Final Project Overview
| Week | Describtion |
|---|---|
| 1 | Idea generatrion and sketch |
| 2 | Idea development, some ditail, intial 3D modeling and printing |
| 3 | Structure research, design development |
| 8 | Concept Rebuild, Research |
Week 1 Process
Initial Sketch
Lampen table / a luminate table
- Evolving from the previous work - Dcell Lamp (2021), the Lampen Table is a dynamic furniture for daily life. Its organic form, shaped by a rotating inner structure, invites touch and play, creating a living interplay of soft light and shadow that transforms with the user.
Inspired by Fibonacci Sequence, Ivan Black
I try to make a spin bone inside that it can intractive with the environment by digital control. outside, I will set a skin (might be silicon or TPU) as a packing.
Week 2 Process
The context of the project is showing the primordial digital age. A cell, an embryo, is a metaphor to define the initial of the digital. It is an invasion by the digital world to invade human society. Moreover, it announces that the digital age is coming. It invades our life, not only in the virtual world but also in our physical world.
The lights here are designed to lighten our fears of technology and demolish the anxiety of techno-surprise. A glimmering light is beating. The form looks as if it is a wrapped embryo. It suggests a very human vessel to incubate hope to face the complex world.
Sketch development
The form will change and lighten when a person passes by.
This a core area like a brain that contain circuit boards and sensors to interact with its surroundings.
For mechanical part, I have 3 version to judge.
- Version 1: Expansion installation
- Version 2: Rotate installation
- Version 3: Robot arm
For flexible surface
- Casting silicone
- Cloth sewing
- TPU sewing
- 3D print chain mail
3D modeling and Printing
Week 3 Process
There are several mechanical methods to achieve vertical movement, such as an Ordinary crank motion.
Common Mechanisms for Vertical Movement:
- Lead Screw & Nut System: Converts rotational motion from a motor into precise vertical motion, often used in lifts for high load capacity.
- Scissor Linkage Mechanism: Utilizes a crisscross, X-pattern folding structure to extend or retract vertically.
- Rack-and-Pinion: A pinion gear meshes with a vertical rack, converting rotational motion into linear displacement, often used for moderate vertical distances.
- Belt or Chain Drives: A motor drives a belt or chain to raise or lower a platform, although they require careful safety measures against free-fall.
- Hydraulic/Pneumatic Actuators: Uses fluid pressure to drive a piston vertically.
- Cam & Follower: A rotating cam converts motion to lift a follower vertically, frequently used in automated mechanisms.
An overview of telescopic systems can be seen in this video: Telescopic Machines
(x)Hydraulic
- Prone to leakage and mechanical failure
- Requires regular maintenance and fluid replacement
- Potential environmental and safety concerns with hydraulic fluid
- Generally less precise in positioning
(✓)scrwing machanism (similar to that used in adjustable standing desks)
- More reliable and durable for long-term use
- Clean and maintenance-free operation
- Suitable for consumer-grade products
- Provides precise and stable positioning
I found a helpful tutorial on screw-driven structures, and believe a 3-stage telescopic screw actuator would be well-suited for the vertical motion part of my design.
Following a modular design approach, the structure can first be developed as a single mechanical unit. Once completed, multiple units can be arranged in a linear configuration to form a table lamp. If arranged in a mirrored layout, it can be extended into a floor lamp.
Week 8 Process
Concept Rebuild
I’ve always wondered: why do we use technology but fear it at the same time? From AI to robots, every new wave of technology makes people uneasy. I don’t want to criticize this fear. Instead, I want to use design to make technology gentle and tangible, so people can slowly let go of their unease through interaction.
So I created the Digital Cell Lamp. A cell is the smallest unit of life. I use the lamp as a metaphor for the digital world as an embryo. The lamp has three parts: a base, a shade, and a small inner projection piece—a part users can 3D‑print themselves. When the light turns on, this “digital embryo” casts a shadow on the shade. Light dispels fear; the shadow is like a vessel that holds the courage to face a complex world.
I made the projection piece small and easy to produce because I want to turn users from “consumers” into “creators.” I also resist the idea that everything has to be minimalist. Life needs complexity; it needs interesting things. This lamp isn’t for lighting up a room—it’s for creating a small, living moment at home.
I try to design the Lampen Table, a small side table that can change shape.But the mechanism was too complex, so I broke it down into small telescopic units.
I plan to make a table lamp with a row of telescopic rods. Every ten minutes, one rod would push up, lifting a soft silicone surface while the light turned on. Six rods completed one cycle in exactly one hour. I became fascinated by this rhythm—it felt like a heartbeat.
Then I can turn the structure vertically into a floor lamp. The base is in the middle, with rods extending left and right. The right side still moves every ten minutes, while the left side moves only after the right side has completed two hours (one full cycle). This asymmetrical timing made the lamp seem to have a kind of “memory.”
Challenge
My current challenge is: how do I make the mechanical structure reliable and easy to produce, while keeping it interesting? I don’t want to simplify it until it’s boring, nor complicate it until no one dares to touch it.
to let thoughts about the digital age not just stay in the mind, but gently enter daily life—through every change of light and shadow, every deformation, every small interaction between person and lamp. And there, incubate the hope and joy we need to face this complex world.
Clock and lamp Research
Designed by Kutarq Studio, Totem de Luz is a kinetic lamp distinguished by its fully exposed mechanical system—pulleys, counterweights, and tensioners are all clearly visible. Users physically adjust the light source’s vertical position to alter its function: when raised to the top, the light diffuses upward through an onyx diffuser to create ambient illumination; when lowered to the side opening, the beam focuses to serve as task lighting for reading.
Girasole, a project by Yu-Chun Hsiao from Berlin's Weissensee Academy of Art, is a floor lamp that mimics the characteristics of natural light. It employs a lead screw mechanism to slowly raise and lower an LED panel along an aluminum tube while enabling horizontal rotation, simulating the sun's trajectory throughout the day—from warm-toned low angles at dawn, to cool-toned high angles at noon, and back to warm hues as it descends at dusk.
Prinx-3D Printed Modular Re-entrant structures Lamp
The core innovation lies in the use of auxetic structures—these materials expand laterally when stretched rather than contracting, exhibiting a negative Poisson's ratio. By controlling the thickness and design of the modules, the designer achieves precise control over deformation. The lamp consists of three distinct modules that can be assembled into various configurations.
... to be continued