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Rhino and 3D printing

The task itself was simple, to design a pair of 3d glasses with whichever software you prefer then export the files to stl. (stereo lithography) ready for 3d printing. Because we didn't have to pay for the 3d printed parts, the amount which we could print would have to be relatively small. The hinges connecting the lens frames and the temples seemed ideal.

My designs had to change somewhat from the initial concept due to the resources we had. This meant making the temple originally from a curved piece to fit round the head, into parallel pieces that sit upon the ears. These were then laser printed with either wood or plastic. I had used 3mm thick black acrylic.

The final product didn't get put into assembly due to my hinge being used on a colleagues pair of glasses however I have learned how to 3d print a pair of working hinges.

Getting Organised

Another term, and another chance for opportunities. Having started my time at school with just an opening day for the faculty had me wondering what classes were in store for me this time round.

The titles of my courses weren't so straight forward this term, their names giving no proper indication to what I actually will be studying, supporting major studies 2 and 3 and design process are a few examples.

There was also the same confusion among the new exchange students who needed further clarification, and when coming to ask me, could not have been much use. I then asked for a meeting with my tutor to clear things up. He again mentioned the possibilities of a business partnership to be in the making and I awaited my first lesson of the year, Cad/Cam.

New Semester: Lahti part 2

The Christmas Holidays seemed to pass by rather fast. The last semesters debt from travelling and eating had me work in a part time job so little progress was made at this time.

Once again I had checked in at Heathrow airport, this time with seemingly less emotional output than before. What once was an nervous anticipation had become an eagerness to fly over and work. The flight and trip bared no problems and before I knew it I was back in Lahti city showing a very bleak and almost derelict feel to it.

The design faculty had started several weeks before the business and other faculties therefore it was only natural for there to be only design students within Mukkula building. This 'calm' before more students and orientation programmes begin helped me focus on assigning tasks to myself and help manage the rest of my time here.

#Lahti #mukkula

First Semester Conclusion

This semester has surprised me in many more ways than I could have imagined. I have learnt some invaluable lessons throughout so many aspects of life that I feel stronger and smarter than ever before.

The courage and confidence I had to come here grew and grew as I was put in new and foreign situations time and time again.

The weather now reaches a painful -20 at times and only if I adapt could I have survived out here. Adaptation to the darkness and the mountains of coffee I consume also may have changed my habits for a period of time to suite these current conditions.

The people were almost rudely shy and quiet however having got to know them were really one on the most orderly and polite societies I have ever lived around.

Understanding of students and countries where they are from could not have been any more close. I'm sure Coventry's international society does a wonderful job in doing the same, but does the society beyond that treat them in the same way, these are questions which are already firing up my brain for when I return.

The connections and experiences here have taught me so much, and I hope the next semester allows me to go even further into the unknown of design, society and myself. So for this final chapter of this semester I would thank you again reader for taking your time to read these posts and acknowledge this short but incredibly educational life experience within my career.

thank you

Mitsubishi Final presentation

The final presentation for Mitsubishi was divided into 3 stages. Rather than having 1 group after another go, the project manager swapped round the order to keep the clients engaged with what was being presented to them.

I was the only speaker on behalf of my group, however my two colleagues put a huge amount of effort in creating the presentation thus it was only fair.

We decided it was best for a minute presentation to focus on the functions and the unique selling point. We did this for all 3 vests which were asked for and using material samples, an old vest belonging to a colleague and hand gestures did I explain the usability of the vests.

The research into manufacturing methods and materials allowed me to present with utter confidence that I knew exactly what I was talking about, with feedback from the clients asking whether I was a fashion designer as well, so we were glad that they were impressed.

Suunto final presentation

With 3 days to go, the group and I were revolving around key ideas to develop as a final idea, however every hour leading up to the deadline, we would coincidentally find a link online informing us of ideas that have already solving the stated problem.

We finally pooled our resources together, and took inspiration from one headgear concept but redeveloped the function and forms to suit visually impaired users.

We split roles evenly and according to our strengths, where I focused on the CAD model, the others focused on the presentation and illustration. This was a piece of the explanation and thought process.

The presentation day was filled with high anxiety as we had very little time to rehearse our scripts. Having said that we did a very engaging performance as said by the clients and that the concept could need more refining but overall we did a great job.

#suunto

More photos of Stockholm including Stureplan and Gamla Stan. The atmosphere, the design and people were really the nicest I have seen before and I was really pleased to have come to this magnificent city.

#stockholm

Halloween boat to sail the Baltic sea. The Silja Symphony boasted fantastic interior design, tricking its host almost into believing that it isn't really a ship at all.

complete motorbike concept render

#rhino #keyshot

Motorbike continued ...

After scrapping 4 attempts of the bike I started my fifth and final attempt. This was indeed a real challenge for me to get the curvature right as I had only a side drawing to help materialise the bike.

After long hours of analysis throughout a number of days, I took a liking to my latest forms. At this point in the course, the deadline was within the week so it didn't matter how good the form was, I needed a finished bike ready for submission.

Although the shape seemed off at first, I trusted in the teachers guidance in surface modelling and heeded his advice and how they constructed bikes in the industry he works on. Of course this paid off well and I had a near complete model ready after 3 days of solid work, allowing time off only for eating and sleeping.

#rhino #cad

Rocla continued ...

The characters developed further with more specifications each fortnight of what it could have looked like. The clients themselves had no measure of what the final outcome would be, but worked closely with us to get the most out of us students, and for us to get the most out of ourselves.

I eventually drifted from the character group and supported the development of the vest design. I did leave the character group with a certain milestone idea which continued until the end but in different forms and formats.

This turned out to be cute and humorous to the clients, however photoshop renderings would suffice for them.

The vest design didn't take off to strongly. The European union standards for work safety was the biggest hindrance to creative design, even if it was exactly what the client wanted. We persisted anyhow exploring Japanese culture for origami, fashion trends as well as manufacturing processes as this was a completely new field to me

Suunto continued ...

After the feedback from our first presentations, the guys from Suunto narrowed down the selection of concepts to choose from. I can't disclose all the future concepts they accepted but can share at least what I have done for them.

I volunteered to change group at this point and was re-assigned a different brief, this particular one was to be one of my biggest challenges yet. To design a digital device which can aid visually impaired people in sport. The group before me had done thorough research into some fields of skiing but I believed that there was still more we could do to develop our concept further.

We decided to visit Iiris Keskus, a center which assists in the visually impaired. We had our colleagues translate discussions with staff working there on the mindset of impaired users. This was valuable insight as we needed to change our perspective of what the product must be.

Already I felt like I was in a stronger group with better communication and organisation skills, inside the classroom and out.

The above photo showed the reality of just how short the seasons were. Even before every leaf falls from their tree, snow encroached with haste. Winter, and a long winter at that, has finally begun

#autumn #winter

One of my favourite views in the City. I took this quote from the Great Gatsby as the bay reminded me of the book and how the water had a power to help me reflect on the past.

Faculty of Design

During my time at the faculty, situations arose by chance and resulted in my discovery of new quirky little things which were either unique or just generally funny compared to my time studying at Coventry.

Couches, not just used for waiting around but an ideal place for group discussions, complimentary with coffee table.

The Finns love their coffee and will do anything to protect the vessels that hold them.

Especially from people like me. This was the largest lounge in the faculty where students can take a break and enjoy the luxury of refrigerated or microwavable lunch meals as well as their coffee.

Recycling also a key issue and is done so rather well among the Nordic countries. By the looks of this photo, drinking is also on the agenda.

A smaller class doesn't necessarily mean a small school, and lockers are issued to those who need them, not all are as uniform as these shown.

Lastly for entertainment whilst dong hours of work some may benefit from a short break. Unproductive you might think but compare this to an inactive break on Facebook, this certainly seems a better option, and healthier too.

Boardroom meeting at Rocla geadquarters and factory tour

#Rocla #Jarvenpaa

Motorbike Course continued ...

So here was my most anticipated class in terms of gaining technical skills on rhino, yet I couldn't help doubt how the lesson was taught. We were given the liberty to design what we wanted, but how can one teacher show his own Yamaha dirt bike and expect a class to follow with their own designs of bike, especially the portion of the class like me doing concept bikes.

This worried me greatly so after the second lesson I talked with the tutor alone and discussed my thoughts. He explained to me that that most bikes had similar components which look different among bike brands. He took a while to examine my concept and explained that as it was just a concept purely for visual purposes, the body doesn't need to be as technical as I need it to be, for this level anyway.

He was going into overtime to outline some tools he recommended that may help create the curves and surfaces I wanted. He recommended me his set of tools and shortcuts, to provide an easier to access and faster workflow.

The bike itself bared little resemblance so more research into bikes was needed and including how they were assembled.

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