Author Archives: Christopher Munoz

Notes from Thesis Committee meeting

• Cut down on Audio
  • Remove 3rd part of meeting
  • Only 1 hour of Audio Remaining if this portion is cut.
    • From there, pauses in conversation can be removed, downsizing the audio length even further.
• LED lights now viable speedwise if done this way
  • If LED lights are used, the resin casts will need to be more frosted
  • Mounting of the resin casts will also be fairly easier compared to the screen set up.
    • Small ledge under each row to hold up the resin casts
    • LED strips mounted on wall behind casts

Response

I appreciate the feedback from the meeting, and with the form and material pretty much finalized. I can go forward in figuring out how to run the more technical and electronic aspects of this project. Over the winter, I will rework the audio and models, have them ready for 3D printing by the start of the new Semester (Or earlier, if Engineering is open). Then I will have to cast them in January.

However, I am still not too fond of the LED light idea. It will be a considerable effort to get the amount lights working properly through just wiring alone, the code, not as much. I still believe such a process would have to be explored after I create a proper mount for my back up screen set up.

First Resin Prototype

Before I left for Thanksgiving vacation, I had casted my prototype mold with Crystal Clear 200 resin. These are the results. With how the material refracts light, I would say this is the best result I could hope for the method of back-lighting I will be using.

Light Test Videos

Test Video 1 (Short)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r-bM__KxLXHDdlmn0UAFLK2qyNbus3Gp/view?usp=sharing

Test Video 2 (Long)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g29TqigryGb1yUCyy2SBZaCloEkb7lmO/view?usp=sharing

Preparing for Thesis Committee Presentation

For the most, I believe I am sufficiently prepared to present my progress to the Thesis committee tomorrow, just need to set up a quick slideshow presentation to go along with my models. I also feel that I am in a good place overall to complete the Project in the next few months.

Prints

I had retrieved the prints from Engineering a day after our meeting and they came out, for the most part, just as I wanted them in both size and form. And the holes in one of the prints can be fix in the molding phase with wet clay.

Molds

This mold took about ~12 hours to cure. Also, by vacuum degassing out all the air pockets after mixing the two plastic materials needed to start the curing process, there are little to no air pockets in the mold.

Casting

I will begin casting the object in resin either tomorrow or once I get back from Thanksgiving Break, as I need a properly ventilated area, and the spray booth in engineering has been occupied the past few times I checked.

Getting Final Models Ready

This week I went ahead and finalized all the 3D models for the Sound Relief Sculptures and made them ready for printing using the Materialise Magics Software available in the Engineering Computer Lab.

Now that this is done, I will be sending the files to print at Engineering, and will hopefully have the prints ready for molding and Resin casting by the end of this week.

Edit*

Printing the first batch of 6 Sound Reliefs cost me about ~$90, so around $360 total once I print out the other 3 batches.

It’s within my budget, so I’m okay with the cost. Printing at engineering is much cheaper than outsourcing to Shapeways.

I spent this week attempting to get a prototype print created, however the 3D printers available in the Imaging Studio were being a bit difficult compared to the last time I printed there. It took some trial and error, and with the varied work hours of the studio I couldn’t stay to watch the print and make sure no problems arise during the long printing process, like the PLA not sticking to the heat bed or the PLA strand tangling itself in the coil. Which led to a few prints failing during my time out, making me scrap them entirely.

Another thing, I noticed in the better of the prints. Is that the material may be too frosted, and the infill may be a bit too pronounced were it may be too intrusive when the light of monitor passes through the print.

To counter this, I will have to print to my relief sculptures with a more reliable plastic/printer, and then make a mold out of them to create clear resin casts of the models.

As I’m taking a course in moldmaking, I already have the necessary information and resource access to undertake this, and I will be having the prints printed in engineering as time is starting to become limited and I can’t afford any more failures in printing. I need these models cast by the end of thanksgiving week.

In addition, I noticed a TV screen in the 4th floor gallery that is a good size to use for this. From what I measured, it seem to be 48″ x 30″, which is fine for the size and amount of the 4 rows of 6 reliefs.

Speaking with Blake Carrington

I spoke with Blake regarding the technical methods to approach this project. I brought up the use of LED strips, the motorized LED bar track, and the brute force method of just using an underlying video screen.

He stated that both methods 1 and 3 would work for the idea I presented him regarding the illuminated relief sculptures, but recommended method 1 with the LED strips. On top of this recommendation, he also pointed me towards individually accessible LED matrices and strips that would work best for the method.

However, after my talk with Blake I continued thinking about how complicated the code would be how slow this progress bar of light would be moving, and I came to the conclusion that such code would take months creation and refining to get such slow movement to expressed smoothly in light. As such, I took it upon myself to work on the brute force method first in order to have some function and presentable for me to fall back on.

Link to Draft 1 of Video for Screen:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cIs_XnlBkk2tUqdHEA4dVt0NwvSPLw2V/view?usp=sharing

Link to Draft 2 of Video for Screen:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ytp7tGolmVwvLteN4irqfUL3QuhxV08r/view?usp=sharing

Changelog:
-Fixed static light edges being seen on both sides

====================================

In addition, I’ve also begun the 3D printing process for the 1st relief sculpture to see how translucent it will be. It will be ready later today.

Thesis Draft 2

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-MzT7N2BASQQ9NkjtzvyGrfA4cKLR7c9WbXOcAebiZA/edit?usp=sharing

Over the course of this week, I’ve been mostly researching the feasibility of the two potential LED options I have in front of me for the moving Light Progress bar. The two options being multiple LED strips laid out horizontally lining down each set of relief sculptures, or having a single light bar placed vertically on multiple motorized tracks. Both methods have their own pros and cons.

LED Strips Only

The pros to this method are that LED strips can all be controlled and sequenced from a single set of code, the wiring isn’t as complicated as it could be, and setup is otherwise completely silent as the lights transition with audio.

Not to mention there are also more dedicated pieces of software, like Vixen that allow for more user friendly timing of Audio and large LED installations that utilize Arduino.

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/nenitoshouse/how-to-configure-neopixels-using-vixen-lights-and-arduino-527631?ref=tag&ref_id=led&offset=9

However, the one potential con is that this method, if too slow in how the lights transition and move will seem very mechanical and robotic, detracting potentially from what is being highlighted.

LED bar and Motorized tracks

The pros to this method are that with a motorized track we get a seamless light movement across a horizontal line that doesn’t seem mechanical. This can also be sequenced in a single set of code, but it will be a tad more difficult, as this will involve sequencing several motors with audio as well as turning off LED bar when it reaches the end of a track, and turning on the one below it when it does.

This will also involve making a motorized track for the piece which may prove difficult as I have no background with motors and mechanics. However from what I could gather this week, I found a track system develop for makers called MakerSlide that could alleviate this issue.

Another con to this is the sound the motors could potentially make, however, with how slow the motors will be going I don’t think it will be much of an issue. That and people will be wearing headphones as well.

https://www.inventables.com/technologies/makerslide

This rail and slide mount has various installable accessories like belts and pully brackets, which is what I need for this method to work.

Second Opinions

I will be establishing meetings with Liubo Borissov and Blake Carrington for later this week to see which of these methods are the best path for me to take in terms of feasibility of work and time, or if they have any other recommendations on how to proceed with a project like this.

Studio Critique with Nick Pedersen

I greatly appreciated the talk I had with Nick Pedersen as he pretty much confirmed that the path I was planning on heading in was the correct one in terms of refining my thesis’ form to better convey the concept without having to explain to much. As I explained the project to him, he told me he was greatly interested in the concept and was surprised at just how far along I was already. Much of what he planned to tell me regarding form conveying concept to the audience was already I something I discussed with Michael and planned on executing through this form, which when explained to him, he said was much better than the original lantern mock up. By having these sound sculptures be in sequence, and have a progress bar light the sculptures as the audio meeting goes on, highlighting the contours of the relief sculpture as it passes, better illustrates the connection of audio and 3D form and concept behind audio.

I will most likely continue heading in this direction, and maybe change the original 3D lantern installation to be about the more comfortable conversations with friends that have prolonged moments of silence. That way, the flashes of light are few and far between and catch attention when they eventually light up.

As for my current progress, I will need to continue working on my Thesis paper and start getting the relief sculptures ready to print, and as they print, do more research on wiring LEDs to an Arduino, the power sources needed, and the maximum amount of LED connections possible.

Post Meeting

The feedback I received during the meeting regarding the soundbite models was a good insight into how I should rework them. To accentuate the high and low volumes to a greater more noticeable degree.