Material Spotlight: Fluted Plastic Campaign Posters

My upcoming book, The Tinkering Workshop contains twenty spotlights on materials for everyday elements that can be used for playful explorations of art, science and technology. There were plenty of items that we couldn’t fit it into the final version of the book so as a little bit of “bonus content” I wanted to write a few blog posts featuring tinkering materials that didn’t quite make the cut.

For the first material in this series, I wanted to share a couple of possibilities for tinkering with fluted or corrugated plastic, something that I’ve been seeing a lot of lately. Last week there was a European parliament election and here in Germany that means that the streets were full of political signs (many featuring large photos of the candidates). These signs are almost invariably made of fluted plastic material that has the structure of cardboard but with the advantages of being water proof and easier to cut with an utility knife.

These qualities make this material perfect for a linkage exploration. For this exploration, you can cut posters into long strips with the corrugation running vertically down the pieces. Take four strips, arrange them into two overlapping X shapes and connect the pieces with brass paper fasteners in the centers and corners as shown in the videos.

This moving mechanism can serve as the building block for many linkage investigations (get inspired by examples from Moving Toys Workshop and the Tinkering Studio). These ideas can develop into using the patterns and colors of the boards. One thing I would like to try is to make a version of this arrangement with all the strips featuring eyes. This four-bar linkage can also be complexified by adding and modifying the strips and connection points.

One other possibility that I would like to explore with the fluted plastic is making quick screens for light play experiments. For this you can use the back side of the poster. Cut out a square shape and hot glue (or screw on) L-brackets to the bottom of the board.

This can be a used for a standing screen to project light and shadow colors and patterns. I tried out a psychedelic experiment with a white flashlight, plastic cups and a slow moving motor. I think that a more robust version with set screws to attach the brackets could be really light and portable for light play experiments.

These are just two possibilities for using fluted plastic in your tinkering projects. I’m curious what other uses the larger making and tinkering community might imagine for ways this material could be incorporated in tinkering projects. Stay tuned for the next blog posts featuring more “bonus content” material spotlight all in anticipation of The Tinkering Workshop book coming in October.