Creating a moving mechanical model: Food chain box | ENGI 210: Prototyping and Fabrication

In this midterm project, we created a physical, mechanical model of one of the 507 Mechanical Movements. Our team chose movement #138.

A vertically fixed stick moves up and down under the edge of a shape that rotates to its center.

At first, we were using movement #39, but finding it too complex to use, we changed our movement to our recent one, #138. We thought of creating an owl figure moving up and down on the top of the stick, and I drew a front and side view. We decided to use transparent material on the front side of the box.

Then, we started our low-fidelity prototype, which was made of cardboard, and showed the main functionality of our project.

low-fidelity prototype

However, the friction between the stick and the shape was so great that the stick could hardly move up and down. We then moved on to our medium-fidelity prototype, and with the help of a laser cutter, we cut down the essential wood parts of our project. Everything worked well, but the stick would still get stuck halfway through rotation.

medium-fidelity prototype

We decided to change the shape, add a platform under the stick to help its movement, and add a tunnel to fix it vertically. We remade all the parts of our project and added a theme: a food chain. An owl flying up in the sky, mice on the surface, and worms underground. Some mice stickers created by the vinyl cutter are stuck to the side of the box. The owl is made of metal and acrylic; the other two creatures are etched by the laser cutter when cutting the wood. The wood is stained and spray painted.

Process of our final project: