The SOFT Rockers use enhanced fabrication techniques to curve flat wooden panels, and have solar panels

Developed for MIT's Festival of Art Science Technology, the SOFT Rockers use enhanced fabrication techniques to curve flat wooden panels, and have solar panels installed to charge the gadgets of those who relax within (All images courtesy of Phil Seaton)

There's nothing quite like an old rocking chair for finding your center and chilling out. Originally thought to have been developed as garden furniture, the rocker has now come full circle with the development of the SOFT Rocker by Professor Sheila Kennedy and architecture students from MIT. Installed at the Institute's Killian Court for the Festival of Art+Science+Technology (FAST), the teardrop-shaped outdoor rocking lounge chairs have solar panels over the top to provide power for up to three USB devices, and some after-dark lighting to allow the party to go on after the sun goes down

The SOFT Rockers are made from flat MDF panels which have undergone an advanced digital curving process based on the zipshape process that was originally developed in Switzerland by Christoph Schindler. A lightweight Kuka robotic arm was used to remove portions of the structurally unsound wood to form an inside surface resembling a row of teeth.

"Zipshape can, in theory, be cut from any flat-packed material, but there are reasons to cut it out of MDF and then post-veneer the surfaces, as we did", the team's Phil Seaton told Gizmag. "Basically, the 'teeth' that we cut work best when they're cut out of some grain-free and laminate-free material: cutting out of solid or plywood can cause the teeth to chip out during the cutting process. On the other hand, cutting out of MDF alone (and not veneering afterwards) risks the material not being able to handle the tension loads, and breaking in the backing (which is generally only about 2mm thick or so). We experienced many such breakages; the veneer, in our case, serves both a structural and an aesthetic purpose."

Two such panels were then interlocked and glued together to form a curved structure, and then vacuum-sealed in plastic bags. When the glue had dried, they were removed from the bags, veneer applied to both sides and then placed back in the bags. Seaton said that the team "did try veneering first, in the flat, but found the panels lost some flexibility when done in this order."

While the robot arm probably could have taken care of the intricate pattern work too, this was done using a laser cutter or 3-axis CNC router. The wooden structure was then varnished to afford it some protection from the elements, although longer term installations will probably require something a bit more robust.

Gen II flexible solar panels from Global Solar were installed over the surface of the roof to feed a 12 amp-hour battery, which in turn provides power to devices such as laptops, smartphones and even chilled drinks dispensers connected via USB.

The 35W solar tracking system is "entirely human-powered - the idea has its roots in trying to invent a kind of culture surrounding power generation," says Seaton. "Rather than envisioning electricity generation as something centralized and off-site that embodies hidden processes and hidden social and environmental costs, we're imagining a future where 'soft' and decentralized generation of small amounts of power can actually become a hub for social and cultural activity."

"The SOFT Rockers, then, are intended to employ as much human intervention in the generation of electricity as possible: the rockers are free to rotate on their bases, and are positioned horizontally using the handle on the front. When the angle is correct, the rockers provide full shade for the person sitting inside. Then, once inside, the position of one's body to higher and lower seating positions causes the solar panel to face higher or lower positions in the sky. Here, the human power of balance is used as the 'second axis' of the solar tracker. An LCD panel inside the rocker tells you how well you're doing in terms of optimizing energy production from the available solar energy."

At the end of the FAST festival, the SOFT Rockers were sent to Kennedy and Violich Architecture for "cleaning and rehabilitation." Other projects created for the festival have now been dismantled and disposed of, but such has been the interest in the SOFT Rockers that the team is now working on the next stage in development.

Test cut on CNC Router

My son and I did some test cuts tonight with the router and had very good results.

We first did a 2d 'Open' sign that came with Aspire in wood, that had one thing wrong; it was mirrored. We quickly adjusted the motor settings to correct that and then we cut a 3D leaf that also came with Aspire, but we scaled it down to about 2" square to help cut the time down. It cut perfectly, so we moved on to aluminum and decided to cut another X-axis plate for the machine. We used the prism toolpaths at minimal depths and a 90º x .25Dia bit and then cut the profile out with a .093" dia endmill.

We used .125" 5052 aluminum and the machine cut great with no visible pass lines along the edges of the plate. We just used some WD-40 brushed on and did not even use an air blast so there may be some re-cutting of the chips but the toolpath finish looks good. This label is not as fancy as the brass inlayed ones I made but it will work for viewing the axis travel directions when on the other side of the machine.

I still need to clean it up an finish it.

 

_________________

Best regards,

Wes

wes.spence@comcast.net

Gingery Machines:

Lathe, Horiz. Mill, Shaper, Leaf Brake

Open source 5-axis CNC router

This 5-axis CNC router could soon be an open source tool. [Mike Calvino] built it for the School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas. It can be used as a router or as a plasma cutter/welder. Now he’s trying to raise some money that will underwrite his time and effort to develop and release instructions, design files, and specifications to make it an open source hardware project.

It is extremely large, and in addition to the X, Y, and Z axes that you’d expect to find on CNC machinery, it can tilt and rotate the cutting tool. This is not something you’re likely to build at home. But the availability of plans would be a huge contribution toward making machine tools accessible at a relatively small price tag. It’s not hard to image universities building this as a class project. We also think it would be a perfect group project for you and your buddies over at the local Hackerspace to undertake. Check out some milling action in the clip after the break.

Inexpensive Vertical Wind Turbine

You may use a computer controlled router in order to make gears,fins,case etc..

Thoughtful CNC Wood Working

Pc Numerical Management or CNC machine is now an vital part of manufacturing process. Industries and woodworkers, whether it is in small or large scale, would have CNC woodworking equipment to assist them increase their production.

CNC machines are used to exchange handbook processes or work in coordination with current manufacturing processes. CNC machines are programmed to follow or to perform sure operations. An instance of a CNC machine used in woodworking is a CNC router.

Just like a typical CNC machine, the CNC wood router would use a pc software program and a CNC controller. This might create a extra accurate and exact design in comparison with these that are executed manually. A CNC router would have three directions that are known as X, Y and Z axis. Since all of the axis work collectively, they’ll create better designs and shapes.

How does the CNC wood router works? It is controlled, as mentioned by the CNC controller and the pc software. This might direct the movements of the motor to provide the design or shape. The software would have the drawing or the format in 2D or 3D picture, it might then be transformed right into a software path code like the G-code. The codes that are transformed by the computer software would then send or relay it to the CNC controller which would management the motors and drive systems.

The part of the CNC wood router which performs the actual cutting is called spindle. To classify the spindle, horse energy (in English units) and watts (SI units) are used. Spindles rotate for about 8000 to 30,000 rpm or revolutions per minute. It may reduce supplies starting from mushy to hard supplies like plastic and metals. It is controlled by the CNC controller.

The spindle is moved by the CNC linear drive system. It has the motor, bearing system and the linear screw assembly. There are two kinds of motors utilized in CNC wood router: the stepper and servo motors. Though they each offer good performance, their distinction lies on the closed loop system. The servo motor sends indicators back to the controller when the process is finished, which known as the closed loop system. This technique shouldn’t be current on the stepper.

Another part of the CNC wood router is the cutting bed. That is where the fabric that may undergo cutting is positioned and secured using bolts and clamps. There are different cutting bed designs, the most popular can be the T-slot and the vacuum table. The effectivity of the cutting bed could be based on what kinds of supplies and reduce are made. For instance, T-slot cutting bed may hold different sorts and sizes of supplies, but they are not ideal for velocity cutting.

There are extra options which could possibly be based mostly on the models of the wood router. Some would have vacuum pump that may secure the supplies routed, print-to-reduce cameras which would guarantee precision, and other excessive-end options which can increase productivity and quality.

The nice thing with CNC woodworking equipment like the wood router is that it doesn’t require a lot supervision as soon as the machine and the method are already programmed. CNC wood routers may guarantee uniformed and high quality merchandise, so long as the machine is correctly regulated, maintained and operated.

Nigel has been writing articles on-line for nearly 6 years now. Not solely does this author specialise in Cnc Woodworking,

Visual Windchime

The holes in the wood have been cut out by a computer numerically controlled machine (CNC router) and all the lights are complete. It's now a matter of assembly and some more touching up.

MArk's students works on CNC router

Mark is an industrial shop teacher and above are some of the projects that Mark's students did on the CNC Machine.