Overview
Hi! I’m Iris, and this medium post is a documentation of my learnings and discoveries during 12–030 S21, Responsive Structures. This will be a combination of select documentation from the class itself, as well as how I’ve previously or presented incorporated what I’ve learned into the work I do outside of the class.
Initial Thoughts
I was really excited about the contents of this class, as I came in wanting to gain more experience with understanding the mechanical aspects of designed environments and structures. At the start, I had no experience with engineering and very limited exposure to coding, so I was kind of hesitant but excited regardless of the type of work I could learn to do. As an Industrial Design student, a lot of the work I do is heavily centered around both practicality/functionality, as well as aesthetics.
Coming from a predominantly fine arts-oriented background, I wanted to expose myself to the more engineering-based facets of building and creating so I could create more holistically balanced projects in the future!
Past Experience
As a design student here at CMU, I have done a lot of projects that have touched on the principles of functionality/modularity and mechanisms, but never particularly in-depth or on a higher technical level. Out of all the topics covered in the class, I have more experience with the building and constructing aspect of structures and less when it comes to the more mechanical-driven aspects of it. However, I have explored aspects of origami/load-bearing carriers prior to the class, but often in a non-replicable form and often more as a one-off model rather than a formulaic and optimized structural process.
Mechanisms / Skills
CAD Modeling
One of the biggest things that I gained out of this class is a better working knowledge of CAD systems and 3D modeling as a whole. It was one of the biggest stressors I experienced while working within my industrial design courses, as we use a lot of Solidworks and it was really difficult for me to grasp the concept at first. Because of the different projects we had to do, I got a lot more practice in 3D modeling as a whole and also learned how to fabricate the parts I made through 3D printing. This came especially handy for my projects outside of this course, where I had to model a lot of different products and things and then fabricate them!
Arduino
Arduino was also really difficult for me when I first started, partially because of my limited understanding of coding. Coming in, I was only really familiar with P5.js in the limited context of visual-based coding. There was definitely a lot of trial and error for me in terms of the actual Arduino in this class, but after a while, it stopped being so scary and I was really happy with what I could do with it still.
I was especially excited to be able to incorporate it into my final project for my main design studio, where I used what was taught in this course and put a LED light fixture within my 3D printed model using magnets, reed switches, and LEDs (+resistors).
Concepts
Modularity + Origami Structures
I had worked somewhat with origami and modular pieces before in previous projects, sometimes in the context of space and other times in the context of carriers and products.
Garfield Soda Can Carrier
For my Garfield Soda Can Structure, I used similar models and constructions of cardboard that I was familiar with. I got really familiar with the durability and construction possibilities with cardboard while working on these projects, so I took a similar approach to my soda can carrier, with an ergonomic handle and a simplified shape in order to reduce cardboard waste.
Some in-progress shots of my soda carrier before I showed it in class!
Origami Structure
So for my Origami Moveable Structure, I wanted to create a structure that resembled a camera lens in its opening and closing as a structural change, so I did a lot of research on the mechanisms and parts that mimic/recreate this movement. I created my final one based on repeating structures in origami (with yupo), which was a crude replication of this opening and closing movement.
Projects
Project One
Here are the three different ideas I came up with for project one! I wanted to focus on functionality and work to create a working product, but keep it visually motivated with my design sensitivities. Thus, I brainstormed from the perspective of a product designer and I wanted to create something that had a particular use.
One of the limitations I experienced during project one was that I didn’t know a lot in terms of Arduino, sensors, or the technical aspects behind these concepts.
In design, I’m very much used to trial and error, but for many of these ideas, I didn’t even know where to start. There was very much a technical barrier that I had trouble getting through.
Final Technical Drawings + Walkthrough
**Important Note: I wanted to include my scale model, but I ended up taking it apart to construct my final before I could get proper documentation, but what I showed in class was just a scale model of the different states of the balloon (inflated + deflated)
Project Two
In project two, I worked to expand what I knew and collected from project one to make an actual, functioning model of my project. I started by gathering research and finding out the different parts I would need.
The main difficulty I faced was understanding motors and motor drivers. I was able to figure out the microphone sensor pretty quickly, but I had to go get a lot of extra help in order to figure out how the motor worked, especially because it wasn’t part of our Arduino kit and none of my classmates or friends knew how to work it.
Final Model for Project Two (Without Base*)
*I wanted to go back and refine the project in order to fit it all within a compartment/base like I originally planned, but because the third project utilized the same sensor (microphone), I wasn’t able to get it back up and working again on my second after soldering :( I’ve included clips and demonstrations of how the mechanism works, but I wasn’t able to show a complete project since I couldn’t replicate it again.
In my final, I was able to separately code for the balloon to inflate/deflate based on the volume input of the microphone. For demonstration purposes (I didn’t want to scream in my studio where there were other people, but tapping on the microphone had a similar effect)
Deflating State: (As noise decrease/When I pulled my thumb off the sensor as shown)
My partner Claudia and I also used a similar mechanism in our third project, where the motor worked based on levels of sound input/output:
Inflating State: As noise input increases nearby, the balloon inflates.
Retrospective/Cons:
While I was really happy to be able to get the basics of my concept working, I really struggled with the coding aspect. Because one motor could only either vacuum air or blow in the air and not both, I had to alternate uploading the codes as I couldn’t fit both motors into the balloon opening and link it as they did in the demo. This was one of the major drawbacks I experienced, it couldn’t be one continuous motion; I had to go back and change it. However, I’m really happy with the proof of concept and being able to make it work at all, given that I was really intimidated to start :)
Project Three
For our third project, we made a Ferris wheel that used the same audio/sound input detection that I used for project two. Unfortunately, the final of this project didn’t work out as well because the server wasn’t really strong enough to spin entirety of the wheel, and popped off instead.
I think that overall this project was still really fun, and this was when I got a lot more comfortable with sending parts in to get fabricated rather than doing it myself since it’s what I’m more used to in Design.
The main challenge we faced was where to place the motor, which ultimately reduced our servo motor count from two to one; there wasn’t really a discrete place we could hide the motor since the middle of the Ferris wheel is where the mechanism functions from.
Ultimately, we had no real trouble getting the microphone sensor to do what we wanted (like in my second project), but getting the motor to behave corresponding took some adjusting and trial and error.
Overall, I was a little bummed out that we wouldn’t get to actually see the Ferris wheel in action because the motor simply wasn’t strong enough, but I was surprised by how much smoother the process was in comparison to my second project. I think this really reinforced the idea that my hesitation in working with Arduino was more of a mental problem for me, and that the unfamiliarity was what was causing my setbacks.
Takeaways
In the end, I found out that the course was more a pleasant balance between aesthetics, functionality, and technical skills than I’d initially imagined; having taken other technical-based courses here at CMU (including coding), I think I was a bit scared about having to figure out a completely new skill set on my own. However, it turns out that a lot of my design knowledge and sensitivities actually came in really handy while working on these projects, and it was a really refreshing intersection where I could really engage in truly interdisciplinary conversations with my peers.
I think the foundations of using Arduino is going to be really beneficial to me in my design courses (it already is!) and I’m really excited to get more familiar with it over time.
Overall, what I enjoyed most about the course is the exposure of concepts outside of purely STEM or art fields; which I find to be the case with most IDEATE classes I take. This class in particular really encouraged my interest in inflatables, and I was actually able to talk to past students and faculty about the contents of the course in relation to my project.
I think another big takeaway/advantage is my familiarity with 3D printing/laser cutting/other modes of fabrication. CAD software (and Solidworks specifically) was pretty difficult to learn at first since it wasn’t really intuitive to me; the UI was so different from the software I usually use, but after having to really experience and trial and error fabrication myself (a lot of this was somehow bringing my 76-hour print down to 25 hours..), I feel a lot more confident and I am much more willing to simply get something 3D printed than make it myself, which was definitely not the case at the beginning of the semester!
I’m still not quite familiar with Arduino or coding, but the use of C/C++ in Arduino complements my understanding of p5.js really well, and I’m still definitely much more confident with it now than I was before.