For our Midterm, the project was building an Mechanical Model from the book “Making Mechanical Marvels in Wood” by Raymond Levy. This assignment was complimentary to the homework number 3, the 2D drawing.
For the completion of the task, we had the following conditions:
- Use ideation and brainstorming for the mechanical model and the materials;
- Prototype low fidelity representations of the object and some of its functions;
- Create medium fidelity prototypes that begin to integrate function and aesthetics;
- Build and finish a final model with full integration, functionality and planned aesthetics.
The midterm was a pretty long assignment and it consisted of three stages. So I decided to write the post by parts, following the steps taken on each step in order to finish the model.
- Low fidelity prototyping;
- Medium fidelity prototyping;
- Final working model.
For this assignment I will try to report all the ideas I had, the materials used and some critiques and challenges I had.
- Low fidelity prototyping:
The main reason I had to create this low fidelity was to understand how did my mechanism work. To build it I used cardboard, wooden dowels, tape and a paper clip as materials and a scissor and saw as tools.
This model doesn’t really work, but it served its purpose, I could understand how it works. There is a dowel, represented by the red paper clip, that pins down the spinning wheel, allowing it to spins.
After understanding my mechanism I decided to advance to the next step:
2. Medium fidelity prototyping:
Before building the model I decided to make a few modifications on the illustrator file with the 2D drawings. I replaced the dowel mentioned before for an entire piece. I also integrated the little pin, that spins the little little gear in the middle, into the spinning wheel. An other modification I made was that the support connects to the base using box joints
To build the medium fidelity I use clipboard (a better quality cardboard), wooden dowels, a “little”wooden handle and wood glue as materials and the laser cutter and the saw as tools.
This model was fully operating, but not as smooth as I wanted once I couldn’t spin it using only one hand, I had to hold the model while I spend it. Once finished, I moved on to the next step:
3. Final working model:
Before building the model I decided again to make a few modifications on the illustrator file with the 2D drawings. I thought the model was too small for its simplicity, so I realized that in this case “size matters”and made it 1.5 times bigger. I also realized that while spinning my hand was too close to the base, so I raised the wheel by 1 in. Other thing that I realized was that the most important dowel, that I mention all the time was too important to be built out of wood, so I decided to make it out of metal, for extra strength.
As I used several materials and tools for my final model, I will explain how I built all the parts by categorizing them:
(i) Base and Support:
To build the base and the support I used wood, respectively 6 and 4 layers, as material and the laser cutter as tool. After having it cut, I used wood glue and clamps to assemble it. The biggest challenge was gluing it in the most perfect way, so the axes wouldn’t be crooked and stop working.
After gluing I used the dremel and the spinning sander to make the sider even and smooth and then I slightly sanded the surfaces and used the stain to make it look like old / good quality wood.
After seeing the stain results I decided that I wanted an rustic industrial look to my mechanical model.
(ii) Internal Pieces:
To build the internal pieces I used wood and aluminum as materials and the laser and the plasma cutters as tools. After getting my metal pieces ready I used the standing drill to make the 1/4 in holes for the axes.
The next step was glueing wood and metal together, for that I used the website This to That to find out what kind of glue I should use. It advised me on using epoxy, so I did. 🙂
After that I sandblasted the metal attached to wood, looking for a mate look, and used the dremel on the edges of the other piece, to make them smoother, and sanded the surface, looking for a shiny polished look.
(iii) Spinning Wheel:
For the spinning wheel I used wood, 3 layers, as material and the laser cutter as tool. To make it a little more exciting, I decided to etch SPIN ME several times. And I glued everything using wood glue and some clamps.
(iv) Handle and Dowel Finishing:
To create a handle that spins and make the moment easier I used some metal nuts and to Finish the main axis I used a “different kind of nut” just for the industrial aesthetics.
(v) Final assembly:
Once all the pieces were finished and post-processed I used some lithium grease, to make it all move move smooth, and assembled it all together using super-glue. But as soon as I glued it all together I realized that I MADE A BIG MISTAKE!!! I glued it too tight and it was really hard to spin. It was so hard to spin that the metal was leaving marks on the wood…
So I was advised to use some graphite as a dry lubricant. It helped a lot and it also gave a darker look, that fit my model pretty well (better than the boiled linseed oil that I used before and hated), but it wasn’t smooth enough for me, so I decided to sand it using the dremel and then apply more graphite.
After all these procedures I liked the final smoothness and I could spin it using only one hand!
As my final conclusion I can say that, even with the mechanism being very simple or even a little boring, I am happy with how it looks. I realized the it can’t be really smooth based on the way it was projected once the spinning wheel doesn’t have its on axis, but changes on the project can definitely be made to fix it! I am really proud of the first mechanism I have ever built.
Here is how the my final working model looks:
Here is the comparison between my three models:
Here is the Illustrator file with all the pieces:
And at last, but not least, a video of my final model working:
I hope you have liked my model and I see you next on the FINAL PROJECT!!!
