FAB ACADEMY 2014

CO. Light was made to create nice Lighting atmospheres through a custom design desk Lamp. Everything was done from scratch using the Fab Inventory stuff, Fab Lab’s machines with some concrete and wood.

You interact with the Lamp by dimming the light intensity and changing the RGB color game through two potentiometers; They and the RGB LED system are connected to a main board as a networking device, this communication let you enjoy all the program set.

Base and shade were made in concrete that I molded and casted with a mix that will turn into a salmon color because was added red dry clay to the mix.

CO. is a business idea that investigates innovative uses of concrete that looks for develop new uses and interactions through design, art, architecture, etc. with the help of Fab Labs and the industry of cement.

CO. is a game of words, initially I thought Concrete-o as a name because is similar in spanish and english; what only changes is the o instead of e, after playing with the word came up CO.

CO. Light is a concreted and interactive RGB lamp thought and designed to be made in any Fab Lab, that means you can do it by yourself following the instructions and using the open source files.

The Lamp lights with a RGB LED system. With a control built in you can interact with the lamp and will let you turn on/off, dimming the light intensity and change the RGB game colors.

-Project Management
-3D Design
-3D modeling
-3D printings
-Computer controlled machining
-Molding and casting
-Electronics design
-Electronics production
-Inputs (Potentiometers)
-Outputs (RGB LED boards)
-Networking (RGB LED Lighting system)
-Programing (Outputs, Input and Networking)

At the moment everything has worked, the only fact that had problems was the releasing of the concrete that broke at first, I repeated but I had to sacrifice the molds to release it again.

I designed the Lamp in order to be an object comfortable and intuitive to use. I used Rhino to 3D model it, with this software I did all the details and fabrication files, except for the electronics which I used Eagle. My aim was to design the Lamp with the possibilities that Fab Lab’s machines offer so every detail and piece were specifically though for each one, also the materials like wood which has a thickness that determine the thickness of the concrete pieces, molds and wooden structure.

-Electronics were designed in Eagle and fabricated with the Roland Modela
INPUT - OUTPUT - NETWORKING
- Structure was designed in Rhino and fabricated with a Shopbot CNC Machine
- Base and Shade were designed in Rhino and molds fabricated with a Shopbot CNC Machine
- Potentiometer Knobs were designed in Rhino and fabricated with a Ultimaker 3D printer

Final Project files

At this point of the course I learnt how to use Eagle and electronic design basic circuits devices, apart of soldering which surprised me the times I am spending now to solder the components, I consider now I have good soldering skills. I have learnt a lot of programing in the Arduino IDE environment, I still require help but I know what I need is to get more use to the languages used and logic. The most important thing I learnt is to know what to research in case get stuck in something; weeks ago I even had no idea what to look for on internet, so that is what it makes me more happy, I can jump these barriers already.

Another achievement is that now I am designing better because always I am thinking how to fabricate it, so for me is probably the most useful knowledges. Also what machine, software or technic is better to applicate.

How is the energy efficiency use of my lamp? and How it could be an energy optimization of it?

My project does not stop after Fab Academy, I want to improve the lighting system to make it more efficient and the interactive system make it wirelessly. Now I am researching how to do it and I will start testing in the next weeks.