[#8] Sketch Prototyping

Side view of paper prototype.

We are now beginning to model and work through the design-prototype cycle for our final object. I decided to go with the pinball machine. I like the idea of making it so that a small ball can roll down and bounce off of the various bumpers and  objects on the pinball machine surface so I am trying to make it somewhat functional. Similar to my detailed drawing plans on post #6, I don't think that it is feasible to launch a ball as you normally would from the base with the pull knob, so I will likely put a ball-sized hole into the back box on the side. The idea would be that you can drop the ball into there, it can roll down a small ramp and out the top right of the pinball surface and will drop into a collection opening at the front of the model when it's done rolling.

I've started modeling the object in Rhino. I started with the shape of the cabinet and back box. I created the cabinet shape by drawing a 2D view from the side then copying and lofting between the two sides to get a 3D shape with the incline I drew. To drop the surface down into the cabinet, I exploded the previous shape, copied the top surface, then lowered it down a bit. The top surface will exist in real life but since I need to see into the cabinet through it I have it turned off in the screenshots. My plan is to use a clear plastic for the top like a real pinball machine.

I placed two paddles and several round bumpers onto the sloped surface and added some raised obstacle sections. Everything has been placed onto the slope and rotated accordingly to sit flush with the surface. The raised surfaces have also been trimmed where applicable to fit snug against the sides of the cabinet.

My main concern is the scale of the model when done in paper. Some of the details I'd like to add are likely not going to be doable with paper and may need to be simplified. This will be crucial to test in my early prototypes. In order to make it easiest to print, I've scaled it down to have the largest pieces fit onto an 8x10" area. The length of the pinball machine cabinet is just under 10" (254 mm). 

Below are some views of the model in Rhino before I move on to how the components of the initial prototype came together.



This first paper sketch model came together better than I expected but I definitely have a couple of things to do differently next time: 
  1. For the main cabinet but also the overall design, I need to better consider assembly order. I placed the bottom of the cabinet onto the sides and front before placing the surface layer. This made placing the surface layer very difficult and resulted in a wonky surface. 
  2. I need to place my tabs for gluing differently, particularly on the curved edges. I didn't cut tabs into the wavy raised portion at the top so I couldn't adhere the front surface to the wavy top and bottom properly. It was also difficult to get the paper to stay in place while the glue dried on curved edges.
  3. For this prototype I used printer paper. For better structural integrity I will likely want to go with heavier weight paper like cardstock for the cabinet, surface, and other main shapes. The printer paper will likely be easier for smaller objects and curves though.
Overall, I think this scale will actually work well. Some of the objects being placed onto the surface design may need to be simplified or changed but the paddle I folded out of paper came together better than expected. Next to test will be more surface components like the bumpers and other obstacles.

Front, Back, Side, and Bottom of the cabinet being assembled.

Cabinet, Back Box, and (wonky) Surface assembled.

Attaching the Legs to the Cabinet Bottom.

Close up of folded Paddle in relation to Cabinet & Surface.

Top view of surface with Raised Obstacle & Paddle.

Machine form assembled with Paddle (mostly obstructed) and wavy Raised Obstacle sitting on surface.






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

[#7] Unrolling 3D Forms for Papercraft

Image
As we prepare for our major papercraft project we are learning how to facet and unroll 3D objects in Rhino. This week we were tasked to create at least 10 different forms in 3D and unroll them into paper templates. To help narrow down what I would like to do for the larger project I created some objects that related to potential ideas from my last post. I also created some unrelated objects in order to explore how various shapes will unroll, if at all.  Simplified Espresso Machine The first form I created is a very basic shape of an espresso machine. I combined and cut away using solid rectangular boxes. When I tried to unroll the entire combined shape it unrolled in a complicated way with areas overlapping. In order to simplify the potential papercraft process I split the form into two parts. This will make it much easier to print and fold. Espresso Portafilter I wanted to try to recreate more of the potential parts of the espresso machine so I attempted a portafilter. I started with
Read more

[#4] 2D Drawing & Extruding: The Rings

Image
  Extruded and rendered designs in purple frosted glass This week's task was to design some rings in 2D then extrude them to create 3D versions. To see the results of my design, I sent in one ring design to be used with the laser cutter. I ended up making 11 ring designs. Only 9 more plus some fire from Mordor and I would have enough to help bring Sauron to power.  2D line designs I tried to make a variety of shapes and designs to explore the 2D design tools and become familiar with them. Most of the designs were created to fit my ring size, the only one that isn't is the one in the top right which was done to a larger ring size. I used a lot of splitting, trimming, and reflecting to combine the various lines and shapes into designs that could be extruded.  Non-rendered, mesh, and shaded view of ring designs. I applied the extrude function to all of the 2D ring designs. All were extruded to 3mm which is the approximate thickness of the acrylic/plastic that they could be cut fro
Read more