The challenge to develop and build a sunflower was far more interesting than originally thought.
It was when my wife, Heleen, bought a template for a protea and we laser cut it that the beauty of it prompt us to build our own flower. A sunflower immediately came to mind. The challenge excited me and the pip structure, which I believed should be the basis of the beautiful yellow flower petals, was to be researched first.
After doing some research on Google it became clear that I should be using some kind of formula to structure the pips. This structure proofed to be very special and when I looked at the following sight, I was amazed at what it actually looked like mathematically but also disappointed to think of using a mathematical structure. I had to use an alternative way to structure my base.
Looking at the following will reveal the challenge: Power Link
I remembered the pips and there structure since I was a young boy on the farm and I was again inspired to develop this basis. I started to vectorize the pattern which left me with multiple small little patterns. Using CAD I started to insert blocks of 3mm x 2mm into the patterns still orienting each to the growth lines. After a few hours I had a basis to slide in pips into the required pattern.
The pattern itself constitutes a wonder and it is for this reason that I wanted to capture it into the sunflower. The next problem was the forms of the developing pips and pip flowers, if it was at all possible. My terminology might be incorrect but I trust applicable.
Have a look at the following:
I have succeeded to simulate a number of developing pips and used it in a pattern that we could cut them.
The final product can hardly simulate the real thing but for us it was a piece of wonder to go through this process. I trust that you could also see something of what we went through. Even though the components that we have cut is very small and presented a problem in the assembly stages, we are very happy to have produced this product.
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