Home Stretch
As we approach the last week of our program, there are objectives we still need to finalize in order to have a proper Open-Source DIY altar. Our goals include: 1) progressing beyond a breadboard circuit, 2) explore paper structures/origami for the altar’s hood, 3) cement a DIY friendly documentation , 4) academic poster revision for future presentations, and 5) staging the altar for a different cultural context. These objectives were defined on Friday, July 29. With this list before us, I began working on the DIY documentation by first taking the dimensional placement of all the inner components. Starting with the projector, I measured the distance from the projector’s side to the inner wall of the component box. I did this around all four sides to define the precise placement of the projector. I repeated these steps with each internal component.Â
With these measurements my intention was to include the hardware into the altar’s 3D model. As soon as I began drafting these measurements up in Inventor, I realized I also need the measurements of the components themselves, not just the placement dimensions. So, I returned to the physical altar and made note of the hardware’s dimensions. From there, I continued drafting the 3D model in Inventor. This job took up the entirety of the Friday work day with some to spare for next week. I wish to note that the most challenging components to draft was certainly the Mirror and its easel. I had drafted an easel, previously, in a separate file. However, I drafted it specifically for making a cardboard print using the laser machine and not my for the current 3D model. This, combined with my limited 3D modeling experience I couldn’t import the easel file, so I had to remake it inside the current model. Making this 3D overhaul a long session of trial and error.
Despite the time consuming nature of 3D modeling, its benefits are worthwhile. Having access to files containing a visual 3D model with internal component placement will make this project easily shareable and repeatable. If someone wished to bypass the digital rendering and immediately prototype, they could. If the current prototype gets damaged or lost, the next group can construct a new altar with unparalleled precision. These files will provide exact repeatable measurements boosted by a visual understanding at a single location.










