Flight Patterns

kiosk upon which various discussions about community-such as “Human Rights and Health Caren-were expanded . I hope to create a portable and reproducible example of the Concqbtualize which represents a new class of devices that facilitate holistic thought by literally surrounding a participant with a conceptual framework. Reference and Note 1. GENESA is a quasi-acronym for General Systems Learning Model. See Derald George Larigham, GENESA: An Attempt to Dmelop a Conceptual Model to Synthesizp, Syncronizp and Vitalize Man5 Inte7prelation of Universal Phenomena (Aero, 1969). FLIGHT PATTERNS William F. Monroe, 2200Victory Parkway,Cincinnati, Ohio 45206, U.S.A. Received 7 May 1993.Acceptedfor publication t y RogerE Malina. The 12 designs of the Flight Patterns sculptures consist of hand-drawn curves rising from a base, assembled in groups of three, four or five curves per sculp ture. One of these designs, Flight Patterns II (Fig. 5) was commissioned as a 4ft stainless-steelsculpture and built by an aerospace machining and fabricating company. Production depended extensively upon Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Machining (CAM),machine-tool controller software and mathematical algorithms to automate curve smoothing and machining. The manufacturing process started by digitizing curves of a maquette. Points developed by digitizing were connected and smoothed in CAD/CAM by Bezier Fig. 5. William F. Monroe, Flight Patterns II, stainless-steelsculpture, 4 ft, 1992. and Non-Uniform Rational BSpline (NURBS) functions. Consecutive-tangent , nearly congruent arcs of circles were superimposed upon the curves and exported to the machine-tool controller as circular interpolation commands. Curves cut with this approach are smooth, clean and free of striations, requiring far less hand finishing than those produced by the usual point-topoint linear interpolation mode. Reducing the necessity for hand finishing was a primary goal: scraping the stainless curves to achieve a fine finish alters the geometry of the curve and leaves noticeable imperfections on the edges. Mathematicians, computer scientists, engineers and technicians from the CAD/CAM, motion-control and machine -tool industries contributed to an understanding of the underlying mathematics and technologies. Research continues into refining the system for cutting two-dimensional complex curved parts and into discovery of similar ways to improve cutting complex curved three-dimensional parts, molds and dies. The term “interactive curves” might be applied to these sculptures. As the viewer turns the small maquette or walks around the 4ft stainless-steel sculpture, that person may perceive an interaction of the curves that suggests motion. Curves in the front cross and intersect curves in the back in a fashion that recalls spatial movement, creating an optical illusion of motion in a stationary object. I began to develop these designs by sketching curves onto lightweight paperboard , cutting out the curves, then configuring and reinforcing them by taping floral wire to each curve and to the base. I modified the curves and their positions on the base extensively, reshaping, extending, shortening and reconfiguring the curves. Next, I reproduced the paperboard curves with a photocopier and smoothed them with French curves. Gatorfoam replicas were cut by bandsaw, smoothed by sanding and mounted with clay pods on a turntable. Analysis of this intermediate skeleton gave rise to another round of alterations. Once the design was frozen, engineering calibrations were taken and the curves cut from flat acrylic,finished by hand and glued into the maquette’s base. The preprototype mock-upswere vital in the design process. Viewing a physical model, as opposed to developing designs entirely in CAD/CAM, finds a parallel in automotive body and consumer product design. Physical models serve an essential visual function. Maquettes have become the engineering standard for large-scale sculptures. 82 Abslrdcts ...