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Neri Oxman. Peters, Benjamin J Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences. Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 2016-01-15T21:11:31Z 2016-01-15T21:11:31Z 2013 2013 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/100891 933611247 Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2013. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 69-70). A high resolution reconfigurable mold has been sought after for over 150 years. An ideal reconfigurable mold would be capable of producing detailed surfaces for use in molding and be capable of fast surface reconfiguration. Such a device would combine the fast speed and repeatability of formative processes, like injection molding, with the flexibility of additive processes, like 3D printing. An affordable, high resolution, reconfigurable mold could be a practical tool for a lean, short-run shop or factory, serving as a resin mold, fixturing surface or concrete formwork; to name only a few possible applications. Resembling the common pin art toy, a discrete element pin bed has often been proposed as a design for a reconfigurable mold. Conventional actuation strategies are often cumbersome and expensive, due to the quadratic increase in number of pin elements with increasing surface resolution. Very few designs exist that are capable of producing a reconfigurable pin array at sufficiently high resolution to compete with the cost of making a fixed geometry mold. A practical pin tool, an inexpensive but high resolution molding tool, could be an asset to shops and small business everywhere, but nothing like this currently exists. This thesis presents a concise design strategy, backed up by analytical arguments and empirical evidence which can used to construct an affordable, high resolution reconfigurable pin tool. We address the challenge of quadratic scaling by edge-addressing simple, nonlinear mechanisms to actuate each pin. Edge addressing, along rows and columns of pins, reduces the number of control inputs to a small, linearly increasing value. Nonlinear mechanisms at each discrete pin site allow for a predictable, localized expression of the edge addressed inputs. Two embodiments of this design strategy are proposed and tested. First, a diode/resistive heater array allows for electrical edge addressing and control of a fusible alloy brake to grip or release targeted, sliding pins. Second, an array of screws is edge addressed by mechanical oscillations to generate nonlinear tangential forces in targeted screws, resulting in controllable screw translations. We conclude by summarizing our results and discuss directions for future work. by Benjamin J. Peters. S.M. 70 pages eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences. Practical pin tooling Thesis application/pdf false Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="f277df8f-36a6-448a-a359-9ffe1a22beff"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Practical pin tooling</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2013</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Peters, Benjamin J</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.</Keyword> <Abstract>A high resolution reconfigurable mold has been sought after for over 150 years. An ideal reconfigurable mold would be capable of producing detailed surfaces for use in molding and be capable of fast surface reconfiguration. Such a device would combine the fast speed and repeatability of formative processes, like injection molding, with the flexibility of additive processes, like 3D printing. An affordable, high resolution, reconfigurable mold could be a practical tool for a lean, short-run shop or factory, serving as a resin mold, fixturing surface or concrete formwork; to name only a few possible applications. Resembling the common pin art toy, a discrete element pin bed has often been proposed as a design for a reconfigurable mold. Conventional actuation strategies are often cumbersome and expensive, due to the quadratic increase in number of pin elements with increasing surface resolution. Very few designs exist that are capable of producing a reconfigurable pin array at sufficiently high resolution to compete with the cost of making a fixed geometry mold. A practical pin tool, an inexpensive but high resolution molding tool, could be an asset to shops and small business everywhere, but nothing like this currently exists. This thesis presents a concise design strategy, backed up by analytical arguments and empirical evidence which can used to construct an affordable, high resolution reconfigurable pin tool. We address the challenge of quadratic scaling by edge-addressing simple, nonlinear mechanisms to actuate each pin. Edge addressing, along rows and columns of pins, reduces the number of control inputs to a small, linearly increasing value. Nonlinear mechanisms at each discrete pin site allow for a predictable, localized expression of the edge addressed inputs. Two embodiments of this design strategy are proposed and tested. First, a diode/resistive heater array allows for electrical edge addressing and control of a fusible alloy brake to grip or release targeted, sliding pins. Second, an array of screws is edge addressed by mechanical oscillations to generate nonlinear tangential forces in targeted screws, resulting in controllable screw translations. We conclude by summarizing our results and discuss directions for future work.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>