This week has been relevant to my artistic practice. I can envision many uses for the CNC cutting machine, the shopbot. I initially imagined it to be as simple as using regular power tools, but it was not as straightforward since variables such as toolpaths, cut depths and tool sizes must be interpreted, calculated and laid out before cutting can begin. Overall, it was a successful experience.
At the start of this process, there were two possible directions I had laid out for completing this week’s assignment to "make something large." I could make a sculpture or make something useful, like a piece of furniture. I browsed the Opendesk site and signed up for an account when I found a piece that seemed fairly simple to cut and assemble: a rolling under-desk cabinet that could function as a tabouret to keep my art supplies in. The Opendesk folks wanted me to fill out a questionnaire before sending me the file, which I did, but they did not send me to plans until Monday morning, so it was too late for my schedule by then.
I decided to make a sculpture instead, using the Morningstar which is the default form I have dedicated to my study of digital fabrication.
I decided to cut star forms in descending sizes out of the OSD particle board we were given to complete the assignment.
I planned to arrange the forms with a LED strip in between each layer to create a light emitting wall sculpture which would really "pop." I spent hours playing with colors and configurations before settling on the black, red, yellow, white and green combination.
I created the file in Photoshop and transferred it to Illustrator to vectorize the image. There was a problem with the file in that double lines appeared in the final .dxf file format. Tom helped me fix the issue before cutting, he also added tabs to each form I order to prevent the smaller pieces being sucked up by the powerful vacuum action of the dust collector. The form was easy to cut with a quarter inch downturned mill – there were no notches and the star forms were not intricately detailed. It took some time to set up the correct toolpaths, tool information, cut depth for the OSD sheet which was .47 inches deep and required an additional depth of .05 inches to make sure the tool cut completely through.
The origin point was set after the sheet was screwed down to the sacrificial layer, the mill was inserted in the collet, and then the mill was zeroed out in relation to the cutting surface using the metal plate.
The shopbot software was glitchy, and had to be restarted on several occasions.
Once everything was set up on the shopbot's accompanying computer, the mill was turned on, making sure the rotation was set to 10K rpm (for the .25" size mill), reading simply "10" on the box, the key had been turned and the green button was pressed. The milling took about 35 minutes total.
My partner used a 1/8th mill in order to cut smaller holes and notches in his desk parts, and his piece took a much longer time to cut.
After the successful cut, the piece was removed, and everything as still attached to the sheet because of the tabs. It was tedious to remove each piece with a tab, and some damage to some of the stars occurred due to the inconsistency of the material.
I brought the pieces home to my studio and began to process them into the envisioned sculpture. The edges needed to be filed, then the surface needed to be sanded.
I layer of primer, gesso, was used to prep the piece for painting.
Due to the uneven surface of the OSD, the pieces required several coats of paint to achieve solid color.
I have used OSD in sculptures before, but always as a "behind the scenes" surface, never as the main material because it's not fun to work with and has many qualities that make it difficult to work with.
I think the treatment it was given in this instance was successful, and in the end, the texture of the OSD created interesting shadows with the LED strip lights attached in between the star layers, giving it an interesting glow. The final piece is called Eclipse.