The latest CNC milling experiment is constructing by plastic bands instead of glue or screws. The layers are kept together by tight plastic bands and clips, the type you normally use for sealing cardboard boxes and pallets. The challenge was to keep the layers aligned without dowels or pins. I updated the parametric system to make wider and narrower gaps according to the surface curvature at each layer. The closer to the edge, the wider the hole needs to be for the band to fit through. You can download and customize your own Layer Chair here. If you would like to order a custom made chair, contact me.
The system worked relatively well, but far from perfect. Although the construction was more than strong enough to sit on, it felt a bit “jelly” like when rocking sideways.
The plastic clips keeping the parts together
Another challenge was to make gaps of only 1mm width with a 3mm milling bit. The solution was to mill three separate holes in a row, with the middle hole offset to create the desired gap width.
By milling the back legs as separate pieces, I used about 35% less material. And still by using only the plastic bands to join the parts, the legs were more than strong enough.
I also tested out a joint system for the back legs. Carsten Lemme is hammering the parts together
Threading the bands
Sans glue, sans screw
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