For the midterm, I chose movement #24, spur-gears, to show. Originally I had made another movement, but I decided to change it and create something new. Since the movement is relatively simple, since it’s just gears, I wanted to make it more interesting. So I decided to make a game out of it.

For this project, I ended up changing the design quite a bit throughout. For example, at first I wanted to use a 1D hinge to make a carpet like material for a ball to roll on, but after I prototyped it with wood, it was not flexible enough. So I decided to change that idea, which made it a little bit easier in the end. I wanted it to be like a game to play. So originally I had wanted people to turn the gears and then it would cause the paths to go up and down, and the goal was to get the ball to the other end without it falling off of the platform.

 

Since I had to change that idea, I changed the pathway part, by making little baskets that move up and down to let the ball travel. Then I made a ramp for the ball to travel down. And lastly, there is a conveyor belt like thing that brings the ball up and has it fall down somewhere. So the new point of the game is to successfully place the box in a place where yo predict the ball will land. It is interesting because it is not always systematic or uniform. But I think it is fun to mess with.

It took me a long time making all of the file for it. In my Illustrator file, I have at least 10 art boards with all of the parts I made. Now not all of the parts I have were used. Most of the file had my original ideas and then a progression of revisions. So I would create another art board with the revisions and the parts that  I cut out. Now, I would post a picture of all of my many art boards, but I lost my keys, and flashdrive (with all of my work) on it last night in the OEDK. So, if you find keys on a gray Totoro lanyard with a purple flash drive, please contact me!!! I would like to sleep in my own bed soon.

For the low fidelity, I used cardboard to cut out all of the pieces. It was okay, but did not run as smoothly as I had hoped. The feet of the platform kept getting stuck on the wheels, so it would not move properly. And also, the 1D hinge was more flexible in the cardboard than in the wood. But I learned that later on. I probably should have used some wood to test out the gears. It was hard getting them to work with the cardboard, but they turned out well in the wood, luckily.

After I cut out all of my parts, I decided to stain the wood. I think it turned out rather well. I like how the wood is darker and it looks nice. Staining it was easy, but it later caused the wood to be a bit sticky in the end. So I had to sand some areas after in order for it to run a bit smoother. Staining it was fun. I enjoyed using the paintbrush for it. And it was easy to wipe off, but it was really messy. It’s stuck on my hands and I got tired of trying to wash it off, so I gave up on that.

 

The hardest part in the end was putting everything together. My item is very top heavy, especially on one side. So it leans a little to the side. But I first built the main portion of it, and then started adding on the other features. I tried building up but that did not work. Then I retried to build the main center features, and then connect it to the base. Another problem I had was the conveyor belt where it brings the ball up to the top. Not all of them run through the slits easily, so sometimes it gets stuck a bit. Another problem I had was gluing everything and making everything move with just the crank. So sometimes the moving gear would just stay in place as its dowel moved.

I wish I had made it smoother, but I was running out of time. I was busy frantically searching for my keys last night. If anyone finds them, please contact me!!!

 

But in the end, it’s done.