lOOli.
With the LooLi project, glasses as an everyday and filigree product were examined with regard to various aspects. The glasses - whether practical companions, medical or fashionable objects - have the potential to change and develop in many ways. The aim of this project was to develop a new construction for the connection between the frame and the temple, in addition to the frequently used hinge for glasses, as well as the manufacture of the frame with the "vacuum casting" technique.
Photo: Jakob Tillmann
The design of glasses is a very interesting area and it was fun to get to know the individual production steps of the glasses. By playing with geometric and organic shapes, a concrete design was created that is supposed to combine aesthetics and ergonomics. Using simple and quick sketches, I first defined the shape of the glasses I wanted and then revised the details in the CAD program. With the help of laser cutting, I cut the first two-dimensional models out of cardboard and thin acrylic sheets to determine the appropriate sizes and proportions.
I chose my favorite from the two-dimensional models and worked it out as a three- dimensional model made of wood on the one hand and in the CAD program on the other. I had the CAD file 3D printed and thus had the opportunity to test the glasses model in its original size, change it if necessary, print it again and try it out again. I printed these pre- models using the FDM process with PLA and ABS Filaments and with the SLA process with resin. For the vacuum casting, I decided to print the positive form with the material ABS in 3D, as this material can be processed into a very nice, smooth surface with the help of the acetone steam technique.
My aim was to create a new "link" between the frame and the temple as an alternative to the often used hinge for glasses. I had different ideas for this. One of them was a connection in which the temple closes automatically when the glasses are removed. As an inspiration, I first looked at the structure and composition of the straw. Its mobility had motivated me to print a few connection models out of flexible PLA filament. The result was interesting: the connectors were flexible but did not have enough tension to allow the bows to close. After further research, I came across what is known as the "contact spring". To illustrate the idea, I integrated a suitable contact spring on the glasses: If the spring is hard enough, it pulls back the temples and thus closes the glasses.
Vacuum casting is a widely used casting process for the quick and inexpensive duplication of master models and prototypes, from which casts or small series are to be made from plastic- like materials. With this method, a master model previously produced using various processes is reproduced in a silicone rubber mold. The casting takes place in a vacuum casting machine in order to avoid air pockets in the cast part. Vacuum casting is part of a series of processes that are summarized under the term «rapid prototyping». It is carried out by specialized suppliers and specialist departments in vacuum casting systems or by means of «rapid injector» systems.
The basis for the vacuum process is the master model: First, I processed my ABS-printed positive form with acetone and filed it to get a fine and supple surface. The master model was then placed in a frame and half embedded with modeling clay. In the next step, the frame was filled with liquid, transparent silicone rubber and degassed under vacuum for a short time until all air pockets had risen. So that the silicone mold hardens faster, it was placed in the oven under the influence of heat. set and poured the second half of the silicone mold. After the second half had also hardened, the master model embedded in it was exposed. The two halves were heated in an oven and then closed again. The heated, closed mold was then filled with a liquid resin mixture under vacuum in a vacuum casting machine. After removal from the vacuum cabinet, the filled mold was placed in an oven, in which the liquid resin in the mold hardened to a solid substance. The parts produced in this way were removed from the mold and cleaned after the defined demolding time. The mold is then available for further casts.
Photo: Jakob Tillmann
Photo: Jakob Tillmann
LOOLi are fine, elegant glasses that stand out from other glasses due to their joints: Special contact springs are integrated in the two temple ends of the 3D-printed glasses frame. The idea was to design glasses whose temples close by themselves. The contact springs can be inserted very precisely and precisely in the space planned in the CAD program. The stronger the contact springs, the faster and more forcefully the brackets retract. Although the frame of the glasses is quite fine and thin at 3-5 mm, the glasses are still very stable. In contrast to the normal hinge, the integrated contact springs look very nice and work well. Looli is suitable for people who are looking for special glasses.
Photo: Jakob Tillmann
Photo: Jakob Tillmann
Photo: Jakob Tillmann
