Created by Felix Luque, DWI Modular is a system comprised of 10 rhombic dodecahedrons, geometrical objects part of the family of ‘Space- filling polyhedra‘: shapes that can be assembled to generate a tessellation of an infinite space. These forms act as the building blocks for a sculpture generator.
To assemble them, Felix developed an electronic magnetic connector, which enables all possible combinations, connecting the 10 units using any of the 12 faces of each polyhedron. Quiet similar to the apple magsafe, it’s designed to assemble the units physically and electronically. The connector has a magnet and three metal electric contacts; and the dodecahedrons have the negative shape of the connector to fit it in, spring pin connectors to ensure the electrical contact, and still pieces in the interior to attract the magnets. Thanks to this non-polarised system, Felix can construct all possible combinations of assemblages using the 10 units.
The electrical current transmitted into the dodecahedrons, powers an Arduino with an Xbee, controlling a customised pcb to dim the light of led strips on the edges. The pcb is a basic design using the TLC5940 16 channel PWM chip and the ULN2003 Darlington transistor. A computer remotely controls the ten units, using customized software made with cycling’74 Max-Msp programming environment. All different parts are customized made, using 3d printing, laser cuttering, cnc milling, and a lathe.
Credits: Felix Luque (Author), Iñigo Bilbao (Technical 3D design), Vincent Evrard (Arduino programming), Production by “secteur arts numériques, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles” with the support from iMAL (FabLAB) and Cimatics. “Different Ways to Infinity: Modular” received a production award from Fundación Telefónica “VIDA 13”
