Week 16 - Wildcard Week

Assignment

Design and produce something with a digital process (incorporating computer-aided design and manufacturing) not covered in another assignment, documenting the requirements that your assignment meets, and including everything necessary to reproduce it.

Introduction

In today's classes we had primers in various techniques we had never looked at before: Digital embroidery, Light painting, Softrobotics, Brazing & Welding.

Digital Embroidery Project

I will first address the first task which I completed, namely embroidering material.

Design Files

• SVG Design File (ZIP)
• PES Design File

I originally intended to buy loads of white t-shirts and do a nice design for all my classmates but forgot in time and decided to embroider the white t-shirt I was wearing under my shirt. My chosen design is an iconic pop art composition, Sunrise 1965 by Roy Lichtenstein.

The documentation made available to us by Julia Gässe is extensive and invaluable.

The machine we have in the lab is the Brother Innovis - NV870 Special Edition.

File Preparation Process

1. Downloaded Inkstitch from Inkstitch.org and verified it's available in the Extensions tab of Inkscape
2. Found the image of Sunrise 1965 by Roy Lichtenstein online
3. Used Autotrace in Inkscape:

In Multicolour tab, click on Colours and set number of scans to 5. More scans mean higher detail level but also more work deleting nodes to keep outlines simple.

Make sure there are as few curves as reasonably possible. Clean up using Path > Simplify (Ctrl+L) and manually delete nodes. Once satisfied, check the tool path in the Params part of the Inkstitch menu.

Embroidery Process

Selected the required colors of cotton - dark for writing, and yellow, blue and red for the pattern. The fabric needs to be properly secured in the holder:

The t-shirt initially failed because the material was too thin and loose. After Adai stopped the machine and removed the errant thread, I switched to a thicker piece of material which was easier for the holder to keep tightly clamped. I plan to sew it onto jeans, trousers or a jacket as a patch.

Threading Process

Threading is simpler than it looks, except for the needle eye where slim hands and good eyesight are helpful.

Embroidery in Action

Reflections

It was quite hypnotic watching the needle jam up and down like a jackhammer, jabbing about and at the same time at any time it felt like it could careen out of control. But in the end, all's well that ends well. It came out beautifully as far as I'm concerned. This is fun and I want to do more with it soon. Really enjoyed this task!. I also spent some time with the Light painting and robotics but it didn't turn out complete. I would like to try some other possibilities such as electroplating and the silicon moulds. This is something to look forward to.