Final Milling

Most of the re-modelling has been completed and last night we began to mill our final molds. The process has been divided into three parts, 1) testing several new pieces for fitting a structural capacity, 2) vacuum forming previously tested substrate panels to test vertical connections on our existing mockup, and 3) to begin milling some of our final molds that have already been tested for lighting, connections etc.
We have decided to do a fitting test with one complete "tube" segment, comprising of six separate parts, and attaching this to a yet untested iteration of the substrate panel. If everything goes together smoothly, the parts can be used for the final production, but if changes need to be made everything should be able to be tested using this mockup.
As I write we are in the process of milling, I'll post images as soon as the job is finished. Following are a few images of the milling files which have been set up.

Superglow Soiree_04.13.2007

If you are in the Los Angeles area, please come to our "Superglow Soiree" being held on Friday, April 13. Yes we know it is an unlucky day, but come anyway. Open bar, live DJ and mock-ups/drawings being exhibited. All proceeds will go to help cover our fabrication cost.

Elaine Krown-Klein Scholarship

Started off the day by getting a phone call from Elaine Krown-Klein to find out I was awarded the Elaine Krown-Klein Fine Arts Scholarship for the College of Arts and Architecture. This was something I interviewed for back in early March and wasn't supposed to officially find out the results until May. It's going to be a good day...

Revisions...

During production for the final review, we noticed some problems with the fit between panels and surface topography needed for vacuum forming. Some of our geometry was too extreme to get a good pull with the PETG plastic.
Today has been spent re-modeling and re-scaling everything so as to achieve a precise fit between panels. Everything was given a 1/8" tolerance to take into account the initial 1/16" ABS layer on the form as well as the 1/16" PETG final pull. The revisions should be pretty much complete by tomorrow, so actual construction will begin shortly.

Also we are getting ready to send out invites for the "Superglow Soiree", our pre-opening fundraising celebration. The invite will be posted soon.

In the meantime, I am posting a video of our lighting behavioral model. Two streams of light travel through the "tubes" from door to mullion which then set off two separate reactions at the mullion. This was a programmed behavior, but we are currently re-writing the script to allow the behavior to be controlled through proximity sensors which will actually create an interactive condition as people approach the installation.