Mental Armor | Madhura Kharche

For this project, I decided to make something that uses the idea of carving out material to filter light. I designed a pattern on rhino, and turned it into a CAM file with two different paths (one for cutting outside the line, and one for cutting inside).
I had started with the idea of making a lampshade, but because the material I could have used was not enough to make a shade for the lamp I wanted to use, I decided to make it a cover for a candle.

    

 

Mental Armour

This project was inspired by the all-nighters most of us do in studio. While in studio, people sleep on the floor, on chairs, and on desks but are almost never comfortable. I live off-campus and therefore am often taking naps in studio. This is a bed (at half scale due to lack of materials and time) for one person.

It is made with ribs that are connected by a "spine." This spine goes along the curves of someone’s back. The ribs that intersect the spine follow the curves of a body with the arms beside it.

I envision it being something that people can reproduce and store in their cubbies. It can come apart and only take up a small volume. I visualize it being used with a memory foam sheet inside for extra comfort (those available at Target for about $20).

Mental Armor 6 | Sam Riordan

My "Mental Armor" project was inspired by my family, and the obligatory gift-giving that would have to happen during the upcoming Christmas holidays. I didn't particularly need anything new, which initially hindered my design process. But, with Christmas rapidly approaching, I realized I could force the CNC machine to do all the heavy lifting in the present manufacturing for me. Thus, my project was born, and with the CNC I created a series of bookends, the tidiest of which can be seen below:

(The "I" is my little sister's first initial. Adorable, I know)

These are all of the pieces I cut. Unfortunately, the CNC router bit chewed up the edges of a lot of my pieces, and also wussed out on cutting the notches needed to fit the pieces together, so I had to fix a lot of things in wood shop later. This project definitely taught me to make sure to fully understand a piece of technology before attempting to use it. I also learned that you can force automated machinery to crank out presents for your family members! Yay holidays!

Mental Armor

I am a French Horn player.
Practice time stolen from studio work demands an efficiency of preparation, a readiness move without pause from designing and making to rehearsing or performing without the least time lost to scurrying around for equipment.  Once in rehearsal however, a brass player may spend a quarter of an hour at a time waiting without playing; most sections deal with this economically by arraying about themselves an assortment of simple stands and supports, but because a typical French Horn stand has such an awkward shape and dimension, players usually avoid even bringing them to rehearsal.

Rather than create a bulky mechanical assembly of pins and joints, this stand merely slots together, laying almost flat and adding very little weight, so that it can fit inside a typical folder or music pouch.  Assembled, its angled slots give it rigidity but permit it to retain its lightness and portability.

The stand has made its first concert debut at the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra's performance today at Shadyside Presbyterian Church.

Assignment 6: The Mill from Hell

Our ambitious goal was to create an installation for the Margaret Morrison elevator.  Our design intent was to create a wavy structure that sat non-obstructively behind the railing, but still covered parts of the ugly eggshell-colored wall.  Our structure consisted of supportive spines onto which ribs of varying thicknesses were attached.  This implied an undulating surface across 2 of the walls.  The sides of the ribs were to be painted to create a playful environment while allowing cool light reflections on the previously-mentioned ugly walls.

We then proceeded to fill out paperwork that would give us legal permission to install this structure

On to rhino modeling...

We even bought some lovely (expensive) materials to enhance our design

TIME TO MILL!  This is what the CNC mill was supposed to do:

Whoops... looks like the mill was possessed

...awkward

We were really sad :(

But that's okay.  We learned not to buy crappy plywood from Home Depot.  As the almighty father of Zack Weaver would state: "Crap in, crap out."

We hope one day to actually be able to install this in the MMCH elevator, but until then, we hope that every time you walk into that ugly insane asylum-esque closet, you imagine a lovely (high quality) installation that takes your eye off the ugly unicorn-shaped crack on the elevator door.

Shitshow brought to you by Chandler and Rachel.

Assignment 6: Kayla Quinn: The Acoustics of timber

I started my project by thinking of a box, the size the shape and the position of what could be held within the box. Then i began to change the box into a shelf and what was the best way to show off the object held upon it. I wanted to to flow, to have the object become part of the shelf.

I then began to specify the object within this "shelf-box" and thought about rhythm, pattern, and overall natural flow and from it i thought of music and wanted to highlight the complete beauty of record albums. They preform the best flow of sound (way better than and digital version). I thought about the circle inside a square shape of a record and how a record player is made.

After i settled on a design i created the model in rhino and cmc routed it with Liz, Danielle, and Carter. The machine broke down many a times and we had a lot of fun in wood shop fixing the problems. We learned from the project and eventually all was well and the product was created.

Mental Armor

Scott Holmes:

 My project is a lamp shade for the typical circular dorms lamps. They lamps are too bright for the space they keep lit. This will decrease the brightness and hang directly from the plastic pre-installed cover.