ceri-pace process

Complete process for casting the multi directional double-shingle carapace. 3 tiles cast so far, going for 9 for a complete texture.

v4.5

now with both tiles and the full 16 tile aggregation. bottom two images show a two-plane tessellation.

Building on the previous framework for tessellation, four tiles here aggregate with four different relationships.

I'm thinking that mounting can be accomplished similarly to how a christmas tree stand holds a christmas tree - a collar on the underside around the inner void (which plunges in about two and half inches) of the tiles could hold small bolts that tighten until they firmly hold the tile.

I am now investigating how I can use our available tools to my advantage in creating toolpaths. This is creating a back-and-forth with the level and form of the relief on the surface. A few quick examples that I ran to understand issues of scale of the tools, etc.

While this is not exactly what I'm hoping to achieve (and it's messy because I wasn't cleaning up my custom tool paths after contouring my mesh), the result made me think of trefoil knots. Since we're casting the inverse of the ball of the tool, I've been thinking about what we can achieve with long rope-like paths - I am going to try one custom path breaking the form into sections with different orientations to see if I can give it a knot-like feeling, though I'm hoping to get something more fined grained. Another feature I'm looking to exploit is the ability to create deep and thin creases or valleys since the ball of the mill can glide easily up each side of the negative.


Experimenting to see how fine a resolution I could hope for, I came up with this.

v4

In the latest iteration, I finally found a working method to maintain the linearity of the secondary system of lines while creating an active topography on top of the piece. The renders are of one of the two tiles I will create - by employing two tile types and line systems, greater variety is achieved in the tessellation.

And by scaling the tile, I was able to fit 4 into the surface area of one 12" x 12" block, meaning that I will have 16 total tiles to work with, creating the opportunity for a more complex system.

The single tile, the transparent material casting shadow back onto the front surface from the back, the light is used to emphasize the symmetrical geometry of the tile.

Playing with light and transparency, how the tiles would look when viewing them perpendicular to the wall. 

How the tiles might aggregate on a curved frame that arcs off the wall

I started playing around with transparency and lighting working off the last tile that both cast and diffused light. The final tile tectonics aren't quite worked out but the idea is to have hot spots that diffuse through the tile and cast on the tiles surrounding.

This is a faceted iteration made by omitting the "tab" step in modo. Keeping with the original goal of this form (see quoted text from first post) a pocket can now be understood as a tool for directing light. "This is an exercise to find a simple component of a diatome that can be aggregated to create non-uniform topography. A tile cupped at one edge can combine with another tile to produce a volume at 0°, 60°, 120° and so on. If a tile is left out a pocket can be formed."

Two Versions

Going back to my earlier idea of a literal landscape of translucence, my tiles create a continuous topography across the aggregations and hint at a continuous landscape that extends beyond the tiles.

ceri-pace iteration

I generated custom toolpaths using the contour command to make them responsive to the geometry of the piece.

This iteration continues the shingle-carapace motif. This time I wanted to play with inorganic vs organic(subdivided geometry) forms in the same piece. Also custom toolpaths were generated to heighten this contrast and highlight the bulbus organic area where lighting will go.