Unwrap

Unwrap is our 5th project involving models. Thos project required us to combine 3 geometric shapes which we later on unwrap to create a 2D version of the shapes. We were to print the 2D shape and assemble it to have a physical model. Then ideate 10 concepts on what that model could be a prototype on.

Ideas & Shapes

I made a total of 4 seperate shapes and chose the one I thought looked neater and liked the most. I also took in consideration of the last step which was to come up with 10 different concept on what it could be prototype of.

- This was the first one I created. It looked nice and unique but pretty complicated. However, something about it didn't seem to click with me. I didn't like how the cylinder is kind of just poking out.

- I could barely think of anything associated with this except a stage light or a very dangerous steering wheel.

- My second design was a little better as it seemed sharper and neater. One thing that I didn't like was they were just squares in different sizes. There wasn't the variation that I wanted.

- I associated this with maybe a distorted drawer? They have been quite popular for the unique concepts.

- This was more of my style, there were three different shapes and was sharp and neat. It was my second choice and I would have gone with this but another classmate seem to have something similar and I didn't want it to be too similar and therefore decided to use the same shapes but maybe build it different.

- I associated this with like a stair or maybe a light lamp.

- This one was the design I decided to continue on. It had 2 of the shapes that I liked but I replaced the square with a cylinder. Although it looks basic, it was neat and the cylinder going through the trapezium seemed complicated enough.

- This design I saw as many different things which I will later talk about in the 10 concepts.

Process of the chosen shapes

The final render of my chosen model. Using Rhino, I unrolled this model and came up with this:

Struggles

When first unwrapped, the tabs do not exist and so I had to draw them individually which was very time consuming as you can imagine. Not only that, I couldn't figure out where to out the tabs as it looked very confusing so I exploded the model to seperate each piece to make it easier to handle.

I also had a very difficult time figuring out how to print this 2D as I didn't have A3 nor did I know how big it will be.

I tried separating each piece to try and fit it to an A4 paper but the sizes varied and changed in the printing setting which altered the size on the final print. My first attempt on printing was a very big fail as they couldn't go together due to the size difference.

So I asked a friend for some help and we figured out how to fit it in to an A4 without altering the size.

I divided them to 4 A4 paper and then printed that one out and it worked out perfectly!

Final Product

Scale

- It's not very big but I think this is the perfect size for this design.

10 concepts

1) First thing that pops in my head is of course a lamp. If I were to design this as a lamp I will obviously make it so that the trapezium can move up and down. The cylinder would be flexible so that the lamp can be used in different angles.

2) A very familiar thinking would be chess piece. A few project back called Kings & Queens, we created a chess piece that was from a specific mood board. For some reason, this piece reminds me of that if only it was smaller. It also resembles the rook of an actual chess pieces.

3) The next one will be a shower head. It has been a trend these days for shower heads to be square as it covers more area and feels a lot nicer to the skin.

4) This would be a very unique looking iron. Because of the huge top part of the trapezium, it greatly resembles an iron. I think it would be a very good design too as it has a lot of corners that could be useful when trying to iron the collar of the shirt if there's any corners that is hard to reach. The bottom could also easily connect a cord which makes this design possible to be an iron.

5) A desk mirror would also be great with this design. As I mentioned above, due to the big and wide area of the top head, it will be very useful mirror. Like a make up mirror that you would normally have on top of your drawer for easy access or closer access. With this design, I would also have to make the head adjustable so that the customer could use it in different angles.

6) This could also easily be a trophy. The shape, simpleness and sharpness gives off a similarity between trophies. Although it would probably bigger than this, it is a design the would definitely satisfy the requirement of trophy designs.

7) As I created the final physical model, I realised that it awfully resembles an announcement stand. This could perfectly be that if some bits could just be added and if this design were to be made bigger.

8) It could also be a very unique desk clock. There are a lot of, not just students but also workers who has clock on their study or work desk. This could be a clock and the top part could be the screen. Obviously there would be quite a lot of changes such as having flexible neck so that the customer can put it in a position they would prefer. Or maybe making the cylinder shorter so that it's not too tall. But a tall clock wouldn't be a bad idea as the user would be sitting and looking down on it in general.

9) This is also very similar to a stage light. Those light that hangs on the ceiling during a show or event. This could be made very flexible and light if needed, therefore, could be a very good idea.

10) Last but not least is a flash light. As you can see from the scaling photos, it would be a perfect size for a flash light. And because of the wide top part, the light or brightness of the light would be able to cover great areas during a walk or just in general, which is why I think it resembles a light and would be a great design for a flash light.

Reflection

I actually am proud of this creation. Although it's very simple and I would have liked to do something a little more complicated, I think there are some parts where I did go out of my comfort zone. For example, this whole time I was trying to avoid using rhino as I find it very difficult for me to use and very stressful and time consuming too. In the end, I really had to use it because of its feature to unroll the 3D model.

It was really stressful trying to print it out and figuring out how to do everything else right but I also really enjoyed creating a physical model as I do really like creating things by hands or just doing crafts in general.

If I had another chance on doing this, maybe I would go for something more difficult and challenging to do. I was also really proud of being able to think of 10 concepts. I was really worried about that because I could barely think of anything when I was designing the others and I couldn't think much when I finalised my chose design either.