XANITA

My initial hope was to build my stool out of cardboard. However, the standard thicknesses of 3 mm did not satisfy my need for rigidity and flexibility. I wanted to be able to curve edges without loosing all the structural properties. Xanita board is made from composite fibre boards mostly from recovered and up cycled cellulose fibre waste from cardboard and bagasse. It remains lightweight yet hast much more structural properties than regular cardboard. Judging by the weight of the material, the entire project should result in a weight of less than 1 kg, which is quite incredible.

MOCK UP

I did a quick mock up of my stool design in regular 3mm cardboard. 

It is not the complete design as the edges will be curved, but the purpose was a general test to see if the measurments are correct and if the design is stable enough as is.

WORKSHOP EXPERIMENTATION

In order to preliminarily test materials and construction method, 

I lasercut a half size version of my current design.

I then tested for strength of the material and the construction method.

This testing has had a dramatic effect on my design and has even caused me to alter my material choice.

The design is a flat pack and can be cut out of a single sheet of material. 

The folding and bending that occurs is assisted by scored lines ontop of the material. 

To subtract weight from the stool, patterns will be cut out in areas that will not affect the stability.

After testing materials and testing out this 50% version of my design, I have decided to alter several aspects. Overall I will change my material from a 5mm pressed card to xanita board, which exhibits more structural strength with less weight.

As far as the design is concerned there will be several adjustments made to accomodate the errors in this 50% trial run. The triangles will sit on the top and bottom instead of floating as they are at the moment. Also sizes will need to be adjusted so that the bottom piece is not so much larger than the actual top piece, which is the seating part. The cut-outs in the material need to be moved once the top triangle sits on the bottom. Also the scoring and bending method will be adjusted to a more scoring and folding method to avoid weakness in the material structure.

DESIGN REVIEW

MORE CONCEPT INVESTIGATION

This idea is based on one curved piece of plywood,

 which bends by scoring the wood deep enough to where it becomes flexible. 

The piece is then connected with a seat at the top.

This concept is based on a card cylinder that slats together. 

The inside has another curved card piece for extra structural support.

 The top piece, cork, connects the cylinder and the structure to make one simple piece,

which can be taken apart easily.

CONCEPT INVESTIGATION

This is a first small scale investigaiton for my stool concept. 

Using different materials to create a stool that is easily collapsable.

By creating a sub-frame which slots together and then is held together by a routed cork seat.

Exhibiting curves in the subframe gives the overall sturcture more strength and a more attractive appearance.

RESEARCH PART B

Cork Tile:

The easiest way to shape cork without a big machine appears to be layering it. 

As a tile product cork is relatively easy to cut and put together.The strength and durability of the product is incredible.

Plastic Tubing:

The best way to shape plastic tubing is to boil it in water and bending it while it is soft. 

Once it is the desired shape, dipping it in ice cold water will cool down the plastic and it should retain its molded shape. Overall plastic tubing is not a terrible material to use but it's strength is questionable depending on how it is being used.