Curious Cube
Brainstorming Ideas
Initial Idea
By using a proximity sensor such as the Time of Flight Sensor, I want to make a cube out of etched acrylic or glass that depicts an image. Each panel will have a different image etched onto it that will be turned on or off depending on the person’s distance. The closer a person is to the cube, the closer the image appears by playing with elements that produce a field of depth.
Examples of Lit-up Etched Glass
Examples of field of depth elements
Developed Concept
The first panel will depict a person that looks worried and stressed. The second panel will depict another person that is caring for the first person. The later panels will make up the rest of the soft, warm, and happy environment.
Through the illustration and proximity interaction, I want to show if you focus on one part of the whole picture, the situation may seem negative. However, when you look at it from a bigger picture by physically moving back, you may realize it wasn’t all that bad.
Illustration Aesthetic
Fabrication
What I learned
I spent a lot of time thinking about how to build this project instead of doing what I usually do and hacking pieces of wood together. For this project, I really wanted to focus on fabrication and learn how to build a polished and sophisticated product. I took fabrication techniques that I saw my peers utilize such as laser cutting layers of wood and gluing them together to create thickness instead of just using a block of thick wood. I also thought about creating pockets to slide pieces into to create more stability. I also decided to use acrylic welded together with acrylic glue to create my pulley components as it felt stronger than regular wood. I started creating my box in Illustrator and always had my ruler or caliper beside me to calculate each dimension and continuously tinkered with it when I thought of new ways to enhance the box. I believe that it might have been easier to create with Fusion360 instead of trying to visualize each piece in Illustrator as it got really confusing the more pieces I had.
I was able to source 5mm wood from Home Depot. I originally planned my box with 1/8” wood so I had to tinker dimensions again to fit the new size. The problem came from finding the right screws. The screws and nut that I originally bought were too big and while it did fit in the motor hole, it got in the way of the motor itself. Another problem I had with creating the pulley system was finding a strong dowel that was capable of withstanding the resistance of a rubber band. A possible solution would be to use a screw and nut since metal is stronger than wood. I did find one that fit and worked well however I could not source 3 more of the same kind. I think my main problem for this project was tackling a hard mechanism and sourcing the right materials. For my future projects I will try to build my project through Fusion360 which will allow me to use the McMaster-Carr Plugin so that I would have less troubles with screws and fasteners. This will give me space to focus on experimenting the pulley system without having to worry about other fabrication factors.
