CONCLUSION

Reflections on Superstudio sessions.

The final post for the March Super studio blog is a summary of my reflections on the important things I have learnt from the sessions that I have taken. Apart from BIM, the two workshops I was involved in were on Plaster and laser cutting. Being new to the university, the exposure to the different types of workshops that the university offered was very beneficial in familiarizing myself with different types of experimental and model making processes that I can utilize for my projects in the university and later in professional practice.

My experience in the plaster workshops made me realize that it is important to understand the materiality of plaster, in relation to the type of model I wanted to make. One of the mistakes that I made with plaster was that, I made a mould that was not suitable to cast a plaster model. When casting a plaster model, it is important to avoid undercuts as much as possible, and try to avoid absorbent materials such as wood for the formwork. Even though wood can still be used with the help of a release agent, it would save time and error if the formwork is made from a non-absorbent material. In addition, it is also important to be careful in making the plaster mix, as the consistency and ratio of the mix has an impact on the final outcome of the cast. In addition to its use in the university, making models using plaster casts assists in communicating certain characteristics of the design ideas to clients in the future.

My first workshop session was on plaster and the session demonstrated various laser cut formwork moulds, and that is when I decided that I would choose to explore laser cutting workshops, to make a mould for my plaster cast. The digital printing sessions introduced me to all the different types of 3d printing machines that they offered, including advantages and disadvantages of each one of them. I found it very useful as this would help me in deciding which type of printing I would work on depending on the material finishes, or the outcome I wanted to achieve in my future projects. Furthermore, using both laser cutting and 3d printing methods in model making is associated with proper time management in both preparation of files and in executing work. This is rather crucial while battling project deadlines in university projects and in real projects in professional practice. 

Lastly, my sessions on learning Revit was very effective as it was the first time using the software, and taught classes combined with Lynda tutorials really enabled me to achieve confidence in using Revit. In the past, I had considered Revit being complicated, as I have been more used to AutoCad. But I found that using Revit is more time saving, and it encouraged me to focus my attention on how different architectural elements worked, rather than drawing lines. These lessons have taken me a step ahead in using Revit to collaboratively work in the professional field. 

To conclude I would like to highlight that the mistakes and lessons I have learned during these sessions has encouraged me to experiment my designs using a variety of model making workshops in my future projects as well as in the professional field.  

BIM WORKSHOP 3

Individual exercises on Lynda tutorials

Exercise on adding text using the Lynda tutorials. 

tx for text

This tutorial helped to demonstrate how to add text without and with leaders, and how I can add multiple leaders to one text. Below are some screenshots of the process. Please note that I have used support files from lynda.com to do the exercises on. 

Figure 1. Adding text

Figure 2. Adding leaders to text

Figure 3. Adding additional leaders to one text

Exercise on Wall families.

1- Basic wall family

This tutorial demonstrated on how to edit a basic wall type to be a plumbing wall. Following are screenshots of the work process.

Figure 1. After selecting the wall to edit, a duplicate is created so that all other walls with the same type that are not selected  is not edited. 

Figure 2. Adding a structure (metal stud) layer 

Figure 3. Adding a thermal air layer in between the two metal stud layers of the wall

Figure 4. Close up shot of the basic wall type edited to be a plumbing wall type.

2- Curtain wall

This session was on a basic tutorial on inserting and editing curtain walls. 

Figure 8. Curtain wall inserted using the wall tool.

Figure 9. Curtain wall viewed on 3d view

Figure 10. Curtain wall stretched using the arrow head

Figure 11. Curtain wall added into a basic wall

Figure 12. Elevation view of the curtain wall which was added into a basic wall

Figure 13. Editing the curtain wall by double clicking into the curtain wall and using the modify tool

Figure 14. Modified curtain wall.

Conclusion

After working on introductory lessons such as creating grids, walls and inserting families, I thought of familiarizing myself with additional basic elements that is required during a project. The tutorial on adding texts and leaders was useful in showing how I can label different elements of the building I am working on. It is a very simple task, but being new to Revit, working on a tutorial like this will make my work faster when I am working on an actual project on Revit. In addition, I worked on two types of wall families, the basic wall and curtain wall. The basic wall demonstrated on how I can edit a wall and change it to a plumbing wall. It was interesting to know how easily I can change the type of a wall, and how it is automated in Revit, instead of working on a similar task in AutoCad. 

PLASTER WORKSHOP 3

PLASTER

Plaster and clay - 21st November 2017

The session was a one to one session with the technician Ms Claire on discussing about the formwork I have created and how it can be used to make a plaster model. 

The picture below shows the final mould that I have created using wood. According to the previous lesson, before the session began I applied petroleum jelly as a release agent on the surfaces of the formwork. 

Figure 1. Wooden Formwork 

However, after assessing the mould, the technician explained that the formwork I made may not be so successful as a mould as there are too many undercuts and this may obstruct the plaster to come off once it is casted. She also explained different ways I can use this formwork to create a clay mould on which I can cast a plaster model. This plaster model will then be used as the mould to cast the final piece. 

A thick piece of clay was rolled onto the wooden formwork so that the clay sits into the voids of the formwork. But since the wood has been coated with a release agent, it was difficult to get the best results with the clay. 

Figure 2. Wet clay is rolled before taking 

The picture below shows the clay mould after it has been peeled off from the formwork. 

Ms Claire advised that I can try to shape the clay using the shaping tools to create a form that I wanted. This was one of the advantages of using clay as a mould, as it can be shaped into any form. 

Since the clay that was used was quite wet, the clay mould had to be kept to dry before any shaping. 

Conclusion

Though I was not successful in using the laser cut formwork for casting a plaster model, the session introduced me to different ways I can use the formwork to make a clay mould which can then be used for a plaster cast. Next time, when I am working on a plaster model, I will be careful with the type of material I am using to make the formwork. In addition, its important to identify whether the use of a cast is the most appropriate method to use for any specific project that I am working on. Because otherwise, depending on the kind of project, I may not be able to get the most effective results. For example, if my model has a lot of undercuts, a laser cut wooden formwork may not be the most ideal mould to use to cast a plaster model. 

PLASTER WORKSHOP 2

CASTING A PLASTER MODEL

This post demonstrates a plaster model that was casted for a project of Critical Urbansim Unit 2. 

1- A release agent is applied on the surfaces of the wooden formwork to ease the removal of the plaster model once casted. 

Figure 1. Laser cut formwork

2- Formwork is fixed on the boards using clay. The clay helps to seal the formwork to make sure there are no leaks when plaster mix is poured in. 

Figure 2. Clay used to seal the formwork

Figure 3. Formwork sealed on the base using clay 

3- Plaster mix is made using 1pt of water for 1.5pounds of plaster powder. The ingredients are measured accurately to avoid any mistakes. 

Figure 4. Water poured into bowl for mixing plaster

Figure 5. Plaster powder transferred into water

Figure 6. Mixing of plaster powder with water

Figure 7. Formwork ready for plaster

Figure 8. Plaster Mix

4- Plaster is carefully mixed to avoid any lumps from forming. Once the mixture becomes slightly thick, it is poured into the formwork.

Figure 9. Plaster poured inside the sealed formwork

Figure10. Plaster set for casting

Figure 11. Plaster set for casting

 Below shows pictures of the plaster casts removed from the formwork. 

Figure 12. Final outcome

Figure 13. Final outcome

Figure 14. Final outcome

Conclusion

This was my very first attempt in casting a plaster model, and the simple formwork structures made it a good learning exercise. Some of the points to look out for in the future sessions include:

• Stick with the ratio stated to avoid any mistakes.
• Make sure the plaster is mixed well, without any lumps.
• Dont pour in plaster too quick. Make sure the mix has started to thicken. 

PREPARING FILES SESSION 2

Laser cutting session 2 (Formwork model)

Preparing files

For this session I have prepared the AutoCad file of the base where I have offsetted the lines that I want to etch, so that they fall in between the building blocks. In order to create additional thickness, I have drawn a frame which would add to the stacked frameworks already cut. 

The figure 1. below shows the screenshot of the files ready for the session. 

Figure 1. Screenshot of AutoCad file

DIGITAL WORKSHOP 3

Laser cutting session 1 (Formwork model)

I had my files for the formwork model prepared for the session on 13th November, as it would be a good opportunity to discuss the file with the technician, and proceed with the laser cutting. 

Materials

I showed him pictures of how i want the model to be and asked for his advice on the thickness of boards that I can use for laser cutting. The thickest boards available are 6mm, so I decided to cut 3 layers of the model to give the formwork an appropriate thickness for the plaster casting. 

Etching and Grooves

As for the etching, I asked the technician that I wanted to create a groove instead of an etch so that when plaster is poured in it would leave an etch on the surface of the cast. So the technician explained that he would give the lines a depth and thickness before sending the file to the laser cutting machine. 

Laser cutting process

Below are pictures and videos of the process. 

Figure 1. Dwg file imported onto software for lasercutting by the technician

Figure 2. 6mm thick board loaded into laser cutting machine

Figure 3. Laser cutting process

As shown on Figure 3. the three similar cuts of the street network will be stacked on top of each other to provide depth. The piece in the middle will be the base which will imprint the grooves on the plaster cast. 


Conclusion

After the cutting process was over, I tried to remove the pieces from the board. Since it was a thick board, it was quite hard to remove the pieces as in some places the laser was not successful in cutting through. However, I managed to remove the pieces for two of the framework, but for the last one I accidentally broke a part of the frame while removing the pieces. 

In addition to this the grooves on the base piece did not come out as I expected as I must have accidentally drawn the street lines aligned with the framework as seen below in Figure 4.   

Figure 4. Laser cut framework stacked on the base

I have learned that it is very important to check the files carefully before going to the workshop to achieve the most outcome during a session. 

Luckily, I had an additional session booked in case I needed to laser cut further, so I adjusted my files accordingly. 

DIGITAL WORKSHOP 2

DIGITAL PRINTING

Laser cutting - 13th November 2017

Introduction

Laser cutting is a helpful tool that can be used for various types of models. During the session we had, the technician explained the different colours that are used in preparing the files. for example: red is used for cuts, blue for etching and black infills are used for rastering. 

Mainly, the type of file required is vector file. It could be a dxf, or dwg etc. A1 size is the maximum size of a sheet that is used for laser cutting. 

Figure 1. Laser cutting machine

Figure 2. Ongoing Laser cutting process 

The picture above shows the three types of files prepared for laser cutting. The dark blue one for etching, the black infill for rastering and the red for cutting.

The pictures below shows different types of pieces and models I can make using the laser cutting process. It was quite interesting to see the different types of cuts, their sizes and etches that can be made on a model to bring out different characteristics of the model.

Figure 3. Model with different variations of cuts and etches.

Figure 4. Model made with rastering 

Figure 5. 3d art piece using laser cutting

Conclusion

The session on laser cutting introduced the class to different types of results that can be achieved on different types of materials. Similar to the session on 3D printing machines, this session is also useful in determining whether laser cutting is an appropriate method to use when working on a specific project. It also exposed me on basic things I need to know when preparing files for laser cutting, and how much time each process takes, which would be useful in time planning in future projects involving laser cutting.