Week 01 - Final Project Proposal

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The idea is to build an analog sound module array to compose basic rhythms.

Speed, Pitch and volume knobs can be adjusted.

 

There is a central rotating  3D printed piece with marks on it that can be read by an IR sensor placed inside the central chamber.

 

I was thinking that the central piece either can be 3D printed or maybe create a more basic piece with exchangeable  lasercut vinyls marked with a rhythm pattern.

 

This central 3D printed piece will rotate on its own axis. Movement could be provided by an Stepper Motor.

 

You can combine more than one module to compose a whole rhythm. One can be the bass drum, the other the cymbals and the third a loop sample for example.

 

Since the basic casing design is an equilateral triangle, modularity can be achieved easily. A probable dimension of the module can be a 30cm side equilateral triangle. It will depend on the inside mechanisms. Tomas and Luciano thought it may be too big, I will think about that.

 

The casing could be made out of laser cut pieces, maybe wood or plastic. And the corners can be 3D printed so to combine both digital fabrication techniques. Alucobond will be a nice solution to achive the curved edges though.

 

The idea is that the IR sensor, - or maybe a measurement laser-  detect only 1 and 0s, positive and negative so to play the loop of the chosen sound every time it senses one of the marks of the central piece.

 

The analog becomes digital and then again analog.

 

Somehow I like the idea that sound is contained in a physical object like a 3D printed piece.

 

My first  idea was to include a  speaker to the module,  but I think that it could be more useful to only have a sound output plug in the back of the module and you can connect it wherever you want, still maybe I will include this option since to hear various modules at the same time the user will need the same number of speakers as of modules, and thats not a great solution. Or maybe I can include a small sound mixer, for all the channels, but that I think will be a whole different project. I should stick with simple procedures.

 

Talking with Luciano and Tomas, appeared the possibility of making another typology of module. A Sound output module. It could be a central module that works as a hub, or maybe the support of several modules, a speaker-table so to speak. I would like to give each module as much as autonomy as possible, so I am not sure about this option at this moment, but still is a possible solution.

 

I was thinking that to make this project successfully  work, I will need to produce at least 3 modules to compose a rythm. That is a problem because I dont know if I will have the time to make 3 of them.

 

An interesting feature to incorporate will be to make this modules communicate with each other somehow. Its much more complex though.

I need to think more about this. I thought that the rhythm synchronization of each module can be just empirical, try and error, but it could be cool to make sync it automatically.

 

Other idea to explore is to relate the colors of the 3D printed pieces with each typology of sound. Depending of the color, the sensor recognizes a different kind of sound, stored in the memory. It is a nice idea, but since I was thinking about 3D printing them, it could be difficult to achieve if other person wants to recreate this project in the future and doesnt have the same hue of PLA or ABS filament. Still, color dependant sound would be a big plus to the project. If this is incorporated, a cool feature can be also included: LED illumination depending of the type of 3D printed piece you are playing. Blue is for drums, Red for cymbals....etc.

 

Producing all the physical parts will be challenging, but the software will be even more difficult. That will be the part where I should spend most of my time.

 

Lets see how it evolves.

 

 

 

Front View

Back View

Top View

Exploded Axonometric 

(principal parts)

3D Printed Sounds

360°  View