Emphasis Fabrication

Wednesday 4:00 PM to 10:15 PM Hybrid Lab, Founders Hall Rm. 304

Assignments

Weekly Schedule: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

Faculty

Todd Blair: Fabrication and Kinetics

Don Day: Electronics and Sensors

Barney Haynes: Media and Programming

Grade Breakdown

Attendance: Miss 3 classes lose 1 grade point, miss 4 you will not pass

Active participation in class labs, mini assignments, field trips (see below) and punctuality 10%

Timely Completion of Assignments: 65%:

FINAL: Timely Completion of Final Project for Presentation in an Exhibition Week 15 25%

NOTE: Missed or late assignments will result in the loss of associated percentage

Field Trips

Saturday 1/31 Sources Field Trip 1: Just like a class - absence condemned

Monday 2/23 Lecture: Peter Selz at The Art, Technology and Culture Colloquium, 160 Kroeber Hall UC Berkeley Campus

Saturday 4/3 Sources Field Trip 2: Optional but strongly encouraged and fun

Assignments Explanations

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Assignment 1: Unpredictable Motion

Identify and bring in for a class presentation something that moves chaotically - it can be mechanical, a household object, fabricated or found. Don't forget heat rises, light is very fast and gravity tends to make things fall. Due February 4th

Assignment 2: Preliminary Proposal

Written preliminary scope of work explaining and illustrating your proposed project for the final show following guidelines provided. We will analyze the proposed projects for feasibility and set up individual meetings to discuss the proposals during Week 6. Due February 11th

Assignment 3: Book Report

Pick an artist working in the field of kinetic and electronic art, write a 1 to 2 page report to turn in (3 copies) and prepare an audio-visual presentation for the class. Due March 3rd

Some Starting Points:

Steve Wilson's Massive Artist List and Book

Ken Rinaldo Links

Classical Kinetic Artists

  • Hero of Alexandria
  • Jacques de Vaucanson
  • Marcel Duchamp
  • Thomas Wilfred
  • Jean Tinguely
  • Nam June Paik
  • Len Lye
  • Pol Bury
  • Nicolas Schöffer
  • James Seawright
  • Otto Piene
  • Fletcher Benton
  • Billy Klüver
  • Robert Whitman
  • Charles Frazier

Classic Groups and Organizations

  • USCO
  • EAT (Experiments in Art and Technology)
  • ZERO
  • GRAV
  • PULSA
  • YLEM

Assignment 4: Final Proposal

Hand in completed proposal of your final project using the guidelines handout on March 17th, followed up by a presentation and critique of the proposal to the class on March 24th.

Assignment 5: Project Presentation

Be prepared to present a beta or better version of your final project for presentation and critique by the class and a possible visiting art professional. Due April 14th

FINAL: Saturday May 1st

Presentation of completed project in a gallery setting.

Sources

Software

Hardware

Retail

Pseudo-surplus, Local and Mail Order

Pseudo-surplus, Purely Mail Order

Retail, Purely Mail Order

Heavy Stuff

Week 1

 

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Wednesday 1/14

Introduction to the class

  • Delineation of the 3 areas of concentration / departure
  • Expectations: Assignments and show
  • Possible strategies and models
  • Collect contact information for students

Barney: Computers and the Hybrid Lab (RM. 304) 

Don: Power & Control and Electro Safety 

  • Hazards of the disposable flash camera powered by an innocent AA battery 
  • Sources of power - Sun, nuclear power plants (PG&E), chemicals, lemons and potatoes 
  • Too much energy getting loose Circuit Breakers, Fuses (flash bulb in socket) 
  • Toxics - Soldering, lead with the Romans, smoking the flux 
  • Heat a LITTLE too much energy getting loose liquid metal on the flesh makes for a nasty burn 
  • Tiny objects close to your eyes
  • Shock causes you to lose motor control
  • Current through your heart can kill you

Todd: Introduction to Fabricating Electromechanical devices 

  • Planing your design - design, prototype
  • Sourcing your materials - surplus, dumpster diving
  • Fabricating - tools, the lab and the metal shop

Homework: pages 9-27 in the "Getting Started.pdf" located in the Documents folder in the Max/MSP Application folder

 

Week 2

 

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Wednesday 1/21
First Half

Barney: Max Session 1

  • Intro to Max /MSP and Jitter
  • Anatomy of Simple Patch: Objects, Message Boxes, Number Boxes, User Interfaces and Parameters
  • Teleo objects for interfacing digital and physical domains
  • Bangs, Metros, Toggles, Passing Messages
  • Right to left order
  • Get Info
  • Cannibalizing Patches

Assignments: Max Tutorials 1-10

Second Half

Todd: Actuation

Review of actuators and major mechanical components

  • Electric Motors
  • Fluid Power
  • Solenoids
  • Alternative Means

Don: Electrical Components

 

Week 3

 

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Wednesday 1/28

VIDEO Afternoon
Artists using technology as a medium or augmentation to "traditional" practice.

Second Half

Todd: Power Transmission

  • Mechanical movement and articulation
  • The drive line
  • Major components in power transmission

NOTE: Meet Saturday 1/31 for a field trip to surplus stores

Meet at the Hybrid Lab (classroom) Saturday morning at 10:00

Map to Triangle

 

Week 4

 

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Wednesday 2/4

Barney: Max/MSP/jitter Session 2

5:30
Assignment 1 Due - Unpredictable Motion


Second Half

Don: Electronic components, subassemblies and systems;their physical corporeal nature

Exercise: Connect a circuit and make it go or glow or growl or grow.

  • Power sources
  • Solar Cells
  • Chemical cells and batteries
  • Power supplies (from wall AC to stable DC)
  • AC (from the wall, or transformed to lower voltage)
  • Connection methods
  • Wire nuts
  • Wire wrap
  • Conductive Epoxy
  • Solder
  • Heat shrink tubing
  • Measurement
  • Analogies - electrons as lemmings
  • Multimeter (volts and ohms)
  • Oscilloscope (volts in time)

Reading: Introduction to Electronics in the Teleo Manual

 

Week 5

 

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Wednesday 2/11

Assignment 2 Due: Hand in Informal Project Proposal
Written / Illustrated description of final project
References: MakingThings Project Guide

Relay H-Bridge Lab and Switches

And a Circuits Lecture demystifying what you just did.

H Bridge Diagram


Second Half

Don: Motion Options

  • 2x2 Amp H- Bridge
  • 10 Amp H- Bridge
  • Stepper Motor controller
  • Hobby Servo Motor Module
  • Objects and Programming Techniques

References: Teleo Manual Cookbook

 

 

Important information you will need to know in order to use or check out the modules!!!

 

(From the MakingThings User Guides)

Never connect the V+ connector to the 5V connector - this would put the whole power supply at V+ onto the board's electronics which are designed to run at 5V. Although this situation is guarded against - this may still destroy components on the board.

Never connect the V+ or the 5V supplies directly to the ground (GND) this would cause a short circuit either of the whole power supply or the board's local power supply.

While you're working with the board, it pays to monitor the temperature of the 5V regulator, the FET switches and the fuse. If any of them are too hot to touch - disconnect the Teleo Multi IO from the network and see what the fault might be.

Under extreme conditions, components can be so taxed that they can give off smoke with a very distinct "frying electronics" smell. Once a component does this, it is often destroyed, so this should be avoided if at all possible. If it does happen, unplug the Teleo Multi IO board and check your circuit. The location of the smoking component will give a clue about what's going wrong.

 

 

 

Week 6

 

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Wednesday 2/18
Individual Meetings

5:00 Mariela
5:20 Nepunnee
5:40 Hannah
6:00 Brooke
6:20 Marlene
6:40 Annie
7:00 Arthur
7:20 Break
7:40 Steve
8:00 Shawn
8:20 Leilane
8:40 Christa
9:00 Debbie
9:20
9:40
10:00

 

 

Week 7

 

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Monday 2/23 7:30PM
Field Trip to the Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium: Peter Selz Lecture,160 Kroeber Hall UC Berkeley Campus

INFO:The Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium

Directions: http://ieor.berkeley.edu/~goldberg/lecs/contact.html

 

Wednesday 2/25

Barney: Pneumatic Lab

Switch and Teleo Control


Second Half

Todd: Motion Lab

  • Simple Machines
  • Exercise: Make a flimsy articulated mechanisms

Bring cardboard foam core, different size wire, sticks/popsicle sticks, push pins, utility knives, found objects, nails, string, duct tape, wood bits, etc.

 

Week 8

 

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Wednesday 3/3

Barney: Max/MSP/jitter Session 4

Objects and programming techniques 

  • random, select, uzi and drunk
  • selects, basic conditionals
  • patching order
  • Number Generators
  • Transposition
  • Filters
  • Keyboard and Mouse control

Assignment: Max Tutorials 14,15,17,18,19,20


Second Half

Assignment 3 Due - Report on Artist

 

Spring Break

 

Week 9

 

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Wednesday 3/17

Assignment 4 Due: Hand in Formal Proposal

Barney: Motor and Pneumatic Control with feedback

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 10

 

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Wednesday 3/24
Class presentation of formal proposal and critique

 

 

Week 11

 

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Wednesday 3/31

 

 

Todd: Materials and Fabrication

  • Materials and Fabrication Strategies
  • Collaging mechanical systems
  • Exercise - Fastening and Joining with a Drill and a Tap
  • Introduction to Machine Lab

 NOTE: Meet Saturday 4/3 - Bonus Surplus Field Trip

Meet at the Hybrid Lab (classroom) Friday morning at 10am

   

 

Week 12

 

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Wednesday 4/7

Lab / Troubleshooting

 

 

Week 13

 

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Wednesday 4/14

Assignment 5 Due:
Fully Functioning Presentation

 

 

Week 14

 

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Wednesday 4/21

 Panic Lab

 

 

Week 15

 

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Wednesday 4/28

Final Critique

 


Friday 5/1

Final Show