Metal 1 is a required sophomore studio class in industrial design, meant to introduce us to metal as a material, as well as to promote problem solving and material sensitivity.
Movement was my main focus of exploration in Metal 1. I discovered my interest early in the semester, and it served as my guiding principle for the three main projects. Each material lent itself to a different type of movement: tin plate was well suited to hinges, while aluminum had the potential for interior tracking and tapping.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final project: construct a cube with dimensions between 2" and 3.5".
My goal was to create a cube that invited manipulation.
It has two parts-an interior cube and projecting faces. The spacing between the two allows a ball bearing to travel freely along the edges of the cube without rolling between the faces or falling out of the corners.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aluminum final
I wanted to take advantage of the structural integrity of the aluminum and its ability to accomodate interior tracks, so I made a puzzle for my aluminum final.
It is made with four main pieces-a central column and three outer pieces that combine to cover it. The ball bearings can be partially unscrewed to allow manipulation of the three pieces, then tightened to lock them in a new configuration.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tin Plate final
This was the first of my three main projects. I wanted to explore the potential of hinges, and how they allowed many forms to come out of one shape.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preliminary studies:
My first explorations with movement. Includes hinges, tabs, and tension locking methods.