Studio 4 Journal, Week 3

This Week

• Latex Mould Testing
• MDF Sphere Continued
• 1:1 Scale Model
• Light Source Details

Latex Mould Testing - I had been a little worried about how well the latex will hold the round shape over such a large area. The test involved making a quick mould with a bowling ball which I borrowed from a friend. The ball is a little old and used with some small gouges in it which means I couldn't use it to make my final product with, however is serves well as a test model.

I attempted to support the latex with some soil I have laying about, which in the end I think was a bad idea. I really should have found some sand. Perhaps I will go for a drive down to the beach and borrow some from the earth. The final result was covered in bumps. I also noted that the finish was not as smooth as the ball. I need to coat the latex with some Vaseline next time.

MDF Sphere Continued - Once the sphere had been turned to a ball that I was happy with, I put a load of Estapol over it to try seal the end of the MDF a little before going at it with the high build filler primer. I had a go at sanding it to round as best I could to remove the rings that were left behind by the denser areas where the MDF layers were glued together.

Further along, I had a suggestion from one of my lecturers to use a ring shaped sanding block and roll around the ball to achieve the perfect sphere. I went about cutting out a ring and ended up just using that as a stand. The easiest approach was to cut the abrasive paper in such a way that i could fold it into a cone and roll it around the ball. At this point, I've filled some small gouges and cracks with car bog, sprayed another coat of filler primer and am waiting for it to dry before I sand it down and repeat one last time, just for the best possible finish I can achieve.

The more time I spend on this, the better my final product will be. Investment.

1:1 Scale Model - Though this was in week 1, I figure its an important part in explaining the side of the lamp. Its no small thing, and the design has had a few further modifications since. There is also a lack of the piece of cement that would serve as the base.

The newer version has a slimmer arm with a taper running from the front and back into the centre of the sphere. Also, there is a taper that runs from the top of the lamp, down to the underside.

Light Source Details - Again, this was determined in week 1, but I've made some further changes. I've added a brightness adjustment button that should fit well into the existing design. The old power connector was a little ugly, so I've purchased a cleaner plug that I will be able to hide in the design much more easily. I cut away the top of a little button that was attacked to the dimmer I had purchased, so I could solder on my own button that have a better tactile feel.

There is a short video below showing the function of the electronics.

The next two week are a teaching break, so I wont have access the workshop at Uni. This does however mean I have no restrictions on my time other than eating and sleeping.

Studio 4 Journal, Week 2

This is the first journal entry which compliments the research and development process of my lamp design. For those who read this that aren't privileged enough to have seen the complete concept, all you need to know is that it involves a cement sphere and an Alucobond arm.

This week and the weeks leading up have been full of productivity...

• On/Off Switch
• MDF Sphere
• Latex mold Testing
• 1:1 Scale Drawing
• Light source soldering

On/Off Switch - The first iteration for mounting an on off button under the Alucobond was intended to use the plastic within the laminated sheet as a live hinge. I let a fellow student tinker with the sample I had cut, but they poked it too hard and broke the plastic. I took this on board and decided to set the button on its own mechanism. There were also some strength issues with the 3D printed parts.

So far the switch it mounted sideways with a cam  that allows for a slimmer fit than if the button was butted up against he Alucobond button.( 40mm vs 30mm) There is probably room for even tighter fitting and slimming. There will also need to be some efforts made to cut away excess material. Some adjustments have been made for a tighter track for the button to slide in and deeper travel.

MDF Sphere - In order to make accurate cement parts, I need a form to cast a mold from. Starting by laminating MDF sheet together I made a 210mm block. The laminating was done ins two parts, which meant that the MDF was able to bulge slightly, which made laminating the two parts together a little tricky. eventually I found some clamps that had enough strength to clothe the gap properly. Before I started on the large sphere, I tried turning a small one on the lathe at home which turned out pretty terrible. Learning what not to do from the smaller attempt, the large sphere turned out quite alright. I've filled some small gouges that appeared after the turning. Currently, I'm waiting for the putty to set fully before I clean up the sphere and go over it one last time to make it as rough as possible. If I deem it to be inadequate, I'll see about getting a new material and using more precise machinery in the workshop at uni.

This is more or less my method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lConTQ-cUw

I'm taking the technique of using the ghost line as a guide, but my lathe has different mounting gear.

Later Mold Testing - Before I slap a load of latex on my sphere, I though I should test some smaller objects. Also, I've borrowed a blowing ball which is almost the same size and my design to test with.

1:1 Scale Drawing - I wont upload the drawing here, but after marking out some variation and narrowing down an accurate drawing which explains the size and workings of the lamp, I'm able to start working on getting on electronics under way. In addition to that, I've moves away from the rectilinear style of arm that I originally had, moving to something with a little more angular style to suite lamp's protruding angles.

Light Source Soldering - The lighting is provided by 9 strips of LEDs that are each 15mm long. Initially I had considered a brightness adjustment, but moved away from it because of the complexity of circuitry, but since that decision I've realised I might be able to wire in a dimming button with little effort. Possibly looking at using some Acrylic as a diffuser, but it might block too much light and i will need to do some testing.

Printing stuff

I bought a 3D printer. Its an Up! Mini, the same as what we've been using at Uni.From all that I looked at, its the best solution for me both in terms of size and price. Hello fast prototypes!

The night I pulled  the printer out of the box and set it up and went about designing a small hook that i could hang my keys off of. My key ring isn't just a boring ring with keys though. I found a neat little product on EBay that have a simple mechanism that allows me to change and rearrange my keys quickly and simply. For me, keeping light pockets is something I strive for, especially since my last good pair of jeans are full of holes that my keys made.

The slider in the middle of the disc unblocks a space for the little pins to slide out and remove whatever  you've got attached to the ring. Mostly I just swap out car or bike keys, but if I'm taking public transport for a night in the town I wouldn't bother with anything but my house keys.

The aim of the design at the beginning was to have a place to store the keys I wasn't using or to hang up the whole lot when I'm home. The most frustrating thing is trying to find my keys, wherever I would throw them down. One thing that remained a constant was the ability to use one of those double sided tape things for wall hooks to hold it up.

The first iteration left the disc hanging loosely and there were some problems with sizes for fitting the pins that held items that were not attached to the disc.

In the second step I had problems fitting the disc onto the interface I designed for it. Also the printer wasn't handling the holes very well.

For the third I added supporting material around the holes and adjusted the shape and size of the interface that held the disc. Also i found that the flat back area that the tape would stick to was intruding on the space needed to slide the pins in. Small cutaways fixed that.

The final design just took a few minor tweaks to get the disc interface to work a little smoother, and then i smacked it on the wall. Best key solution I've ever had.

Some criticisms could be made about the design. The way the unused pins are held so closely together might be hard for some people to manage. There is definitely a smoother way of hanging something on a wall. In fact having just types that I've had a new idea. I'll have to explore that another time and post an update. To contest the argument that the pins are too close, I would say that for something which only plays a small role in my life, it should only consume a small portion of space and also that the angled faces combat the clutter well enough. Hope you like it.

If you're interested in the key ring... Here is a link to the EBay page.

Computer Modelling Journal, Week 15: Part 2

The model is done! Finished. No more Solidworks for a little while.

I came across some problems trying to create a slot to separate the left and right mouse buttons. "0 Thickness geometry". Which was a lie. After a few different approaches, I decided that it wasn't necessary. There would be enough flex in the material to operate both left and right without the slot.

Finally, Heres my result.

Computer Modelling Journal, Week 15: Part 1

Having had a complete model of the design I wanted, but then solidworks not want to comply with my shell command, I've shifted to a mouse designed to look like a snake's head.

Prior to this design, there were a few attempts at remodeling it. I came across issues when trying to resolve the design at the bottom of the mouse.

In the end I've just used the mouse underlays as a guide for the size of the snake head mouse.

Over the weekend and Friday, I'll be filling in the simple extrusions and shapes to make the parts interface with each other in a more logical way.

Computer Modelling Journal, Week 14

The last few weeks have been busy and so this post is slightly late A new assignment is at hand. Designing and modelling a mouse of my own based on the technical package of the Logitech M185. The plan is to use a modified set of parts for the innards, to more accurately represent the real thing. I know for a fact that the PCB will need to be adjusted to better suit the angle at which the battery sits.

I started with some sketches, then moved on to a foam model for confirmation of form. To avoid complicating the project and in the interest of keeping to a workload which suits the available time, I've opted for a symmetrical design. Suggestions had been made to use the styling of existing products as inspiration for the design, but I've just gone for what I think to be visually appealing in my own eyes.

With the foam model it is easy to take photos as elevations of the mouse to use as a guide in Solidworks. Keeping in mind that the foam is not perfect to work with, the form isn't final, and i may still make some changes.