The Mechanism Project
RISD ID Design Principles II
The goal of this project was to create a working mechanism using only laser-cutting and 3d-printing.
The main concept for my mechanism was going to be the ballerina. I wanted to emulate a ballerina's elegant movement and bulbous dress in the machine's form and movement.
I started making some concept sketches, to gain ideas about how to approach this project. I decided to make the sketch above the central piece of the mechanism.
I created the bulbous gears from the sketch, in Solidworks. The teethes of the gear was created using the loft function.
The outside shell of the mechanism was created in illustrator. The fan-like pattern would be cut out of acrylic on a laser cutter and function like a living hinge. The cut outs would give the rigid acrylic board flexibility, and the sheet would be able to fold around into a cone form.
I decided the 'ballerina' would turn through a key like mechanism; the teeth of the key would turn the inner gear, in turn turning the 'ballerina'
I envisioned that the finished product would have arms moving up and down as the mechanism spins to imitate a ballerina dancing. I started developing the arm holder in Solidworks.
The arm holder needed to be tried in multiple iterations, to get the gap and hinges for the arms just right.
All the parts were prepared and the mechanism was ready to be assembled.
An infographic illustrating all the parts used to make this mechanism.
A video presenting the mechanism in action:
Recommended with sound.
