About me Weekly Assignments Final Project Agreement

Creative video by Minn Thonedra (25 May 2023).

Presentation on 7 June 2023 (Wednesday)

I am no.4, the rest of the presentation schedule is here.

Final project presentation

Table of contents

1. Questions

2. Materials and Components

3. Links

1.1 What does it do?

I often find myself pondering the underappreciated potential of cardboard as a versatile material. In this final project, I have constructed a remarkable life-size whale entirely from sustainable resources, specifically cardboard. The end result (that I aim for) is an awe-inspiring creation that truly comes to life.

In pursuit of continuous improvement and innovation, I have opted for a spiral development approach. As part of this methodology, (during phase one) I am incorporating a PIR (Passive Infrared) sensor to initiate a specific action performed by a servo mechanism. This integration of sensor and servo technology adds an interactive element to the project, enhancing its overall functionality and impact. For phase one, I have incorporated all the knowledge I learnt through out the weeks, from Electronic Design and Production, 3D printing, Flatbed cutting to Embedded programming and counting.

In phase 2 of the project, I incorporated interactivity by integrating LED lights along the mouth area of the 8m Whale. When a visitor gently pats the head of the Whale, specifically the area beneath the eyes, the LED strips illuminate in synchronization with the rhythm of the petting, creating an illusion of the Whale responding to acts of kindness.

1.2 Who's done what beforehand?

I am finding it challenging to articulate, but I am currently investing significant effort in seeking resources and building a network of participants for my final project at FAB23 in Bhutan.

Envision an annual occurrence where attendees of FAB, united in their collaboration, engage in the creation and unveiling of a sculpture that embodies the central theme of FAB.

Essentially, my focus is on ensuring the realization of my project physically at FAB23. I've been allocating excessive time and energy to searching for assistance and support.

Never-the-less, there are NO shortage of cardboard creation anywhere and everywhere, but no one has done it at the global FAB conference at this scale. Below are the artists whom have been my sources of inspiration over the years (not in particular order):

Joseph DeLappe, Kiel Johnson, & Horst Kiechle.

Photo of Joseph DeLappe Photo of Kiel Johnson Photo of Horst Kiechle

1.3 What have you designed?

With the sustainability theme in mind, I designed an endangered marine animal- a gentle beast in the sea. The effort included the creation of 3D model in Blender, unfolding the model and layout all the hundreds pieces of templates in Adobe illustrator to fit into the cardboard material size (1.4m x 1.1m).

I also make a small cardboard whales that is easily replicated and produced (die-cut) them in thousands (as a token of appreciation for participants in this project).

1.4 What parts and systems are made?

  1. An 8m long whale made out of cardboard that could last for minimum 5 years under indoor condition - 3D design
  2. Vinyl sticker for the Bar code (link to online instruction video) - 2D design
  3. Seeed Studio RP2040 on customized PCB - Embedded microcontroller
  4. Integration case

1.5 What processes have been used?

  1. Flatbed cutting for all the cardboard, for A-flute (5.5mm) and E-flute (1.8mm) - subtractive fabrication process
  2. 3D printing for the PCB case - Additive fabrication process
  3. Electronic Board CNC milling
  4. Embedding programming for the PIR sensor and actuators (Servo)
  5. Sticker printing and cutting for Bar code (Link to online instruction video for Mini Cardboard Whales)

1.6 What questions needed to be answered?

  1. How many manhour required to finish the sculptures?
  2. Is it necessary to build life-size?
  3. Who is paying?

1.7 How will it be evaluated?

  1. Implementation of Spiral Development: The initial "prototype" has been successfully created in Singapore. Contrary to common occurrences in life where actions do not align with words, this incident stands as a rare exception for me.
  2. To successfully arrange all the logistics to Bhutan.
  3. To get participants excited about building it together on the spot. A group photo of all FAB23 participants with the project would be bonus.
  4. Most challenging task, open collaboration (invitation) to all fellow students to do something on the whale (E.g. design a mechanism to shoot something from the head, projection mapping, doodling on the skin, etc)

2. Materials and components

Qty Description Price Link
SEEED STUDIO XIAO RP2040 ARDUINO RP2040 XIAO RP2040 - ARM® Cortex®-M0+ MCU 32-Bit Embedded Evaluation Board $7.81 https://www.digikey.sg/en/products/detail/seeed-technology-co-ltd/102010428/14672129?s=N4IgTCBcDaIB4EsCGB7ABAJwA5gAwBZcQBdAXyA
SERVOMOTOR RC 4.8V Positional Rotation DC Motor Servomotor, RC (Hobby) Incremental 4.8VDC $5.24 https://www.digikey.sg/en/products/detail/dfrobot/SER0006/7597224
PIR Motion Sensor HC-SR501 Detect movement or motion within the range of 7m $3.60 https://kuriosity.sg/products/pir-motion-sensor-hc-sr501?variant=44757201256761¤cy=SGD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic
Jumper Wire Male-Male 40x 20cm long and come in a strip of 40 pieces (4 sets with 10 of each colour) $3.60 https://kuriosity.sg/products/jumper-wire-male-male-40x?_pos=2&_sid=51f4512cd&_ss=r
Heavy-duty Cardboard Cardboard dimension 2.3m x 1.4m x 10mm $28.00 https://tri-wall.com.sg/aa.html
Daler Rowney Graduate Acrylic Colour All colours come in a 500ml squeezable pot $13.38 https://artfriendonline.com/ProductDetails/FamilyDetails/DR_GRA_AC

3. Link to files