Christian Dunbar Project 3: Laser Studies

Project 3 was divided into four different sections. I have included images of the final Quad arch elements, and have shown images that illustrate the entire waffling process.

Section 1- for the initial section, I designed a flat name plate with a series of horizontal rastered areas. The bands spanned from the bottom edge of the 12" x 32" piece of Luan, and decreased in width so as to create an illusion of a horizon line at their highest point. above that line, I engraved the text "Christian Dunbar Designs".

Section 2- For the "slotting" section, I created a 3 dimensional sculptural arch. It is comprised of 4 arches, which meet at their apex. Each arch consists of a curved vertical spine off of which a series of 17 pairs of horizontal fins flared. For modeling purposes, I notched the different elements together using .19" slots cut into .19" thick Luan. At full scale, this would be a monumental piece, at an overall height of 15', and would be built of steel and possibly wood fins.

Section 3- For the "slicing" section, I created a sculptural Chaise prototype made of laser-cut cardboard. I achieved this using the "contour"command to produce cut line divisions across my Nurb solid. Next, I mapped the curves onto a reference rectangle that represented the single sheet of cardboard, which was then sliced into the individual vertical elements.

Section 4- For the "waffle" section, I designed a miniature-scale version of an architectural "shelter". At full scale, this piece would be 100 - 200 feet in length, and 20 - 40 feet tall. For modeling purposes, I created a piece using a 48" x 48" sheet of 1/4" Luan. The first step was to create contour lines across the x-axis of my Nurb object. Next, I created contour lines across the Y-axis. Once I had these curves, I created surfaces from the X and Y planar curves. Next, I created "intersection" lines where the various surfaces met. Next, using coupled pairs of .19" thick "pipes", I mapped out what would be cut lines to create upper and lower slots on the opposing planes. Next, I was able to create new curves from the cut surfaces, and mapped them onto a 48" reference square that would represent a sheet of Luan on the Beam cutter.