Reflection

Part 1: Reflection on discipline.

I study within an architecture discipline (architecture studies). The metal skills I learnt during this semester enrich my view, knowledge and understanding about architecture. Before this course, I did not realized that a simple sheet can be formed to so many shapes and for now, I can start to understand how some interesting shape architecture be formed by very first stage of design.

Walt Disney Hall, Frank Gehry

For example, this Walt Disney Hall, by Frank Gehry, the surface is curved, which very similar with our first assignment, the torus and blister.

Harbin Opera House, MAD Architects.

This Harbin Opera House use the curved ceiling and wall surfaces to create an enclosure atmosphere for the whole space, and the box area also create the seating area for watching.

And then about the material, I always think about timber, concrete and brick first. I think these material is easy to form as a surface, but by learning this course, I realize that the metal is also can be formed easily, and the metal surface can be very charming.

Part 2: Assignment Review & Comparison

For the reflection part, I choose to review the tray. I can show you which is the most difficult part of making this tray.

Tool Prepare:

Aluminum Sheet

Timber Template

Steel Ruler

Scrap Timber

Step 1: Use the timber template to decide which radius of your tray, then use the machine to make the hammer forming buck.

  Compare with Li Chen's work, I think more photo recording is very necessary, I should fix this problem!

Photo from Li Chen.

Step 2: put the three things: 2 formed timber (hammer forming buck), 1 Aluminum Sheet. like a sandwich.

Step 3: Fix this sandwich and make it stable by Bench Vise. And then you can start hammer down the edges.

If you find something like this, then stop using the hammer forming buck!!! This will never work if keep using hammer forming buck, because it is timber, it is too soft to the Aluminum Sheet.

My suggestion is remove the timber buck, use a planishing dolly or something also made by iron. Iron is hard enough to become the hammer forming buck! Then fix the edge slowly!

If you keep using the timber as the hammer forming buck, then you will see like this！

That's  the result of keep using timber hammer forming buck!

Then if you got a strange one, it means you have to repeat from step 1 again and read my suggestion carefully!

Then another attempt will be better.

Overall, the most difficult part of making a tray is we only have the timber as the hammer forming buck, it is too soft to be the forming buck. And then the patient is also important when doing this, it is not about how strong you are, it is about how intelligent skill you will use!

Compare with Li Chen, my classmate, I think what he did for recording every step is better than me. What I can improve is record more photo or video to make the steps more clear.

By the end of this semester, I think Digital Making is a very interesting course and full of challenge, it seems like a course requires strength, but by the end of this course, I think it is more about skills, the way you making and the patient you have.