2. Digital bodies

Research & Ideation

Digital Body - A 3D printed torso (from the neck down to the upper chest) of my husband in my lab. Apparently, he made it in a friend's lab. In other words, he’s going to make one of these for himself~.

＠from pinterest search

So, I thought about which part of my body I would focus on to create my own digital body. While exploring different ideas, I became intrigued by the image of my wrist with a bracelet on it.

Shinig hand:

As my digital body, focus on a part of it... particularly the wrist/hand and fingers. An image of light shining on the wrist, with the wrist itself glowing.

The bangles and such sparkle depending on how the light hits them.

References & Inspiration

While researching further, it suddenly occurred to me when I looked at my own wrist! I had been learning sign language, and when interpreting it, I often find myself looking at other people's wrists. I wondered if I could recreate the wrist expressing sign language with a digital body.

Speaking of hands, I have experience learning hand language to encourage children's speech development. Hand language is a language—one way to express and convey thoughts, opinions, and feelings. While I don't usually think about the beauty of hands, I've decided to start paying attention to it.

Process and workflow

Step 1 Scanner by i-phone application

There are some applications to do scanning:

Scaniverse

Polycam

3d Scanner App

Step 2 　3d Scanner App

Try to do "Photogrammetry sccanning"

Did scanning for the souveniors of Bhutan.

Tried to scan my child's fingers.

But it dosen't work.

I thought there shouldn’t be anything visible in the background, so I tried scanning in front of a wall that was a different color from my hand. However, scanning my own hand was difficult, and I wasn’t able to get a high-quality scan image.

※　Laser scanning

Laser scanning is a technology that uses laser light to measure the shape of an object with high precision. The laser is directed at the object, and the light that reflects back is captured by a sensor. The distance and shape of the object's surface are recorded as digital data. By repeating this process, a 3D model of the object is created.

Scanning with an iPhone app was quite difficult!

Step 3 　3D printing

Although the scan data wasn’t of very good quality, I physically outputted it from the wrist scan data.

1. I used software to create and surface the missing part on the opposite side from the scan data.

1. I sliced the data of the completed surface using a mixer.

1. Output by 3D printer

Step 4 　How to use "Make Human"

I also tried creating body data using MakeHuman.

To download "Makehuman" ...had a problem so first I couldn't download. Took soooooo lomg time (many hours) to finish the downloading.

→ Change the version to be downloaded (not the lastest version)

→ Change the laptop/computer to be downloaded

→ Move to another place to connect the wi-fi according to Nuria's advice

Finally, when the laptop was connected to the public wi-fi, the download was done perfectolly.

In Spain...

After this, I stayed in Barcelona and León in November (from week 9 to week 11) and took the FabricaDemy course there.

＠LEON

I had my upper body scanned in León. I sat still without moving while my good friend in León, Adrián, scanned me with a scanner (A,B), moving around me as I sat. To capture every surface, he moved the scanner very slowly, for example, starting around my ear and moving it downward, then slightly shifting sideways before moving it upward again. He made sure to scan all the way over the top of my head. Then, he moved around me in a full circle. The important thing here was to ensure that nothing and no one appeared in the background!

And thus, "me" was created.(C) From the scan data, Adrián 3D-printed a miniature version of me, Mini Yuki, which I brought back to Japan! (D-1,D-2,D-3,D-4)

*Fils: Scannedme in Leon

@Barcelona

In Barcelona, I talked to my classmate Helma about how I still had unfinished assignments. When I mentioned that the scan hadn't gone well, she said, "The scanner in Barcelona is really high quality—do it here! I'll help you!"

When I told our instructor Petra about it, she said, "You should have told me sooner!" But fortunately, I was able to reserve the scanner, and they helped me with the scan on the day before I left—my last day in Spain. In the end, Petra handled the scanner, and Helma worked on the computer. It was a full-body scan.

It seems that scanning wrists and fingertips is extremely challenging!

I am deeply grateful for all the support I received in Spain—in both León and Barcelona! In Japan, I balanced Fabricademy with household chores, parenting, and work, but in Spain, I was able to fully dedicate myself to Fabricademy. It was an incredibly intense and fulfilling time.

Digital Me

Using the data from the scan I had done in León, I created my digital body after returning to Japan.

Step 1 Download & Install "Slicer for Fusion 360".

Download and install the Slicer for Fusion 360 (1) You can see the website (2)and icon (3) when the installe is finished.

Step 2 Open "Slicer for Fusion 360".

A: Click "Import".

B: Choose the scan data "...stl.".

C: From the "pencil" designed simbol, set the "Manufacturing Settings". The size,choose "original Siz"

D: Slect the technique "Interlocked Slice".

Object size unit → choose "mm".

Step 3 Manufactuaring Settings (C)

Click "pencil" icon and about the Manufacturing Setting window, first clic and right double click "+" at the bottom of the window. Then make a new tab and rename into MDF (the material you want use).

Step 4 Indicate the material

Setting the parmeters and size according to the size of lasser cutting machine table.

Unit= "mm"

Length = 900

Width = 600

Thickness =2.5

Orizontal/ Vertical Margen =10

Slice offset =0.2

Click "Done" to close the window.

Step 5

C: After step 4, from this icon, you can confirm that "the MDF tab exist.

D: Choose "Interlocked Slice"

E: Set "Original Siz." Confirm the length, width and Hights. 1st and 2nd Axis =10.

F: "Get Plane"

G: Show the cutting patterns.

H: "DXF" with "mm" then "Exported to My computer", can be download the file for laser cutting machine.

*Fils: SlicerMeforLaserCutting

Laser Cutting Workflow and Saftey Rules

Thus the date for laser cutting is ready;

Step 1 Saftey Rules and Tips dor laser cutting

1. My laser cutter has two exhaust vents. (red circles) When I turn on the laser cutter, I also turn on the power to the exhaust vents. While using the laser cutter, the air being expelled isn't very good for the body, so I make sure to stay away and avoid inhaling it.

2. At the same time, I also turn on the power to the chiller. During the summer, I make sure the chiller temperature doesn't exceed 30°C, so I regularly check the temperature while using it to ensure everything stays in the safe range.

3. Direct a fan at the chiller, and if the internal temperature shows over 30°C, I replace the water inside or add ice to cool it down.

4. On the top of the laser cutter, the following precautions are posted:

   -Do not leave the laser cutter unattended while in use, as there is a fire risk.

   -However, avoid directly looking at the laser, as it can cause blindness.

   -There are materials that cannot be processed with this laser cutter. These include PVC, fluorine, metals, iron, and raw plants.

5. The same usage instructions and precautions are also posted on the walls of the laser cutter.

Step 2 Preparation

Focusing the Laser point.

Place the material on the laser cutter's table and adjust the distance from the material to the laser beam's output. There is a 5mm-wide acrylic piece available, so place it on top of the material. Adjust the Z-axis of the table up or down so that the distance between the material and the laser beam's output matches the thickness of the 5mm acrylic piece.

Step 3 Setting in PC & start

Our laser cutter has labels in both Chinese and English.

1. Import the data file.
2. Then, I noticed that the orientation of the data and the table were different!
3. Enter "90°" to adjust the orientation of the data to match the table's direction.
4. (Step not mentioned explicitly.)
5. Double-click on the laser cutter section.
6. Select the parameters for MDF 2.5mm.
7. (Step not mentioned explicitly.)
8. Click "Load."
9. A new window will appear; press "Start."

Results

Done!!

From Vimeo

AssembleMe

Tools

3D Scanner

Meshmixer

blender

Slicer for Fusion 360

3D printer

Laser cutter machine

Fin.