When I was offered a commission to design and build a rack for the Nonahood News that would be placed in the new GuideWell Innovation CoRE (Collaborative Resource Ecosystem), I jumped at the chance. I was lucky enough to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the new facility shortly before their grand opening. On that first visit, much was askew; tables were still being built, and many rooms were not fully furnished. What I saw, however, was inspiring. I knew as soon as this project was brought to me, I wanted it to be something more than just a simple newspaper rack. The inspirational space of the CoRE deserves better than that.
The design process was fairly straightforward. I used Sketchup, a free 3D modeling program. Sketchup has some limitations, but it is a great way to get started doing 3D work as it has a low barrier to entry and plenty of tutorials online. I first measured a stack of newspapers to determine the dimensions the rack would need to accommodate. I made a little box inside of the program that represented a “model” of the stack. For fun, I took photos of each side of the stack and imported them into the program to serve as a “texture” for the model. Now my little grey box looked like an actual stack of newspapers.
Using the virtual newspaper stack as my reference, I designed three conceptual versions of the stand. The concepts went from “mild” to “wild.” The first was a very basic, box-like structure that was boring but functional. With the second concept, I stripped away as much of the structure as possible, leaving a skeletal framework. The final concept was a bit far-fetched; it involved a piece of slate suspended in space by four steel cables.
When the time came to select the final concept, the first version proved too plain and the last version was too wild. The “Goldilocks” concept between those two was selected as the final design. Side note: In these situations, always include something crazier than what you actually want – it will make the one you want to build look saner in comparison.
The consistent theme between all of the concepts was to use mixed materials. I hope to echo the ideals of the CoRE by mixing several elements into one cohesive structure. Combining wood, stone, and metal together into one cohesive piece is an analog to the many facets that will come together to create great things at GuideWell Innovation.
There were some challenges. Because the concept chosen had no outer “shell” to lend support to the structure, it needed very precise measurements. The frame pieces had to fit together perfectly square and flush with one another. Luckily, a benefit of designing the model in 3D is that obtaining exact measurements for each component becomes a trivial task.
The metal components were another challenge. I have a small CNC mill in my garage called a Shapeoko 3. A CNC mill works a bit like a 3D printer, but in an opposite method. 3D printers work by building up material to make a part while a CNC mill removes parts of a block of raw material to create a finished part. I have milled plastic and wood in the past but never aluminum. I knew the machine was capable of working with aluminum, but metal is a less-forgiving material than anything I had worked with before.
The job called for two machined aluminum parts: an engraved dedication at the top of the stand and a milled Nonahood News “N” on the front of the stand. A trip to Skycraft (if you’ve never been, you should check it out) yielded the raw material I needed: three 1-inch-wide strips of 6061 aluminum. 6061 is an alloy of aluminum that is relatively easy to machine.
The business end of a CNC mill is an end mill – basically a specialty drill bit. End mills come in different shapes and sizes. The smaller the diameter of the end mill, the more precise you can be with your final product. I started off with my smallest end mill, which was just 1/64 inches’ diameter.
I programmed the design, fastened my aluminum to the machine, and let it rip. I felt a thrill as the mill began to cut into the aluminum in a very precise pattern. About 2 seconds later, the end mill snapped off! As previously mentioned, metal is much less forgiving than other materials. This was all happening the day before the grand opening, so I was pressed for time. Rather than recalculate all of the parameters that control the movement of the CNC, I opted just to use a bigger end mill. Might makes right, after all! I removed the broken piece and replaced it with a 1/32-inch end mill.
After updating the parameters to account for the new size, I re-ran the job. This time, everything went smoothly! The Nonahood News “N” was perfectly machined into a strip of aluminum. The engraving of the dedication was much easier and involved a special bit called a vee bit that allows for the precise detail needed for small lettering. Once the aluminum pieces were machined, they were polished and fastened to the frame of the stand.
I was able to deliver the stand just in time for the grand opening. As I placed it in position and made my exit, the red carpet was being rolled out and the string quartet was warming up. I’m proud to have contributed a little bit to the GuideWell Innovation CoRE. If you visit, be sure to stop by the cafe area and pick up the latest copy of the Nonahood News!
