grasshopper | Light and Shadow

Recently I have been diligently working on my Grasshopper definition, trying to get it to the point where I can bake my geometry and then go directly to the laser cutter with my material. To make a 32″ diameter lamp, I will need 16 sheets of 14″x17″ bristol, which is the material I have been using up to this point. I think I can get the amount of sheets needed down if I can use the RhinoNest plugin. If you have not heard of this plugin, it can save you time energy and material…RhinoNest. However, it is not free, and the algorithm I would have to create and implement to do something similar is not a trivial matter.

I have also been refining the connections at the top and bottom of my sphere. I am trying for a more elegant connection instead of the bulky ugly connection of my prototype. It is not quite resolved completely as of yet, but it uses the same notching language as the connections between panels in the field of the luminaire.

One of the major problems I have been running into is how I am going to make this thing move. I have contemplated servos, dc motors, stepper motors, solenoids, and muscle tubes and muscle wires, the problem is I do not have any of these to test with. My goal is to make my final purchase of electronic goods by this weekend, so I will most likely be making a pro and con list to determine which will work best. If anyone has any ideas of how I can make this work, please let me know.

Update: Thinking about using a floppy drive stepper motor, small, cheap/free, and hackable. Anybody have any helpful hints or experience with these? Adam? Alex?

I thought I would post a few images of what I have been working on lately so that those of you who do not frequent my desk can be up-to-date.
I am working on getting the form of my luminary to a point where I can begin doing larger tests and begin working on the kinetic portion of the project. I have been looking at expanding upon my last spherical luminary I brought to class on Monday, but removing all mechanical fasteners (including glue). It has been a difficult exercise in joinery for me and I have gone through several iterations before even beginning to try them in the physical world. I have found a joint system that works thus far, but am beginning to explore alternate connections to the top and bottom of the sphere.

I have been using Grasshopper as a tool to help me panelize a sphere into a specific number of quadrants based on lines of longitude and lines of latitude. Using Grasshopper allows me to make changes at any step along the way and have it automatically update, this is the benefit of using a parametric and generative design tool. The Grasshopper definition thus far is quite simple, as I am using it to test variations of panel or shape types and other parameters I have included. A screenshot of the Grasshopper definition is below. The next step in this definition will be to morph all of the geometry, unroll these surfaces to a format that will be able to be fabricated and number the system to ease installation and assembly. I have successfully done each of these various tasks within Grasshopper before, so it will only be an exercise of making everything work together. Also in the images below you can see the shapes I am using to morph onto the sphere as well as one segment of the sphere after morphing.

update | .

So I have been working on my Grasshopper definition a bit more and made it a bit more functional. Input consist of a profile curve of the desired luminaire, a center of rotation and the shapes that are to be morphed. Everything else is a parameter within Grasshopper, allowing for a more customized luminaire. Below you can see the updated definition and the resulting geometry in Rhino. I still need to work on the top and bottom joint before I output the file for a prototype.

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assignment.04 | processDefinition

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