FIRST ATTEMPTS

PROTOTYPING

Tests in cardboard
Parts of a chair found in the trash.
Pieces for the key.
Test in cardboard.
Insertion of the key into hole.
Key mechanism.
Key mechanism.

Tests in metacrilate

This laser has much more power so it increases the amount of kerf, we were unsure about using it because we didn't know the parameters well. We did some tests before.

We were waiting for a long time to use one of the laser cutting machines, so we tried user the big one. The parameters in this one are different and have to be set up manually in the machine. For some reason our files where cutting in a really small scale so we went back to the medium laser cutter.
Laser cutting with the medium laser trotec speedy 400. It was important to cut the small pieces first and then the bigger ones so they were not loose. We did a first try with a cube and see how the kerf affected the press fit. We realized we had to leave less tolerance for it to fit better.
When assembling the cut pieces we realized it was still too lose so we went on to change the parameters on Fusion 360 for the kerf. Also we realized with this test that we needed to change some dimensions in order for it to function properly.
Taking out carefully the material from the laser cutting machine. While in the process of cutting, the machine stopped working so we had to pause the job and see what was the problem. The machine was not detecting the lid closed so we had to reset the machine. This was a bit nerve wracking because we were unsure if it would restart the job in the right position.
After taking out the pieces we started assembling the cubes and glueing together the pieces that needed to stick. While pasting some of them we stuck one on the wrong side which meant the mechanism was not working so we had to take it out and glue another one.

DESIGN FILES

FABRICATION PROCESS

LASER PARAMETERS
-power: 85
-speed: 0.3
-Hz: 20000
MATERIAL
-blue metacrilate 3 mm

ISSUES

Our main issue was solving how to assemble the pieces between each other. So after deciding on the mechanism we had to do some tests to understand the logic behind it and how we could make use of them with the furniture. Then for the press fitting we had to contemplate very well the kerf so it didn't end up being loose. As it was still a bit loose we had to add extra glue on some parts. Some of the parts were very small so it was hard to handle. The main mechanism that needs more work in order to function properly is the key insertion. In conclusion we needed more time for testing in order to come up with the right way of doing it and adjust some extra details and parameters for it to fit perfectly.
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