Plywood Lighting Design

I had just finished installing our bathroom mirror which I had attached a 6mm thick piece of plywood the back to support the light strip and wall mounts. We had more than enough plywood left over to play with, so my wife asked me to make something with it, she suggested a light for the kitchen which at the time we needed.

In Florence Italy, while I was attending the Florence Design Academy, my Product Design instructor gave us a task of creating a cardboard chair that could support the bodyweight of a person. I used pieces of cardboard which cris-crossed in a waffle like patern to create a simple and clever chair. The idea for this light was inspired by the chair.

So… to rhino, then to the to the jigsaw.

I designed the shape shape of the light in Rhino, then used the profile of the shape to slice out 6mm thick pieces. I revolved the profile a round the y axis, then added some circle x plane layers and used boolean difference to create the connecting slots for each piece. I then used a grid to transfer the pattern to paper, glued the paper to the plywood and cut the first piece. The first piece was the template for every other piece.

I carefully cut out each piece on the scroll saw, put it together, which to my surprise, every piece fit right away.

What you see is the result. Nice! I was so happy with it. But I think I’ll modify the design and make another one. Maybe for Youtube.

Plywood Lighting Design