https://www.suttles.me/contact daily 0.75 2023-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/564c7e15-56db-4048-b638-15fb00d9a457/IMG_1137_2.jpg https://www.suttles.me/work daily 1.0 2023-03-02 https://www.suttles.me/work/acuitybrands-ec8a7 monthly 0.5 2023-02-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/9855bf21-3619-4453-9e70-8b4bbc0a6b9c/IMG_20200714_160554.jpg Work - Acuity Brands Lighting Raw castings of two of the Renna "transition" pieces that can connect lit runs. Transitions are hollow to allow wire pass-through and are manufactured by die casting or vacuum-assisted sand casting, depending on the part size and whether it bends in multiple planes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/f2c986ee-880e-43b1-9cbf-db14a426ad68/PXL_20210405_210907524.jpg Work - Acuity Brands Lighting HDM Recessed getting some electrical testing. The UV module pulses on for just a few seconds on a 12-minute cycle - this limits the dose for occupants of the room to levels established by regulatory agencies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/11b9395f-d1d7-4e37-a580-d3b135a19215/20180424_094825.jpg Work - Acuity Brands Lighting Vacuum-formed reflectors were tooled up with three patterns in five different sizes. They get retained and forced into shape by welded extruded aluminum frames that also hold the LED PCBs in the correct position relative to the reflectors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/1677191435271-6L8GS1S3TOS0VYWRH35I/IMG_20200423_181728.jpg Work - Acuity Brands Lighting Example installation of Renna with square corner transitions and separate wall-mount and surface-mount fixtures. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/75770613-b5bd-46df-bb4c-b00155d885c5/PXL_20210421_175836033.jpg Work - Acuity Brands Lighting Several forms of HDM after a test installation. We developed stem- and cord-mounted cylinders in both tall and short sizes, as well as surface-mounted cylinders and recessed downlights. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/6e2a47f0-f008-4ddd-a3bd-8b217d002b55/20180918_125612.jpg Work - Acuity Brands Lighting Chisel was available with one, two, or four sides lit, sometimes with individual control of each edge and also variable color temperature per edge, so we needed a way for the factory to check the presence and color temperature of light coming off each edge separately. I designed these 3D printed color and luminance sensor fixtures that clip over the fixture frame and look at each edge individually to confirm that the output matches the ordered configuration and that each edge responds as expected to controls. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/709c4402-ba56-4052-8150-6d5691d8bd2b/IMG_20200228_122013.jpg Work - Acuity Brands Lighting The first purchased-and-installed Renna luminaire at an office building in Atlanta. I took my then-3-month-old son Abe along to see it in action! This shows the "vertical wall wash" capability of Renna - the fixture turns up on its side and has a unique edge lit optic that creates a nice wall wash distribution. Runs can transition from pendant to vertical wall wash on the same power and control bus. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/a70ee866-4967-43a7-b74a-834f3f6b0907/IMG_20200909_121711+%281%29.jpg Work - Acuity Brands Lighting Lovely purple glow from the 222nm excimer lamp. This remains the only non-LED project I've worked on at Acuity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/9abde71f-2be0-4232-8138-4f246b66de1d/20180321_143737.jpg Work - Acuity Brands Lighting The optical design was tweaked to create enough gradient from edge to center to give a sense of the depth of the fixture. https://www.suttles.me/work/abescrib-ec8a7-en42n monthly 0.5 2023-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/d8fbdf2b-3b50-4539-9edb-95ead74c5b36/ABC-render1.JPG Work - Abe's Crib This was the final form concept rendering in Solidworks before I proceeded with detailed design. I started with paper sketches, then established real dimensions based on mattress sizes and crib safety regulations, then moved to Solidworks and played around with forms that worked for the material I had on hand and the capabilities of my CNC router. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/6810b8ca-a205-4cdd-a768-1a4b05945433/IMG_20200719_203918.jpg Work - Abe's Crib I broke the model down into individual parts, then nested those in models of individual boards, created toolpaths in CAM software, milled the boards on planer/jointer/drum sander, and then started milling on my AvidCNC 3-axis router. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/20648743-57e3-480a-b407-d91be9bd436c/IMG_20200724_201243.jpg Work - Abe's Crib The joinery design was mortise-and-tenon modified to allow mortises to be milled by the CNC router in the same operation as the outline cuts. This meant that any parts with mortises were split in half and made in two pieces that got aligned with dowel pins and glued together, thus closing off the open face of the mortises. This was a new technique for me - I've mostly used large-format routers to mill sheet materials, but this very effectively brought the digital workflow to solid wood construction. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/ea93a451-1d1f-4d3c-9448-3b3d523c84b4/IMG_20200808_224514.jpg Work - Abe's Crib Footboard just before final glue-up. The upper rail was made of four separate pieces to fit in the available material and to allow mortises to be milled on the CNC router. You can see the tenons that were milled onto the ends of each vertical rail, ready to slip into mating mortises on the upper rail. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/b63c84f7-23c0-476c-9e38-54ce684c28b3/IMG_20200808_232717.jpg Work - Abe's Crib Gluing up the footboard - a big commitment! I needed a helper, so we waited until Abe was asleep and then kept an eye on the monitor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/229b2063-435a-48f8-b1ac-c9ac7d835d1e/IMG_20200913_223455.jpg Work - Abe's Crib The side panels took the "curvy natural lines" motif of the rails and translated them to solid surface geometry. I programmed the CNC router to do Z-roughing and then surfacing passes with a ball mill to sculpt the shape that was originally modeled in Solidworks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/1d299c5b-89dd-4f30-9808-99e032e45f7f/PXL_20201004_204840174.jpg Work - Abe's Crib We needed to be able to disassemble the crib to move it around the house and to eventually convert the footboard and headboard into a bed, so I used threaded inserts in the side rails to allow bolts to be join the corners. This was a neat drill press setup that used my workbench surface as a datum plane to allow me to drill holes that were very perpendicular to the side panel ends and then to drive the threaded inserts in with similar perpendicularity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/d7e20ed7-b046-4d79-8888-918a96e51114/PXL_20201004_043715551.jpg Work - Abe's Crib First dry assembly of the whole crib! Note the plugs in the corner posts that cover the joining bolts - they give the illusion that the top and bottom rails of the side panels protrude through the corner in the same way that the top and bottom rails of the footboard do. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/0141651a-d553-4ffd-afd6-da2d3e6ff339/PXL_20201017_021300882.jpg Work - Abe's Crib Finished side panel. These will (sadly!) get replaced with bed rails when the crib is converted to a twin bed for the boys once they get older. https://www.suttles.me/work/stagelighting-ec8a7-59l8y monthly 0.5 2023-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/8c381aa7-3cea-4dd7-926d-af0f929aba7b/Amped+United+Stage+-+render3c.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/f9e5e1c0-c114-4ad0-9823-11d50c5049ad/IMG_20181213_220556.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design The new design added a lot side- and back-lighting versus the previous stage. We also got the majority of the lighting and power off the floor, which made co-existence with the musicians a lot easier. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/1677280154155-KOZDAPN3J5BFUYVWJDYK/Amped%2B18%2BModel.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design The wall was designed in Solidworks and constructed in thirds - vertical studs had notches for each of the 14 horizontal slats (making 13 "stripes"). The horizontal slats had curved front edges with grooves to accept 1/16" opaque white HDPE strips cut to the width of each stripe. We built each section on the ground, lifted it into place, then slid the HDPE sheets in from each end. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/56ab5a8c-787b-46f0-936f-c7d691f3b623/TPC+Stage+Change-DMX+All-r1.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design I modeled the fixtures and rigging in Solidworks, building off an assembly I built when we moved into the new auditorium in 2016. Screenshots of the final design were the basis for wiring schematics and address assignment in Illustrator (backed up by a big spreadsheet!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/81cb590e-2acb-410e-83f6-b5340465efdb/20180122_234502.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design I cut the horizontal slats out of 4x8x.5" MDF sheets on my CNC router. This was the first project on the new router and required cutting eight full sheets of MDF, so it gave me a good chance to establish a workflow for processing sheet stock. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/ac93d0f4-150e-4d32-a9e1-4f8d03287a11/20181128_223328.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design This was our first tear-down-and-rebuild in the new auditorium and was an important benchmark for how fast we could do it. Thanks to good planning and lots of hands, we tore down on Sunday afternoon and were fully functional by the next Friday. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/1d0887ef-7b87-42d8-b050-53252aa38f9a/20180126_120439.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design All wrapped up and ready to transport to the conference. You can see the studs in the background. I spent all available time getting the CNC functional and then building the stage, so I didn't get to build road cases for these until the next conference 6 months later - transportation was a little dicey this first time! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/f75bd438-bff4-45ef-b5c1-28f8e93a9d7c/IMG_20161224_185337511.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design One look from the Christmas 2016 program. In addition to getting familiar with programming and show operation using GrandMA2, I learned a lot about animation and graphics creation in Adobe AfterEffects to create content for the background LED panels. We eventually moved to using more 3rd party content, but I created almost everything from scratch for the first year or so. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/5ed4b062-8c1e-42f7-93f0-67c273dc499d/LEG16-render8-r1.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design Using Solidworks and the architectural drawings for the building, I built an assembly of the stage and used it to calculate fixture placement and focus to communicate to the installation team. The design concept was mostly worked out in 2D using Illustrator before moving to Solidworks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/5e407781-76a7-4117-8da2-8cca817a8e6b/Network+Schematic_053016_BMS-r1.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design This was an early system schematic that I used to communicate with our system integrators. The design changed a good bit after this to accommodate their standard practices, but it was an effective tool to communicate our desired control capability. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/36c38a84-0b87-4cb8-a90e-278a20ff98b6/IMG_20160220_131854982-ANIMATION.gif Work - Stage Lighting Design Pixels were WS2812b tape driven by DMXKing ArtNet->pixel controllers. We fed them content via ethernet from a laptop running LightJams VJ software. The laptop also received ArtNet triggering commands from our lighting console, a Pathway Controls Cognito. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/85c1bc2e-c7d5-4564-9b88-c67ca2be6ed9/IMG_20151221_154640452.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design The pixel background filled up a lot of space and also provided a really good amount of back lighting for performers. This freed up all of our other fixtures to dress out the higher areas of the stage. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/6ca86769-decf-4a2a-9cbc-7a0f39a75ee4/IMG_20160701_092502672.jpg Work - Stage Lighting Design A cool look from later in the life of this stage design. This was my first foray into animating with Adobe AfterEffects, but I also created a lot of static looks in Photoshop. https://www.suttles.me/work/abescrib-ec8a7-en42n-3ltdd monthly 0.5 2023-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/2e9f52c2-60de-46bc-84ba-5ac3b18683a8/PXL_20201018_141909312.NIGHT.jpg Work - Abe's Grand Tetons Wall Sleeping baby! The pixel tape runs a color/intensity slow, random wave through purple/blue/green - I created the show in LightJams and recorded it to an SD card on the pixel controller. Took some tweaking to get the total output low enough to not disturb the sleeping Abraham. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/59e61dd7-eb6e-4607-ac9c-426713b3e912/IMG_20191026_143148.jpg Work - Abe's Grand Tetons Wall After painting the sky, stars, and Milky Way stripe on the wall and painting the mountains separately, it was finally time to put the whole thing together. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/6f352d32-624a-4b46-a947-b2cdecdb7eca/IMG_20191025_120426.jpg Work - Abe's Grand Tetons Wall Painting the wall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/aa8c7af0-5105-4d93-b98a-21134d16bd1c/IMG_20191025_120001.jpg Work - Abe's Grand Tetons Wall The mountain was composed of three separate sections with a strip offset a couple of inches from the top edge for the LED pixel tape to rest on. The snowy patches were 1/2" larger than the holes they showed through, so I painted them and then glued them on with construction adhesive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/93cfc055-0d9a-4764-b73a-0c052d2f1cf0/IMG_20191024_231021.jpg Work - Abe's Grand Tetons Wall This is the second sheet of 4x8 MDF after routing on the CNC. I nested the parts in Illustrator, exported a DXF, then created tool paths with bridges between parts in VisualCAM. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/a50e713f-0278-4a61-85c7-0a3afa51d4f9/Abe+Wall.jpg Work - Abe's Grand Tetons Wall This was the initial mockup done in Photoshop and Illustrator. I simplified the mountain silhouette a little in Illustrator after this, but otherwise the final toolpaths were created directly from the mockup. https://www.suttles.me/work/firsttpcstage-ec8a7-en42n-3ltdd-pcpjd monthly 0.5 2023-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/f64ef907-abdd-4032-b64b-c2d9b592ae63/20140830_161750.jpg Work - First Stage Lighting Design (Starring Home-brew LED Pixels) In addition to the electronics project, this was also my first full stage design after joining the team at Turning Point Church. The design goals were filling in visual space in the background to either side of the central projector screen and also adding as much back- and side-light as possible. We had a very low-channel-count DMX lighting console at this stage, so conserving fixture addresses was key as wel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/879cae7c-01af-4a8e-a997-1930c4cc42a5/20140903_173344.jpg Work - First Stage Lighting Design (Starring Home-brew LED Pixels) The pixel tubes were individually controllable, but due to the fixture limit on our console, I grouped the top and bottom LEDs in each of the six large rectangles in firmware so the system only appeared as 12 RGB fixtures to the console. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/4e58c6d1-ff56-41d4-9bb1-7cd3af483e68/Xstage+Controller+Schematic_r2.jpg Work - First Stage Lighting Design (Starring Home-brew LED Pixels) Schematic of the controller box. Each box took in AC power and DMX, then outputted my "pixel stream" proprietary RS485 data to LEDs, 5VDC to power the LEDs, and 15 channels of TRIAC-dimmed power to halogen bulbs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/693e8002-4e3b-4219-afdf-ce0c368b32f4/a9.JPG Work - First Stage Lighting Design (Starring Home-brew LED Pixels) Finished controller box. I did all the soldering myself on prototype boards and cut the enclosure out on a laser cutter. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/c7d847e8-541f-4476-97e0-f8137d273560/20140828_110456.jpg Work - First Stage Lighting Design (Starring Home-brew LED Pixels) This shows the back of one of the LED rectangles. The "pixel stream" cat5 went from the controller box to a receiver on the back of the rectangle that converted the RS485 back to the right logic level for a bank of 9x 8-bit shift registers. Each of the 72 shift register outputs set the on/off state for one channel (red, green, or blue) of each of the 24 RGB LEDs on each rectangle. The Arduino in the controller calculated on/off state for each of the 216 total LED channels it served, then sent those out at around a 30hz refresh rate over the "pixel stream". The Arduino MCU was heavily taxed by this, so I had to calculate the register values with very efficient bit-wise operations in firmware. This resulted in far from the smoothest RGB dimming you've ever seen, and if I had known about the existence of off-the-shelf LED pixel products I never would've gone down this road, but it was a really great electronics education, so I don't regret it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/fc4e0204-6bc6-438d-8cf0-6fc95c36ff69/a8.JPG Work - First Stage Lighting Design (Starring Home-brew LED Pixels) This was the final mechanical design of the controller enclosure. I had no idea I'd start doing this sort of thing for a living within the year! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/01768240-98f4-49c0-90ae-9adc888d6d39/Screenshot_2014-03-20-16-04-32.png Work - First Stage Lighting Design (Starring Home-brew LED Pixels) Initial concept for the stage aesthetic. I did most of my sketching on a 1st gen Galaxy Note at this point in life! https://www.suttles.me/work/polygonbookcase-ec8a7-en42n-4s4gn monthly 0.5 2023-02-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/74498896-2753-4872-b200-efee9511748f/PXL_20220206_172804078.jpg Work - Polygon Bookcase Tab-and-notch joinery made assembly really easy. I did final sanding on all the flat pieces, then glued and clamped the assembly (with some screws on edges that aren't visible after assembly). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/df725bf9-6985-4d38-9e92-67284ea11c3a/PXL_20220118_004213784.jpg Work - Polygon Bookcase The book case was designed to be as large as possible while fitting on a single 4x8 sheet of plywood. I modeled the finished case in Solidworks, then laid out another assembly with all parts nested on the sheet, then tweaked dimensions of the assembly to make the sheet fit work out. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/0c9eecfa-e772-4686-9655-d6bf120190a3/BBS-render1.JPG Work - Polygon Bookcase Simple rendering from Solidworks to get my wife's approval before cutting anything! https://www.suttles.me/work/stagelighting-ec8a7-59l8y-s9xdd monthly 0.5 2023-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/dffb6571-bc28-4f58-8b10-893ab01c6f23/20170325_131454.jpg Work - Creating a Shop This was the shop right after we moved in - first steps were ripping out the existing wiring, fixing some structural issues, then getting insulation sprayed in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/26b7a8d4-830e-4309-9014-c6b5b379db35/20170723_205414.jpg Work - Creating a Shop Once we got insulation and installed lighting (Lithonia IBGs from Acuity Brands Lighting!), equipment started rolling in from a combination of Craigslist and industrial auctions. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/7c2add67-faf9-4bbd-b588-4051d0c74900/20170806_152456.jpg Work - Creating a Shop With the help of an electrician friend, I ran a new 80amp electrical service to the shop from our house. Here we've trenched in and run a new conduit for the cable. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/23b10a38-949b-4265-89e4-7e43076e16b1/20171201_150756.jpg Work - Creating a Shop AvidCNC PRO4896 router frame ruing assembly. This shipped as a kit and I assembled it in its final spot. The X and Y axes are actuated by a rack and pinion, and the Z axis uses a sealed ball screw. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63f53dbe9d26b654f622ec96/c948ce30-acc2-477c-a585-04ae169e6e23/20180120_125201.jpg Work - Creating a Shop This was the first project I made on the router - I designed a dust hood for the spindle and cut it out of 1/2" polycarbonate sheet.