A.K. Marder - Final Pepakura

Pepakura Hand_380mm - Atec 6389

To begin, this is not the first cardboard Pepakura I have done for this specific model.  I have created one at a 5ft scale and it's maquette was at a 2.5ft scale.

So for this next round, I will be creating another cardboard PEP sculpture, 380mm tall but I do not intend for that to be the end result.  For previous studies, I have found using the cardboard PEP as a form or base for other applications to be a fantastic resource.

Example:

Using .125in clear acrylic, I will begin experimenting laser cutting the facets created in Pepakura minus the flaps.  Doing this, the perforations will be vector engraving lines that act as score lines.

Final Cardboard Pepakura at 380mm height:

Now that this is built, the intentions of re-creating it in acrylic is not plausible.  There are over a dozen sections of flexion.  Acrylic does not flex.  That being said, my only option if I want to continue the path of working with acrylic, I will have to re-design my entire model to have more precise, flat, poly faces.  

Or.

Don't do acrylic....still up for debate.

The Compromise: I used a different model.

Using this model, it simplified many of the issues the hand model encountered.

The Process: Never having worked with acrylic in this fashion, there was lots of experimenting.  I decided to use the laser cutter to instead of perforate for the mountain and valley lines, I would score the bends with the laser cutter and then use a heating rod to enable a clean bend.

The Assembly:  This took multiple attempts using different types of adhesives.  My first attempt was with Weldon Acrylics #4, it's a chemical that is applied using a syringe and fuses the acrylic.  However, it requires as much contact and surface area as possible...which is not what I could offer.  My second attempt was with Loctite silicone sealer, used for tiles and windows.  It worked nicely but I was too impatient for the drying time and it also has some flex so the bonds were not as strong as I needed for certain areas.  In the end I caved and use hot glue on selected points where I needed the strongest bond and then used the silicone sealer for the rest of the area.

In the end....the acrylic is not as clean and un-mauled as I would prefer but it was somewhat of a successful process.

Not final piece - silicone sealer still drying so I used masking tape to hold things in place