such. At this point, its at the stage where I cant see that it is worth spending any more time on it. It has already consumed way too much of that resource.

Base Turning - The base is a simple ring of cement which I have made a test part in foam, then turned up out of timber in order to cast a mould off of. There is a circular housing in the centre for a 3D printed part that will create the more intricate parts that wont be seen when the lamp is assembled.  The choice of 3D printing is simply because of the fact that it is quick and accessible to me, unlike the CNC milling machine at uni. The more I can get done in the break. the better.

CAD Flat Pattern - Working in Solidworks, I've modeled the Alucobond components with consideration to the fact that I will be using the CNC mill to cut the shape. I'm not going to a realistic model, its just a functional model to give me a flat pattern to cut from. Even after i export the flat pattern, I intend to modify it in Illustrator to make the CNC process as quick as possible when the workshop is open again.

Button Adjustments - I've decided that the lamp needs to have a brightness adjustment. There will be a small button at the front of the sphere which will controll the brightness at 8 different levels. I've remastered the original power button cam to fit into the space available in the final design for the arm. Also, created a CAD model of a first attempt for a mounting system for the smaller brightness button. I'll test this out next week.