Use various softwares and mobile applications to obtain a body-figure and a digital fabrication process to produce it.
For the assigment of this week I have used the software makehuman, since it has seemed to me the most predictive and easy to use of the ones I have tested. Once the program is open, we must go to the menu modeling=main and a sidebar will appear with options of general measures, which you have to modify according to the measurements and physical characteristics that you want to obtain. For more specific measurements by section of the body we can go to menu=gender, menu=face, menu=torso or menu=arms and legs
When you already have the figure with the desired measurements, we will go to the menu=export and in the submenu = mesh format we will choose the stereolithography (.stl) in the submenu = option named the binary stl and in scale units = centimeters.
Once we have the body in .stl format we open the rinhoceros to be able to modify the mesh, and remove the parts that we do not want to appear in the final manikin.
We will create a plan of measures superior to the part that we want to cut so that it works correctly. In my case I have given an inclination to the plane so that the cut was not so linear.
When we have the plans in the appropriate measure and position, we will write in the menu, Mesh Trim and the program will indicate us which is the object that we want to cut. We select it and that part of the body will disappear. and so we repeat the process on the other parts of the body, such as head, legs, arms..
As before, once we have the body with the desired modifications we will export it again to .stl
Slicer for Autodesk® Fusion 360™ is a tool to turn your digital 3D models into appealing artefacts. It slices and converts 3D models into 2D patterns that you can cut out of any flat material. Slicer for Fusion 360 also creates 3D instructions you can interact with, to help build a model.We will open the program and import the .stl file.
The program has different construction techniques that you can apply to the object you have imported. For this model I used the STACKED SLICES technique changing the direction of the slice from horizontal to vertical, since this position is more indicated when applying light to the object.
The program automatically generates the plans to be able to cut in the laser cut, but in this case it tells me that I would need 19 sheets to build the object. Obviously the nest that the program performs is not as efficient as it should be.
In order to reduce the number of sheets I need, I have imported the .pdf file into illustrator and I have organized the sheets again, reducing them to 12, which is a significant saving of material.
Using 12 sheets acrylic glass makes the manikin is very heavy, so I preferred to leave the internal part of the body empty to reduce the weight and take advantage of the internal parts to cut the small parts of the model. To do this, apply the offset path in illustrator, 10px in outline. Having to eliminate the external part of the offset as it can be the photograph. Applying this technique I managed to reduce the necessary sheets to 11.
Each laser cutting machine has a series of settings that you must apply to the model. In this case for the Trotec speedy 400 flex, modify the size of the line to 0.25points and change it to red so that the machine understands that this object is cutting.
The file is sent to cut directly from the illustrator, in the print menu. Once opened we must select the cutting machine (Trotec engraver v10.6.1) the model size to (User dedined paper) and in the setup menu, I choose the cutting material we are going to use (1/4 acrylic) and the machine applies the speed and power indicated for that preset material.
Once we give print again, the trotec cut control program is opened, in which we can visualize the file and the cut time that it needs. In this body the average time was 19 minutes per sheet.
This machine has a 1000 x 610 mm working area, and is equipped with both a CO₂ and a fiber laser. The patented flexx function allows you to perform endless applications in one process step.
I managed to cut the 11 sheets in about 4 and a half hours. Thanks to the filter of the machine, the so annoying fumes of this material were not an inconvenient to be able to finish the work continuously.
It is time to assemble the plates according to their numbers. It is this image that can be the empty inner part of the mannequin, and the layers separately.
I love how you start to see the result, the reflections of the general material, a beautiful texture and visual aspect.