A2 Product Design Project

[aghastpumpkin]

Some of you may remember a thread of mine back last summer talking about my A2 level project.
After several months, it's finally coming together. Alas, including a media centre PC was just not feasble. In fact, there will now be no electronics at all. But I thought I'd still share it with all of you.
I've got two weeks to finish the lids, attach the feet and varnish all the wood.


Firstly, the lids were made. These lids consist of side panels with pivots to attach to a pivot point on the main unit. The sides have a veneered cover.
These images show the layering of the veneer for the cover.

The glue we used was so strong that it was stuck on my fingers for days afterwards.

However, before we did this, we had to make the mould. The mould consisted of a two peices of wood at a 90 degree angle supported by four slats. The corner was sanded to the required radius. The veneered wood was placed on this and then two blocks of wood were used to clamp it tight to the mould. You can see our method used to attain an even smooth curve in the pictures.

After the first lid surface was made, we made the second using the same mould.

Then we moved onto the sides of the lids. These were made of 6mm plywood veneer. They were cut on a circulur saw and a band saw. The holes for the pivot were drilled using a Forstner drill peice.

[aghastpumpkin]

These images show me making the sides for the ldis. These sides glue to the edges of the lid surfaces. The lid surfaces were deliberately over sized, to be cut down to size later on.
Nothing was assembled until all peices for the whole table had been cut. This is pretty much a standard rule for prototype manufacturing.

The next post shows the veneers for the lid surfaces in the mould. You can also see pictures of the machines used. Included, a circular saw, band saws, laser cutter and a circular sander.

[aghastpumpkin]

Images showing the veneer surface moulds. The bin liner was used to protect the surfaces of the wood.

[aghastpumpkin]

Before assembling the lids, I would make the base unit. The base unit consists of a base, and sides with pivot holes for the lids to attach to.
I'm sorry I can't show you images of the design, but my software has mucked up. If anybody has Ptc Pro Desktop, please give me a shout.


Firstly, the wood was cut down to size on a alrge circular saw machine.

Then they were accurately cut using a band saw.
Some close ups show how I had to modify my design to hide gaps.
You can also see how I used tacks to attach two bits together at once, so I could cut both at the same time.

[aghastpumpkin]

The other pictures. Yes, that is ME cutting.
You can see how hard I was concentrating. I look like a div, LOL.
I had to cut free hand without a guide, which is really hard.


More pictures soon! I'm much further than this - just need to grab the pictures.

A little more explanation. In the first picture in post two, you see that the peices of paper which are a mock up of the lids have a sort of semi circle. Through this circle there is a chrome plated metal tube, which acts a pivot. You can see the same cirular shap on the sides of the table, below. These have screw holes. In the ends of the tubes are plastic bushs with a screw thread in them. So a screw goes throguh the screw hole on the side panels, into the bush in the tube. And of course, the lids attach to the tube. There are two lids, and whilst they are sat down it looks like a square box table. However, the pivot lets one lid at a time lift up and over and the top of the lid can rest flat on the top of the other lid, giving access to the space inside.
The first picture of post two shows how the ldis are normally, if you imagine you are looking at it from a side view. In a picture in this post, you can see we have rotated one of the lids on the metal "pivot" point, so it is folded up and over, and rests on top of the other..

[danrok]

Looks like a nice job! You haven't said what it is??

[Favu]

That is looking really impressive!

[aghastpumpkin]

A coffee table! Thanks guys!

[aghastpumpkin]

I have some pictures of the table mocked up as complete. I'll upload them tomorrow.

I tell you one thing, this project looks much harder than it looks. *Yeah, you just glue the wood together. Yeah, you just cut it out. Yeah, you just drill a few holes.
Actually, no....woodwork is a very good skill if you can do it well. You can't just use ya dremel and a bit of glasspaper.

Some hashed up crude images showing the design. I'll have some proper cad work up for you tomorrow. The table is 700 cm long by 500 cm wide.

*Deliberately NOT edited!

[Favu]

Originally Posted by aghastpumpkin

I tell you one thing, this project looks much harder than it looks.

Sigged!

[danrok]

Lmao

EDIT: I am get well annoyed with the forum changing the capitalisation in my post. :O

[aghastpumpkin]

Concentrate on the subject of this Topic!

Otherwise I'll get embarrassed....

[danrok]

OK, what about handles? How do you open it?

[aghastpumpkin]

There will be metal handles on the ends. Here are some screenshots showing the design in 2d. As you can see, the sides of the lids simply attach to the inside of the sides of the base unit with a metal pivot.

[aghastpumpkin]

Damnit, Old designs. the sides of the base are actually slightly different form that now, and the base and sides do not finger joint, but we biscuit jointed them instead.
I found a demo of the software so I could show you guys. My 3D cad cam isn't working. If anyone has Ptc Pro Desktop version 8, please give me a buzz.

[cloasters]

Tell the guy at the New Yankee Workshop about the biscuits. he can't get enough of them. Seriously, you're doing a fine job. How did you hide the Media Center gear in the table?