DRAFT INTERDISCIPLINARY SKIN

Prior to creation of my final interdisciplinary skin, a draft was to be made in order to test and gain an understanding of how to mimic some of the movements of the skin. The profile of the skin is defined by the central curve of the handle with 'flaps' on both sides which bend upward, forming the tray of shovel. The chosen side to be modeled was to be the side which would sit on top of the shovel.

Sketch of metal shape process

In order to gain an understanding for the bends, curves and overall movements required to create the skin, a simple sketch was drawn to provide a visual explanation. Furthermore, by visually mapping out the movements required, guide lines were able to be drawn on the sheet metal, allowing for an easier task of metal shaping and removing any chances of guesswork and inaccuracies.

Guidelines and arrows to mark required movements in metal sheet

The most difficult portion of the skin to replicate would undoubtedly be the central curve where the handle meets the shovel blade, and this is where the draft would begin. In order to create a 'dip' in the aluminium metal sheet, a set of lines were drawn to mark out the ends of the curve and using the large end of a wooden bossing mallet on the sandbag, a the skin was hit repeatedly creating a 'dent' in its skin. By creating a slight dip in the shape of the metal sheet, it was able to be transferred over to an anvil in order to further the dip and shape it into the desired curve.

Curved anvil to mimic central curve of shape

Beating metal around anvil to mould curve

Curve fits shape quite accurately

By hitting the metal sheet against the curve of the anvil, a nice curve was able to be made. However, this proved to be the incorrect method and time for this action. By moulding the curve prior to creating the bends in the shape for the shovel tray, it became impossible to fit the sheet into the metal bending brake. Additionally, even though the central curve of the shape looked to be identical that which was able to be reproduced using the anvil, it was ultimately the incorrect procedure to create the profile of the shape, as it was slightly larger than the template curve. By using an anvil that was the same size as the curve of the shape, it actually created a 'stretched' face to the metal sheet. Once stretched, if not exact to size it would be nearly impossible to reduce/shrink to stretched face to correct size, made worse by the intricacy of the curve.

Ultimately, due to the incorrect order of tasks and misuse of tools in order to achieve desired changes to the sheet metal, the draft was scrapped and a new skin was fabricated.

INTERDISCIPLINARY OBJECT

This second project submission required the fabrication of an aluminium skin to adhere to the contours of another student's object. The chosen object was to be from a student from another discipline within the Built Environment, and as a result of a trade with a student within the Construction Management and Property degree, the chosen interdisciplinary object was a shovel.

Interdisciplinary student's starting object

Interdisciplinary student's laser cut template

Template shape is quite planar and symmetrical

The shovel template is relatively simple, with three slight bends upward along its blade. The object also has a central curve at the end of the shovel blade to receive the handle shaft.

OBJECT AND SKIN - FINAL SUBMISSION

1) Link to Blog

2) Link to Chosen Object

3) Link to Photogrammetry

4) Link to Construction of template

5) Link to Metal Mashing Trial

6) Link to Metal shaping of Chosen Object

7) Link to Final Object and Skin

OBJECT AND SKIN

The difficulty of the chosen object was truly seen during this workshop, as it was incredibly hard to mimic the contours, shape and form of the human hand. Although the larger features of the hand such as the knuckles and wrist were able to be reproduced, the more intricate movements and details of the object, proved to be extremely hard to fabricate, especially due to the limited and small scale of sheet metal.

Chosen object - My hand

Wrist curvature of final skin

Slope of shape form

Side view of metal skin

Top view of skin showing wrist and knuckle movements

Knuckle dip and side wrapping

Front slope towards fingers

Side wrap of metal skin

Inside of skin, showing wrist and knuckle dips

Skin placed on object

Side view of skin on object

Skin with protruding fingers

Partial wrapping of side

Top view of skin over object

Final object and skin

METAL SHAPING OF CHOSEN OBJECT

The process of fabricating the skin of the chosen object was quite a complex and intricate task. Due to the meandering and contoured shape of the hand object, the task of matching these, especially such a small scale would prove to be difficult.

Firstly, a piece of aluminium metal sheeting was cut to size in order to have a base sheet. By generously tracing the shape and outline of the hand object; allowing an offset of 10 - 20 mm on each side to allow room for error and to play with, curved shape was created.

Outline of object to be cut

Following this process, the edges of the metal sheet were then shrunk and stretched, both using the machine as well as the more traditional mallet against the tree stump shrinker. Of the two methods, the tree stump shrinker, although slower, yielded results that were much more aesthetically pleasing, as the sheet metal shrinker indented lines and creases into the skin of the metal. In order to impart curvature into the form of the sheet metal, it was inverted and hit into the sandbag using a teardrop mallet against a sandbag.

Inside of shape was hammered against the sandbag

Using the same tools and procedure, a circle was marked out and a bump was created at the far end of the shape, giving the shape of a 'wrist' of the hand.

A region was marked and dented inwards, creating a wrist

After moulding the wrist of the shape, creating a dip towards the area where the knuckles would meet the fingers. This was achieved by using the wooden stake anvil and wooden tear drop mallet. By hitting the sheet metal at the point of the stake, and slowly progressing forward, slow and flowing dip was able to be imprinted into the sheet metal.

The form would need to be brought down, to follow the contouring of knuckles to fingers

The process of shaping the wrist and hand was the most delicate and emphasised task, whereby it was intended to 'wrap' and 'mould' the object on both sides using the metal sheet. This was completed whereby the metal sheet was hit into different anvils, producing a curvature to the sides of the sheet. Of the tools the wooden stake anvil proved to be the most effective, due to its hard yet soft surface, allowing the metal to be hit hard but would not leave an imprint or mark upon the skin of the sheet. The form of the wrist curve was generated through the process of trial and error, where the metal sheet was moulded, tested to see if it would fit the object, with a constant repetition of this process.

Object was used a reference for curvature required to wrap wrist

The task of inscribing the detail of 'fingers' and gaps between fingers was an incredibly difficult process, due to the small size of the gaps (especially between the middle and ring finger) and due to the compactness of the sheet size in which a curve would have to be made, it was established that the best option in order to represent the fingers and the gaps would be to create a ridge where the gaps would be located. By turning the metal sheet on its side, angling it on the edge of the wooden stake and subsequently hitting the edge with a riveting hammer, a ridge was able to be imparted on the metal sheet.

Ridges of finger gaps, marked by red and black lines

However, the process of metal shaping of the chosen object did not come without issues. Due to using the metal shrinker, crease lines were imprinted on the edges of the skin. Even with polishing hammers and the English Wheel it was still quite visible on the outer skirt of the metal skin.

Crease and teeth lines from metal shrinker

In addition to using the shrinker, due to constant and overuse of hammers and mallets with the intent to create sharp dips, tears and microlesions were beginning to form in the side of the skin.

Tear forming on side of metal skin

Throughout the process of metal shaping to mimic the form of the chosen object, much was learnt about the materiality and malleability of metals. It was understood that metal, specifically aluminium is very easy to mould due to its short memory, allowing for mistakes and imperfections to be reversed and repaired. The limits of metal and its capabilities was also understood, where it was difficult to mould an object with multiple movements, contours and details such as a human hand. It is possible that I would have benefited from the use of the thinner aluminium of which my draft and trial run comprised of. Although thicker aluminium metal sheeting has benefits due to its higher strength and sturdiness, thinner metal sheeting allows a higher degree of malleability, moveability and therefore workability; which would have definitely benefited from in my choosing of the object.

METAL MASHING TRIAL

Prior to making a start on the fabrication of the metal skin, it was important to get an understanding and a feel for the process of shaping. With the intent of creating a draft object (unrelated to the chosen shape) and ultimately fiddle with the metal sheeting, this proved to be a useful tasks in order to be familiar with the processes and steps required in order to shape a metal sheet. This task, although recreational was also challenging, as it required thought into how to move and alter the metal sheet in order to create a desired outcome or visual quality. Although the final product was nothing of an object, the time spent during the workshop provided an understanding into the materiality, workability and also labour required for metal shaping.

With the sole purpose of getting a feel for the tools and mashing the metal sheeting, using a spare sheet of aluminium sheet found in the workshop, was used as a test dummy. The sheet was cut down to a circular shape using the sheet metal cutter as well as tin snips. The edges were then 'shrunk' by using a hammer against the tree stump shrinker. Ridges and curvature to the metal sheet were creating by using the teardrop shaped mallet against a sandbag, allowing to create a nice curve. Different tools were used to aid the movement of the sheet metal. Most interesting and efficient, was the use of the wooden stake anvil:

Wooden stake anvil using teardrop mallet

Using the wooden stake and mallet, a 'dent' was able to be imprinted into the metal sheet and pushed using the curvature of the stake. Additionally, the point of the stake was a useful tool to create sharp bends and dips in the sheet metal, a process I would undoubtedly depend highly on due to my chosen objects multitude of dips and contouring.

The wooden stake allowed for a significant 'dip' in the metal

Steep creases were able to be created

By messing around and testing different tools, anvils and types of equipment, the metal sheet became quite unusable and convoluted. In using such a multitude of tools, ridges, dents and cracks began to form on the sheet. It was explained to me that, aside from using different tools as a test run, a reason for the formation of bumps and uneven surfaces was actually due to the thickness and make of the aluminium. The incredibly thin 1mm sheet was very easily malleable and able to be moulded even by hand.

Even though the final object was nothing more than a scrap piece of dented metal, the effort and techniques to shape metal were learnt during this experimental workshop. By just merely trying different tools, I gained an understanding into the malleability and workability of the sheet metal, whereby usually any 'mistake' can be reversed and due to the material's 'short memory'. These lessons learnt during the workshop provided a briefing into the processes and tasks that would be to come next week.

Final piece of scrap metal

Significant curvature was embedded into the sheet

However, the inside was quite heavily damaged, ridged and creased

CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPLATE

The construction of the template consisted of laser cutting the pieces to create a stack of the object. This was achieved where 123D Make's exported plans were imported into Adobe Illustrator and run through the laser printer. With the desire to create an object that was structurally stable but also a material to visually symbolised the natural aspect of the human body, wood; specifically 3mm Plywood was chosen as the construction material.

Laser Cut file in Illustrator

After laser cutting the pieces of the object, it was then able to glued and pieced together, forming a 3D template / shell of my hand. The final sizing of the hand template measures: 260mm x 160mm x 70mm

Model of 'Hand' object

Smaller pieces (marked by circles) were discarded

Side elevation of  model

Object consists of 21 stacked layers

Top view of model