What?

Plywood enjoys great popularity. This is not least due to the relatively low cost and easy processing of the material. Plywood is not only incredibly stable, but also extremely resistant to warping, compared to an ordinary board. Due to the cross-glued veneer layers a board practically stiffens itself. The imperfection and dynamic that wood actually brings with it as a natural product is deliberately erased here. Large surfaces and sharp angles are no problem for the material. It is virtually made for it.

Why?

At the beginning of the project it was clear to me very quickly that although I appreciate these properties, I also perceive them as a strong limitation. Round shapes and soft edges are rather difficult or even impossible with classical joining and processing techniques. This raises the how to push the boundaries of this conventional material and how to unleash its full potential. How is it possible to change the properties of the hard straight material in such a way that organic forms can be created. What can I do to achieve flexibility and plasticity. The simple joining of straight surfaces was not enough for me. If you look at modern design, edges are mostly rounded, how can the limits of the material be shifted and the conventional use extended?

How can I react to more design requirements with the same material?

How?

The surface can be changed by the intended local weakening of the material. In combination with pressure, tension and/or torsion, this results in a different, considerably more dynamic quality of the material. These qualities lead to undreamt-of creative and constructive possibilities. The tension or spring force in a plate can be used to create arched constructions, the newly acquired ability to bend and snuggle has a positive effect on the ergonomics of products, and because of the mutual distribution of bending constructions, large self-supporting constructions can be created even with relatively small parts.

The method used for this Project is called kerf bending and is aquired by using different cycular saws

Prototyping

Right from the start, the material was the focus of this project. It was particularly important to me to work on the actual material as quickly as possible.

After the first feasibility study I tried to simulate different patterns and their influence on the material with cardboard models

Kerf Pattern 1

Notice the Polygons forming due to the low „resolution“

Also the achievable bending radius is pretty big in diameter.

The Edge Seems To be very stable tough.

Using this technique Results in a Product with tension and stored spring forces when bend

Kerf Pattern 2

The higher desity of Kerfs allows a sharper angle and a smoother curve.

The outside of the curve looks nice and even, no additional sanding neccesary.

Just as the firs example the bending occures because of the thin two layers left over becoming bendable. The radius is then limited by the leftover thick parts

The additional kerfs on the outside are part of an additional experiment

Kerf Pattern3

Notice the diagonal cuts.

Bending this board results not only in a cange of one direktion but in two dimensions at the same time.

One dimension ist just given to us.

Due to the lenth of the bendet surface it requires quite strong forces to keep the product in its final position.

Kerf Pattern 4

In contrast to the other technique, this one cuts through the wood completely. Here, bridges are not left in the thickness but along the cuts.

This results in a tighter bending radius and less pretension and therefore less force is needed to bend the product.

sawing this pattern with a circular saw, it is advisable to add a jigsaw to remove the radii that are left through the blade and to be able to cut right up to the marking

Kerf Pattern 5

This product is a further development of the second one.

here the angle of inclination change and the slot-no-slot technique were combined.

the result is a product that is much more ductile over a shorter distance with less force

note the dipped cuts, this results in a more durable pattern than that of product 3

Kerf Pattern 6

The board, alternately sawn in on both sides, can not only be bent in two different directions but can also be shaped multi-dimensionally in the manner of a helix.

due to the chosen technique of sawing through the board, the force required for deformation is minimal, but the load-bearing capacity and tension along the longitudinal axis is also minimal.

Kerf Pattern 7

The most exciting attempt was the alternate cutting of the board.

the resulting interactions and the resulting radii form a kind of loop spring.

if the middle part of the board is cut diagonally, a convex or concave scarf is obtained, which is inclined differently depending on the angle.

out of several different elements of this kind for example dome constructions can be realised

Resumee

The results of this project are mainly insights into the way plywood can be rethought and the potential of this material can be further pushed. By using digital techniques there are many more possibilities of kerfing, which allow an almost unbelievable three-dimensionality. I am amazed at how far the limits of the material itself can be shiftedeven by crude means.

During my experiments I not only experimented with depth and patterns but also with the inclination of the material. By changing the angle of inclination of the kerfing to the longitudinal axis of the plate, the angle not only changes in the Y-direction but also along the Z-axis during subsequent bending.

This means that by changing the two-dimensional manufacturing process, complex three-dimensional changes can be produced that are predictable. One is thus given a dimension as a gift. This insight was the most exciting for me.

With a Kerfing with a 50 degree angle, on a length of approx. 12 cm I get an angle of inclination ß (in Z direction) of approx. 15° with a 12mm plate, saw blade width of approx. 2mm and a middle distance of the grooves of approx. 4mm.

The fineness and the distance of the kerfs to each other is the „resolution“ so to speak. Less distributed over a large distance results in a rather polygonal curve. If you increase the density of the kerfs per distance the curve becomes smoother and more even. With a high density you get an almost perfect radius, which can even be optimised by grinding.

Skeches And Renders