Fabacademy 2017

1. What will it do?
2. Who's done what beforehand?
3. what materials and components will be required?
4. where will they come from?
5. How much will it cost?
6. what parts and systems will be made?
7. what processes will be used?
8. what tasks need to be completed?
9. what questions need to be answered?
10. what is the schedule?
11. how will it be evaluated?

What will it do?

My final project will be a window with the following features:

• Have as many elements fabricated in a fab lab
• Timber structure
• High performance –weather and sound proof, thermal insulation and so on– up to Eurocode standards
• 3 axis CNC compatible so you don't need specialized (and expensive) woodworking tools
• Fully parametric, including stock thickness, gaps, tolerances, glazing thickness, etc
• Have an integrated I/O design so it can be easily integrated with sensors, microcontroller, batteries, solar panels and cables.
• Initial I/O integration will be a light sensor which will control an integrated roller blind to protect the window of excessive direct sunlight exposure.

As mentioned before in week 1, I find windows are quite interesting building elements for many reasons:

• They are as old as Architecture itself.
• They are not static.
• They have been the first ones incorporating the latest technologies in each period (glass panes, metal frames, domotics, etc…).
• They are ubiquitous and banal.

Who's done what beforehand?

I can imagine that FablabBCN's fab lab house uses 3 axis CNC windows but I couldnt find more information on how the windows of the house were constructed and made.

Projects like Shelter 2.0 have an integrated approach so the windows are an intrinsic part of the whole system with custom shapes and construction that wont work in other scenarios.

The MIT house for New Orleans was focused on the main structure and facade details, there are a number of windows on the project but from online literature and images is difficult to determine the capacity of these elements

Wikihouse has developed an interior door design but not windows as far as I can find on the website.

Research is mostly focused on entire cohesive systems or structural systems but very little done on components that could be integrated with other technologies and construction methods.

What materials and components will be required?

For the structure

• timber frame fabricated with 8 by 4 plywood sheets
• Either 3d printed hinges or off the self stainless steel ones
• Insulated doubled glazing 4+16+4mm
• locking mechanism and window handle, normally they are integrated on the frame so probably best idea would be to develop a fab lab one.
• Roller blind structure
  • Aluminium tube
  • Fabric
  • Tube caps and holders
  • Gasket seals

For the I/O element

• DC motor and gearbox. I will be using week 10 hardware.
• Fabricated DC motor controller board
• Fabricated phototransistor sensor board
• Adaptor pieces to connect the DC motor to the roller blind tube

Where will they come from?

Most of the elements will be coming from fab lab inventory. The ones not included are:

• DC motor, gear box and steel tube. On week 10 I purchased an integrated solution from China that I have analyzed and will reuse DC motor, gear box and steel tube from this solution.
• Aluminium tube 40mm diameter and 1.2mm wall thickness, will buy locally
• Blind fabric 30% polyester 70% PVC, will buy locally
• Double glazing, will buy locally
• Gasket seals, will buy from a spanish manufacturer of termoelastics gaskets and rubber seal

How much will it cost?

My initial intention is keeping the cost below €200, a low-end timber window of 1200x1200mm double glazing cost approximately €250 without any I/O and electric roller blind motors.

Note: Insulated glazing panes –aproximately €25 each pane– and gasket seals were not included on this prototype for budget reasons. Insulated glass can be acquired at local vendors, in my case this one, easily and Resinastermoplasticas is a spanish vendor for the second one.

Note: I purchased the Dooya tubular motor and made my own custom board. DC motor, gearbox and battery could be purchased separately and then use a 25mm diameter steel tube and 3D printed connectors ends. I will explore this possibility in the next iteration of the prototype.

What parts and systems will be made?

• Complete window structure
• Internal locking mechanism
• DC Motor roller blind controller
• Roller blind holders
• Light sensor board and waterproof housing

What processes will be used?

There will be two process used. CNC cutting for the window structure and 3D printing for the holders and tube caps of the roller blind. Also, all the boards will be milled using desktop CNC milling.

What tasks need to be completed?

The following tasks need to be completed in the next couple of weeks

• Finalizing parametric design for the window structure
• Cutting and assembling the structure
• Installing window glazing and gasket seals
• Finalizing DC Motor controlling board and sensor board
• Milling board and soldering components
• Finalizing microcontroller programming
• Testing and documentation

What questions need to be answered?

• Is the design fully parametric?
• Is the fabwindow structure as sound as a traditional timber window?
• Does the design comply Eurocode standards?
• Is the light sensor reliable enough to sense direct sunlight exposure as opposed to ambient light?
• Can the DC motor controller and battery be safely integrated within the roller tube?

What is the schedule?

• Finalizing parametric design for the window structure. One days
• Cutting and assembling the structure. Three days
• Installing window glazing and gasket seals. Waiting for glazing lead time.
• Finalizing DC Motor controlling board and sensor board. Two days
• Milling board and soldering components. Two days
• Finalizing microcontroller programming. Three days
• Testing and documentation. Three days

How will it be evaluated?

Ideally I would like to install the window in my own house, for this reason I will be using the same dimensions than one of the openings of my facade 1200x1600mm. The plan is to install it and tested over the summer period on these different aspects:

• Installation issues
• Weathering of the structure
• Soundproofing, waterproofing and thermal insualation
• Automated roller blind impact on energy performance
• Ease of use and daily operation